LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— The realignment bug has hit Division II.
Nine Division II schools in Arkansas and Oklahoma announced plans Tuesday to apply to the NCAA for permission to create a new conference.
Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech, East Central University, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma State must submit a strategic plan, conference constitution and conference bylaws to the NCAA by Dec. 1.
The Arkansas schools are currently in the Gulf South Conference, and the Oklahoma schools are in the Lone Star.
The schools say they are trying to limit travel costs.
“It’s so much easier for the fans,” Arkansas Tech athletic director Steve Mullins said. “It’s so much easier for the student-athletes, too. There’s just a difference between riding in a bus five hours and 15 hours, particularly after the contest.”
The move has been rumored for several weeks. Last month, the presidents and the athletic directors for all of the Gulf South Conference schools met for their annual meetings in Birmingham, Ala. Valdosta State athletic director Herb Reinhard told The Valdosta Daily Times that about 90 percent of the discussion during the meetings was centered on the Arkansas schools’ possible exodus.
“I can’t say I’m the least bit surprised (they’ve decided to leave),” Reinhard told The Valdosta Daily Times on Tuesday.
Athletic schedules for the 2010-11 season will not be affected, but it’s unclear whether the schools will try to play in their new league for 2011-12. The LSC says its policy is that the Oklahoma schools’ withdrawal would be effective in June 2012, and schools could face financial penalties if they don’t play conference games until then.
The Lone Star would be down to 13 members with these departures, with schools in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Commissioner Stan Wagnon said two other Oklahoma schools, Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma, had notified the conference that they were considering whether to join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
“We don’t know exactly what the timeline is for when they’re going to make a decision,” Wagnon said. “We have a pretty good idea that it will be soon and hopefully this summer.”
Gulf South commissioner Nate Salant said the Arkansas schools are required to stay in the league for two more years, but they can request a waiver. He said his league has already been in expansion talks with other institutions, and could look into scheduling agreements with other leagues.
The loss of the Arkansas schools would leave the Gulf South with just five football programs. The league would have eight schools overall in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
“We are aggressively pursuing some new members and some other changes, and we think they provide a very exciting possibility,” Salant said. “I think that it’s logical for us to seek a scheduling alliance with the Lone Star Conference. There have been ongoing conversations between their commissioner, Stan Wagnon, and myself.”
“We will continue to move forward, and look for ways to enhance the Gulf South Conference,” Reinhard said. “The eight remaining schools are schools that any conference would love to have. We have a very solid core of schools.”
The Gulf South Conference is currently split into two divisions, and teams from Valdosta State and the other schools in the Gulf South’s East Division usually do not face the Arkansas schools during the regular season, except in football. So the departure of the Arkansas schools could have only minimal effect on the East schools in the other sports.
College sports has been dominated by realignment talk for months. The Big Ten added Nebraska, while the Pac-10 expanded to include Utah and Colorado and nearly brought Texas aboard. In the end, Texas stayed in a Big 12 that was reduced to 10 teams.
The proposed new Division II league, which is unnamed for now, has only three Oklahoma schools so far. Todd Thurman, the athletic director at Southwestern Oklahoma State, is hopeful it could expand before too long.
“Our ultimate goal is to increase the size of this league,” he said. “We’ll see down the line as we increase size of the conference who may join us and where we’ll end up.”
The Gulf South has earned prestige over the years. Valdosta State won the national championship in football in 2004 and 2007, and Delta State won it in 2000. North Alabama won three straight football titles from 1993-95.
Last month, Southern Arkansas pitcher Hayden Simpson was picked in the first round of the baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs.
“I think it’s sad from the standpoint of the relationships that we’ve established with our other schools,” Mullins said. “We’ve had some great games in a lot of different sports.”