FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

I would believe that the facilities upgrades at Earlham will have a noticeable impact on their program.  I've been to 20 different football stadiums around D-III and Earlham was, by a decent margin, the worst one that I've been to.  A lot of places are making upgrades and renovations, but I don't think anybody has had more to gain with a facelift than Earlham did.

[aueagle]

The 3W's & outstanding academics....Nobody mentions Ohio Wesleyan...I feel like OWU is the Roger Dangerfield of the NCAC....I just remembered...Respect is earned....The Bishops need to figure out which way they want the program to go OR they will be the next Earlham.

[smedindy]

Earlham keeps quite good company in the GLCA. It's kind of an odd-duck school in Indiana / Ohio with its mission and its values and beliefs (Quaker and all that entails). However, it's a fine institution and I'd be happy to send my kids there if they wanted to go!

[SaintsFAN]

I would believe that the facilities upgrades at Earlham will have a noticeable impact on their program.  I've been to 20 different football stadiums around D-III and Earlham was, by a decent margin, the worst one that I've been to.  A lot of places are making upgrades and renovations, but I don't think anybody has had more to gain with a facelift than Earlham did.

Agreed, Wally.  In 1994, I took a recruiting visit to Earlham.  Needless to say the facilities didn't wow me at all. 

[wab64]

The 3W's & outstanding academics....Nobody mentions Ohio Wesleyan...I feel like OWU is the Roger Dangerfield of the NCAC....I just remembered...Respect is earned....The Bishops need to figure out which way they want the program to go OR they will be the next Earlham.

They play basketball pretty good,though.

[wally_wabash]

The 3W's & outstanding academics....Nobody mentions Ohio Wesleyan...I feel like OWU is the Roger Dangerfield of the NCAC....I just remembered...Respect is earned....The Bishops need to figure out which way they want the program to go OR they will be the next Earlham.

I think all OWU needs is some fresh juice at the top.  OWU has the academic rep and a fantastic football facility to be competitive (I can't speak to the quality of the weightroom and the like, but they can't be all that bad).  Selby is a great place to watch a game and I would imagine is a fun place to play five times every season.  OWU's problems, at least from where I sit, seem to be organizational which is correctable. 

[aueagle]

I talked with a few Bishops last fall....We proposed a large/2 story "Athletic" (read: FOOTBALL) building at the south end/parking lot end. With Selby positioned near most of the other sports fields, it would house locker rooms, training/rehab, coaches offices, meeting/classrooms, Red & Black lobby, reception/game day area on 2nd floor overlooking Selby....a D3 version of what UNC Tarheels & other bigs have. It would be a recruiting tool that would be the envy of any D3 and most D2. The "fresh juice" has to be someone that has Ohio HS ties, D3 & D1 experience. He must.... raise the profile of OWU football in W's, monies/multi million dollar Selby facility, and put people in the stands...a "salesman".....I know for a fact the guy is out there.....
The land is there...the cash at OWU can be raised....the commitment needs to be there. A dream? To much tailgating last fall? Or can Bishop football be champions? I say it can happen.
wally: You're correct..."organizational"...but, to me, that starts with the university president.

[aueagle]

wab64.....speaking of roundball......COW, OWU & Da Puppies at the top. Hiram has played tough all year....Bishops have a National Championship in basketball; chapionships in other sports, but not in the one sport we all have a passion for.

[smedindy]

But if everything else at OWU is going well except football, why cast stones at the prez? You aren't Oklahoma or Florida, you're OWU!

And besides, the President at OWU is Rock Jones. And he was just took office in July, 2008. With a name like Rock...c'mon! He's a football guy, right? (Oh, I know he came from Hendrix, which doesn't have football, but still...he's a college president that goes by ROCK!)

[formerd3db]

But if everything else at OWU is going well except football, why cast stones at the prez? You aren't Oklahoma or Florida, you're OWU!

And besides, the President at OWU is Rock Jones. And he was just took office in July, 2008. With a name like Rock...c'mon! He's a football guy, right? (Oh, I know he came from Hendrix, which doesn't have football, but still...he's a college president that goes by ROCK!)

I talked with a few Bishops last fall....We proposed a large/2 story "Athletic" (read: FOOTBALL) building at the south end/parking lot end. With Selby positioned near most of the other sports fields, it would house locker rooms, training/rehab, coaches offices, meeting/classrooms, Red & Black lobby, reception/game day area on 2nd floor overlooking Selby....a D3 version of what UNC Tarheels & other bigs have. It would be a recruiting tool that would be the envy of any D3 and most D2. The "fresh juice" has to be someone that has Ohio HS ties, D3 & D1 experience. He must.... raise the profile of OWU football in W's, monies/multi million dollar Selby facility, and put people in the stands...a "salesman".....I know for a fact the guy is out there.....
The land is there...the cash at OWU can be raised....the commitment needs to be there. A dream? To much tailgating last fall? Or can Bishop football be champions? I say it can happen.
wally: You're correct..."organizational"...but, to me, that starts with the university president.

The 3W's & outstanding academics....Nobody mentions Ohio Wesleyan...I feel like OWU is the Roger Dangerfield of the NCAC....I just remembered...Respect is earned....The Bishops need to figure out which way they want the program to go OR they will be the next Earlham.

I think all OWU needs is some fresh juice at the top.  OWU has the academic rep and a fantastic football facility to be competitive (I can't speak to the quality of the weightroom and the like, but they can't be all that bad).  Selby is a great place to watch a game and I would imagine is a fun place to play five times every season.  OWU's problems, at least from where I sit, seem to be organizational which is correctable. 

Agree with you Wally that Selby is a great atmosphere and I'm glad OWU made the commitment to upgrade and preserve that historic stadium.  I also agree with you others that somehow, OWU needs to step up to get additional student-athletes (we'll confine it to fooball here for sake of discussion since this is, after all, the football board ).  Hopefully, the new president can stimulate that and get additional alumni to donate for such a facility you describe.  IMO, OWU needs to increase their enrollment which might help in football recruiting to some degree, although being an "outsider" I do not know what the OWU long range master plan is with regards to enrollment (I do know this has helped Hope College tremendously and a reason why they have done well in recruiting/retaining high numbers of students who are either recruiting and/or seek out Hope in all sports).

On the other hand, for OWU, it might be a slightly more difficult task being that they are in the Columbus region with other DIII schools competing for student-athletes i.e. Capital, Otterbein, Denison, etc., (and especially since those first two schools have had more success of recent.  Yet, Ohio is a huge state as you know and it seems to me that there are plenty of h.s. football players available (although I will say that the majority of your Ohio DIII schools are at least $10,000-12,000 more in tuition/R&B than Michigan's DIII schools and that is a "big chunk of change" for families unless they get some community, academic and other type scholarships grants, loans, aid, etc.

Still, in the overall context of what started this discussion (i.e. facilities) the DIII schools (such as OWU, Earlham, etc.) have to continue to upgrade for competing in recruiting student-athletes and while I am less of a believer in the phrase I'm about to use, this is one instance in which "keeping up with the Jones'" is an appropriate thing.   Good discussion guys.

[formerd3db]

BTW, Smeds, where have you been?  I haven't seen you posting much around the boards lately (although perhaps you've been on the bb boards, of which I only post occasionally). 

[aueagle]

smedindy: Because IF things are going to change at OWU....and I mean change as to actually commit & be a top tier program...then I think it starts at the top of the university. The support, financials & other tangibles/intangibles must come from or through the prez. Doesn't matter if it's Oklahoma, OWU or Hiram....when you undertake a project of this caliber, it demands the chain of command - to by-pass the top office would be detrimental to the scope of the objective. No stones at the prez...I just think for this thing to be done & done right , the prez needs to be on board. When the Bishops start winning national championships starting in 2015, then Rock can take some of the credit. I would be shocked if MUC didn't have more than just football coaches involved in the rise to dominance, which began in the 1980's. Football is the most visible sport on most campuses.....not only in the physical plant of the field & stadium...but, Homecoming is THE attraction for schools, alumnae, fans, prospective students, etc....all based around football...the football spinoff can be a huge multiplier for many aspects of the university community. Again, see MUC in terms of enrollment, campus expansion...monies generated since the rise of Purple Raider football. IF everything is going well at OWU except football...then, that tells me football  needs to be fixed and needs the special attention from the top.

[frank uible]

A few years ago Swarthmore fixed football and now seems to be happy with itself.

[ADL70]

Fixed?  Nay, nixed.

[frank uible]

For Swarthmore nixing is fixing.