The San Antonio-Express News reported late Friday that Incarnate Word will officially join the Southland Conference.

The Express-News said sources close to the situation confirmed Incarnate Word will be offered — and accept — membership in the SLC on Monday.

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It also reported that decisions involving Abilene Christian University and the University of New Orleans will be made in the upcoming week.

The SLC released a statement on Thursday that its presidents met by teleconference that day, but had yet to make any decisions.

Jared Mosley, ACU’s director of athletics, said the SLC hadn’t notified ACU of any decision as of Saturday.

“I’m assuming they’re still in the process of figuring out what they want to do and the timing of all that,” Mosley said. “Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.”

Both Incarnate Word and ACU are members of the Lone Star Conference, which competes in NCAA Division II. New Orleans is a Division I independent.

The SLC is a Division I conference that competes in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Should ACU join the SLC, it wouldn’t be eligible for any conference titles or NCAA playoff berths for four years as part of the NCAA Division I transition process.

So if the Wildcats join the SLC for the 2013-14 school year, they wouldn’t be eligible to compete in the NCAA postseason until the 2017-18 school year. The same is true for Incarnate Word.

Wylie football season tickets on sale this week.

The Bulldogs, who open on Aug. 31 at Argyle, play their first of five home games Sept. 7 against Bridgeport.

By Abilene Reporter-News
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/aug/18/report-incarnate-word-officially-joins-slc-on/