Quote from: sigma one on March 24, 2013, 07:27:43 PM
I'm pretty sure at Oberlin, as at most other DIII schools, athletic departments don't operate independently when it comes to fundraising.  The key is to have buy in and strong favorable voices at the Board of Trustee and Presidental level, and from faculty too--at least so that they do not actively oppose the projects.  An athletic department can't just decide to raise funds; they would have to persuade the powers that be that fund raising and new facilities will benefit the institution.  Many schools make the case that new facilities will not be entirely for intercollegiate athletics, that they will be useful for club sports, intramurals, and recreation.  Good luck to Oberlin.  I hope that they are able to see that facilities are a good bargain.
     I did visit Oberlin a couple of years ago for the NCAC outdoor track and field championship meet and thought that the track and field and indoor facilities were pretty nice.  That's no consolation for those interested in football and other sports, but it's a start.

Yeah the track is very nice. I think the soccer field, even if it is grass, is very nice as well.

The indoor facilities - tennis courts, indoor track, basketball gym - are all nice.

What is lacking - football field and stadium; weight room; baseball seating; field hockey everything. I think if the football field were to be renovated (add field turf, renovate the stadium and locker rooms, and add visitor seating and lights) then more support would be seen and it would boost recruiting. Also, although some minor changes have been made to the gym, more equipment for varsity athletics is needed - possibly a completely alternate weight room for varsity athletics. This would not only bolster recruiting, but also get the student-athletes to push harder.

Quote from: FightinScot on March 22, 2013, 02:44:45 PM
Saw this today - seems relevant to past discussion re: Oberlin facilities. Raising almost 3/4 of a million dollars at a HS level seems pretty impressive, though I don't know enough about fundraising to compare with anything.

http://www.goyeo.com/news/2013/3/22/HC_0322131612.aspx

Thoughts? Might as well get an Oberlin opinion while we've got one!

I like it! I mean, it's better than what we have had thus far. He's proven himself at the high school level and has done fairly well at Case during his 12 year stint there. I hope he can get some money for the football program. The facilities desperately need a facelift.

Haha I might be mistaken. Although, I don't think we had 1,000 fans at any of our games, except homecoming of course. And even then, 1,000 is a only a maybe.

Wally, coach Ramsey stopped wearing the tie on the sidelines after my freshman year. Idk why he changed it up. I liked the look.

As to the attendance, there is absolutely no way we get over 500 at our games. If I remember correctly, against Case, we only had like 100 in the stands. Sort of depressing.

I agree with formerd3db about the passion for tradition. I love the history Oberlin has in regards to its football program. To talk about any kind of success, you have to go back 50 years or so haha but I love the story of us being the last team in Ohio to beat Ohio state. They're lucky we felt bad for beating them all the time and stopped scheduling them lol

In all seriousness though, I do wish something was renovated - whether it's the mediocre weight room that the college students use (we have to use it to and wait for them to finish lifts so we can lift), the stadium seating, the press box, the grass field to synthetic turf, the entire athletic facility..... Something. As time passes, and all of our rival schools are advancing their facilities, it's time to compete with them and upgrade as well. In addition to competing, it helps recruiting and boosts morale of the entire department if the athletic facilities were upgraded a little bit.

Hey everyone,

Sorry, my computer has been all messed up over the past week or so =/ I have been meaning to get back on here to talk with you all more.

I am glad everyone understands where I was coming from with the issue of support for the football team, and athletics department in general, at Oberlin. When I mentioned that the administration is more interested in the liberal aspect of the education and school community, I think it came off the wrong way. I meant that the interests of many of the students lack athletics, especially football, because of their perception of us. Many of them view football players as the stereotypical "jock", somewhat similar to Boobie Miles from Friday Night Lights - and I am not kidding you. Many students actually believe that we are 'on scholarship' and can't read. Even though that sounds ridiculous, its somewhat saddening because its obvious that we earned admission to Oberlin, and that we have a lacking relationship between the athletics department and general student body. Coach Ramsey attended and played football at UC-Davis during the 1970s (oh what a hippie he still is!), and he offers insight on how to win the support of the student body, by offering support to them. I am hopeful that support from both ends start and that the student body and athletics department aren't so divided in the upcoming years. Oberlin is becoming less and less "hippie" every coming year. My freshman year, the school was pretty out there when it came to extreme liberals (I am talking 'fregans', acts of artistic expression through drawing on a canvas using dyed vomit, etc.). By the time my 5th year came around, the extremity of such acts kind of lessened and the perspective, whether its social or political, has become more moderate and level.

The administration attempts to show support at times, but they do nothing to support us in comparison with schools like Wabash, Witt, and even Wooster and Kenyon. Look at Kenyon's athletic facility - its insane compared to Oberlin's. We still play in the same stadium with the same stands that the players from the 1800s played in. At least it feels that way. Our locker room smells like urine and body odor. It's just so run down, and kind of embarrassing after traveling to other schools and staying in their facilities and locker rooms. The athletics department at Oberlin definitely takes a backseat to everything else. I wish the school would realize that if some assistance was given to the football team, and success was seen on the field, so many positives would come from it. Coaches from Oberlin wouldn't call a player from Amherst (a school ten minutes down the road) and explain to him that there is a good football team and institution ten minutes from him that is highly interested in him to attend there. Oberlin is only known for its education and conservatory, which is perfectly fine. But, the school has 750 million dollars in endowment funds, throw a little something to athletic programs so that athletics aren't a joke anymore. I think that with a little financial support from the school, the football team would be able to recruit more and attract more and better high school players to go there. As of now, our recruiting is a joke compared to other schools, and its not because of the lack of work of the coaches, its because they don't have the personal funds to drive and fly around the country to recruit. I will never forget walking into the gym at like 945PM and seeing Coach Estep making himself dinner and coffee. I asked what he was up to and he said he's going to start making calls to CA recruits and is then going to send out emails. He would constantly sleep in the office overnight from his dedication to recruiting. He, along with Ramsey, would recruit as hard as possible, and still only bring in 7 freshman (2010). It's not the coaches, I can tell you that much.

I feel like I am bitching - sorry haha this is five years of frustration coming out right now.

As for Sigma's question about the "slots" - yes the NESCAC still offers these slots. My little brother was offered a "slot" to Bowdoin and basically committed through that process.

And to touch on student-athletes filling a large portion of the incoming class, such as Wabash, it wouldn't matter if the school had football or not. I honestly don't understand how football hasn't been ceased at Oberlin. No administrative support, no student body support, no financial support from the administration or alumni (anecdotal evidence, of course), so there isn't any reason the keep the football team, other the it offers more diversity to such an already diverse campus.

Again, thank you to everyone who has congratulated on our win this past Fall against Wabash. It really does suck that Witt beat the hell out of us the next week haha

Thanks for the welcome formerd3db and sigma one.

I agree with everyone's input and opinions about the problems with Oberlin football. Sigma, thanks for recognizing the talent we had.

Ramsey does recruit really hard and so did Coach Estep (off. Coord). Other than the both of them, up until this offseason, we haven't had any other coaches recruiting, which is an obvious problem. Coach Estep is a great recruiter - he came to my house in South Florida, ate up my moms home cooked Cuban food, and sold himself and the school. He and coach Ramsey are great coaches and recruiters, but it takes more than two to be successful in recruiting.

As for the administration, they could care less about athletic success. They are so involved in the liberal perspective of the school and the academic prestige that athletics take a backseat. They haven't helped with admissions policies in my 4 and a half years at Oberlin and I don't see them being any more lenient in the future. There is only so much coach Ramsey and coach Estep can do when admissions only admits less than 25% of the prospective players (according to their anecdotal evidence). I wish the administration would get on board.

Although, I do believe that if another surprising win occurs, such as Wabash this past year, then there could be some positive movement. I received multiple emails from some administration personnel after the Wabash game congratulating me - the first time I have ever gotten any sort of acknowledgement from anybody who isn't in te athletic department. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel that if wins like Wabash occur a little more often, administration might realize the importance of the athletics department, especially football.

The one factor that debilitates the administration from becoming more on board with football is the non-athlete student body. The students are very liberal and don't like athletics for the most part - in actuality, they don't want any association with us for the most part. Sucks, but if that can turn around a little bit, in accordance with a few more big wins, administration might actually back the football program.

I know most of you guys are Wabash fans, but I just want to let you all know how meaningful that win this past year was. As I mentioned previously, I was the QB for Oberlin. We had a tough four years because of injury and lack of depth and talent, but we worked as hard as any other team in te country - whether it was 7 AM workouts, late night film sessions Sunday-Thursday, early morning film sessions all week, and hours in the gym. That one win made my career, along with numerous other careers. I sympathize with Wabash fans because of the tradition and expectations you possess (I am familiar with the mentality of a Wabash-like program, as I played at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, FL), but I just want you guys to realize the respect you all have. That win negates all of our losses, and I am certain I can speak on behalf of many of my teammates.

Just sucks Witt beat the s*** out of us the next week. :/

I couldn't say it better myself. I really hope Oberlin makes some strides for the better in upcoming years, not only because of my dedication to Coach Ramsey, my teammates and the school, but also because it would add some spice to the NCAC. A lot of the teams in the conference are literally one step from becoming a year-in, year-out power in the conference. Hopefully it continues. It's going to be weird watching the games in the future and not being able to play in them - but I'll get used to it I guess.

You make great points. I do agree that it is the roster depth of teams like Oberlin. But I think that this problem originates with the lack of support and different mentalities between the athletic departments and academic administrations. If the admissions committee only admits around 25% of recruits, them it's tough to bring in a class as talented as other teams in the conference. And finding recruits who have 26 ACTs or higher in conjunction with a 3.5+ GPA unweighted, is difficult on its own. I believe this goes for not only Oberlin, but also some other schools who have a tough time getting admissions committees on board with the advancement of the football team.

I agree with you 100% about the difference in Kenyon's and Oberlin's seasons. Don't get me wrong, Kenyon was a force to be reckoned with this year, but their schedule was a bit easier than others.

I know that Oberlin could be a top contender if it weren't for our lack of depth in each class. Two years ago (2010) for example, we had 2 seniors, 13 juniors and 25 or so sophomores and freshmen. Last year (2011), we started off with 45 players and ended up playing our last game against Allegheny with only 27 healthy bodies. I'm not trying to make this an excuse, but I just wish that it changes someday. I played QB for Oberlin for the past couple years and I experienced first-hand what one injury can do to a team that lacks serious depth. If we could all stay healthy during the whole season, our record would be different.

But that's the name of the game. I do wonder what it would be like to play at a D3 powerhouse like Wabash, Witt, and even Case.

Thank you!

So I have a question... What does everyone here think that schools like Oberlin lack in terms of ability to compete at a high level? Just speaking on behalf of Oberlin - it seemed like we had the talent to be competitive against some great teams, yet we haven't pulled off a .500 season since 2007. Depth? The difficulty of obtaining premiere high school talent due to strict admissions policy? I would like to see other input on this matter. Obviously it can be done having witnessed Kenyon's 2012 season.

Hey everyone!

I've been reading these boards for a while now. Just graduated from Oberlin so I'm a big fan of the NCAC and D3 football in general. I played football while at Oberlin and it was the best experience of my life. I wish it wasn't over :/

I look forward to talking with you all about this upcoming season. Can't wait to see how the NCAC pans out.

Go Yeo.