Speaking of the Southland

The NCAA had a decision to make this week regarding the Division I Football Championship game.

Would Chattanooga, Tenn., the host for the last 13 years retain their hosting duties or could Frisco, Texas earn the rights to host the game?

Around mid-day, a [url=http://www.southland.org/ViewArticle.dbml?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400&ATCLID=204896128]press release from the NCAA[/url] began to circulate with the lead of, "Frisco, Texas, has been selected as the new host site for the NCAA Division I Football Championship game."

It was official, we have a new home for the game!

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Both bid communities were able to make their final pitch to the Division I Football Championships Committee on Thursday and the verdict was clear on Friday - the game was heading to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.

Though not much is known about the final presentations at this time, what is known is that Frisco will host the game at the conclusion of the next three seasons, starting on Jan. 7, 2011. The NCAA also further confirmed that the postseason tournament will expand from 16 teams to 20 teams.

According to John Frierson of the [url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/26/title-game-headed-frisco/]Chattanooga Times Free Press[/url], "From the beginning of the bidding process, Frisco was regarded as a frontrunner to land the game because of its picturesque stadium and the high number of large corporations in the Dallas metropolitan area."

While this blog may have felt that Frisco should be perceived as the frontrunner, the odds were not as favorable as Frierson may lead one to believe.

Chattanooga was the incumbent in this 'title fight' and from the get go, it seemed as 'Team Frisco' would have to prove themselves the part of the worthy candidate since Chattanooga's record as a host was already clear.

Could Frisco do that? And what would Chattanooga add to the table to help keep the bid intact?

To prove their worth, 'Team Frisco' launched [url=http://www.collegefootballfrisco.com/]http://www.collegefootballfrisco.com[/url], a web site geared to showing the interest by fans locally, regionally and across the nation in supporting the game, should it land in Frisco. All indications are that the response was strong.

With only four members of the decision-making committee visiting Frisco during a site visit, the pressure was on 'Team Frisco' to tout their facilities and other offerings

"We talked about the growth in our community, the great things we have going on, our leadership, the expansion of business, and obviously we talked about our facility and support staffs and some of the other things we can provide," said Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

At the end of the day, mission accomplished.

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[b] Southland Conference Quick Hits[/b]

• Bobcat Stadium could soon lose its track and field complex. According to a recent [url=http://www.twitter.com/txstatebobcats]Twitter post[/url] by the Texas State athletic department, "The process has begun to start work as early as this summer on the construction of a new T&F facility located east of Bobcat Stadium." Removing the facility from the stadium will allow the school to expand the football stadium and bring fans closer to the action.

• Nicholls State head coach Charlie Stubbs [url=http://geauxcolonels.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/022410aaa.html] announced the additions[/url] of Chuck Hepola and Keith Uperesa to his first coaching staff. According to Stubbs, "Both of these guys have coached with me in the past and will have an easy transition because of it."