Okay, now we have both Lamar and Sam Houston St. passed over by the SBC, I think they take Tarleton St. as another. This should give them an even 12 member FB status.

With ORU heading back to the Summit....What will become of their spot in the Southland?

Will they replace them with another non football school to even out what Corpus Christi brings ..or.. replace with another all sports member ...or...leave the spot vacant?

Thoughts?

I think that Corpus Christi is likely on their way to the WAC. With ORU now out, the Southland now has 13 full members, 12 of which have football (Houston Baptist just finished their first-year exploratory schedule and New Orleans will have it in the next few years). HBU and UNO announced plans to add football just after joining the Southland, so their plans were clearly based on being in a football conference. UTPA could've been added over Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, and the Southland wouldn't be waiting on two schools to transition to DI. UT-Arlington left for the Sun Belt without any official discussion of adding FBS football, and staying in the Southland until they'd make an upgrade would've been beneficial by keeping the conference in the DFW area. Anything could happen of course, but it seems that Southland schools are being told to commit to FCS football or find a different conference.

Interesting thoughts.
The WAC really needs some additions to shorten the distance between programs. Why not Corpus?
I believe that UIW, ACU and HBU are all quality finds for the Southland....especially if they all sponsor football. I don't believe UTPA adds much in the quality category when compared to the other additions.
UTA went to the WAC for a year before settling on the SunBelt. I'm not certain if the WAC was pressuring them to add fb or not? Seems more like....conferences want the Arlington/DFW-MetroPlex aspect of UTA as much as any other reason.

With your comments on Southland teams being pressured to have fb.....is it possible that Corpus will add fb? Tx A&M Kingsville has fb. And Kingsville isn't far from CC.

I thought UNO dropped plans to start fb after leaving the GSC? Also I highly doubt TAMU-CC will decide its better to fly all over america b/c they don't have fb. They won't be kicked out as much as you WAC fans(didn't they still had any) want them too.

So SLC will probably be looking at UTPA(finalist last time), Angelo St.(finalist but withdrew), Tarleton St.(finalist the time they added UCA etc), C.Oklahoma (my guess since they're one of the best D-II programs left in the area)

what do you think tk, you're over there

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First ORU left because they wanted to be pair with the Texas schools but was going to be put in the division with the Louisiana schools with Central Arkansas.

As for replacements...

UTPA will most likely be added. The University of Texas system and the state of Texas are making big investments in the South (merging UTPA/UTB and a med school into 1 campus, check out the WAC thread for all the details) and will put a lot of pressure on the 7 Texas based Southland schools to put the new UT mega South school on the D1 map.

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Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

That was my thought exactly. I wonder if there will be any pressure on UT-Mega Southern and A&M Corpus Christi to add football or if they are content with the fb league they have? Or maybe this is a convenient time for them to tell A&M CC they need to add football or leave forcing them to join the WAC.

I would rather the Southland look towards W. Florida then to UTPA.

Adding a team in Fla. that will begin fb in the next three or four years would help the Southland much more than a team in the Valley without fb. It would also expand the footprint of the conference into some really nice recruiting hotbeds. Plus, it would allow the conference to look at Valdosta St. and W Georgia as additions sometime in the future.

Adding a team in the Valley doesn't really offer any other benefits towards expansion.

Wanna talk about expanding the conference's footprint? I believe that the Southland should be a pure Southeast regional conference that should eventually expand upto Florida (including Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia). Plus, I understand that the Southland should check out D-II schools within the region like conferences such as the South Atlantic (SAC) or the Gulf South (GSC).

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2011-12 ACC men's basketball conference tournament champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football regular season champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

If they want to get back to 14 quickly, UTPA is right there. The SLC has already conducted the campus visit.
No, UTPA does not play FB, but do they need more FB schools ?
Right now they are looking at 10 of the future 13 members with FB, although Houston Baptist could become #11 of 13.

In the FCS, travel DOES matter, and a Texas school is a much more logical fit than western Florida, which would be isolated.

You have a point right there Tute. But what about New Orleans' status with the plan of having its football program (currently in the club level) in the intercollegiate level? With Houston Baptist being the 11th football member, I would assume that New Orleans would be the 12th. And if that might happen, would it allow the Southland to have a CCG (conference championship game)?

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2011-12 ACC men's basketball conference tournament champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football regular season champions; 2012, 2013 & 2014 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

No way would the SLC have a CCG, b/c it would eliminate them from the playoffs. Big Sky at 13 doesn't have a playoff, CAA next yr w/ JMU(if they stay) would have 12 and no title game.

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You make it seem like Pensacola is in another country. Pensacola is much closer to all the Louisiana schools than UTPA. And they will be offering fb....about the same time that Sam Houston or McNeese makes a move out of the conference.
Houston Baptist is already playing fb.

My wife has a framed usa & world maps in her living room and I looked over at it after you mentioned UWF, the panhandle is really close to La. It's just went you say Fla, they envision Miami or somewhere on the southern tip which is far from SLC.

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Maybe I should start signing my maps, that middle school kid is getting all the credit for my hard work.

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Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...