FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[4mrduck]

I just saw that Earlham football, was looking for a new OL coach. My nephew was looking at going there, does anybody know what is going on? Is it a good program for him to go to? Any info would be great, thanks. 

[wabco]

4mrduck

Good academics.  Nice environment.  Good faculty and  focused students.  Not so great at football.

If you want the total package, your nephew should consider Wabash.

[D3_DPUFan]

If you want the total package, your nephew should consider Wabash.

Well, almost the toal package...

[blue4now]

Even better, come to CWRU

[DPU3619]

If you want the total package, your nephew should consider Wabash.

Well, almost the toal package...

Don't come to DePauw if you want to be a good speller, apparently.  Guess I'm not the only one afflicted with that particular malady.

[D3_DPUFan]

Well, almost the toal package...

Good catch, Wes...but you get my point. 

[FightinScot]

I just saw that Earlham football, was looking for a new OL coach. My nephew was looking at going there, does anybody know what is going on? Is it a good program for him to go to? Any info would be great, thanks. 

Earlham surprised some teams last year, but I don't see a lot of long-term success for them; ther're normally a lower-tier NCAC team.  If you're looking for a successful, stable program for him to go into, look no further than the three W's (well, except for Witt. Don't send him there.)

Then again, there's nothing wrong with going to a school with less success on the field, its really all about where he feels best- be it Earlham, Case, Wabash, Wooster, wherever...the football wins are icing on the cake, and they're not worth it if you can't stand the team or school.

[DPU3619]

the football wins are icing on the cake, and they're not worth it if you can't stand the team or school.

A very valid point.  Maybe playing time is a big deal to the young man, as well. 

Don't want to offend anybody here, but the kid who's thinking about going to Earlham to play is probably going to have to work awful darned hard to crack that 2 deep in Crawfordsville, Springfield, and Wooster.  Two years worth of scout team.  Ew.

[D3_DPUFan]

Don't want to offend anybody here, but the kid who's thinking about going to Earlham to play is probably going to have to work awful darned hard to crack that 2 deep in Crawfordsville, Springfield, and Wooster.  Two years worth of scout team.  Ew.

If I remember correctly, Anderson put up 40 or 50 on Earlham last year...

[wally_wabash]

I'm inclined to believe that this prospective Division III football player is probably going to go pro in something other than football.  The best thing for this young man to do is visit schools of interest and select the place that feels comfortable and has the best programs available for whatever it is that he might want to do after college.  It's hard to find a bad school in the NCAC, so the choice probably comes down to what campus feels like the right fit. 

[wabco]

By my comment, I was not intending disrespect for the Quakers ... quite the opposite.  The question, however, was about quality of football.  I think Wally is correct, although my personal choice if quality of football were also an ingredient in the mix, would be Woo, or 'Bash or CWRU.

Come on ..... stud Running Back !!!

[4mrduck]

I just saw that Earlham football, was looking for a new OL coach. My nephew was looking at going there, does anybody know what is going on? Is it a good program for him to go to? Any info would be great, thanks. 

Earlham surprised some teams last year, but I don't see a lot of long-term success for them; ther're normally a lower-tier NCAC team.  If you're looking for a successful, stable program for him to go into, look no further than the three W's (well, except for Witt. Don't send him there.)

Then again, there's nothing wrong with going to a school with less success on the field, its really all about where he feels best- be it Earlham, Case, Wabash, Wooster, wherever...the football wins are icing on the cake, and they're not worth it if you can't stand the team or school.

Why don't you see long-term success there? What is the problem with the program? I will not be able to make it to any of the schools, so any info you guys could provide would be great.  I have looked at the website, campus looks nice and the team has a new stadium and field house...

[DPU3619]

Why don't you see long-term success there? What is the problem with the program? I will not be able to make it to any of the schools, so any info you guys could provide would be great.  I have looked at the website, campus looks nice and the team has a new stadium and field house...

An interesting question, and one that I think has a lot of answers. 

I think it's very difficult to recruit quality athletes in this part of the country, both generally in the midwest as a whole, and specifically in Richmond.  There are a ton of schools in Indiana and Ohio and Michigan who are fighting over the same kids.  It's really hard for a school like Earlham to recruit really quality players in Indiana when they're competing with Wabash, DePauw, Franklin, and now Trine is building a nice program, as well.  They've kinda replaced what Hanover was 5 and 10 years ago.  Earlham just isn't going to pull many of those kids away who are looking at those schools.  Those are just the top tier DIII caliber talent players, too.  The middle of the road players are looking at the Anderson's, Manchester's, Rose-Hulman's and so forth.  They can't recruit Ohio either when you look at all the OAC schools PLUS Witt and Woo..etc.  And that's all just the football side of it.

The academics are a whole other story.  Look at all the prestigious schools both A) in Indiana and B) in the NCAC.  Earlham's a nice school, but I don't think they're Oberlin, Denison, Kenyon, or even Wabash, DePauw, or Rose-Hulman.  I'm really not trying to sound like I hate Earlham, because I don't.  I'm not trying to knock it.  It's a good school and it is a great campus.  But, there are reasons why it's been a LONG time since they've been good at football.  If you get into Earlham and you get into Wabash and the financial aid is the same, and an all boys school doesn't bother you, why WOULDN'T you go play at Wabash?  That's the problem they face in recruiting.  if it does bother you, and you can get into Wabash, then you've probably gotten into the DePauw's and Denison's of the world, too.  It's a catch-22 of sorts.

That said, if it's a fit for your nephew, that's great.  If he decides to go to Earlham and has a great time regardless of the number of games they win, then he made the right choice.  That's the number one priority when it comes to picking a school.  Go where you'll think you'll be happiest.  If football wins is what makes him happy, then he may not be happy at Earlham.

[Superfoot Wallace]

4mrduck,

The Quake^tm passes the ball a bunch.  Sometimes they even pass the ball a bunch from Bunch would suppose.

With Earlham's ability to launch the ball a pair of Keith Byar types could put them over the top offensively.  Though, it could be argued one slashing gamebreaker might serve this function as well.

Defensively things can be accounted for schematically if the offensive side of the ball is drawing the bulk of the talent within the team, but an impact defensive player augmenting scheme could draw the score differential closer making them more than formidable.

If you don't mind the asking, what position does your nephew play?

signed,
Bruce Matthews

[FightinScot]

Why don't you see long-term success there? What is the problem with the program? I will not be able to make it to any of the schools, so any info you guys could provide would be great.  I have looked at the website, campus looks nice and the team has a new stadium and field house...

It's tough to maintain success when your team drops down to about 45 guys on the roster during the season and you're losing 4 out of the 5 all-conference players on top of that. The NCAC isn't a conference like the OAC that carries 150+ guys on a team, but only having 45 players hurts.  Unless they pull a monster recruiting class (I agree with Wes on that point too, though I'll admit to knowing little about the academic prestige of the college) they'll be hard pressed to keep up with the teams like 'Bash, Witt and Woo, all of whom are bringing back 90 guys or so along with multiple all-conference players.

On the other hand, I do admire the way Earlham has played the past few years against us, they typically aren't as talented, but they sure as heck don't quit. I don't think your nephew would be making a mistake in going there if he feels at home with the program and school.