UNA will soon be in a bind when it comes to making schedules for its athletic teams. As of July 1, 2011, six Arkansas schools will create a new athletic conference with three schools from the state of Oklahoma. The six Arkansas schools all have athletic programs that are soon to be former members of the Gulf South Conference (GSC).

Arkansas Tech, Arkansas-Monticello, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, and Southern Arkansas have all decided to take their athletics out of the GSC. This means that the remaining members must decide what to do when it comes to creating athletic schedules since the GSC will not have as many teams. One possible option is to invite new teams into the GSC in order to repopulate.

“It is important to repopulate the conference,” said UNA Athletics Director Mark Linder. “The reason you belong to a conference is for scheduling purposes and for championships. That’s the main reason why you affiliate with conferences, so you don’t have to go out and schedule all of your intercollegiate athletic programs as an independent.”

In order for the GSC to repopulate it would have to invite new schools that are currently in the NAIA or Div. III, but many of these teams are not close to UNA geographically. The GSC has made a scheduling alliance with the Lone Star Conference (LSC) for the 2011 season.

The other major option is to go Div. I. If UNA made the move the football team would probably join the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) while the other sports would simply be Div. I. If this road is taken, it will mean several changes for UNA athletics.

UNA would have to receive an official invite from a Div. I conference in order to join. If UNA joins a Div. I conference, it would have to undergo a four-year reclassification period. During this period UNA athletics would not be allowed to compete for any championships. The school would also have to pay an application fee of $1.3 to $1.4 million at the beginning of the process.

As far as the Div. I conference goes, the two that are closest to UNA are the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and the Sun Belt Conference. The OVC is in the FCS while the Sun Belt is in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The OVC is probably the best bet for UNA because of the distance of the conference member schools from UNA.

“Of the seven schools that remain in the Gulf South Conference, the average one-way trip is 242 miles,” said Linder. “In the OVC average one-way travel is 246 miles. That’s with 11 schools compared to seven.

UNA would also have to add two new sports if the move to Div. I is made.

“There are two or three sports we’re looking at,” said Linder. “Women’s golf I think would be popular in this area. I think we should probably take a look at women’s bowling. It’s an emerging sport. It would be in our best interest to add two women’s sports for Title IX reasons. We need to make sure we our addressing the needs of the underrepresented gender.”

The school would also have to increase its athletic budget in order to be competitive in Div. I. The current sporting facilities are good enough to make the switch, but some improvements may be needed.

“Every facility we have now is good for Div. II., so it could function as a Div. I facility,” said Linder. “Whether we stay Div. II or go Div. I we need to improve our facilities. The tennis courts, we need to improve them. We need to get a soccer locker room. We need to expand our weight room. As far as the number of seats for spectators, we won’t have to add.”

UNA would also have to meet the regulations of the Academic Performance Rate (APR). APR is a performance test on Div. I schools that rates the graduation rate of student athletes at the school. If any school in question does not have a graduation rate of 50 percent or above, the school will be penalized.

One major positive of a possible move to Div. I may lie in the level of support shown by boosters and fans. Brad Alsup, a former UNA kicker and member of the ’93, ’94 and ’95 Lions Div. II National Championship teams is in favor of the move. He said that UNA could renew old rivalries against Jacksonville State and former GSC member Tennessee-Martin if the move occurs.

“The game between UNA and Jacksonville State used to be as big as Auburn and Alabama in Florence,” said Alsup. “If UNA goes Div. I, I would make every effort to attend the football games, and I hope other alumni would do the same. I would make a special effort to attend the first game.”