Monthly Archives: May 2006

The USA South. Deep South.

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We’ve heard discussion dating back months about the Great South and USA South, including possible mergers. The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer ran a story today stating that the USA South has spoken with Huntingdon, LaGrange and Piedmont.

Two years ago, four of the Great South members (the three above and Maryville, Tenn.) met with the USAC commissioner and were received favorably before the schools’ presidents shot them down. Since then, of course, the USAC has booted Chowan, which elected to leave D-III entirely. In basketball and in most men’s sports, they are down to seven members, the bare minimum to receive an automatic bid.

Those four GSAC members may still drop out of the conference and go elsewhere as a group. Perhaps they can pull Oglethorpe out of the SCAC or some teams out of the ASC and reach seven that way. But if the USAC adds the GSAC’s four in some way, shape or form, the league runs the risk of losing Shenandoah and Christopher Newport to travel issues.

In women’s sports, the conference is in good shape, with Peace, Mary Baldwin and most recently Meredith added to the league. There has been zero talk of what would happen with the GSAC’s women’s schools: Agnes Scott, Spelman and Wesleyan (Ga.). Add those three to Peace, Meredith and Mary Baldwin gives six teams to a South Region women’s conference, with Salem College in North Carolina in the D-III membership pipeline. Hollins or Randolph-Macon Woman’s College could be enticed out of the ODAC if needed as well.

Real deal, or the next Rice?

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This blog post is now closed. New discussion should take place on the follow-up post.

A couple of years ago about this time there was speculation flying as to whether Rice was going to move up from Division I to Division III.

This year, it’s Birmingham-Southern. Described as the smallest school in Division I by columnist Ray Melick of The Birmingham (Ala.) News, the school is said to be looking at Division III and is expected to decide by the end of May.

To Birmingham-Southern, we say: Welcome. Division III is a great place to be. We hope you choose to become part of the biggest subdivision in collegiate athletics, where the true amateur athlete calls home, where an institution can truly feel good about its mission.

With 1,381 full-time undergraduates, the private liberal arts college fits the profile of Division III nicely. And Division III is slowly gaining ground in the Southeast, Birmingham-Southern will not be off on an island.

And it would save almost $3.5 million in athletics aid alone, according to the column.

Of course, Rice flirted with Division III a couple of springs ago and ended up scaring up enough cash with all the publicity to remain in Division I, with I-A football. But Rice is more than twice as big as Birmingham-Southern.

Building a pipeline

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Is it possible to create a pipeline in one year? Jon Chaloux, Chrispatrick Cox, and Justin Rouleau of Vermont’s Spaulding HS will each attend Colby-Sawyer next season, according to the Times Argus of Barre, Vt. Chaloux is the Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year, the newspaper says, and there’s more on the story.

“I was the first one to decide,” said Cox. “The school really matched up to what I wanted. They’re small, not too far away, and they have a great Environmental Sciences program, my major, with a brand new building.”

Great Division III quote.

A teammate, Dylan Clark, is heading to Keene State, while Jeff Rouleau, Justin’s twin brother, “will likely land at Johnson State.” At least one is staying in the state.

Two players are headed from New Mexico to UW-Eau Claire, according to the Alamogordo Daily News. Chance Weisensel, a former Wisconsin resident, and James Bowman, are headed north.

Brian Larson of Pleasant Valley HS in Iowa, will attend and play ball at Augustana, according to The Quad-City Times. He averaged 14.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 4.0 assists per game last season, shooting 78% from the free throw line and 43% from three-point range. Kyle Waller will join him there, according to the DeKalb (Ill.) Daily Chronicle.

Elida (Ohio) HS guard Dustin Mathias will play ball at Emory, according to The Lima News.

John Dekker, the leading scorer in the history of Sheboygan, Wis., is heading to Lawrence. “John is incredibly skilled for a 6-foot-5 (small forward) and can score a ton of different ways,” Tharp said in a news release. “He can shoot the ball. He can put it on the floor, and he can score in the post.”

Lincoln (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) HS senior Matt Stahl will play at Dominican.

Corey McAdam joins his brother Ryan at Nazareth, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Noblesville (Ind.) HS guard Cameron Smith has announced plans to attend Washington U.. “His size and outside shooting make him a dangerous offensive player,” says coach Mark Edwards. “We look forward to having him join our team and being a part of our future successes.” Aaron Thompson (Elida, Ohio, HS) is heading to Wash U as well.

Nate Conley, who changed high schools in Indiana and had his eligibility denied by the state high school association, will play at Defiance, according to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

Andy Covington, who had attended a prep school with the hopes of getting to UMass, ends up at Springfield. He’s a 6-3 shooting guard.

Tucson High basketball player Omar Meziab is heading to New York University with the intent of playing basketball.

Two Maui Interscholastic League all-stars are headed to D-III: Baldwin’s Matt Heyd will attend La Verne and Seabury Hall’s Justin Endo will attend Webster, according to the Maui News.

Aleksis Psychas is heading from Eastside HS, in the Gainesville, Fla, area, to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Gainesville Sun reports Tufts and Rhodes were among his choices.

Butte (Calif.) College’s top rebounder and shot blocker is heading to Lewis and Clark next season. Gene Rivera leaves the two-year school having made the Golden Valley Conference’s all-defensive team, according to the Chico Enterprise Record.

Kevin Lange, a forward at Benton Central, is headed to Wittenberg. He averaged 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Bison before suffering a season-ending knee injury in February, according to the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal and Courier Online.

St. Norbert announced three recruits: Manitowoc (Wis.) Roncalli guard Alex Ahola, Neenah (Wis.) forward Jake Dietz and Bonduel (Wis.) guard Eric Gruenewald.

Jesse Viars of Ridgeville Christian in Ohio has committed to play basketball for Wheaton (Ill.). He scored 1,025 points in high school.

Women
St. Benedict‘s recruits are detailed in a story in the St. Cloud Times. Mindy Schmidt is the featured recruit. Apple Valley point guard Caitlin Ries, 6-1 Irondale post Natalie Alamat, 5-8 Mounds View wing Anne Kudak, 5-7 Holdingford point guard/wing Kendra Zapzalka, 5-9 Foley post Alyssa Kotsmith and 5-6 Big Lake point guard Jackie Beier.

Walt Whitman (Bethesda, Md.) HS post player Kathleen Brown is heading for Marymount. Johns Hopkins, McDaniel and Scranton were the other candidates, according to The Gazette of Montgomery County, Md.

From the San Diego area: Scripps Ranch’s Kathleen Devaney (Chicago) and Poway’s Michelle Krall (Whitman).

Kristi Ybarra, a point guard from Gulf Shores (Ala.) HS, is heading to Millsaps. She tells the Mobile (Ala.) Register that she turned down a scholarship offer from D-II West Alabama.

Ashley Hairgrove from Odem HS will play at Sul Ross State, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Kimberly HS point guard Laura Aerts is heading to Lawrence, according to the Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent.

Somonauk HS guard Jessica McCoy will attend and play basketball at Monmouth. McCoy, a 5-10 guard, averaged 14.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and nearly four assists, three steals and two blocks per game, according to the Ottawa (Ill.) Times.

Tonya Wright is heading to Ferrum from Bland County (W.Va.) HS. She averaged 24.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Erica VanWormer is heading to Oneonta State, according to the Oneonta Daily Star. She was an All-American at center in Division III of the NJCAA this past season. The paper has a lengthy feature story.

Escambia (Ala.) Academy’s Lori Bonds will play at Huntingdon next season, according to The Atmore Advance. Huntingdon coach Scott Phillips told the newspaper he coached against her when she was in high school: “I saw her name and I remembered how she would light us up when I was at Lowndes Academy. It was her freshman and sophomore years and I told the former EA coach that she was going to be something special.”

Waukon (Iowa) HS guard Sam Reiser has decided to play basketball for Luther.

St. Norbert released the names of five recruits: Ashwaubenon forward Erin Riutta, Pulaski guard Denise Heuser, Reedsville HS guard Amanda Ourada, New London guard Tracy Palmer, and Menomonee Falls forward Emily Otzelberger.

Conference shake-ups continue

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With more conferences changes in the Mid-Atlantic and Atlantic regions, this seems like a good time to summarize where everyone stands…at least for now. Below is a listing of who will be where in 2007-2008 (new members in bold).

I hypothesized on Hoopsville that, when all the moves are finished, the little conferences will hurt the most. The Interstate 8 (now 7) pulled members from the CAC, MAC Commonwealth and Freedom and Skyline. As those conferences scramble to fill spots and protect their AQs, they are pulling members from the PAC, NEAC and Skyline.

The PAC lost Wesley to the CAC and Arcadia to the MAC-Commonwealth. The Reading Eagle reports that Alvernia could also move soon.

I don’t think the PAC will approach the same endangered status as the AWCC. But the Skyline could be in trouble, at least for the women’s AQ. They lost King’s Point, Manhattanville and Stevens Tech, leaving just 7 members. And SUNY-Maritime is struggling as a program after dropping out of conference play for last season.

The Reading Eagle article cited above also says the MAC is immediately considering four teams – Arcadia, Alvernia, Manhattanville and a mystery team. Alvernia might be a natural fit for the MAC Commonwealth since it’s very close to current member Albright. Perhaps the fourth team has football, which is a concern given the departure of Juniata, Moravian and Susquehanna.

AWCC (Lost 4)

Notre Dame
Trinity (DC)
Wilson

Chatham will join the Presidents Athletic Conference. Mary-Baldwin will join the USAC.

CAC (Added 3, lost 2)

Gallaudet
Hood
Marymount
Mary Washington
Salisbury
St. Mary’s (Md.)
Villa Julie
York (Pa.)
Wesley

Hood men will join the CAC in 2006 since they are independent.

Interstate 7 (Added 8, lost 1)

Drew
Catholic
Goucher
Juniata
King’s Point
Moravian
Susquehanna

Stevens Tech ducked out of this new entity to join the Empire 8.

MAC-Commonwealth (Added 1, lost 3)

Albright
Elizabethtown
Lebanon Valley
Lycoming
Messiah
Widener

MAC-Freedom (Added 2, lost 2)

Arcadia
Delaware Valley
DeSales
FDU-Florham
King’s
Manhattanville
Scranton
Wilkes

PAC (Lost 2)

Alvernia
Cabrini
Cedar Crest (Women’s only)
Eastern
Gwynedd-Mercy
Immaculata
Marywod
Misericordia
Neumann
Rosemont (Women’s only)

NEAC (Added Chestnut Hill women, lost 1)

Baptist Bible
Bard
Cazenovia
Chestnut Hill (Women added)
D’Youville
Keuka
Keystone
Penn State-Berks
Philadelphia Bible
Polytechnic
SUNY-Purchase

Skyline (Lost 3)

Centenary
Mount St. Mary
Mt. St. Vincent
St.Joseph’s (L.I.)
SUNY-Farmingdale
SUNY-Maritime (Men only?)
SUNY-Old Westbury

The SUNY-Maritime women did not compete in the Skyline Conference last season.

The Northern Athletic Conference speaks!

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The Northern Athletic Conference is, indeed, alive! A story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks to actual people involved in the process, which has been pretty silent over the past year.

For those who haven’t heard of the league, and I’m sure there are many, the NathCon (sorry, NAC is already taken in D-III) consists of Alverno, Aurora, Benedictine, Concordia (Ill.), Concordia (Wis.), Dominican, Edgewood, Lakeland, Maranatha Baptist, Marian, Rockford and Wisconsin Lutheran.

Oh yeah, that’s why you haven’t heard of it. If a conference forms, and no schools issue press releases, does it make a sound?

The sound being made in today’s paper is from Milwaukee School of Engineering, which found itself on the outside looking in on its attempt to enter the Midwest Conference. Clarke is also trying to get into the NathCon.

It’s the end of the Lake Michigan Conference and the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference. It might result in an extra Pool B bid for the next two seasons, while the NathCon goes through its waiting period.

Another new conference we have no news on is the Interstate 8. Stevens dropped out of the newly formed conference earlier this year to join the Empire 8. Rumors immediately flew that Elizabethtown was to replace them and bring the league back up to eight, but there has been no official word.