The Cats
New Member
Fan of Western Carolina
Posts: 64
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Post by The Cats on Mar 16, 2007 14:55:14 GMT -5
Samford to join Southern Conference in 2008
Thursday, March 15, 2007, at 10:27 p.m.
By Wesley Rucker
Staff Writer
Samford has accepted an invitation to leave the Ohio Valley Conference for the Southern Conference beginning in the 2008-09 academic year, SoCon commissioner John Iamarino said Thursday morning.
So what does the Elon fans think of this? most of the fans of the public schools are less than thrilled.
The league's presidents met via teleconference Thursday morning and unanimously voted in favor of inviting Samford into the SoCon, according to Iamarino.
Iamarino said a formal announcement was coming later this afternoon.
What does the Elon fans think of this. Most of the public schools are less than thrilled.
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Post by elonfirefighter on Mar 16, 2007 21:32:55 GMT -5
i like the fact that app can no longer say they hate elon becasue they were the last to enter the socon
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Post by ElonPhan on Mar 17, 2007 7:44:41 GMT -5
Yeah, Funny thing is .. they will still complain about it. Even though the decision was unanimous and there is nothing they can do about it.
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Post by firebird on Mar 17, 2007 10:23:57 GMT -5
IMO this was purely a move to keep Chatty in the SoCon. It probably does nothing to help the strength of the conference and may weaken it. However, if they follow up with a Jacksonville State, Coastal Carolina or some such other school with a little stronger sports program I'll be happy. Right now though I'm split. I think we need to slide in another school that strengthens the conference overall.
Having said all of that, this comment is exactly what others said about Elon when we joined the SoCon. Now, with Lembo turning EU football into what we want, Baseball holding strong, Basketball, well, rebuilding to be a better team over the next two years, tennis, soccer, etc. it now looks like the SoCon made a good decision in admitting us.
You never know what will happen in the long run with Samford.
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Post by euphoenix99 on Mar 17, 2007 12:32:02 GMT -5
Nice post, firebird. My sentiments exactly. I really do think over time Samford will be a nice addition, but I would really like to see another big public as well. Not sure if they have explored EKU or not, but they would be a nice addition as well.
Go Phoenix!
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Post by ontheair on Mar 18, 2007 19:30:46 GMT -5
The SoCon needed to go beyond the Carolinas. If they didn't, they might as well call it the Carolinas Conference (which I know is already taken by the NAIA).
I didn't think they'd go into the central time zone. Samford has honestly done more than we did when we were in the Big South. They have a couple of perennial powerhouse teams and both basketballs are decent. Football might be a different story, but then again, this is the OVC we're talking.
I don't see this weakening the SoCon. However, I think from a $$$$ standpoint, this will be a headscratcher for the next couple of years.
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Post by gomocs82 on Mar 19, 2007 20:50:26 GMT -5
I don't think Samford weakens the SoCon. Jax Sate seems to think their next move is BCS in football, but I wouldn't mind them being in the conference. We have alreay developed a bit of a rivalry with JSU.
I guess the conventional wisdom is that Coastal is next, followed by ETSU if they add football. Both are fine with me.
However, the SoCon Conspiracy Theory states that the privates will not allow another public school.
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Post by kigerfor3 on Mar 20, 2007 11:41:01 GMT -5
I think firebird summed it up pretty well. I don't think this weakens the conference but it doesn't make it much stronger either. I'm certainly willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, that they can add something positive to the SoCon. I'd like to see a public school come in next that can strengthen the conference, especially in football.
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Post by soconpride on Mar 20, 2007 18:51:00 GMT -5
Samford was to buy insurance that UTC did not get talked into going to the OVC with their neighbors. CCU has a little bit of a tough road to tow, there are several SC privates that are dead set against CCU coming into the conference plus the slide of hand way they hired the internal candidate for President has not gone over will with some of the Presidents.
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Post by firebird on Mar 21, 2007 7:40:43 GMT -5
From the privates' perspective, it would be nice to keep the emphasis on STUDENT in the student athlete. Also, you get better quality walk-ons at a state supported school for obvious monetary reasons which makes it harder for the privates to compete. But, if a good ratio is kept between private & public and the conference puts pressure on all member schools to focus more on grades and graduating, it can only be better for the strength of the conference from both sides - the student and the athlete.
With the addition of Samford we now have 12 member schools but only 9 play football in the conference. I say add a public school with a great overall sports program and reasonable academic history, make it an even 10, play 2 money games and 1 tune-up game for a packed 12 game season. Or just play 1 money game & 1 tune-up game to give the kids a bye week to recouperate.
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Post by brianbaute on Mar 21, 2007 9:13:17 GMT -5
What really needs to happen for us to get to 10 football schools is for Davidson to stop playing in Pop Warner, er, the Pioneer League, and fund football (scholarships, facilities, etc.) to play in the SoCon.
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Post by kigerfor3 on Mar 22, 2007 11:27:34 GMT -5
Davidson playing scholarship football would certainly be an easy solution. I saw a rumour on the Wake message board that ECU might join the SoCon in all sports but football and that UNCW could join as well. Doesn't seem likely to me but interesting for sure.
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Post by elonfirefighter on Mar 22, 2007 11:49:16 GMT -5
that was talked about on the last board, all it is is a rumor right now. As for davidson, the school looks more for academcs over sports. So it requires its footballplayers to get there support from academic baised aid. Nothing wron with that, though id love to see them in the socon
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Post by phoenixfc on Mar 22, 2007 12:21:26 GMT -5
I've been somewhat of a proponent of Samford for awhile, believing they are similar to Elon, although slightly larger. Not sure of the numbers, but I think when you add in law school, pharmacy, etc., they probably have more students then some of the public schools (like WCU). I do concur that the conference will not really get much of "the market", given the large Alabama programs...but overall, I believe it was a positive move. And if they get the tournament in a few years, will say that Birmingham is a great city to visit !!
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Post by soconf on Mar 22, 2007 17:51:56 GMT -5
Usually only count undergrads. Samford has 2900. They draw like Wingate. Look for non-rev teams to pack baloney sandwichs to compensate for new travel expenses. The Phoenix can now tell for sure what their home fan draw is because there won't be any visitors in Rhodes for the Bulldog games.
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