Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

7/14/2010 at 12:20pm

Yesterday we wrote about the three Oklahoma schools leaving the Lone Star Conference to start a new conference. Now six Arkansas schools are joining them.

The six Arkansas colleges (Arkansas Tech, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Southern Arkansas and UA-Monticello), all members of the Gulf South Conference, agreed to leave the GSC to start a new conference with the three schools from Oklahoma.

Kevin Hill of the Russellville Courier writes:

The projected members have collectively agreed any new conference will have only football playing schools as members, Arkansas Tech Coach Steve Mullins said.

“We are in a conference now that has schools that are nonfootball playing schools,” Mullins continued. “They are fine institutions and I love their athletic directors, but a lot of times your goals and your priorities are going to be different. And obviously your budgets will be different too. Football — by the time you buy a bunch of shoulder pads and helmets — can become an expensive sport. Of course, it’s a revenue sport, too. That’s the flip side of that.”

Creating a new conference bears little resemblance to moving into an established conference. Projected members must submit a strategic plan covering five major areas, including student-athlete welfare and a full business model, along with a membership conference fee, Mullins explained.

After setting up all that new beauracracy, those Division II Arkansas teams would face new teams and have much better odds at capturing titles, now that they don't have to play Gulf South powerhouses such as Delta State, North Alabama and Valdosta State.

And as noted in the Penthouse yesterday, an Arkansas-dominated conference would be a lot more fun than a league filled with fierce Georgia and Alabama teams. Plus, if UA-Fort Smith overcomes DII rejection by the NCAA, maybe Arkansas can dominate the new league with seven schools.

With all of this new conference talk, who would have thought DII could bring so much excitement during the summer?

Meanwhile, what's the name of the new conferencing going to be? The Arklahoma conference? The Okla-Ark? The Ozark-Panhandle?

The possibilities are endless. Feel free to suggest names in comments.

Tagged: Gulf South Conference, Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, Lone Star Conference, NCAA, football, Steve Mullins, Kevin Hill, Russellville Courier