Quote from: wabashcpa on October 29, 2024, 09:14:37 PM

Quote from: Whitecarrera on October 29, 2024, 06:07:33 PMLet's keep a little perspective about where those fans might come from.  When you consider that Whitewater's current enrollment is larger than Wabash's entire living alumni base, then packing Hollett and Blackstock is probably about right.

The Hoosier Dome would've been cool when it was brand new, but I can't even think of a suitable place to play a game like that today.  A half empty Lucas Oil is about as exciting as Cheez Whiz nachos and $15 beers -- Have you been to the Indiana HS championships in the last 20 years?

The only other place that would be reasonable (seating and distance) would be Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute (seats 12,000 without special accommodations).  But all the seats are on one side, so probably not a great solution!

Butler Bowl!  Both Bash and DPU have played games there in the last few years, and it was an awesome atmosphere for both.  Additional seating would still need to be added on the visitor's side, but how cool would it be to see those endzone hillsides packed?  Won't happen, but it would be pretty cool to see!

DPU must plan on adding extra seating for the Bell Game.  I had to buy a Wabash ticket the day they went on sale, and I just got an email yesterday asking if I'd like to exchange it for one on the good guys' side.  Haven't heard anything about the Wabash side, but hoping they'll win out and bring a good crowd!

Quote from: Little Giant 89 on October 10, 2024, 07:56:02 AMThe Wabash v. Oberlin game which is taking place this coming Sunday will be the first Sunday game the Little Giants have played since 1960.

The game was moved from Saturday to Sunday in honor of the Yom Kippur holiday.

That would make for a brutally short week coming up.  I'm sure the LGs won't have any trouble getting it together for Hiram, but I'd be interested to see where they put their NCAA mandated off day next week.

Busy fall, and haven't been as active in the D3 world yet... will pay more attention going forward.  Saturday was the first DPU game I've watched this year, and they looked sharp.  I was surprised to see they held Mateo Renteria to 0 yds passing for the 2nd year straight. 

On a whim, I flipped on the livestream of the DPU/Rose JV game Sunday afternoon.  Turns out Dietz is the announcer on the PA for the home JV games.  I thought that said a lot about the program he's building, and is one of the many reasons for the success the Tigers are having.  Cool stuff.

Quote from: 83LittleGiant on March 11, 2024, 04:33:04 PMWabash Hires Jake Gilbert as New Defensive Coordinator and "Head Coach-In-Waiting"

I think this is a great hire for Wabash.  Jake will serve as DC this year and take over for Morel after the 2024 season.  Congrats Jake.

Article in Indianapolis Star

Wabash Announcement

An absolute home run for the LGs, bad news for the Tigers.  Gilbert will have the hard-hat-d wearing Band-Aids over their noses in no time, and will be a huge addition to the recruiting efforts.  This is the best hire the Bash could've made.   

Quote from: WAF on March 07, 2024, 01:09:41 PMI have heard you are well versed in "Bird Law".....as well as milk steak and magnets?

and ghouls.  little green ghouls

Quote from: Whitecarrera on March 05, 2024, 04:38:34 PM"The ADs/presidents at Oberlin and Kenyon should get locked up for conspiracy to (commit) battery"

That made me laugh (in kind of a sad-for-Kenyon-and-Oberlin way)

Thank you for cleaning up the legalese for me... I did not study law, and wasn't sure what charge should be brought upon those people! 

Also, last year the Streaks won the OAC all-sports trophy on the men's side with 1st place finishes in basketball, XC, and Lacrosse, and 2nd place finishes in football, soccer, and track.  The women finished third in the all-sports standings with wins in volleyball and cross country, and 2nd place in track.  All that to say that they were competing just fine in the OAC, and this makes it feel even more football-driven than I thought before.

Very average swimmers though, which might explain why Kenyon was OK with the move.

Not a fan of the JCU addition, and it's hard for me to fathom why the NCAC would be even remotely interested in letting them in.  The difference in commitment to football is insanely large.  JCU's website lists NINETEEN football coaches, which includes 4 quality control positions.  Nobody actually knows what "quality control" means... I guess it's a term the D1s made up so they could add extra coaches.  At the DIII level, I'm assuming it means extra recruiters.  Wabash's website lists 8 coaches (not including student assistants), and conference champ DePauw has 6.

I know the Wabash faithful have problems with the head coach and recruiting, but at some point it boils down to needing more help.  More bodies on the phones, in the high schools, writing letters, etc. etc. etc.  I doubt very much that Wabash and DePauw are interested in adding 10-12 paid coaching positions to compete for championships.  That's fine in the HCAC or (old) NCAC, but it's not going to cut it if they're trying to compete with JCU. 

I'm with you guys on this one.  I'd love to see the Tigers and LGs step up to the plate and match JCU's efforts, but neither school has done anything to show me that that's a realistic possibility.  And those are two of the better NCAC football programs.  The ADs/presidents at Oberlin and Kenyon should get locked up for conspiracy to battery after their football games with the Streaks.  Bad move for everybody except JCU.

Good game yesterday in Alma.  Of the last three years, this is the best looking squad DePauw has sent into the playoffs.  Seems to me that in the playoffs you need to be able to run the ball to make any noise - the Tigers were unable to do that in the first half, and while they slowed the Alma O down enough to win, they never recovered from the opening turnover/touchdown.  At some point, I hope DPU gets used to playing an 11th game, and can start to make a push through the playoffs.  Congrats on a great season none-the-less!

PJSmith08 - Legitimate question for any D3 school... who does the president fear/answer to the most?  Alumni?  The board of directors (high earning alumni)? The faculty? The student body?  I've thought about this for years, and I respect your letter, but I wonder how seriously it will be taken.  Money talks, and even at a school with a rich football history like Wabash, I don't think football is a big driver of financial revenue.  Before I get jumped about how a football roster drives enrollment, I'll point out that on the website Wabash currently has 116 football players on the roster; the 2015 team that won 12 games had 115.  From a president's standpoint that's a wash, and maybe even advantage 2023, assuming they didn't have to shell out extra dollars because of pressure from the coaching staff for "good" players.

I'm a teacher, and give $100 a year to my alma mater.  I'm sure that's appreciated, but I'm also assuming my opinions are weighed on a scale based on wins (dollars donated), strength of schedule (profession chosen), and wins against top 25 opponents (my donations compared to my friends who practice medicine).

It's an interesting question, and not one with with an obvious answer.  I've heard the stories of Denison getting rid of Greek life, and how that was going to be the death blow for the college, but they seem to be thriving, both in terms of endowment and football success.  At the same time, I look at a school like Defiance and wonder how they'll keep their doors open if they lose the support of football players and alumni.  Plus, there's the very difficult political landscape a president must navigate, and I suspect that the faculty are often at odds with football alums in that that category...

Quote from: sigma one on November 13, 2023, 11:32:52 AM
Great post TigerKing.  Dietz has really improved the DePauw team--and it looks like the Tigers will be at the top of the NCAC for years to come.  Let's put to bed the idea that with his over .700 winning %age that Morel's job is in any kind of jeopardy.  The Wabash fans expectations have been high, fueled by the success of two exceptional coaches before him.  But, in truth, +.700 is really good, if not great.  Taking into account the student-athletes Wabash can recruit, the results have been more than satisfactory.  I certainly look back, like so many loyal Wabash fans, to the highly successful past, which gave us such lofty expectations.  From what I know (others know this as well) the combination of being all male and recent decisions to try to upgrade the academic profile of the student body, with no wiggle room for athletics, has put a damper on recruiting.  Being all male in itself surely reduces the recruiting pool of men substantially, particularly in an age when so few schools remain all male. 
(As to any argument that St John's continues to produce football teams of championship quality year in a year out, the comparison is apples and oranges.  The Johnnies are all men, but, as I understand it, they share at least some enrollment in classes with a nearby women's college.  Please correct me if I am mistaken.) And their academic profile does not equal Wabash's.)
    Congratulations to DePauw on a gutsy win.  So close, but yet so far for the LGs.  Good effort from both teams.  A strong Alma team is next; I wish the Tigers well as they travel to Michigan.  Hope the weather is good enough for a great game.     

   

I played at Hanover (during some lean years).  Talking to Panther coaches over the years, the staffs that have been able to recruit well would point to being close to everywhere (Indy/Cincy/Louisville) as a major advantage.  During bad years, coaches complain that the campus is in the middle of nowhere.  Hanover, IN hasn't moved, but the thing that makes it unique can be a strength or weakness.  I think the same is true of Wabash.  During those great years in the early 2010s, DPU struggled to recruit against the "brotherhood," and that "football is really important here" culture.  While I know a lot of high school kids rule Wabash out before they ever visit, the all-male thing is a unique feature that can be an asset or a liability. 

In terms of raising the academic profile, that is a killer to a football program if the admissions people aren't willing to play ball with the coaching staff.  Hard to know if that's happening in Crawfordsville or not.

What a ballgame.  From a spectator's standpoint, these last 7 (minus 2022) have all been incredibly exciting games.  I said it a couple weeks ago, but the status of the rivalry has to be as good as it's ever been.  In the 8 games played starting in 2015 (Wabash blowout W), the combined points difference is 9, or 1.125 a game.  6 of the 8 have been decided by a TD or less, and we finally got an overtime game this year.  The series is 4-4 since then.  I can't think of another rivalry, including this one, where there's been such parity over an 8 year stretch.

A few questions from an admitted DePauw homer...

1. Wabash's SID spun the LG's success in the Bell game as winning 10 of the last 13 in the pre-game notes.  I'd do the same if I was him.  Next year, they'll be able to say they've won 10 of the last 14, but DePauw will be able to boast 3 of the last 4.  I certainly don't predict DPU going on a 7 year swing to match Bash from 09-15, but do the last two games signal the start of a new Tiger-dominated era?  DPU seems to have all the momentum with a young coaching staff and lots of talent coming back, but time will tell.

2. What is the legacy of Liam Thompson?  He's one of the best D3 QBs I've had a chance to watch, but is 0-1 in the playoffs with one 3-way-tie conference championship his freshman year.  He is also 1-3 in Bell games.  He finishes high in the Wabash record book in several categories, but low in terms of Wabash winning standards.

3. Speaking of Wabash standards, what to do with Don Morel?  His record of 53-19 gives him a winning percentage of 0.736,  lower than ER's 0.857, and Creighton's 0.854, but is still better than both Carlson and Navarro.  Morel can claim 2 conference championships, compared to Raeburn's 3.  I understand that the bar was raised in the 2010s, but can you really justify getting rid of a coach who's never won less than 7 in a year with 2 conference championships?  I'm a Coach Morel fan - he seems to be an outstanding person who his players genuinely respect, so I hope he gets a chance to continue his legacy at WC.

4. On the flip side, how about Brett Dietz?  His 0.800 winning percentage is the best in DePauw history, and even though he's only 4ish seasons in, the Tigers show no signs of slowing down.  You have to wonder at this pace whether the Tigers are able to replace Witt/Wabash as a perennial NCAC rep in the playoffs.  DPU has a long way to go to start making consistent noise in the playoffs, but Dietz and co. are off to a great start.

I've been a long-time reader of this thread, but happy to finally join in this year.  Thanks for good entertainment during the week, and I look forward to future debates!

Quote from: smedindy on November 10, 2023, 02:13:15 AM
Dude, I'm class of 1988. Don't recognize your name. I also worked in University Advancement from 2000-2007. Don't recognize the name in the database.

You're a liar and a phony and a fraud.

I don't agree with some thoughts on the current coach. I've been through a lot since 1984 (freshman year) and before Navarro (lived in town). We may be spoiled by success. But, as far as I can remember, the football team has anywhere from 95-120 men on it, even in the lean years. We used to (in my era) throw a lot of financial aid around and accepted a lot more than we do now. We're more selective in all aspects, while still maintaining a financial aid package that allows most all students to attend with reasonable expense. (Thanks to the alumni and donors for a nice endowment).

The big change as far as I see is that Wabash now retains ex-athletes as students at a nice percentage.

That being said, Wabash 27, DPU 20. Or, in my dreams, Wabash 42,238, DPU -78

You might not know Richard, but you've probably met his brothers Peter and Rod.  Just for fun, maybe give the old Bob&Tom song "Paging Richard Smoker" a listen on YouTube today!

Quote from: Divorces 3, Bell Wins 1 on November 09, 2023, 10:24:20 AM
First and only time poster here.

When Wabash wins the Bell, how dumb are all you out of touch, multiple divorce/DUI-having, pompous old men going to feel? I'm embarrassed as a Wabash alum that guys like a former dean are on this board trashing a staff that literally recruits a third of the campus every year. Or that guys with more divorces than Bell wins think they have anything to add to this conversation. Half of you critics, like that fat failed golfer, couldn't point out a 3 tech if they had to. Do the fans and alums a favor and stay home.

A "3-tech" is when the ref throws a flag, hat, and the bean bag, right?