Central Arkansas coach Clint Conque wants to find out how his Bears match up with the state's other Division I football teams.
Central Arkansas vs. Arkansas? Conque sounds up for it.
"I would like to see all four of the Division I schools play," he said Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club.
Conque spoke for about 30 minutes, describing his team's progress in only its second Division I season. The Bears went 8-3 in 2006 and, after losing several key seniors, are 4-3 this year.
Central Arkansas plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly called Division I-AA. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is another FCS team, and Arkansas and Arkansas State play in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly called I-A. Conque would like those four schools to play on a rotating basis - he pointed out that major programs like Ohio State and Texas have been willing to play in-state opponents of less prestige.
"They're keeping their revenue in their state," Conque said.
Conque has spoken several times about the "food chain" in Arkansas, saying he understands the Razorbacks are the state's most popular team and he doesn't begrudge them that. Central Arkansas athletic director Brad Teague was on hand for Conque's speech Monday, and he said his school doesn't want to sound pushy about playing other top Arkansas teams.
"I don't want to force the issue too much, but I think we've kind of done that today," he said after Conque finished talking. "So we'll see what happens."
Conque also spent quite a bit of time talking about quarterback Nathan Brown, who is having a tremendous junior season for the Bears. Brown has completed 69 percent of his passes for almost 300 yards per game, with 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Two games ago, Brown threw for seven touchdowns in a win over Texas State, and Central Arkansas was featured during ESPN's top plays that night.
"ESPN showed all seven of those passes," Conque said. "Certainly that's very positive for our state, and unbelievable exposure for our school."