Updates have been few and far between as of late. I'll try to cover all the bases in this blog and make up for the prolonged absence.
* * *
The men's basketball team is bound for Texas this weekend when they play Houston Baptist on Saturday and follow that up with Texas State University - San Marcos on Monday. Based on an e-mail I got, there seems to be a bit of confusion regarding HBU and how we are able to play them based on the Sun Belt provisions related to sub-Division I competition in men's basketball. We are only playing one sub-Div I foe, that being our crosstown rival Loyola in January, as the SBC allows teams to play only one sub-Div I foe and that is, if they are a rival.
HBU is making the transition back to NCAA Division I from NAIA. While they did not count as a Division I foe last year and subsequently, did not face many Division I foes, they do count this year. The program is actually in the midst of suing the NCAA due to the lengthy transition period. They are attempting to get the NCAA to move the probationary period from seven years to three years. This would be a big win for the Huskies and the Great West Conference off the field of play if they can get it in their efforts in getting an NCAA automatic bid. Their most famous alum is Colin Montgomerie.
UNO last played the Huskies in 1973 in a series that started in 1969 with the Privateers holding a 4-2 mark against the school in Houston. And while we are discussing Saturday's contest, Wags will not be on WGSO due to the high school football championship game(s). Instead, he can be found on UNOPrivateers.com.
And who is this Texas State team? Well, it's not the Fightin' Armadillos from the movie Necessary Roughness. Instead, it is the school formerly known as Southwest Texas State. A Southland school, one of two on the schedule with Nicholls State. A few years ago, the school switched their name to Texas State University - San Marcos to get rid of the double-directional name. Sound familiar? It should. Our friends in Lafayette prefer to be known as the "University of Louisiana" instead of Louisiana-Lafayette or even further back, USL. Northeast Louisiana became Louisiana-Monroe. Well, you know how that goes.
* * *
Our other basketball team will be in Texas this weekend too, as the women face Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. The game is a homecoming of sorts for Ty Felder, who went to junior college at Angelina JC, which is located about 25 miles away from Nacogdoches. Playing and beating Texas teams is important for our squad, especially considering this is a prime recruiting area for us. This past fall when we signed Dmesha Hewitt out of the Houston area, represented the third straight year coach Champion has signed a Texas prep player following sophomore Kathy Kassabian and freshman Tylah Black. The Ladyjacks were once a perrenial power, going to the NCAAs every year from 1988 until 2002. The program has fallen off a bit, but they are not too be overlooked. UNO will look to stop a seven-game road losing streak and snap a five-game skid when it comes to games played in the Lonestar State.
Speaking of the women, in the field of sports information, we are all about the numbers. A few numbers I took away from the women's basketball win against Indiana State last week. The 42 points scored was the fewest ever in a Lady Privateer win. The previous mark of 47 was set against Mercer on Dec. 19, 2006. There have been three times when we scored 49 in a win, those contests against Tulane (Feb. 17, 1976), Spring Hill (Feb. 11, 1978) and Southern Miss (Jan. 6, 2003). Additionally, had the Sycamores not made a field goal with 12 seconds left, UNO would have set another school record for lowest field goal percentage alllowed. The school mark there is .196 by UT-Pan American on Feb. 27, 1988 when they made just 9 of 46 attempts from the field. ISU shot 11 of 55. Take away that one shot and you are looking at a .185 percentage.
Rounding out the women's basketball talk, this past weekend, was our women's basketball tournament with Tulane. Next year, we are also planning on co-hosting the Big Easy Classic with our crosstown rivals. Coach Champion is heavily involved at the national level within the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) and has plenty of coaches interested in bringing their teams to this great city. Throw in Tulane's Lisa Stockton, who has been around for awhile and the two have friends near and far. While we have not announced the teams publicly for next year, they both come from outside the region. If they are anything like Indiana State, they will bring a nice contingent of fans here and have a great time.
* * *
Coach Walter announced his fall baseball signings earlier today.
Stats are always nice to see at the high school and JUCO levels, but
this group has quite a few honors to their names as well. We have an
outfielder from Arizona, who was drafted twice by the Philadelphia
Phillies. Another, a Louisville Slugger All-American, who was also the
All-State MVP in Louisiana 3A baseball. One who is the state's No. 2
prospect and the seventh-ranked shortstop in the 2009 graduating class.
Also picked up the No. 3 prospect in the state and No. 49 prospect
nationally.
While those players will put on their UNO baseball
uniforms in spring 2010, if you missed it, UNOPrivateers.com has the
present team covered as well. Coach Walter did an interview with Wags
recently in the dugout at Maestri Field. You can catch that on the UNO
Media Player, found under the Multimedia tab above. The Privateer head
coach talks about the improvements at Maestri, covers fall ball, shares
a little on a possible line-up and has us all counting down the weeks
to first pitch. That first game will be Feb. 20 against Towson at 2
p.m. for those looking to circle their calendars.
* * *
The school-record 13 conference wins by our volleyball team was made more impressive as the Sun Belt Conference placed three teams into the NCAA tournament. Middle Tennessee and Florida International made the field as at-larges with Western Kentucky serving as the automatic qualifer. Middle Tennessee made it to the second round and were eliminated in five sets while the other two were eliminated in the opening round. A record amount of NCAA tournament teams for the SBC.
Coach Forman believes the conference is only going to get better. The league, if you recall, had a league-record seven teams reach the 20 win plateau. On the bright side, our volleyball program is improving along with the conference. Final RPIs will be out following the completion of the NCAA tournament and All-Louisiana teams should be out shortly as well. While there are plenty of accolades that we will share with you once the book is closed, there are a few more things to look forward to in the next few weeks. A new school record for final RPI should be amongst them with a possible selection or few to the All-Louisiana team.
Once it's all said and done, I'll write up an article with all the good news, which will provide the starting point for what we all hope will be an NCAA-bound season in 2009.
* * *
Believe we covered all the bases this go around. Feel free to submit anything you may want covered in this blog to me at jplotkin@uno.edu.
Inside the Athletic Department Index
