Photo by Russell Marwitz/True to The Cru
ABILENE- The American Southwest Conference, of which UMHB is a member, will be losing yet another program, as conference realignment news was announced Tuesday afternoon.
McMurry, a member of the ASC from 1996-2012, and now 2014-present, will be joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference beginning in the fall of 2024.
The ASC will now be down to just eight full-time members when the move takes effect, as Belhaven joined the USA South Conference beginning this fall, and Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian) became an NAIA program in the fall of 2021. ETBU, UT-Dallas, Concordia (TX), Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, LeTourneau, Sul Ross State, and UMHB will be the remaining eight, and Austin College and Texas Lutheran are, for the time being, affiliate members for football. UC Santa Cruz is an affiliate member for women’s golf. Southwestern, currently an affiliate football member, is joining the Southern Athletic Association for football only in 2023.
This brings up an interesting discussion in regards to football specifically. The SCAC discontinued the sport in 2017-18, but with Centenary starting football in 2024, there is speculation that a move to bring it back may be in the works. Of course, this is not based on anything except speculation, but adding McMurry, and bringing back the other football-playing SCAC members (Trinity, Southwestern, Austin, Texas Lutheran) would bring the number of programs up to six. This would qualify the conference for an automatic bid to the D-III football playoffs. Schreiner has also announced its intention to start a football program.
If the SCAC was to start football, and bring back at least three of the four current SCAC schools playing football in the ASC (TLU, Austin, McMurry, Southwestern), the ASC would have just five football programs. The conference could still retain its automatic bid as part of the NCAA’s grace period in 2024 and 2025, but after that, an interesting scenario could arise. The ASC has two of the nation’s Top 10 teams right now, an accomplishment only shared with the WIAC and MIAC, but neither UMHB nor Hardin-Simmons would not qualify for an automatic bid if the ASC was unable to keep at least six football programs in the league.
Another topic that arises is the possibility of McMurry continuing to play ASC programs across all sports in non-conference play. In a press release Tuesday, McMurry’s Dr. Sam Ferguson, vice president for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics, said that the schools plans “to continue playing as many ASC opponents as our non-conference schedule will allow.”
“The rivalries and relationships we have developed within the ASC are Important to us,” Ferguson said. “We plan to continue playing as many ASC opponents as our non-conference schedule will allow. While we place a lot of value on our ASC experience and all the professionals who represent the league, we couldn’t be more excited and honored for this new opportunity ahead of us In the SCAC. We believe It’s a great fit for us!”
For more coverage of this news, visit the articles below from D3football.com and d3vbwest.com. Both have good insight on this news and how it affects the ASC as a whole.
D3VBWest: https://d3vbwest.wordpress.com/2022/11/01/mcmurry-to-join-scac/
D3football.com: https://d3sports.com/notables/2022/11/mcmurry-moves-to-scac-opens-door-football
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