Article out of Fayetteville reporting that the NCAA D-3 USA South Athletic Conference has announced it will add three NC schools in the next 2 years.Link at http://www.fayobserver.com/sports/colle ... c417c.html

YIKES! That means the USA South will have NINETEEN schools in 2017-18: 14 co-ed schools and 5 women's colleges. And there will be nine football schools. With these six new schools, maybe the USAC will be able to sponsor more championships (men's lacrosse, women's golf, track and field?). I wonder if the USAC has plans to split the membership into separate conferences like the MAC does in the Northeast. 19 schools just seems too unwieldy.

Article out of Marion reporting that NAIA MSFA has announced inviting Indiana Wesleyan for FB at http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/st ... conference

RadioIowa article with comments from NAIA GPAC Commish who says his league may conduct an expansion related campus visit to Jamestown sometime this summer.Link at https://www.radioiowa.com/2016/05/26/gp ... expansion/

Article from Hastings College site listing the 16 or so NAIA conference changes that go into effect today.Many of these have been previously mentioned in this thread.Link at http://www.hcmediaonline.org/naia-confe ... ealignment

Article out of Jamestown reporting that NAIA GPAC Presidents are expected to decide on whether to add Jamestown starting in 2018-2019 at their October meetings.Link at http://www.jamestownsun.com/sports/jimm ... t-one-year

OSN article(previously posted in another thread) reporting that D-2 member OPSU plans to leave the LSC and apply for NAIA membership.Details regarding which conference they will join are unclear.Link at http://oklahomasports.net/change-lies-a ... -athletics

Article out of Fargo-Moorhead discussing today's expected NAIA GPAC vote regarding whether to add Jamestown at https://www.wday.com/sports/collegiate/ ... -athletics

GPAC approves Jamestown application. Jamestown to become 12th member in fall of 2018.

http://www.jamestownsun.com/sports/jimm ... e-thursday

VSN article reporting that NAIA SSAC member Coastal Georgia has accepted membership in NAIA Sun Conference effective 1July2017.Link at http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/Cli ... erence.htm

This seems to create the perfect opening in the SSAC (now 11 schools) for Xavier (Louisiana).
I have a note from sometime in the past, that they were exploring moving to the NAIA SSAC from the NAIA GCAC).

VSN article reporting that Central Christian College and Oklahoma Panhandle State will be joining the NAIA SAC for 2017-2018 at http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/Cli ... 7-2018.htm

VSN MB discussing NAIA changes and membership issues at http://victorysportsnetwork.com/Forum/v ... /forum/128

There will be a NEW D3 conference starting with the 2017-18 season. The American Collegiate Athletic Association just received permission from the NCAA to start the formal procedure for becoming a real automatic-bid receiving conference.
http://d3sports.com/notables/2017/02/ne ... e-approved

The initial members are:
Alfred State (New York)
SUNY-Canton (New York)
Finlandia (Michigan)
Mills (California--women's college)
Pine Manor (Massachusetts--co-ed, was a women's college until 2015)
University of Maine-Presque Isle
Valley Forge (Pennsylvania)

All of the schools came from the Association of Division 3 Independents. Finlandia, Mills, Pine Manor, and UMPI were members of the Great South Athletic Conference when that conference bit the dust after the 2015-16 season.

From what i understand (somebody can correct me if i'm wrong), you need six schools to sponsor a sport to get an automatic bid in most sports, but you need seven in basketball. So, this conference will not have enough schools to get an automatic bid in men's basketball unless they add more co-ed schools. There are still a few independent schools in the northeast, and a few schools that will be reclassifying to D3, so they might be able to get to the magic number.

Mills seems to be the obvious mis-fit - women's only school and way out west in CA !!!

How does Mills / other schools in conf. afford that travel ?