RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
When last we explored Conference Realignment here, so much remained up in the air. Conference USA was prepared for the possibility of even more exits and a number of other leagues qualified for true “up in the air” status. In the last week, though, the waters have calmed considerably. While realignment is by no means over, the end (at least for the immediate future) seems to be in sight.
Among the moves that took place within the last week’s time: the WAC added Incarnate Word as a new member via the Southland; the Southland, for their part, retained McNeese and bolstered that program’s standing within the league; Middle Tennessee decided to stay put in Conference USA; and the MAC elected not to the pursue expansion.
Since we’re a softball site, we’re going to explore each of these moves in the context of how – or if – they’ll have much impact on the softball diamond. Beginning with…
Incarnate Word joining the WAC
When the WAC pulled off its major coup a year ago, convincing a quartet of Southland teams to realign en masse, there was no way that the league was done expanding. In the midst of the greatest realignment discussions earlier this summer, multiple media reports said that Incarnate Word and McNeese were both pitching the WAC on expanding even further to include both of them. While McNeese ultimately stayed in the Southland (more on that later), Incarnate Word decided to bolt.
From strictly a membership volume standpoint, this is a win for the WAC. The two teams that left the WAC in favor of Conference USA will now be immediately replaced by UIW and the already-committed Southern Utah, who will join the league in 2022. From a softball perspective, the addition of UIW doesn’t move the needle much – at least, not right now. Since moving up to Division I in 2013, the Cardinals have not had much of an impact on the Southland’s softball scene and that doesn’t figure to change right away in the WAC. New head coach Kim Dean will have a couple of years under her belt in San Antonio by the time the realignment officially happens, though, and if she can get UIW trending in the right direction before the move happens, then the WAC softball scene will be better for it. From a softball-0nly perspective, obviously McNeese was the “big ticket” but UIW still adds some potential value to the WAC’s softball offering.
McNeese staying put in the Southland
This was a major, major coup for the Southland to pull off. McNeese was arguably the most valuable commodity that the league had left and losing the Cowpokes (that’s our phrasing, in place of the interchangeable Cowboys/Cowgirls that apply to the appropriate McNeese teams) would have been a big blow. In order to keep the Cowpokes around, the conference made a plethora of gifts to the school and region, including a multi-year promise of hosting the conference media days in Lake Charles and conference tournament hosting duties for a variety of league sports.
Southland softball is assuredly better off for McNeese sticking around, for two main reasons. First and foremost, the Cowgirls play a tough non-conference schedule, which bolsters both their individual RPI and that of the league. Secondly, McNeese is a recognizable brand in softball at this point. From the Mike Smith era onward, and now continuing with James Landreneau as head coach, a lot of softball fans realize that McNeese softball is a quality program. Notoriety makes a big difference in Olympic sports, including softball, and McNeese raises the Southland softball level of notoriety significantly.
Middle Tennessee staying put in Conference USA
Here’s the cliff notes version of how MTSU entered – then exited – the realignment picture: Conference USA seems to be falling apart with nine teams leaving. MTSU and Western Kentucky form a sort-of alliance and explore the MAC as a realignment option. MAC decides they’re open to the possibility (more on that later, too). Conference USA seems to stabilize a bit. MTSU reconsiders and ultimately decides to stay where they are.
This one was a win for Conference USA. After hemorrhaging programs left and right for weeks, the league tried to sell the addition of four new teams as some kind of coup of their own; it wasn’t. What it did do, though, was momentarily stop the bleeding and help convince MTSU to stick it out where they are instead of following the realignment path. MTSU obviously believes that Conference USA still has a chance to survive – and maybe even thrive. MTSU softball won the CUSA tournament in 2018 and appeared in the NCAA tournament that year. The Blue Raiders aren’t in the neighborhood of what one might call “perennial contention”, but they’re a competitive team that is always in the hunt. Holding onto them is a positive for CUSA softball.
MAC holds strong at eleven softball teams
The MAC stayed out of the realignment fray through the lion’s share of the fall, only popping up as a possible landing spot for some remaining CUSA programs at the end of that league’s turbulent cycle of exoduses. The MAC was open to adding both Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee – the vote was unanimous among league highers-up, according to reports – but when MTSU backed out, the MAC opted not to upset the apple cart unnecessarily and held firm at their current strength. MAC softball is a ton of fun year-in and year-out and has some of the greatest parity in college softball. Adding two new teams to the fray would have added a new dimension, but the MAC were in a win-win situation either way.