An FCS sports expert said Tennessee Tech’s decision to join the Southern Conference will provide stability for the university’s athletic programs.
Kevin Marshall hosts FCS Nation. Marshall said being associated with Southern Conference schools can only help Tennessee Tech. Marshall said the Southern Conference is a model of stability in an unstable college athletic landscape.
“Everybody else in the country has wondered, ‘where’s my team gonna play football or basketball next year, or three years down the road, or five years down the road,'” Marshall said. “The Southern Conference, nobody has had to wonder that. They haven’t lost a member, and Tennessee Tech is the first college that they have added.”
Marshall said he imagines that the Southern Conference had a lot of choices to choose from when looking to add another member. Marshall said he believes the conference chose Tennessee Tech due to the university’s investments in athletics.
“Stadium construction is ongoing, hired a very competent and well-thought-of head football coach, basketball is on the upswing, baseball is important there,” Marshall said. “These are all things that are important to a league like the Southern Conference.”
Marshall said what people should know about the Southern Conference is that the conference has excellent college football. Marshall said the league has parity that other FCS conferences wonder at every year.
“People know who is in the Southern Conference,” Marshall said. “If you say a Southern Conference team, even mostly your average fan will know who’s in that league. Well, I mean, you would have to Google who is in the Big South OVC because of the way the people have come and gone here lately.”
Marshall said Tennessee Tech is the fifth member in recent years to leave the Ohio Valley Conference. Marshall said he believes joining the Southern Conference will help the university in recruiting and marketing.
“Anybody can beat anybody on any given Saturday,” Marshall said. “Other leagues have lip service to that, but really, the ninth-place team has no shot against a first-place team in most leagues. In the SoCon, that last-place team beats the first-place team with some regularity. The last time it happened was two years ago.”
Marshall said basketball is extremely competitive in the Southern Conference. Marshall said Southern Conference teams regularly win games in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Marshall said the Southern Conference is one of the top five best conferences for college baseball in America. Marshall said the level of play in the Southern Conference across all sports is comparable to the Ohio Valley Conference. However, Marshall said he believes teams in the Southern Conference are more consistent.
