UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

http://www.neworleans.com/sports/uno/282872-uno-athletics-is-headed-down-to-division-iii.html

UNO Athletics is headed down to Division III

Written by Ed Daniels
Thursday, 10 December 2009 11:35
UNO News

At a meeting on Friday in Baton Rouge, the LSU Board of Supervisors will authorize UNO chancellor Tim Ryan to withdraw the school's athletic program from the Sun Belt Conference by July 1, 2010.

According to ABC26 Sports, the LSU Board will also authorize Ryan to submit a five-year budgetary plan for a move down to Division III...

I bet that will be much easier to create than a Sunbelt budget! I always thought division III were club sports! (not really, but...... )

There's your Texas State opening. Don't be surprised if they get that spot.

Sun Belt is FBS. I'm pretty sure there is some kind of moratorium on any schools stepping up at this time.

That moratorium ends in August of 2011 I think, so less than two years away. You probably need that much time to prepare to make a move like that anyway, so they could make their intentions known and start getting everything in order and be ready to rock 'n roll once the moratorium is lifted.

UNO won't be gone until July of 2010, so that's basically just a year's time the Sun Belt would be down a team.

And, UNO wasn't a football school anyway so the league isn't affected. Texas State could go ahead and slide right into the Sun Belt in every other sport (since they aren't subdivided) and join as a football member when the moratorium is lifted. Or they could just wait and do it all at once.

Or they could stay put in the Southland – but that doesn't seem to be their intention.

TSU is a 30,000 (???big anyway) student school in a great state for recruiting. Yes, they have not dominated the SLC or FCS but still they, of all the SLC members, might have capacity to move up. I still think they would fit better with Conference USA as to geography but SunBelt would be a better move as to competitiveness.

UTSA is probably likely to go too at some point. I know you might be saying "they haven't even played a fb game yet" but, trust me, they would like a bigger conference. A Tx ST / UTSA combo would/could be a great boost to the Sun Belt or Conf. USA. The San Antonio/San Marcos/Austin area would be a nice fit marketing wise for a conference. By 2012 I know Tx St will be gone.

I still think there may be several conferences with new looks once this moratorium is lifted. We/SLC/anyone paying semi-attention to things down there still have no idea what Nicholls is going to do. Will they stay D1, or will they move down to D2, D3, or JUCO? Or would they even consider dropping athletics altogether if the money situation is as bad in Thibodaux as we're led to believe? Who knows, but whatever they decide, IF they do anything, would obviously shake up the SLC too.

All is not well at ULM. President Cofer has indicated an ultimatum on lack of support for their fb program. Just saying.

outside of LSU, I don't know that I'd feel great about taking a position at any school in Louisiana right now with the way things seem to be going down there.

What's the situation with McNeese and Northwestern? Are they actually better off than the other schools or have we just not heard as much about their problems?

They should have never left the Southland. Would it surprise anyone if they wanted to come back? If Tx St and Utsa leave, do we want the back? Sure, why not.

Nicholls is better off than we think. They are in a budget crunch, but I think, after talking to some coaches, they will survive a while longer.

ULM is fine. That's the kind of talk you expect when they are about to hire a football coach and staff at 2009 prices instead of what they were paying Weatherbie. You have to play salesman to the boosters when you are going to be spending more money.

What is ba for LA schools is that their state government supports their athletic programs better than Arkansas does the Arkansas schools (outside Fayetteville of course).

You undoubtably know a lot more fans and alumni from my alma mater than I do then. The ones I know are not happy campers. Lack of attendance pretty much verifies that. Since ULM has lost their home game at Little Rock it would be interesting to know what their home attendance is. Is the 15,000 rule still in effect?

Happy or not, they aren't in danger of moving down anytime soon. There are schools in the MAC, WAC and Sun Belt that have never sniffed 15K actual butts in the seats but they are still FBS.

You are a sensitve individual aren't you?

Aren't we all?