.It is interesting to note that two schools were offered a chance to join this new ECC above - Southern Utah and Oral Roberts, both declined at the time and remained independents. Soon after the new ECC started both schools would contact me and wanted to join, ECC members decided to wait and see how the six would work. Had they joined earlier in the process they would have avoided several years of being an independent. The funny thing about all of this, both Southern Utah (*updated SU will be leaving to join Big Sky) and Oral Roberts are now solid members of the Summit League.

Now the real success from this story…Buffalo. Nelson Townsend the AD at Buffalo was a big reason all of this happened with the ECC. He knew the importance of keeping his school in a conference. Nelson was a very positive person who understood all aspects of what was happening, not having a conference was not an option for him. Over the years when we would talk he would thank me for all of my help and gave me a lot of credit, but it was Nelson who kept me working hard to make it work. Several years after the ECC-Mid-Continent merger Mid-Con Commissioner Jerry Ippoliti would accept the same position with the Mid-American Conference. Shortly after that the MAC expanded and you guessed it, Buffalo becomes a member of the MAC. The relationship between Ippoliti and Townsend turned out to be a key in the move for Buffalo. From almost having no conference ties to joining an established and well respected conference like the MAC was all due to the opportunity to remain in a conference, even one that was not “perfect“.

Having been involved with the ECC is one of the main reasons I enjoy working with conferences, especially those with obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. I have heard so many times there is no way this will work or we don’t like this or we don’t like that about the set-up. I often give the ECC example above to say, “if it was a perfect solution you probably wouldn’t be talking with me.” The key is to make it work while looking for that “perfect” solution or making what you end up with work for your school. I have seen to many schools who kept waiting for the perfect solution, only to see later that it never came or they end up doing the same thing years after being offered the opportunity. This is where the old line really is true, “you snooze you lose” , passing up on a viable option can often come back and haunt you. This is true both for high schools and colleges. The last thing you want to be is an independent, ask any school that has gone through that for several (or many) years.

The newest “it’s not perfect” conference in D1 is the Great West Conference which is associated with the Summit League. You have to admire current Commissioner Ed Grom for working to give these student-athletes an opportunity to play in a conference. The GWC allows these student-athletes a chance to ear all conference honors and a conference title, something most of these schools had nott been able to do in the past. There are still many hurdles for the GWC but I am sure down the road we still see many benefits for the current members, most who were independents for several years. The concept of the GWC is working including adding associate members to fill-in spots where the conference needed help. The GWC may face a tough battle of holding onto members are recruiting new ones. One problem they face is the new process for a school to enter D1 and the higher NCAA yearly fees. Plus the upcoming expansion plans of the Big 10 (11) and the PAC 10 is sure to cause a lot of shuffling that may open spots for current GWC members. But you would have to agree the GWC is serving a purpose for all of it’s current members… an opportunity to be a part of a conference. Good for the GWC!

Should your school or conference be facing membership issues in the future, before turning down an option that is “not perfect” consider how you might be able to turn “lemons into lemonade”.