Otterbein with an Interim HC for this fall:

https://otterbeincardinals.com/news/2024/7/12/football-zagorski-leaving-coaching-to-focus-on-personal-health.aspx

Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 13, 2024, 12:18:19 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on July 12, 2024, 07:52:14 PM

Quote from: joelmama on July 11, 2024, 09:41:37 AMIt might at some point require scheduling some of the D2 programs in OH/PA to fill in a spot with a quality opponent.

would not shock me if the number of D2 programs in OH shrinks dramatically in the next few years

there is a program right up the road that would be a quality non-conference game after a year or so.  I wonder if they would be up for a "rivalry"

I would hope that there's occasionally a John Carroll-Mount Union non-conference game on the schedule, agreed.

I think the odds of that are slim to none unless/until Mount falls to the level of an "regular" D3 team.

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on July 13, 2024, 02:35:45 PMOtterbein with an Interim HC for this fall:

https://otterbeincardinals.com/news/2024/7/12/football-zagorski-leaving-coaching-to-focus-on-personal-health.aspx

You certainly can never fault a father for stepping away for his own health.  I wish him well.  As an OAC fan I am bummed for Ott since the JCU folks were complimentary of Coach Z.  I was hoping to see if he could revitalize the Cards a little. 

Quote from: joelmama on July 15, 2024, 11:27:27 AM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 13, 2024, 12:18:19 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on July 12, 2024, 07:52:14 PM

Quote from: joelmama on July 11, 2024, 09:41:37 AMIt might at some point require scheduling some of the D2 programs in OH/PA to fill in a spot with a quality opponent.

would not shock me if the number of D2 programs in OH shrinks dramatically in the next few years

there is a program right up the road that would be a quality non-conference game after a year or so.  I wonder if they would be up for a "rivalry"

I would hope that there's occasionally a John Carroll-Mount Union non-conference game on the schedule, agreed.

I think the odds of that are slim to none unless/until Mount falls to the level of an "regular" D3 team.

I have to challenge the insinuation that JCU is dodging competition. As they did last year, the Streaks are opening the season with Wisconsin Whitewater. If JCU was trying to protect 9-1 and an at-large playoff berth, that would not be the way to do it.

Regarding JCU, What was their real motivation for leaving the OAC? Was it being in a conference with a different educational profile? Was it the realization that they would always be a near second the Mount Union in football only, since they are a top contender
in all other sports? Was it pressure from the Alumni to make a change to another conference
that they could dominate? These may be all the reasons, or most of them. Playing UWW is a competitive move no doubt and it helps them, but the NCAC is a weaker conference than the OAC, IMHO

Quote from: Raider 68 on July 16, 2024, 08:54:56 AMRegarding JCU, What was their real motivation for leaving the OAC? Was it being in a conference with a different educational profile? Was it the realization that they would always be a near second the Mount Union in football only, since they are a top contender
in all other sports? Was it pressure from the Alumni to make a change to another conference
that they could dominate? These may be all the reasons, or most of them. Playing UWW is a competitive move no doubt and it helps them, but the NCAC is a weaker conference than the OAC, IMHO

This would be an interesting exercise to do do a side by side comparison.  Obviously Mount is the outlier, but I haven't paid close enough attention to the NCAC as a whole to know how they stack up top to bottom currently.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on July 16, 2024, 09:08:24 AM

Quote from: Raider 68 on July 16, 2024, 08:54:56 AMRegarding JCU, What was their real motivation for leaving the OAC? Was it being in a conference with a different educational profile? Was it the realization that they would always be a near second the Mount Union in football only, since they are a top contender
in all other sports? Was it pressure from the Alumni to make a change to another conference
that they could dominate? These may be all the reasons, or most of them. Playing UWW is a competitive move no doubt and it helps them, but the NCAC is a weaker conference than the OAC, IMHO

This would be an interesting exercise to do do a side by side comparison.  Obviously Mount is the outlier, but I haven't paid close enough attention to the NCAC as a whole to know how they stack up top to bottom currently.

You cannot compare the conferences without including Mount Union. So if we took the Raiders out and maybe Wabash out of the NCAC then how do they compare then? The Giants have the most consistent over that last several years,

I'm not saying exclude Mount.  I'm just saying that Mount is an outlier in that they're not comparable to the top NCAC team year to year.  With DPU, Wabash, Witt and Denison I think the NCAC has a really solid group.  I just don't know anything about the bottom of the NCAC whereas we unfortunately know about the bottom of the OAC because we watch them at least once a year.

Here is a hypothetical: If the OAC and NCAC were combined and only the 10 best could be selected, who might they be and in what order?

Based on last year, my back-of-the-napkin sketch:

Mount Union
John Carroll
DePauw
Marietta
Denison
Wabash
Baldwin Wallace
Heidelberg
Wittenberg
Ohio Northern

That's 6-4 in favor of the OAC. But the NCAC would also have the bottom three, maybe even bottom four.

Quote from: Raider 68 on July 16, 2024, 08:54:56 AMRegarding JCU, What was their real motivation for leaving the OAC? Was it being in a conference with a different educational profile? Was it the realization that they would always be a near second the Mount Union in football only, since they are a top contender
in all other sports? Was it pressure from the Alumni to make a change to another conference
that they could dominate? These may be all the reasons, or most of them. Playing UWW is a competitive move no doubt and it helps them, but the NCAC is a weaker conference than the OAC, IMHO

John Carroll sponsors football and also twenty-three other athletics teams.  It's not just about football.  In fact, it might be only a teeny bit about football.  It also might have nothing to do with athletics at all and be a strategic move by JCU to align with institutions they see as peers. 

We aren't living in the FBS universe and schools don't do a thing that is presumptively good for football and unequivocally terrible for all other sports. 

Taking an easier route to the postseason and recruiting as a "perennial playoff program" or "yearly competing for a national championship" probably brings in a lot more freshman football players and their tuition checks  more than being "sometimes the 2nd best team in the OAC" or "hey, we beat Mount that one time!"

Quote from: Dr. Acula on July 15, 2024, 01:08:51 PM

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on July 13, 2024, 02:35:45 PMOtterbein with an Interim HC for this fall:

https://otterbeincardinals.com/news/2024/7/12/football-zagorski-leaving-coaching-to-focus-on-personal-health.aspx

You certainly can never fault a father for stepping away for his own health.  I wish him well.  As an OAC fan I am bummed for Ott since the JCU folks were complimentary of Coach Z.  I was hoping to see if he could revitalize the Cards a little. 

Very unfortunate to see, but I'm glad Z is doing what's best for himself and his family. The hope for Otterbein is that Z set the gears in motion, and since they're hiring from within, the positive gains can continue. Obviously, there's no place for them to go but up, and I think even winning 3 games this fall would be a huge step in the right direction

Quote from: wally_wabash on July 16, 2024, 07:12:23 PM

Quote from: Raider 68 on July 16, 2024, 08:54:56 AMRegarding JCU, What was their real motivation for leaving the OAC? Was it being in a conference with a different educational profile? Was it the realization that they would always be a near second the Mount Union in football only, since they are a top contender
in all other sports? Was it pressure from the Alumni to make a change to another conference
that they could dominate? These may be all the reasons, or most of them. Playing UWW is a competitive move no doubt and it helps them, but the NCAC is a weaker conference than the OAC, IMHO

John Carroll sponsors football and also twenty-three other athletics teams.  It's not just about football.  In fact, it might be only a teeny bit about football.  It also might have nothing to do with athletics at all and be a strategic move by JCU to align with institutions they see as peers. 

We aren't living in the FBS universe and schools don't do a thing that is presumptively good for football and unequivocally terrible for all other sports. 

If my memory of the video JCU put out was correct, the move was based more on aligning with schools they viewed as a better fit academically and to consistently draw students from a wider geographic area in the future.  JCU probably already consistently draws from the largest geographic area of the OAC schools due to the parochial pipeline so they must have ambitions to extend that even wider.

Quote from: D3fanboy on July 16, 2024, 07:48:47 PMTaking an easier route to the postseason and recruiting as a "perennial playoff program" or "yearly competing for a national championship" probably brings in a lot more freshman football players and their tuition checks  more than being "sometimes the 2nd best team in the OAC" or "hey, we beat Mount that one time!"

Last year JCU football rostered 141 student-athletes-they're doing just fine.  The totality of institutions do not boil down to their win-loss record in football.  How strong is an educational institution if its entire identity is wrapped up in football?  I think framing JCU's move as a football-only or even a football-dominant decision is really missing the forest for the trees.