UIW officially joins Southland Conf

[AZGrizFan]

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UIW officially joined NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference on Monday, celebrating the occasion with a campus ceremony that included coaches, athletes, cheerleaders, alumni and fans.

The Cardinals were one of four schools making the move to the conference, joining Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist and the University of New Orleans to make up a 14-team league.

“We think this is a great partnership for the future of the Southland Conference,” SLC commissioner Tom Burnett said. “There are great days ahead for this university. We are as excited as can be.”

So, too, is UIW. As Agnese, Burnett and UIW athletic director Mark Papich raised a SLC flag, it symbolized the school's steady growth from the NAIA, to Division II, to Division I membership.

And just that quickly, the biggest moment in UIW's athletic history was cemented. It didn't occur before an overflow crowd at a stadium or gymnasium. It had nothing to do with a goal-line stand, scoring a game-winning basket or executing the perfect dive.

“This is all a part of the pieces to the puzzle to build UIW's brand,” Agnese said. “The athletic program raises the profile of the whole school.”

Football is expected to play an integral role in that. While the rest of the school's athletic programs will play a SLC schedule this fall, football won't until 2014.

The school also won't be eligible for conference championships or postseason play in any sport until 2017 after a four-year transition period.

Guess I'll have to become a Southland Conference fan....

[htownbearkat]

Houston Baptist and Abilene Christian as well.

is there room in the Big Sky or Socon for Sam and little brother Stephen?

[AZGrizFan]

Houston Baptist and Abilene Christian as well.

is there room in the Big Sky or Socon for Sam and little brother Stephan?

Three at once is a bit much, I would agree. Would love to see SHSU & SFA in the Big Sky...I mean we already cover most of the Western US, why not Texas?

[gobears14]

Well they're our first game this year so we'll see how it goes. At least their logo is less angry bird-ish than lamar's

[SuperHornet]

Not that it will happen anytime soon, but I think that Carroll joining the Big Sky would have a whole lot more cred than THIS.

SMH....

[griz4life]

So what does UIW stand for?
On a side note, 13 years ago when Sanky was Southland Commish and the conference was on the verge of having too few members there actually was talk of merging the Southland and Big Sky.

[griz4life]

So what does UIW stand for?
On a side note, 13 years ago when Sanky was Southland Commish and the conference was on the verge of having too few members there actually was talk of merging the Southland and Big Sky.

[SloStang]

So what does UIW stand for?
On a side note, 13 years ago when Sanky was Southland Commish and the conference was on the verge of having too few members there actually was talk of merging the Southland and Big Sky.

University of Incarnate Word.

[slulionsfan]

So what does UIW stand for?
On a side note, 13 years ago when Sanky was Southland Commish and the conference was on the verge of having too few members there actually was talk of merging the Southland and Big Sky.

University of Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word is the largest Catholic institution in Texas, with over 9,000 undergrads, and have financial backing from Billionaire Saints owner, Tom Benson. They're located in the heart of a city (San Antonio, TX) of over 1 million and have a fertile recruiting base. They're a fledgling program right now, but have potential to ramp up quickly IMO.

Houston Baptist has been Division I for a while but will be adding football for the first time. They're in the process of spending about 160 million on campus improvements, including athletics. They're showing very serious commitment and being located in one of the nation's top hotbeds for recruiting, the potential is certainly there to field a solid program long term.

Abilene Christian was an original member of the the Southland Conference, before settling in D-II's Lone Star Conference ... they evolved into a D-II power, and have at least four players on active NFL rosters. They are the show in Abilene, a city of 120,000, and have very good local support ... they're located less than three hours from Dallas, the mecca of high school football recruiting.

Of course, SLC President, Tom Burnett, has taken some criticism over the latest additions, but the markets which are now in play as it relates to continuing to build the SLC TV network is impressive. Not to mention football scheduling, which has always been a difficult issue for SLC programs trying to find non-conference FCS opponents.

[kemajic]

Of course, SLC President, Tom Burnett, has taken some criticism over the latest additions, but the markets which are now in play as it relates to continuing to build the SLC TV network is impressive. Not to mention football scheduling, which has always been a difficult issue for SLC programs trying to find non-conference FCS opponents.

At least he was sharp enough to wind up with an even number, unlike the BSC's super commisssioner, Fullerton, who wound up with a baker's dozen. Figure.

[SuperHornet]

Of course, SLC President, Tom Burnett, has taken some criticism over the latest additions, but the markets which are now in play as it relates to continuing to build the SLC TV network is impressive. Not to mention football scheduling, which has always been a difficult issue for SLC programs trying to find non-conference FCS opponents.

At least he was sharp enough to wind up with an even number, unlike the BSC's super commisssioner, Fullerton, who wound up with a baker's dozen. Figure.

IMO, that debate sort of hinges on which sport your conference is going to emphasize. Football seems to work better with an odd number of teams. Basketball works best with an even number of teams. I'm not sure, but I think that has something to do with the home-and-home nature of hoops. Of course, that debate works best when one is talking about nine or ten teams. You get too far below that, and the conference isn't viable. You get too far above it, and the whole apparatus becomes unwieldy, as the Big Sky is finding out with the division-but-not-really-division set-up. If you have divisions but no title game, there will be years where there are questions regarding who the champion is because you have too many teams for everyone to play everyone. I like a nine-team football/ten-team hoops set-up myself, because you get the best of both worlds: everyone plays everyone and there's no question about who the champion is. Plus, you don't have that odd-man out every week in hoops; everyone has a travel partner, so you don't have to have byes in the schedule.