{"id":154374,"date":"2025-11-11T15:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?p=154374"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:58:17","slug":"hbcu-power-move-causes-ncaa-playoff-contender-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/11\/hbcu-power-move-causes-ncaa-playoff-contender-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCU power move causes NCAA playoff contender controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A decision by Kentucky State University \u2014 an HBCU \u2014 to change its final regular-season opponent has sparked controversy in NCAA Division II football. It has also exposed cracks in one of the sport\u2019s once-proud leagues.

Kentucky State (8-2), currently No. 6 in NCAA Super Region Two, was originally scheduled to travel to face Delta State (7-3, ranked No. 7) in a pivotal Week 11 matchup. However, the school has amended its schedule to instead host Shorter University <\/a>\u2014 prompting Delta State\u2019s head coach Todd Cooley to blast the move in an article published by Football Scoop<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re supposed to be coming to Cleveland this weekend to play us, and they\u2019re not. They\u2019re playing Shorter,\u201d Cooley said. <\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s setting a precedent that shouldn\u2019t be set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HBCU conference had an agreement in 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision is not without precedent. In fact, it stems from a formal agreement between the HBCU-based Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the emerging Conference Carolinas league. The two conferences signed a football scheduling alliance in December 2023 that ensured non-championship-qualifying teams would face off in Week 11 to boost NCAA postseason resumes and avoid long, costly trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per the agreement, participating schools must be above .500, must not exceed 11 regular-season games, and cannot be required to travel more than 500 miles. With other Conference Carolinas options out of range or ineligible, 2-8 Shorter was selected to face Kentucky State.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dr. Anthony Holloman addresses crowd at SIAC football media day. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

SIAC Commissioner: This was strategic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SIAC Commissioner Dr. Anthony Holloman was clear: the decision was about protecting student-athletes and maximizing playoff potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the commissioner of the SIAC, I am an unapologetic advocate for my member institutions,\u201d Holloman said. \u201cWe want to play for championships. And we want to get as many deserving teams in the NCAA playoffs as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pushed back on accusations that Kentucky State was dodging competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t about playing the worst team,\u201d Holloman added. \u201cWe created this partnership to avoid what Kentucky State and Delta State had initially agreed to. Kentucky State would\u2019ve been on the bus for eight hours. This was a strategic decision, not a malicious one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gulf South conference on the ropes <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The conflict also shines a light on the Gulf South Conference\u2019s shrinking footprint. Once a powerhouse in D2 football, the GSC has been decimated by realignment and NCAA Division I transitions. It now features only four football-playing members: Delta State, Valdosta State, West Alabama, and West Florida.

With just three conference opponents, Delta State\u2019s path to a strong strength of schedule and quality wins is increasingly narrow \u2014 making the canceled Kentucky State game sting even more. Especially after it lost 27-23 to Valdosta State after being up 21-3 on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HBCU league continues to innovate <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Both Kentucky State and Delta State remain playoff hopefuls. But instead of settling it on the field, committee members will now have to weigh strength of schedule, context, and optics \u2014 including whether a contracted matchup could or should have occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is clear: in the ever-shifting world of NCAA D2 football, conference alliances, HBCU strategy, and realignment realities are colliding \u2014 and everyone is watching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kentucky State is being accused of ducking Delta State. But a deeper look reveals the HBCU conference made a strategic move while a D2 power waning is in a weak spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.136,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.6785,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.85,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.2,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.9,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.27,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.02,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.47,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573635379,573627535,573627541],"tags":[573627544,573627534,6605744,6012206],"class_list":["post-154374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-hbcu-football","category-football","category-siac","tag-featured","tag-hbcusports","tag-kentucky-state","tag-siac"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHBCU power move causes NCAA playoff contender controversy - HBCU Gameday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The SIAC, an NCAA Division II conference made up of HBCU programs, made a strategic move that has sparked a controversy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/11\/hbcu-power-move-causes-ncaa-playoff-contender-controversy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HBCU power move causes NCAA playoff contender controversy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The SIAC, an NCAA Division II conference made up of HBCU programs, made a strategic move that has sparked a controversy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/11\/hbcu-power-move-causes-ncaa-playoff-contender-controversy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HBCU Gameday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T20:58:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T20:58:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Untitled-design-9.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steven J. 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