FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Little Giant 89]

Sixty One days until football!

[Crawford]

Depauw got 24 votes in the pre-season polls, good for 32nd.  Hope the NCAC has an up year.

[sigma one]

NCAC pre-season poll is out. 

1. DePauw
2. Wabash
3. Wittenberg
4. Denison
5. Ohio Wesleyan
6. Wooster
7. Kenyon
8. Hiram
9. Oberlin

DPU got six of the first Number One votes.  WAB, WIT, and DEN received one vote each.
With one exception pre-season rosters have not been printed.  Only Denison's is up.  One notable 5th year on the roster is Trey Fabrocini, their stud running back.  He can only help.  I don't know if the coaches knew of his return when they ranked; regardless he will make a huge difference in the Big Red offense.

[Dr. Acula]

That's a big 5th yr for Denison.  Kid is a stud.

[CollegeGolf18]

Wabash posted their 2024 roster. Nothing caught my attention besides the Western Illinois QB transfer who is like 27 y/o moved over to WR. He's 6'5 so that will be nice.

I'll break it down tomorrow. But nothing really caught my eye. Large FR class though. Over 50 but that always dwindles down to 20-25.

https://sports.wabash.edu/sports/football/roster/2024

[Little Giant 89]

The Little Giant roster is a tough read when you consider all of the talent that graduated from the program in May.  Thompson, Sullivan, Allen, Stoller, Snyder, Campbell, Mullin, and Caster.

There is, of course, a new set of seniors on the '24 roster.  Time for these young men to step up and make their mark.

[sigma one]

There are a number of freshman names on the roster who were all-state players in Indiana, from schools both big and small.  I would not be surprised if several of them see significant playing time this year (this, good and bad).  One name that sticks out is Luke Adams, transfer sophomore wide receiver who comes in from Southeast Missouri State.  He could well fill some of the gap created by senior wide receivers who graduated.
     It seems like one crucial unknown is who will play QB.  Last year's back up is probably the odds on favorite.  He is a senior, but his playing time, particularly his passing ability, is unknown. 
     The defense will take a step forward with 9 returning starters and 4 or 5 others who had major time in the defensive rotation.

[heresjim]

Anyone familiar with what's happening at Wittenberg?

https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/wittenberg-faculty-alumni-rip-proposal-to-cut-60-of-professors-many-staff/J2HVVKZ5KZFEHO43L4DVJRUQ6Y/

I was curious if this would affect Wittenberg athletics going forward.

[Dr. Acula]

That does not seem like good news.  I wasn't aware that Witt was having any financial issues so that's certainly news to me.

[Little Giant 89]

Witt's undergrad enrollment which was in the 1,800's in 2016 and 2017 has been down around 1,100 the past three years.

[sigma one]

Last year Wittenberg listed its full time and high school enrollment (whatever that means) as 1261.  They also listed a graduate enrollment of fewer than 100.  I, too, remember when Wit was around 1800/1900. I've heard that the football staff has been encouraged to bring in as many freshmen as possible; and that their freshman fb players will number over 100 this year.  When the roster is posted, we will know for certain.
     The current plan is really troubling.  If you lay off a good percentage of the faculty and begin offering a significant number of courses on line, whoa. 
     I hope they can keep their head above water and that the plan works.  When the faculty that remain see what is happening, they might just feel like they should look elsewhere. 
     It's hard to kill a college.  Few, if any, of us will know what is causing Wit's financial crisis--other than the usual crisis in enrollment possibilities and the aftermath of the pandemic.  But for some lately this drop in enrollment and some bad administrative decisions over time puts a college in a poor place.  Reference Birmingham Southern. 
     The next few years promise to be interesting for a proud University. 

[WAF-WDE]

Wittenberg's struggles exemplify what is happening across the country.  I respectfully disagree with Sigma One - it is relatively easy to kill any college whose net income is driven in large part by enrollment, including regional public institutions, community colleges, and private liberal arts colleges.  Fortunately, in 2015, Jeffrey Docking (president of Adrian College) published a wonderful strategy for addressing this challenge, entitled "Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America."  A key element of this strategy was improving student recruitment and retention through increased extracurricular offerings, including varsity sports.  I don't know if Wabash noticed Docking's book.  But Wabash is certainly implementing some of his approaches.  Wabash, for example, offers two more varsity sports (lacrosse and volleyball) than it did when I was a student in the mid-80s.  Likewise, the number of student organizations has exploded.  As a result, the enrollment at Wabash has remained steady at slightly more than 800 students.  I hope that Wittenberg finds a durable solution to its enrollment challenges.  Docking argues that it is unlikely for a financially troubled college to remain solvent through budget cuts, as such cuts make the institution even less attractive to potential students.

[WAF-WDE]

The irony is that Wittenberg joined a consortium of institutions that have pledged to support students who were displaced by the closing of Notre Dame College (South Euclid, OH).

https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/wittenberg-signs-deal-with-notre-dame-college-for-students-to-continue-degrees/DOO3NV5ZQRGDZEJ7H4TH7DU36E/

[WAF-WDE]

Here are other examples of struggling colleges and universities:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/business/cost-cutting/2024/08/05/declining-enrollment-fafsa-issues-drove-more-cuts-july

[Flying Dutch Fan]

One has to wonder if what is happening or may soon be happening at Wittenberg contributed to this:

https://www.wittenbergtigers.com/sports/mbkb/2024-25/releases/CrociResigns