FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

There's a giant difference between beign 6-1 (6-4 overall) and being in second place and 7-0, 7-3 with a championship and a spot in the playoffs.  On the screen it's just one little line down.  But there's a lot of rewards to be had for being on the top. 

In any case, my whole point is that we've seen Kenyon shy away from annual meetings with Wabash and Wittenberg.  We've seen Wittenberg repeatedly hang 70 points on Hiram.  We've seen Wabash toss up an 80 burger on Hiram.  And now Hiram doesn't play Wittenberg or Wabash.  Once these games start happening again, I think some folks may reconsider the full round robin.  Those are games that neither side benefits from.  Maybe those results won't be quite as harsh going forward, but if they are, maybe the round robin isn't the best thing for the teams in the league. 

I hope the round robin works.  It's the way league schedules ought to be.  But there are reasons why it may not be the best thing.  We'll see how it works out. 

[smedindy]

I don't think Hiram ever backed away - the NCAC just used power rankings for scheduling. Maybe they have behind the scenes or maybe it was the way the NCAC / UAA agreement worked out especially with the Quakers fleeing the scene.

Last time Wabash played Hiram Denison and Keynon hung more points on them than we did (2009 season). Last time Witt played Hiram (2010) they only got 49 against the Terriers and two weeks later the dreaded Scots put 62 on the board.

Kenyon is the concern of course. I would have loved to see their sabbatical from the NCAC bring success like it finally did in Puget Sound, but after that one season it was back to the same ol' same ol'. I would hate to see Kenyon pull a Swarthmore and be done with football. I can't see Hiram doing that - they would have dropped it a long time ago if they weren't committed to at least having a team.

[sigma one]

As to the round robin--Head Coaches strongly in favor, and put the discussion in progress

[Mr. Ypsi]

The above discussion is exactly why I have long advocated that 8 is the perfect size for a conference.  You can do a full round robin and still have flexibility for the non-con games.  Any odd number is a nightmare for scheduling.  6 doesn't get an AQ, while 10 (and round robin) leaves ONLY one non-con game.  (NOT that I'm suggesting you throw anyone out to get down to 8! ) 

And smed is right that anything short of a round robin CAN present unfairness - the Big Ten had co-champions only a few years ago that didn't face each other.  (Can't recall who or what happened, but the team that didn't go to the Rose Bowl was EXTREMELY p!ssed.  Of course, there are some of us still p!ssed that UM/OSU resulted in a tie in 1974(?), and despite UM totally dominating the game, the injury to QB Dennis Franklin resulted in Big 10 coaches sending OSU to the Rose Bowl.  By New Year's Day, Franklin was good as new, but UM stayed home, since this was back in the day when the Big Ten allowed no bowl games other than the Rose.  At least there are no more tie games! )

[smedindy]

Huge congrats to CJ Gum and Wes Chamblee, D3football.com first-team All-Americans!

Big congrats to Dan Terhune of Wooster and to Levi Brown of DPU, second-team All-Americans!

Congrats to Josh McKee of Witt, third team All-American!

And kudos to Taylor Wagner of DPU, honorable mention All-American.

[nike]

Can OWU find a coach to duplicate what has happened at Heidelberg?  Wouldn't that be a heck of a Christmas gift.
Game last night was O.K. but never really pulled me in. A great defensive game, however.
And finally, let the Wooster QB battle and subsequent controversy begin.  Hoping for a top flight RB that can come in and light things up.
A Merry and Blessed Christmas to all!

[formerd3db]

Mr. Ypsi, indeed, I remember that game/year well.  The U of Mich/Ohio State "Big Ten Rule" is what started all this type of controversy.   Anyway, like you say, at least there are no ties anymore.

BTW, galliant effort by Wayne State (MI) today in the Div. II title game, although they came up short.  Too many turnovers hurt them at the beginning and trying to play "catch-up" to a team like Pittsburg State almost never works.  Anyway, they did have a great season as did Pitt State.  Hopefully, Winters will stay at Wayne State, however, his being a former Akron player, there are rumors he may be off to the MAC if he is offered the job.

I hope you are doing well.  Happy upcoming holidays to you and also everyone else here on the NCAC board.

[aueagle]

Good point nike: Mike Hallett takes the Student Princes back to winning....
0-30 not to long ago....gee, I wonder where he went to school?
Will somebody in Delaware call the guy at Mount Union.
must be something in the water in Alliance...

[Pat Coleman]

No -- we lost an Aztec Bowl too, one with a lot wider representation than this one. This team repped fewer than 30 schools.

[wally_wabash]

Wabash finishes #6 #7 (I need to learn how to read) in the final D3football.com top 25 poll.  This, I'm fairly certain, is Wabash's highest ever finish in the poll.  That's a good sign that Wabash has made significant progress as a program this season.  The next sign will be when the 2012 preseason poll is issued where I'll expect that Wabash will have their highest preseason ranking ever in this poll.  Good times and I think Wabash's players and coaches embrace great expectations. 

Can OWU find a coach to duplicate what has happened at Heidelberg? 

Good point nike: Mike Hallett takes the Student Princes back to winning....
0-30 not to long ago....gee, I wonder where he went to school?
Will somebody in Delaware call the guy at Mount Union.
must be something in the water in Alliance...

Interesting that you guys mentioned Mike Hallett.  When this all broke, my very first thought was that OWU should make nice with Coach Hallett, take him out for a steak, and chat about what's possible at Ohio Wesleyan.  I honestly don't know what the recruiting obstacles are at OWU and Heidelberg and how they are similar or different, but if he's listening OWU should be talking.  He's got a championship pedigree, he's shown that he can jump start a program, and he's obviously familiar with Ohio and that whole recruiting scene.  The Bishops could do much, much worse.  I don't know how realistic that move would be, but it's worth investigating I would think. 

[SaintsFAN]

Wabash finishes #6 #7 (I need to learn how to read) in the final D3football.com top 25 poll.  This, I'm fairly certain, is Wabash's highest ever finish in the poll.  That's a good sign that Wabash has made significant progress as a program this season.  The next sign will be when the 2012 preseason poll is issued where I'll expect that Wabash will have their highest preseason ranking ever in this poll.  Good times and I think Wabash's players and coaches embrace great expectations. 

Can OWU find a coach to duplicate what has happened at Heidelberg? 

Good point nike: Mike Hallett takes the Student Princes back to winning....
0-30 not to long ago....gee, I wonder where he went to school?
Will somebody in Delaware call the guy at Mount Union.
must be something in the water in Alliance...

Interesting that you guys mentioned Mike Hallett.  When this all broke, my very first thought was that OWU should make nice with Coach Hallett, take him out for a steak, and chat about what's possible at Ohio Wesleyan.  I honestly don't know what the recruiting obstacles are at OWU and Heidelberg and how they are similar or different, but if he's listening OWU should be talking.  He's got a championship pedigree, he's shown that he can jump start a program, and he's obviously familiar with Ohio and that whole recruiting scene.  The Bishops could do much, much worse.  I don't know how realistic that move would be, but it's worth investigating I would think.

Played for coach Hallett my senior season at TMC.  GREAT coach and motivator and builder of a program, as you said.  With that being said, I would be highly surprised if he jumped ship from Heidelberg to OWU.  The reason he left TMC was because of the monetary commitment HC made to create a staff.  He's able to have a quality staff at HC because of this new-found (at the time) commitment to winning at HC.  Just my .02

**Let me qualify this by saying I haven't spoken to Coach Hallett since the 2010 season.

[formerd3db]

I don't know Coach Hallett, however, from what has been said here about him as well as posted in the past, yes, I would be surprised if he left.  Seems to me, as reported, that he and HC made a longterm commitment and I'd hate to see him pull a "Nick Saben, a Brian Kelly or a RichRod" (and we can now add to that Todd Graham)

[wally_wabash]

Wabash finishes #6 #7 (I need to learn how to read) in the final D3football.com top 25 poll.  This, I'm fairly certain, is Wabash's highest ever finish in the poll.  That's a good sign that Wabash has made significant progress as a program this season.  The next sign will be when the 2012 preseason poll is issued where I'll expect that Wabash will have their highest preseason ranking ever in this poll.  Good times and I think Wabash's players and coaches embrace great expectations. 

Can OWU find a coach to duplicate what has happened at Heidelberg? 

Good point nike: Mike Hallett takes the Student Princes back to winning....
0-30 not to long ago....gee, I wonder where he went to school?
Will somebody in Delaware call the guy at Mount Union.
must be something in the water in Alliance...

Interesting that you guys mentioned Mike Hallett.  When this all broke, my very first thought was that OWU should make nice with Coach Hallett, take him out for a steak, and chat about what's possible at Ohio Wesleyan.  I honestly don't know what the recruiting obstacles are at OWU and Heidelberg and how they are similar or different, but if he's listening OWU should be talking.  He's got a championship pedigree, he's shown that he can jump start a program, and he's obviously familiar with Ohio and that whole recruiting scene.  The Bishops could do much, much worse.  I don't know how realistic that move would be, but it's worth investigating I would think.

Played for coach Hallett my senior season at TMC.  GREAT coach and motivator and builder of a program, as you said.  With that being said, I would be highly surprised if he jumped ship from Heidelberg to OWU.  The reason he left TMC was because of the monetary commitment HC made to create a staff.  He's able to have a quality staff at HC because of this new-found (at the time) commitment to winning at HC.  Just my .02

**Let me qualify this by saying I haven't spoken to Coach Hallett since the 2010 season.

Just spitballin'...I have no idea what Coach Hallett's situation is at HC.  Just saying that OWU probably wouldn't be wasting a call by reaching out and judging potential interest.  Worst case scenario is that he wouldn't be interested and OWU moves along on their list.  They may as well reach for the stars here. 

[smedindy]

You could do worse than getting someone from the UMU family tree!

I definitely would take a look at anyone who has experience in building a program into success, or a coordinator / right-hand man who has built or maintained a program.

A name I would have looked at would be Neal Nethery, but of course Larry Coker has him employed down at UT-SA.

[firstdown]

For OWU or any program to be successful, the head coach needs to have a support environment in which to operate.  This includes having an adequate budget to hire a sufficient number of experienced assistant coaches, which can be supplemented by younger coaches, and having an adequate supply of technology like laptops, cell phones, tablets, software, etc. to maximize efficiency.  It also means having the school and the administration's full support.  The more time that the head coach spends dealing with issues from admissions, financial aid, and the like, the less time there is for coaching.  Developing a solid working relationship with those functions is critical for a coach to be focus his time on recruits that meet the school's criteria.  A good example is Coach Carlson who has built a very successful program at St Scholastica from the ground up in a short time where he had the kind of supportive environment that it takes, as opposed to his experience at Whittier where he did not.