[Sly Fox]

Another likeminded school that is in the process of rejoining Division I has found a conference home. Houston Baptist University (HBU to anybody from Texas) is holding a news conference tomorrow to announce they are joining the Great West Conference. The GWC is a football-only league that is invited disenfranchised independents like HBU and UT-Pan Am to join a new all-sports league. There are rumors Longwood may be invited as well.

[RagingTireFire]

There are rumors Longwood may be invited as well.

At which point, the conference will be renamed to the Great Western Hemisphere Conference.

[Fumblerooskies]

There are rumors Longwood may be invited as well.

At which point, the conference will be renamed to the Not-so-Good Western Hemisphere Conference.

Fixed it for you.

[Cider Jim]

According to Wikipedia, the Great West Conference has 2 schools from California, 2 schools from the Dakotas, and one school from Utah.

Sly must be joking about Longwood, since it's a football only conference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_West ... ce#Current

[Sly Fox]

No, they are becoming an all sports league by inviting these independents. Longwood and NJIT both are possibilities but I have not heard whether they were invited or not.

[Chris Lang]

Just speculation on my part ... but I can't imagine Longwood would want to join this conference. They had no interest in the "independent basketball alliance" thing that included the Dakota schools, Utah Valley, NJIT and UTPA because there were enough schools out this way to help fill a basketball schedule.

They're already in a far-flung conference for field hockey (the NorPac) and I don't think Longwood is terribly flush with cash. My guess is that they'll wait and see if the Atlantic Sun comes calling before joining a far-flung conference like this.

[Sly Fox]

That would be my guess as well. But apparently this league is going to try to set up mini-tourneys sort of like how the Big South used to help out Texas A&M-CC back in the day. This clearly is just an alliance to help the indies fill out scheduling and gain entrance to postseason competition.

[ATrain]

That would be my guess as well. But apparently this league is going to try to set up mini-tourneys sort of like how the Big South used to help out Texas A&M-CC back in the day. This clearly is just an alliance to help the indies fill out scheduling and gain entrance to postseason competition.

I thought that the NCAA moratorium on schools moving up also included a clause that no new conferences would be recognized during this time. As for Longwood, they are definitely not rolling in the money but do have some alumni that contribute quite well, plus the school as a whole can sometimes grab more than its fair share of funding from Richmond.

[Sly Fox]

Technically the Great West Conference already exists. They are just adding sports and members.

[Sly Fox]

If NJIT was given an invitation that they quickly accepted, I'll bet Longwood was offered as well.

New GWC

[RagingTireFire]

New GWC

One of these things is not like the others.

[Sly Fox]

Here is the lowdown from the Houston fishwrap ...

July 11, 2008, 12:14AM
HBU finds conference affiliation
Huskies among 2 Texas schools in 9-team Great West

By BRANDON C. WILLIAMS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Houston Baptist University announced Thursday that it will become a member of the Great West Conference, starting play this fall.

The Great West began as a football-only league in 2004, but it is expanding to include all sports.

"We are excited about our move to the Great West Conference," HBU president Robert B. Sloan Jr. said. "The identity that comes with conference membership will impact our entire HBU community, including our faculty, staff, students and alumni and help build a stronger campus atmosphere. Our participation in the conference will also provide an array of exciting sporting events for the Greater Houston community."

The Huskies will join Texas-Pan American, New Jersey Institute of Technology, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah Valley in the conference. Cal Poly, UC Davis and Southern Utah will compete in the league only in football for now.

HBU, which joined NCAA Division I as an independent on a provisional basis last year, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March, bidding to shorten its probational period from seven years to three. The case will be heard in Houston on Nov. 10.

"The lawsuit does not affect the school joining the Great West," said Tom Thomas, a Dallas-based attorney who is co-counsel for HBU's case against the NCAA.

Click Here for Full Story

As a result of this move, I learned that HBU has a message board. Granted its servers don't seem to handle much traffic ...

http://talkhuskies.com

[WinthropEagleFan]

I have a hard time seeing how this could work for all-sports. But more power to them. So hypothetically, if this league is able to hold its self together long enough to earn auto. bids, would the ncaa add another play-in game to the men's b-ball tourney?

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

I have a hard time seeing how this could work for all-sports. But more power to them. So hypothetically, if this league is able to hold its self together long enough to earn auto. bids, would the ncaa add another play-in game to the men's b-ball tourney?

Either that or just stop letting all of the ACC teams in for no reason haha

[Sly Fox]

It is a 3-year contract from what I understand. But if they meet the qualifications then the NCAA would have to do something.

[ATrain]

Hmm, maybe Dallas Baptist baseball can join as well?

[Sly Fox]

Dallas Baptist is able to get into the NCAAs as an at large. They don't need a league like this.

[ATrain]

Since Longwood did get brought into this conversation, here's the update from them. It appears they either didn't get invited or just turned it down without saying anything:

In the area of Athletics, the number one priority for Longwood is to gain conference affiliation. Conference affiliation exponentially increases the Division I experience for all involved, and benefits the University by increasing exposure of the institution. Dr. Cormier and I have had discussions with administrators in various conferences, including the America East, the Atlantic Sun, and the Ohio Valley. There has not been any significant movement, however, we will continue to assess any feasible conference options.

Also of note, that could impact us:

It is important to note that the conferences highlighted above do not sponsor all of the sports that Longwood fields, specifically field hockey and women’s lacrosse. We have explored the option of collaborating with other institutions that have independent women’s lacrosse programs.

http://www.longwoodlancers.com/sports/2 ... spx?id=522