Rowing Joins Conference
5/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Rowing program, in just its fourth year as an NCAA Division I program, will compete in its first conference championship next weekend in conjunction with the South/Central Sprints.
"This is a great step for our program," UA head coach Larry Davis said. "Everybody on the team is excited about the idea, and certainly the coaching staff is excited about the idea."
Alabama and fellow Southeastern Conference program Tennessee along with Big 12 schools Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma will join, as affiliate programs, with member schools SMU, Tulsa and Central Florida to compete under the Conference USA banner.
"I think it's a good strong group," Davis said. "You've got some teams who have been in the NCAA before: Tennessee, Central Florida and Texas have gotten there before. As far as teams that are in the mix right now for NCAA slots, Tennessee is a strong contender and some of the other schools are close, Texas and Central Florida for example."
The Crimson Tide and the eight other teams will compete for conference titles May 15-16 at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
"Our goal in this first one is to finish in the top three which won't be an easy feat with the competition out there," Davis said. "One of the things that the team hasn't had up to this point is the ability to chase a conference championship. It will be a great motivator throughout the year, instead of just pushing along and seeing how we do, we'll have our sights set on specific teams and getting past them."
While this year's championship will be in held in concert with the South/Central Sprints, next year C-USA will host its championship as a separate event.
One reason for the move is that the NCAA Rowing Championship field, which is currently filled by at-large bids, will begin to extend automatic bids to select conferences in 2013. Joining C-USA gives not only a shot at an automatic NCAA bid, but a strong base of competition year-in and year-out.
Of the nine Conference USA rowing programs seven are over 10 years old, though none have clocked over 20 years. Only Alabama and Oklahoma have yet to see their fifth season. All nine are considered strong programs on the upswing.
"Any one of these teams in a given year can be tough," Davis said. "This year for example, Tennessee is a little bit ahead of some of the others, but between Texas, Central Florida, Oklahoma, Tulsa and our team there is certainly going to be a fight all the way down the river."
