Welcome to the SoConversation 2013 season debut – it’s season 3 of this online gathering of SoCon scribes – featuring The Citadel beat writer Jeff Hartsell of the Charleston Post and Courier, Elon beat writer Adam Smith of the Burlington Times-News and UTC beat writer John Frierson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
It has been one of the most interesting offseasons in SoCon history, with longtime football powers Appalachian State and Georgia Southern announcing that they’re headed to the Sun Belt Conference and Elon (with a bit less fanfare) announcing that it was going to the Colonial Athletic Association.
With those schools following the College of Charleston out the door, the SoCon eventually announced that Mercer was joining the league for the first time, while VMI and ETSU are returning to the fold.
As for actual football matters for the 2013 season, App State and Georgia Southern won’t be eligible for the league title or the FCS playoffs because they’ve already begun prepping for the move to the Bowl Subdivision and that means adding scholarships. Both will play with more than the FCS-limit of 63 this season.
While ASU and GSU can’t play for the title, games against them will be league games and affect the SoCon championship race. Should these be conference games, should ASU and GSU be in the Sports Network’s media top 25 poll (they’re not allowed in the coaches’ poll) and should games against them be viewed differently by the playoff selection committee?