Alright, since so many people are interested in talking about the Stagg Bowl matchup like it’s a given Mount Union and UW-Whitewater will meet again, let’s look at the Stagg Bowl for a second.

Without being a homer, what matchup would you most like to see in the Stagg Bowl? Use your creativity here.

Here’s some for starters:

Rowan vs. Washington and Jefferson, Union vs. Lycoming. These are the four teams who have lost more than one Stagg Bowl and never won any. Presumably if these teams played, someone would win.

Augustana vs. Mount Union, especially if it could be Augustana ’86 against Mount Union ’02, the cappers of the dynasties.

Illinois College vs. Mississippi College. If you squint it looks like a bowl game. Maybe ESPN would hiccup and put it in prime time.

It’s hardly more ridiculous to discuss these than it is to discuss a Stagg Bowl taking place 1,100 games from now.

Did I mention about not being a homer?

We’ve gotten official word that the addition to the definition of regional games first talked about in February went through all the hurdles of the NCAA process and is in place for this fall.

As a reminder, this is in addition to every other existing definition of a regional game (200 miles shortest possible driving distance, teams within the same Division III football region, teams in the same conference but different regions).

These are the NCAA’s administrative regions. They now also count for regional games as well:

The NCAA’s four regions, from the bylaws:

Region 1 – Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont

Region 2 – New York, Pennsylvania

Region 3 – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Region 4 – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

We will apply this definition to schedules as quickly as possible. But it’s worth noting that the Linfield/Hardin-Simmons game is now in-region, as is the Mary Hardin-Baylor/UW-Whitewater game.

This can only make the selection process better reflect the strength of actual teams. It’s not perfect, but it’s a step forward.

Birmingham-Southern fans, coaches, student-athletes:

Welcome to Division III.

We don’t harbor any delusions that you want to be here. From the outside, Division III doesn’t compare very favorably to Division I. But let’s be honest: Birimgham-Southern wasn’t a Division I power, and the trip from Division I mid-major to Division III isn’t as far as you might think.

Your school is giving scholarship money to more than 200 people solely based on athletic ability. When that stops, your institution will be able to redirect that money to award need-based or academic-based aid. That will raise the level of the student body and, in fact, will increase the value of your degree.

You may not think much of your likely new fellow conference members, but let’s be honest — it’s not like the Big South is populated by well-known names. High Point? UNC Asheville? Radford? Winthrop? Rhodes, Trinity University, Austin College, Colorado College and others have stellar reputations, and they are not based on being on the 13, 14 or 15 line every March … or by being the brainchild of a televangelist.

Coaches and administrators: I expect you have no desire to be in Division III. If you are at all conflicted about the Division III mission, I would suggest leaving. You can’t be half-hearted about Division III. It’s a challenge. But if you’ve ever faced a halfway-decent Division III program you know one thing: This is not glorified high school ball.

A further discussion of the issues is posted in our Q&A with Birmingham-Southern president David Pollick.