Presbyterian Headed to Big South?

[Sly Fox]

Trolling around the Division II boards tonight I stumbled across the following thread on Presbyterian College considering stepping up to I-AA and likely the Big South:

d2football.com/board/index.php?showtopic=7217

Bottom line, the PC Board of Trustees supposedly has a vote to make up their mind on stepping up next summer on July 25th.

I'd just like to have them make up their minds one way or the other. If they are coming, let's get the process underway. If not, let's move on.

[coastal89]

They would definitely help with our football SOS. Chuck South might not like it though. PC whooped em 48-0 this year.

[PAmedic]

Anybody that can compete would be welcome- but it won't help the BSOUTH in the near future anyway. My vote: get 'em in and KEEP PLANNING for the future growth of the conf.

[bigsmooth]

i am totally down with PC, as i have said before. they come from a great DII conference, and they really fit into the big south's geographical foot print. i agree with sly, make your decision and let's move on!

[bigsmooth]

I have always wondered what a "blue hose" is, so here is some general information on PC nad what a blue hose is!

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
CLINTON, SC
EST 1880
ENROLLMENT- 1,200
DII- South Atlantic Conference
13 varsity sports offered

WHAT'S IN A NAME

This is from Ray Frank’s book “What’s in a Nickname.” “It has been asked many times where Presbyterian College received it’s nickname, Blue Hose. Several rumors exist. One story has it that the Presbyterian Scotch-Irish wore blue stockings in the Puritan beginnings of our country. Another says that a fierce war-like band of Scotch-Irish named the Hose painted their entire bodies blue before going into battle. Yet, probably the true story lies in a letter dated June 15, 1935, written by then athletic director Walter Johnson to an inquiring English professor in Virginia...[quoting from Walter Johnson’s letter] ‘It was about the second or third year, 1915, if I remember right, Stockings. I think it happened this way: I changed uniform colors to blue, wearing blue stockings and jerseys, and some sports writer started calling in his articles the Presbyterian College teams the Blue Stockings.’ ...In later years “Stocking” became abbreviated to “the Hose,” particularly in newspaper headlines, and was more or less officially adopted by the student body in the late 50’s.


From the 1996 PC football media guide (quoting from Hammett): “Johnson always insisted on the fact that his players wore long blue socks similar to stockings (after all, there were White Sox and Red Sox in baseball). Coach Johnson’s explanation may simply be coincidental to the fact that the phrase “Blue Stocking Presbyterian” goes back informally quite a few years in the denomination’s history.”

From the Oxford English Dictionary: “bluestocking” usually associated with overly-intellectual women, traces back to those who attended salons in England. There is some mention of the Bluestocking Parliament convened by Cromwell in 1653. According to Charles Coker’s (a retired professor), however, this parliament was not in fact Presbyterian, as the Presbyterians had been ejected from Parliament by Pride’s Purge in 1648. He cites Antonia Fraser’s “ Cromwell: The Lord Protector” (pp.431-50), W.S. Churchill’s “A History of England” (p.416), and the Oxford University Dictionary on Historical Principles (p.194b.1.a).

In an article by Walter Lingle (former president of Davidson and Presbyterian Scholar), published in the Christian Observer on Feb. 22, 1956 where he discusses the origins of the term Blue Stocking Presbyterians. He says that an early connection of Presbyterianism with the word blue or true blue occurs in Samuel Butler’s “The Presbyterian Knight,” where he speaks of “Presbyterian true blue.”

[Sly Fox]

Is that the "Big Train" Walter Johnson? If so, color me impressed.

[krh44]

I thought this comment from the Presbyterian message board was interesting


Your timeline is about right. One of your assistant coaches told me that they could be playing a full blown Big South schedule by 2008. I asked him how big a crowd he thought Liberty would draw. He almost choked on his cheeseburger laughing! My point was then, and is now, that you are going to have to sell your opponents in the Big South to your fanbase.

Ahh ...fall is in the air in Clinton. The smell of the hotdogs, the crunch and bang of pads colliding under a clear crisp blue Carolina sky, the PC cheerleraders exorting the Presbyterians in blue to smite the Jerry Falwell Baptists

[Sly Fox]

We outdraw them on our worst days. They can laugh all they want but they'll ultimately draw better playing in the Big South than the SAC.

[coastal89]

this is from the PC boards today.

PCguy09 Today, 12:25 PM

Big South officials visited the school today

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for the heads up. Its good to see they are doing SOMETHING.

[ATrain]

In addition to football, I noticed PC plays softball as well...and with Texas A&M CC joining the Southland for all sports (including softball after their agreement with us is up), the Big South is going to need another school for that auto-bid.

Also, IMO, it was a mistake to not let Texas A&M CC join us in all sports. I mean, I know they don't have football, and I know it may be a strain on a few schools' travel budgets b/c they're a bit far (but then again, so is Birmingham-Southern), BUT they would vastly improve the conference in all sports.

[Sly Fox]

A&M-Corpus Christi had ZERO interest in joining the Big South. They have been focused on the Southland all along. And by the way, they are the process of beginning to develop a football program.

But point well taken on the softball auto-bid. PC also just spent a ton of money on a new baseball setup that is extremely cool.

[bigsmooth]

we do not need TAMCC. alabama is far enough for a footprint of a small DI league. the big south's focus should be on adding football members, and if those schools want to be a full member, then that should be explored.

[Sly Fox]

Here is a tasty little rumor that is probably completely false. But it is interesting nonetheless:

Another Bee smokescreen? The guy is amazing. He's got reporters at The State chasing down rumors that PC may get a shot at SoCon membership. According to the unsubstantiated rumor, a current SoCon member may be interested in moving to the Big South. That would open up a slot for the Blue Hose. It may be another ruse by the publicity magician of Clinton-or maybe not. There is that "East-West thingie".

d2football.com/board/index.php?showtopic=7755

The author apparently is a local newspaper writer who uses the name NavyandGold on the D2football board. The Bee referenced is PC AD "Bee" Carlton.

It doesn't take a genius to guess which school they are implying would like to head to the Big South. Elon's move to the SoCon has been disappointing to say the least. But i still think this is just wishful thinking on behalf of the PC folk.

[rokamortis]

I don't think there is any way in hell that Elon comes back to the BSC. I guess it is possible but they couldn't get out of here fast enough. I guess El Cid could ditch all of the history and prestige of the SoCon and possibly move to the BSC to stay with VMI and the ability to schedule as many I-A $$$ games they like in a season.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Hey Sly, I noticed you mentioned something on the Div II board about 60 schollies being a big jump for CSU, but as of last year, CSU has had a full Div I-AA scholarship load from what I understand...

Here's a link to a story from their site when they signed 34 players two years ago to get to the point where they 'operate at the full equivalency of scholarships for NCAA Division I-AA football.'

csusports.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=336

[Sly Fox]

I began a whole thread on the Elon board about whether they regret leaving the Big South for the SoCon:

www.elonfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=566

It generated 56 replies. The consensus is that they are glad they moved over, but they realize they are in over their heads. Some are quick to admit they miss the competition in the Big South.

I hadn't thought about The Citadel. That does make some sense on several fronts.

[Sly Fox]

WEF - It appears you are correct. I guess that slipped between the cracks.

[WinthropEagleFan]

sumner said:

I began a whole thread on the Elon board about whether they regret leaving the Big South for the SoCon:

www.elonfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=566

It generated 56 replies. The consensus is that they are glad they moved over, but they realize they are in over their heads. Some are quick to admit they miss the competition in the Big South.

I hadn't thought about The Citadel. That does make some sense on several fronts.

Though the Citadel fanbase would probably never go for it....they feel that they should move up to I-A someday. But who knows...