 |
| The two conferences will match up 26 times in 2020 and '21. |
In short, both conferences filled some acute scheduling needs by coming together to form this win-win partnership.
For the GNAC, this morning's announcement goes a long way toward alleviating the annual scheduling challenges that became more pronounced when longtime affiliate member Humboldt State abruptly announced last July it would terminate its program at the end of the 2018 season.
As a result of the agreement, the GNAC will pick up a total of 26 in-region non-conference matchups over two seasons. Along with the GNAC's six-game conference slates, this will give every conference member a minimum of 10 Division II games per year in most instances. (Note: to qualify for the NCAA playoffs, teams must play a minimum of eight DII games and 10 games overall).
For the Lone Star, the agreement will help fill the "rolling byes" the nine-team LSC is faced with most weeks as a result of having an odd number of conference teams.
Because the GNAC and Lone Star are part of the same football super region, all the contests will factor heavily in the selection criteria when the region's postseason playoff berths are considered.
Managing travel costs was also an important consideration for the 13 programs that comprise the alliance. Because the other two conferences in Super Region 4 -- the Minnesota-based Northern Sun and the Colorado-based RMAC -- have either zero (Northern Sun) or limited (RMAC) non-conference availability, this agreement should eliminate the possibility of GNAC and LSC teams having to break the bank by venturing east of the nation's midsection in order to fill schedules with out-of-region games.
All of this is to say the partnership was unanimously approved by the GNAC and LSC presidential boards for one rather simple reason: it made perfect sense.
