6 Arkansas school likely to leave GSC

The departure of the six Arkansas schools from the Gulf South Conference looks to be on its way.
A statement released by the GSC Friday morning said that the process is ongoing, but no final decision has been made.
“Talks are progressing well among the Arkansas schools, with the expectation of creating a new conference,” the statement reads. “No final decision has been made, and an announcement is anticipated no later than August 1, 2010.”
If the news holds up, Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas Tech, Harding, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas will join several Oklahoma Schools, who are currently members of the Lone Star Conference, to form their own D-II conference.
However, despite the outcome, the schools will remain with GSC through the 2010-11 year. The following year, 2011-12, is up in the air. The schools have failed to meet the 392-day advance notice, which would subject them to penalties dealt by the conference.
Efforts to reach Delta State athletic director Jeremy McClain by press time were unsuccessful.
DSU football coach Ron Roberts stated Thursday that he would love for the Arkansas schools to stay, but the GSC would have to go on if they were to leave.
Arkansas schools, who have cited the distance and costs of travel to GSC schools as a reason for their possible departure, insist that the decision is not final, according to the Florence Ala. Times Daily.
“There are a lot of details to be worked out,” Arkansas Tech president Robert Charles Brown told the newspaper. “Forming a new conference is not an uncomplicated piece of business. Leaving a conference is not an uncomplicated piece of business. We have many, many friends in the (GSC) and we want to do everything we can to preserve those relationships and friendships.”