LITTLE ROCK — UCA has unplanned open date
Central Arkansas is looking for an opponent again.
Last week, Tennessee-Martin asked to move next year's scheduled game with Central Arkansas to 2010. The game is a part of a four-game deal between the schools.
The Skyhawks had signed an agreement with Auburn and they needed to create an open date in 2008. So the Bears were left with an open date for next season.
"We're looking around," Central Arkansas Athletic Director Brad Teague said.
The Bears are looking at Tulane, Tulsa, Rice, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe as possible opponents, according to Teague.
"The problem is, right now, everybody is waiting to see if they can get a better deal," Teague said. "We should know something closer to the end of the season." Someday?
Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin said he'd be foolish to not think about one day moving from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A).
"First, we are very happy in the Southland Conference," Hardin said. "The Southland Conference is extremely competitive and it is very well run. We are very happy.
"However, I would be irresponsible as president if I totally precluded the thought of moving to D-I and playing home games at War Memorial Stadium."
Hardin said the school's location and growing enrollment make the possibility of one day going up in classification an attractive option.
"Plus, the difference between the athletic budget of a Louisiana-Monroe or a Louisiana-Lafayette and Central Arkansas is not that great," Hardin said. "That said, the comparison is not a perfect one, but the difference is probably only one or one-anda-half million dollars."
Additionally, UCA would have to find an FBS conference to accept it as a member.
"That's not a small thing," Hardin said.
Re-evaluation
Central Arkansas Coach Clint Conque said going into the 2007 season that he thought the Bears would be in a reloading phase.
After a 3-1 start in the Southland Conference, Conque has had to re-evaluate the plans for his squad.
"We're now looking at the possibility of going down to Lake Charles [La.] to play for a conference championship," Conque said.
If Central Arkansas defeats Nicholls State on Saturday night at Estes Stadium and then wins again in two weeks when it hosts Stephen F. Austin, it would travel to Lake Charles to play McNeese State for the conference title.
"We can't get ahead of ourselves and start thinking about that, but it is an exciting possibility," Conque said.
Home cooking
On Monday, Conque told a group at the Little Rock Touchdown Club that the instate teams should focus on playing each other first.
On Thursday, Central Arkansas decided to practice what it preaches. The Bears scheduled Henderson State for the opening game of the season in Conway.
Central Arkansas will host Henderson State at Estes Stadium on Aug. 28.
"We knew we wanted to play a Division II opponent and we decided that if we were going to ask [Arkansas and Arkansas State] to play us, we needed to play the smaller schools in state," Central Arkansas Athletic Director Brad Teague said.
Familiar foe
When Central Arkansas hosts Nicholls State on Saturday, it won't the be first time the Bears and the Colonels have faced one another.
In 2000, Clint Conque's first season at Central Arkansas, the Bears traveled to Thibodaux, La., to play the Colonels.
"I was the defensive coordinator then and they had a heck of a squad back then," Nicholls State Coach Jay Thomas said.
The Bears were still an outmatched NCAA Division II team playing an NCAA Division I-AA team. Central Arkansas jumped out to a 44-24 lead before giving up 28 fourthquarter points in a 52-44 loss to the Colonels.
UAPB Having their number
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division with a 1-4 conference record, but the Golden Lions should have Jackson State's undivided attention Saturday if the recent past is any indication.
The Tigers, whose 4-1 conference record has them tied for the East Division lead with Alabama A&M, have lost their past two games against the Golden Lions.
UAPB routed Jackson State 64-36 on the road in 2005 and came back from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to pull out a 43-40 victory last year at Golden Lion Stadium.
The teams will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss. It is the Tigers' homecoming game.
QB shuffle
Arkansas-Pine Bluff senior quarterback Chris Wallace started last week against Alabama A&M, but junior Johnathan Moore will get the nod Saturday at Jackson State.
Wallace, who threw an interception and fumbled on the Golden Lions' first two possessions last week, finished 6 of 21 passing for 65 yards and was sacked 7 times.
Moore, who relieved Wallace in the second half, didn't fare much better. He completed 3 of 10 passes for 56 yards with 1 interception and was sacked twice.
Anthony still out
Arkansas-Pine Bluff junior defensive end Ledarius Anthony, who led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in sacks through five games, likely won't be back in the lineup until the Nov.
3 homecoming game against Prairie View A&M.
Anthony has missed the past two games with a broken right hand and a broken finger on his left hand.
Around the SWAC
Grambling State is the only conference team to be ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll at No. 21, but the Southwestern Athletic Conference does have four teams ranked in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) poll. Grambling State is No. 2 followed by Alabama A&M (third), Southern University of Baton Rouge (sixth) and Jackson State (ninth).
...Jackson State's 30-20 loss to Grambling State last week snapped a four-game winning streak. Jackson State dropped into a tie for the East Division lead with Alabama A&M. .... Grambling State has a twogame lead over Southern in the West Division. The Tigers play three of their final four games on the road.
Sports, Pages 30 on 10/26/2007