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Don Owen: Without a conference, Thomas More prepares for difficult journey as an independent


Competing as an independent in the world of college athletics is a major challenge. Unless you’re Notre Dame football, it’s the equivalent of trying to sell winter coats in the Mojave Desert.

In fact, just putting a schedule together is an accomplishment for schools without conference affiliation. That’s why very few programs still retain independent status. It’s a tough road to navigate for many reasons. Membership in a conference is crucial, regardless if a program is NCAA or NAIA.

For the next year, Thomas More College will make that difficult journey as an independent at the NCAA Division III level. The Crestview Hills school gave its one-year notice of departure to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in 2017, with then-Thomas More president David A. Armstrong announcing at the time the Saints would “seek new partnerships which will enhance our strategic goals.”

Thomas More gave its one-year notice of departure to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in 2017. The Saints will compete as a Division III independent in 2018.

A year later, Thomas More is still without a conference in NCAA Division III. That will not be an issue next year, as Thomas More has been invited to join the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference.

Technically, Thomas More hasn’t accepted the invite as of yet and is still considering all options. But after spending a year as an independent in the NCAA, it’s likely the Saints will welcome the NAIA and the regional-friendly Mid-South Conference in 2019-20.

Why? Consider Thomas More’s upcoming football schedule. The Saints will make a pair of trips to Minnesota for games (at St. Scholastica on Oct. 20, and at Saint John’s to end the season on Nov. 10), not to mention visits to North Carolina Wesleyan, Emory & Henry and St. Lawrence (N.Y.).

Thomas More also has road games at Hanover and Huntingdon this fall, leaving the Saints with just three home games — Wisconsin-Platteville on Sept. 15, Muhlenberg on Oct. 13, and Lake Erie on Nov. 3.

Boosters and potential recruits might cringe at that schedule for many reasons, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the opposition. In fact, Huntingdon (9-2 record last season), Saint John’s (9-2), Muhlenberg (8-3), St. Scholastica (7-3) and Wisconsin-Platteville (7-3) figure to be formidable foes this season.

But once you get past Hanover, it’s difficult to look at the schedule and find something close to what you would consider a rivalry or a game of local interest. That doesn’t even take into consideration Thomas More isn’t playing for a conference championship this season. It definitely places the program in a tough position.

Some might blame Thomas More for pulling out of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference a bit prematurely, but there’s apparently much more to that story than has ever been told. A lot more. What, you ask?

Let’s just put it this way: Thomas More is much better off being away from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, a collection of schools that does not take athletics — at least, competing on a national scale — very serious.

Thomas More, on the other hand, relentlessly pursues championships, and its programs strive to succeed on the national level. The Saints won 57 PAC championships in 13 years and completely dominated the conference in several sports.

The women’s basketball team won back-to-back Division III national championships in 2015 and ’16, though the NCAA later forced Thomas More to vacate the ’15 title for using an ineligible player. Dating back to 2012, the Thomas More women posted 135 consecutive victories against PAC opponents on the court. And they didn’t win a bunch of last-second thrillers, either. Thomas More hammered the opposition in the PAC and cakewalked its way to 11 straight conference championships.

This past season, the Saints won conference games by an average score of 90-47. Yes, by an average of 43 points per game. Virtually every contest was over by the end of the first quarter.

Thomas More head coach Jeff Hans led the women’s basketball program to 135 consecutive wins against PAC opponents.

Thomas More’s women were outstanding, as evidenced by their regional championship and appearance at the NCAA Division III Final Four. The same can’t be said for the other women’s basketball teams in the PAC. Preparing for the NCAA Division III Tournament, you’d have to believe Thomas More would have preferred more competition than the PAC could offer. If a team is winning its conference games by an average of 43 points, it isn’t being adequately challenged.

But even more mind-boggling than the average score of those games is the fact PAC women’s basketball coaches selected someone other than Thomas More’s Jeff Hans as Coach of the Year this past season — and the previous three campaigns as well. Yes, you have to go back to the 2013-14 season to find the last time Hans was voted the top coach in the PAC. This despite the fact Thomas More never lost a conference game during that entire four-year period.

The PAC women’s basketball coaches apparently huddled together and decided, “Why give it to the obvious?”

Obviously, it was time for Thomas More to get away from the PAC. And as quickly as possible.

From an outsider’s point of view, I hope Thomas More accepts the invitation from the Mid-South Conference and joins the NAIA. As I pointed out in a column several months ago, there’s no additional prestige in being a member of the corruption-filled NCAA. Especially for a school that wishes to compete at a smaller level. The NAIA makes sense for Thomas More. So does the geography.

The Mid-South Conference features five schools from Kentucky — Georgetown, Campbellsville, University of the Cumberlands, Pikeville and Lindsey Wilson — along with Life (Ga.), Cumberland (Tenn.) and Shawnee State as full members. Instead of long trips to Pennsylvania for conference games, Thomas More would have natural rivals and easier travel in the Mid-South.

If you’re a Thomas More fan, the prospect of meeting Georgetown for meaningful conference games has to be more exciting than playing Chatham, Geneva or Grove City. Competing against Pikeville, Campbellsville, the Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson would also reap benefits for Thomas More. Familiarity in this case could produce big rivalries, something teams in the PAC could never do.

In the meantime, welcome to the Mojave Desert of college athletics, Thomas More. Hopefully it will be a short — but successful — journey, and a year from now we will be talking about a football schedule filled with Mid-South Conference opponents.

Enjoy your independence for a year, Thomas More, but don’t expect to sell many winter coats in that barren desert of self-sufficiency. The NAIA could offer an oasis of athletics bliss starting in 2019-20, and the Saints will likely be thirsting for conference affiliation when next year arrives.

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport


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One Comment

  1. Zamboni says:

    LOL anyone thinking the NAIA is a better place for anyone needs to get their head examined. The NAIA is a joke and you find basically zero serious ACADEMIC institutions playing there. But TMC long ago decided they wanted to be the big fish in a very small ocean and have done questionable things for years to achieve that goal. Good riddance!

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