UCA. Will the Bears step up or stumble in their first year of I-AA????

[Bearman88]

* After 15 years in the the GSC, (likely the toughest D2 conference in the country) are the UCA Bears ready to compete on the 1-AA level?
* 22 on 22, I think D2 programs like UCA, North Alabama & Valdosta State can compete with any 1-AA program. Quality of Depth is the question. In this first year will UCA have the depth to compete? It looks like the Bears had to take what they could get for this transition year schedule. Can UCA compete with Missouri State and on the road at Illinois State, Cal-Davis, and Georgia Southern?

[Mustang Man]

Cal-Davis


Anyone have a guess how long it will take Davis fans to find this thread? xcoffeex

[slostang]

Anyone have a guess how long it will take Davis fans to find this thread? xcoffeex
Anyone have a guess how long it takes MplsBison to respond to a Davis poster pointing out that it is UC Davis.

[*****]

...are the UCA Bears ready to compete on the 1-AA level......

welcome, Bearman88, to AGS. Those are four tough games for year one in I-AA.

[slostang]

* After 15 years in the the GSC, (likely the toughest D2 conference in the country) are the UCA Bears ready to compete on the 1-AA level?
* 22 on 22, I think D2 programs like UCA, North Alabama & Valdosta State can compete with any 1-AA program. Quality of Depth is the question. In this first year will UCA have the depth to compete? It looks like the Bears had to take what they could get for this transition year schedule. Can UCA compete with Missouri State and on the road at Illinois State, Cal-Davis, and Georgia Southern?
I think 22 on 22 the top DII teams could compete with the middle of the pack I-AA teams, but would have a hard time against the top teams of I-AA.

That being said, I think that UCA looks like a hell of a program with nice facilities and they are committed to competing in I-AA right away. Even if you stumble this year, I think that UCA has a bright future in I-AA.

[golionsgo]

* After 15 years in the the GSC, (likely the toughest D2 conference in the country) are the UCA Bears ready to compete on the 1-AA level?
* 22 on 22, I think D2 programs like UCA, North Alabama & Valdosta State can compete with any 1-AA program. Quality of Depth is the question. In this first year will UCA have the depth to compete? It looks like the Bears had to take what they could get for this transition year schedule. Can UCA compete with Missouri State and on the road at Illinois State, Cal-Davis, and Georgia Southern?

I think the very elite of D-II can "compete" with most I-AA schools but as far as having equal talent 22 on 22, you're probably talking more middle/lower scholarship I-AA. The D-IIs may have a couple of individuals here and there that are more talented due to easier entrance requirements but they're also more likely to have players they're trying to hide.

[*****]

welcome to I-AA! give those other Arkansas schools a shout out :)

[TexasTerror]

Welcome Bearman88 to the board!

Nice to have another SLCer on our board as this, the largest I-AA community out there, continues to grow...

Hope to see you on www.KatFans.com soon!

[BEAR]

The excitement is growing at UCA! More fans are coming out of the woodwork!

[JoshUCA]

The excitement is growing at UCA! More fans are coming out of the woodwork!
That is great to hear! Let's hope the excitement continues and we can put a lot of people in the stands at War Memorial Stadium come August 31!

[Pantherpower]

UCA folks,

A couple of questions: What's the capacity of your football stadium? Who is/was your biggest rival? What kind of town is Conway (is it a town that embraces the UCA and has a loyal fan following?) Thanks and welcome to I-AA!

P.S. It appears UNI rival MSU and former UNI coach/legend Terry Allen will be visiting Conway this September. It will be interesting to follow that game...

[Bear Fan 101]

Capacity is somewhere between 10-12 seating wise. Although after the speeches last night at the Purple Circle (booster club) Kick Off Dinner...they want 15K in the stands for the Missouri St. game as the first true home game in 1-AA.

Our biggest rival was Arkansas Tech, as of now I would have no clue who the new rival would be. I wont venture to guess who it will become.

UCA has a very loyal following, although with the road schedule this year, who knows if we will travel well. I still think some things could be done to energize our fan base in Conway, for starters, and then work themselves out from there. The U of Arkansas is still very strong in Conway, well all over the state since it is considered the only major university in the state, no matter what other school argues that point.

After last nights catfish dinner and hearing UCA's President, AD, and Head Coach speak, the excitement level has risen greatly.

[*****]

... What's the capacity of your football stadium?...Name of school University of Central Arkansas
City/Zip Conway, AR 72035-0001
Founded 1907
Enrollment 12,000
Nickname Bears
School colors Purple/Gray
Stadium Estes Stadium
Capacity 8,500
First year of sport 1908
All-time playoff rec./overall rec. 14-14-2 / 483-338-42
Years in NCAA Playoffs 2001, 2005
Last postseason appearance 2005 NCAA D-II Playoffs
Result beat Albany State 28-20; beat Presbyterian 52-28; lost 41-38 (ot) to No. Alabama
Overall record last year 11-3
Conference rec./place 8-1 (GSC champions)
Final ranking (poll) 6th in final AFCA poll
Basic offense Multiple
Basic defense 4-3
Letterwinners returning
Offense __17__ Defense __16__ Special __2__ TOTAL ___35___
Letterwinners lost
Offense __12__ Defense __10__ Special __2__ TOTAL ___24___
Starters returning
Offense __7__ Defense __8__ Special __2__ TOTAL ___17___

[Go...gate]

Good luck to the Bears as they commence their maiden voyage in I-AA!

[BEAR]

Capacity 8,500? More like 11k max. 8500 with room to put your drink down next to you...no. It's a dry county..it has to be a Mountain Dew..

[TexasTerror]

Thanks to our friends at UCAFans.com for providing these...

Home side of Estes Stadium...

http://www.ucafans.com/images/facilities/FootHome2B.jpg

Visitors side of Estes...

http://www.ucafans.com/images/facilities/FootVisitors.jpg

Scoreboard...

http://www.ucafans.com/images/facilities/FootScore.jpg

[*****]

Capacity 8,500? More like 11k...I only posted the official facts.

[Bear Fan 101]

http://www.ucafans.com/facilities/estes.php

8500 officially is kinda low. It will hold more than double digits in the seating area alone. Not sure why they still have it listed as 8500 officially. Oh well. I guess until we start drawing double digits game in and game out, year after year, it doesnt matter too much xcoffeex

[*****]

...8500 officially is kinda low...just saying what it sez, not 50% more than it sez... know what I mean? :)

[PantherRob82]

Our biggest rival was Arkansas Tech, as of now I would have no clue who the new rival would be. I wont venture to guess who it will become.


Missouri State could be a good OOC rival.

[Bear Fan 101]

I would think that with the relative closeness to one another, you are exactly right about Missouri St. I can also see SEMO as a rival. But that is for traveling purposes only. Maybe this Missouri St. home and home will turn into something, maybe it wont, I have no clue where things will go as far as rivals go. We may not even gain or forge a true rivalry with anyone until we have been in league play a couple of years either.

[JoshUCA]

I think the MO State would be a good rival...hopefully something will come of it!

[NC Aggie]

Anyone have a guess how long it will take Davis fans to find this thread? xcoffeex
University Farm
Cal Davis
Cal Aggies
UCD
University of California, Davis
UC Davis

Take your pick. Doesn't offend me.
Game against Stanford was billed as "Farm vs. Farm". Stanford is referred to as "down on the farm". There was farming around Palo Alto before they started growing silicon chips and rich liberals.

[putter]

NDSU and SDSU transitioned very well because of the quality of support they had when they came in. It sounds like UCA has that same support so I would think you will do well in your first few years.

[Purple Pride]

Our game v. SHSU has been changed to 10/19 and will be televised on FOX. Now all of our SLC friends can get a good look at us this year.

GO BEARS!!!!!!!

[BEAR]

YES!!!!

Bear football on Fox!



......great news for all Bear fans who can't make the trips this year! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

[JoshUCA]

Man that's GREAT news...too bad I don't have cable or a dish!:bawling:

[BEAR]

But your neighbor does............borrow it.......:eyebrow: xlolx

[TexasTerror]

Where can we get official confirmation on a UCA-SHSU game being televised?

[gr8ness97]

well the support that UCA is great, especially compared to the other new provisional school in 1-AA football (WSSU)...sounds like you guys are going to do well in the upcoming years