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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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 Posted: 06/10/22 11:46 am ::: Southland Conference Membership in Flux |
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After the 2020-2021 season, five Southland Conference members left for (in their opinion) greener pastures. Lamar, Sam Houston, SFA, and Abilene Christian bolted for the WAC. Central Arkansas joined the ASun.
Incarnate Word (UIW) located in San Antonio will also leave the SLC and is scheduled to join the WAC July 1st.
This will leave the SLC with these teams: Houston Baptist, McNeese, Northwestern State, New Orleans, Nicholls, Southeastern Louisiana, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
As UIW exits, Texas A&M-Commerce, which is transitioning from Division II, will become an SLC member July 1st.
Also, Lamar will have a short stay in the WAC and will return to the SLC after the 2022-2023 season.
As for the WAC, Sam Houston will leave after the 2022-2023 season to enter CUSA.
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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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Location: Stafford
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:13 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
HBU: Donna Finnie - https://hbuhuskies.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/donna-finnie/939
Donna Finnie was named the fifth head coach in program history on April 17, 2013, making history in the process as she became the first international ever to land a head coaching position in NCAA Division I basketball. Now in her ninth season, Finnie sits as the winningest coach in [HBU] program history at the Division I level.
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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:16 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
Nicholls (Thibodaux, La.): DoBee Plaisance (mother of LSU/WNBA Theresa Plaisance)
https://geauxcolonels.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/dobee-plaisance/828
DoBee Plaisance completed her 13th season as head coach for the Nicholls women’s basketball program, and is the ninth head coach in the school’s history. She came to Nicholls after 13 seasons at Loyola University New Orleans where she successfully built a dominant NAIA program.
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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:19 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
UNO (New Orleans, La.): Keeshawn Davenport
https://unoprivateers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/keeshawn-davenport/830
Keeshawn Carter Davenport is entering her ninth season at the helm of her alma mater. Davenport was hired for the job in 2011 after eight seasons as a player and assistant coach.
In 2016-17, Davenport guided the Privateers to the Southland Conference tournament for the first time since joining in 2013. New Orleans earned a five-seed in the tournament. Davenport followed that with an 11-7 conference record in 2017-18. In that two-year stretch, the Privateers went 20-8 at home.
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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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Location: Stafford
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:24 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
Southeastern Louisiana (Hammond, La.): Ayla Guzzardo
https://lionsports.net/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/ayla-guzzardo/3327
Ayla Guzzardo was named the seventh head women's basketball coach in Southeastern Louisiana history on April 3, 2017. Guzzardo took over the helm of the program after spending the 2016-17 season as the lead assistant on the Lady Lion staff.
*Note: Hammond, Louisiana, is where Kim Mulkey played her high school basketball and is near her hometown of Tickfaw.
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RHSibley
Joined: 25 May 2018
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:29 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
In the upcoming 2022-2023 season, five of the eight head coaches in the SLC are women. However, the dean of coaches in the conference may be the head coach of
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: Royce Chadwick
https://goislanders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/royce-chadwick/382
The winningest coach in Southland Conference history, Royce Chadwick topped the league's record book with 211 career conference wins. He surpassed James Smith’s mark of 210 from 1987-04 at Northwestern State. Chadwick’s career SLC record is 211-100 including 13 wins at Sam Houston, 111 at Stephen F. Austin and 87 at A&M-Corpus Christi.
*Note - Texas A&M - Corpus Christi is known as the Islanders. The campus is truly located on an island!
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RHSibley
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| Posted: 06/11/22 9:35 am ::: |
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Meet some of the Southland Conference women's basketball coaches -
Besides Coach Chadwick at A&M - Corpus Christi, another male coach and one who is among the newest to the SLC is the head coach at
McNeese (Lake Charles, La.): Lynn Kennedy
https://mcneesesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/lynn-kennedy/1761
Lynn Kennedy, who in a short amount of time turned 4-win Portland State program into a Big Sky Conference champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier, was named the ninth McNeese Cowgirls basketball head coach on March 30, 2021.
Kennedy spent the last six seasons as the head coach at Portland State and has won over 340 games in his career, ranked as high as No. 8 in the ESPN Mid-Major Top 25 poll, coached 20 Big Sky Conference All-Academic selections, set a school record with 25 wins in the 2018-19 season while winning the regular season and conference tournament, qualified for the league tournament the last four years including semifinal appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18 while winning it in 2018-19, and has coached nine all-conference selections and five players who earned league top awards.
*Note: Coach Kennedy brought with him to Lake Charles a star player at PSU and former players and coaches who have played and coached for him as his assistants.
Geaux Pokes!
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RHSibley
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Location: Stafford
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RHSibley
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| Posted: 06/25/22 6:28 am ::: |
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Meet the new Southland Commissioner Chris Grant who is young, energetic and leading the SLC to places is hasn't been before. He is the first Black commissioner in the SLC's history and has already made a big impact on the league:
https://www.southland.org/staff.aspx?staff=28
Last edited by RHSibley on 06/25/22 6:36 am; edited 1 time in total |
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RHSibley
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RHSibley
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RHSibley
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RHSibley
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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| Posted: 08/01/22 9:25 pm ::: |
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I didn't see any specific reasons for either school's decisions - any insight there?
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"Inévitablement, les canards voleront"
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RHSibley
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| Posted: 08/02/22 6:29 pm ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
I didn't see any specific reasons for either school's decisions - any insight there? |
After the 2019-2020 season, five schools left the SLC. Four were in Texas, led by Sam Houston State. The ultimate plan was to re-instate football in the WAC and eventually move the conference to FBS. Apparently when the WAC had given up football years back, there was some clause that they could return to FBS one day.
Things began to unravel when Sam Houston and New Mexico State were approved for Conference-USA. With that decision, McNeese State which had planned to join the WAC in an effort to have a path to FBS decided to remain in the SLC.
UIW then decided to remain in the SLC. I figure there were several reasons such as the travel expense in the far-flung WAC, but I think the WAC was pushing UIW for facility upgrades. I think, also, that UIW had been successful in the SLC. This past season the football team won the title and made the FCS playoffs, the women's basketball team won the SLC tournament and made the NCAA, and UIW won the Commissioner's Cup for the overall outstanding athletic program in the SLC. Ultimately, I think the SLC offered a more stable football conference for UIW.
As it is now, the WAC and ASun conferences have an "association" in order to have a team qualify for the FCS football playoffs as neither of those conferences has enough qualifying football teams currently.
Lamar had left the SLC along with Sam Houston State and the other four schools. I think Sam Houston's leaving to go to C-USA and McNeese's decision to stay in the SLC were also factors along with the extensive travel in the WAC. McNeese and Lamar are heated rivals just across the Sabine River from one another. Lamar had no rivals in the WAC.
Lamar hired a new president. The former AD went on "indefinite leave" and never came back. He was the one who pushed for Lamar to be in the WAC. The SLC and its new dynamic commissioner Chris Grant made overtures to Lamar to return and the president and new AD of Lamar decided the grass is not always greener. When UIW decided to stay, Lamar decided it was best not to wait, but instead to return now.
This caused lots of shuffling of athletic schedules, but the SLC which was teetering on extinction, is again strong and glad to have UIW and Lamar.
The SLC is pretty much a bus league and is located in two states, Texas and Louisiana. Ten schools total, 5 in Texas and 5 in Louisiana, and 8 football schools.
As of now, SFA has chosen to remain in the WAC, despite the travel to numerous states for conference competition. They are "basketball driven" and feel the WAC offers them better opportunities in basketball than the SLC does.
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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| Posted: 08/02/22 8:11 pm ::: |
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Thank you for that explanation.
One might typically think of only the P5 as having their logistics so driven by $$$, but I s'pose that's a key element in all conferences - at least those that generate so much in football.
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"Inévitablement, les canards voleront"
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RHSibley
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| Posted: 08/03/22 5:39 am ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
Thank you for that explanation.
One might typically think of only the P5 as having their logistics so driven by $$$, but I s'pose that's a key element in all conferences - at least those that generate so much in football. |
For the most part, football is king in the SLC, and that sport funds most of the other sports. That is why paydays against big schools like LSU and Florida are important in football and basketball.
SFA believes their $$$ can come from March Madness and that the WAC offers the best opportunity to have more than one tournament qualifier, whereas the SLC is usually a one-trick pony.
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RHSibley
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| Posted: 10/21/22 5:43 pm ::: |
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Some updates:
The WAC (Western Athletic Conference) is suing Incarnate Word (UIW) for 2 million dollars. As you may recall, UIW had pledged to join the WAC on July 1st of this year (2022), but changed its mind just a few short weeks before that date. Each side has its points. UIW's main point is that it never officially joined the WAC. Still, UIW's decision caused headaches for both the WAC and Southland Conference because those two conferences had to do scheduling all over again in the sports of football, women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's and women's basketball. This is a developing topic.
The SLC's men's and women's basketball virtual media day will be streamed by ESPN+ on Tuesday, October 25, beginning at 10 AM CT: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/4db12c7c-2f3a-41c7-8f86-b1caf23b7d82
In the preseason picks of all 32 conferences that was posted in another thread, HBU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi were the pics with Corpus being the consensus. These teams placed first and second, respectively, with Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese grabbing the 3rd and 4th spots. However, UIW, mentioned above, won the tournament championship as the 5th seed and was the SLC's lone entrant into the NCAA tournament.
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GEAUX POKES
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