FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Ryan Tipps]

When you can visit Mount Union Stadium. It is the oldest college stadium in Ohio, and one of the nicest place to see a game!

I'm sure it's nice, but as a neutral observer, I rarely enjoy seeing blowouts That can dull most any atmosphere.

[formerd3db]

aueagle and Ryan T:

Wow, RPI's stadium, indeed, has the look and feel of the "big time"!  Very impressive - it gives me the feeling of a "mini" Western Kentucky University type stadium.  The two-tier on the home side is awesome and the visitors side is neat as well - the latter instead of the usual "one small section" of bleachers! Hampton's is nice as well, kind of giving that "old time college football stadium" look and I like that as well.

I am like you guys as I love visiting college football stadiums, especially the DIII's.  When I have to go to a continueing education conference and/or if we are going on vacation somewhere, since we usually drive (as I don't like flying - I take after "John Madden" in that regard, but only that regard! ), I am always dragging my wife to a short sidetrip to see a DIII stadium (and sometimes the DI's or II"s) as we are passing by and/or through some town where the schools are located.  I love the old time stadiums, but again, with many of the DIII schools upgrading their stadiums to meet the current day needs, that is very neat to see.  Thanks for sharing those with us - very neat.  Like both of you, I am ready for the spring drills to start.  Take care.

[smedindy]

I liked Selby Stadium - but the stands are way too empty.

I thought Mt. Union's stadium was too sterile, however, I may not have been the most cogent observer. Are they still finding the beer cans we left behind at Mt. Union back then???

[Raider 68]

I liked Selby Stadium - but the stands are way too empty.

I thought Mt. Union's stadium was too sterile, however, I may not have been the most cogent observer. Are they still finding the beer cans we left behind at Mt. Union back then???

smedindy,

Yep, got them all!

[formerd3db]

smedindy:

Selby is one of my favorites also, perhaps #1 (aueagle will be pleased, but then, he already knows that! ).  It has a great history, having been built in the '20's and with the likes of some of the "big time" schools playing there back in those days. Another neat one is Washington U's Franklin Stadium in St. Louis. However, I agree with you in that one drawback or less appealing is the lack fans in the stands for games as you have pointed out.

I guess it comes down to several factors, at least IMO, when some of these schools make decisions on upgrades of their stadiums (I'll limit my comments to the actual stands since I think that for the most part, the new synthetic turfs are "a given", although obviously not always).  For some, the decision is...do we keep the old stadium for nostalgia and tradition and looks yet modernize it to meet current day codes/standards (similar to what Mount Union has done and/or OWU - in that regard, I wished Hope had done something similar with the old 1930's city owned covered stadium i.e. like Mounts that we played in before the current Holland Municipal Stadium - which BTW, is even somewhat outdated in some respects) or some semi-renovations of old stadiums and fields like DePauw, Denison, or the Knox Bowl out in Iowa or Wabash, and Washington U OR...do the schools go completely new such as RPI, ONU, Adrian and Trine (both of which has a fantastic stadiums with sky boxes, etc, Adrian even has endzone stands at one end), Alma, Olivet from our league, Defiance, Bluffton, Anderson, Rose-Hulman etc., etc. and even as BW (or Kenyon, Denison) or Elmhurst, or even Wheaton , NorthCentral and Central IA and Wartburg are other examplesdid several years ago; and also schools like Hampden as was shown, or Hamilton in NY; Guilford is another example, even some schools like University of the Cumberlands in KY which is an NAIA school or even FCS Butler which did a complete renovation of the old Butler Bowl (I could go on and on).  

The other big question then with renovation and/or new construction, is they have to consider the reality of their average attendance for their home games.  Do you decide to go with a larger modern stadium which looks great except for all the empty seats or build a smaller one (whether it looks modern or the old traditional style with brick, wrought iron fencing and arches, and perhaps even keeping some of the old portions such as U of Chicago's New Stagg Field which has the huge old stadium doors from the old historic Staff Field from the "big-time" days in the Big Ten; and/or with concourses, etc., but which looks neat because the stands are full on home dates?  Of course, some of this depends on what $ is available and/or donated (nice that BW had the assistance of the NFL Browns for that back then and Rose-Hulman the colts).  

Another example is Kalamasoo College in our league, which recently announced it will renovate Angell Field/Stadium, which they have been playing at since the 1930's (although portions of the field have been used since the 1890's for football).  The current facilities are in a huge bowl shaped hill with an open end, but the home stands are permanent concret stands built into the side of the hill.  The press box is a tiny, bircked antiquated one from the 1930's also; new visitors stands and locker rooms behind those were build a few years ago with some wrought iron fencing to give it some additonal "old" feel.  However, Kazoo does not draw well at home, usually less than 1,000 and it is sad to see so many open seats when we play there (sometimes the visiting teams have more fans), although they did draw +4,000 for Homecoming against Hope about 5 years ago. Yet, while I'm glad they will be keeping the bowl and traditonal look, realistically they need to keep the permanent stands about the same, but of course a new press box will make a ton of difference.

The bottom line is I guess that each school needs to be realistic in their planning in whatever they decide to build, but such that they they'll have full capacity crowds for home games.  Sorry for the rambling, but just thought I'd share some of my thoughts/comments on all this.  I love old (and new) small college stadiums!  Guess I'm just a traditionalist.

[aueagle]

My take on Hampden-Sydney/Everett Stadium...I was there for the Big Game vs
Randolph-Macon last fall - Great atmosphere....Great home-side of the facility, but I thought the visitor side was average, and the cinder track was a question mark. But the food at the concessions was outstanding.
R Tipps: I would put Washington & Lee/Wilson Field on the list...The Generals put $15 million into the deal and it looks great. My problem with Shenandoah is the visitor side...
Selby: Needs a winning program & 5,000 fans..
I put LS Ayers Field of Hanover on my list - great setting, and I've always like Deeds-Piper at Denison.
formerd3db: I agree that Adrian/Performance Stadium is very good/hillside seating at endzone BBQ is a plus. But, I think Trine with the Fred Zollner Stadium could be one of the best.
Facilitiy Warfare on the athletic front will attract perspective students and enhance the probability of a winning program.

[Ryan Tipps]

R Tipps: I would put Washington & Lee/Wilson Field on the list...The Generals put $15 million into the deal and it looks great. My problem with Shenandoah is the visitor side...

Yeah, I agree on Shenandoah. Visitor side could use improvement. Though the night games there help improve the atmosphere overall.

W&L is definitely nice, but I wasn't quite as wowed with that as I was the other places.

[smedindy]

d3db -

I think what teams need to in D-3 (for all but the top draws) is emulate what Gustavus Adolphus did. They made it very fan and family friendly, with good sight lines and easy access to amenities.

Monmouth did a decent job with their stadium upgrade as well.

The issue, of course, is that many of these colleges don't have much room to expand for a new stadium. So an upgrade is what they have to do.

Wabash upgraded its field, but now I think they need to upgrade the rest of the physical plant of the stadium. Of course, they will keep the egalitarian seating and all, but some more creature comforts would be nice.

[JA8486]

d3db,

Appreciate your stadium analysis on this board and the MIAA board. I too like to see/go to different small college stadiums as I travel around. I get to several each season here in Ohio. My favorite would have to be Selby Stadium too. Due to my schedule I didn't make down there this year, but I hope to get there again this coming season. I like Deeds-Piper, and I like going to Savage Stadium over in Oberlin. I get there several times a year. It is a very laid back atmosphere and even though I don't get to see a victory everytime, I enjoy the game. I have been over to Dial-Roberson at ONU and that is a very nice facility. I made it to the ONU - Wittneberg playoff game this last season. I am looking forward to what Heidelberg builds since I go to all the home games down there. I have not seen any plans announced yet, but it is a very nice campus setting where it will built.

[smedindy]

JA,

Going to Oberlin and Heidelberg for several games each season? Like the underdogs, eh? 

[formerd3db]

JA8486:

Thanks!  I also enjoyed reading about your own opinions.  Regarding Heidelberg, it is nice to see they are returning to having an on-campus stadium.  The one they used/shared with Tiffin is nice, yet having one's own on-campus stadium is better IMO.  Also, it just fits with that "old college tradition" and feel that you, I and others are talking about.  As far as Deeds/Piper stadium at Denison, that is neat also with its historical tradition and setting - I had a friend who went there, although he was on the swim team, not a fb player.  I also like Oberlin's due to the historic site where it is, which is my understanding has also been used since their early historic fb days "way back when".  Anyway, see you around the boards.

[wally_wabash]

Piper-Deeds is probably my second favorite stadium in the NCAC...they did a fantastic job with the renovations there and it's hard to beat that setting in the fall down in the bowl with the leaves changing.  Excellent place to watch a game.  The Papp up in Wooster is another great place for a game, even though some (most?) here will quibble with the lack of stands on one side of the field.  That used to bother me more than it does now, but I've been to enough stadiums around D-III now to know not to expect stands on both sides of the field.  I digress...games at Wooster are fun to watch.  The crowds are generally pretty good and the gameday atmosphere there is solid.  Selby is also a lot of fun to visit.

Outside the NCAC, some of my favorites have been CWRU (nice setting in the city with the backdrop of the dorms around two sides of the field), Kalamazoo (kind of like Denison, not quite as updated, but the bowl thing is cool), and Whitewater. 

Wabash upgraded its field, but now I think they need to upgrade the rest of the physical plant of the stadium. Of course, they will keep the egalitarian seating and all, but some more creature comforts would be nice.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Wabash give the exterior of the Hollett a facelift sometime in the not-too-distant future.  Certainly the facilities upgrades going on right now are higher on the priority list (baseball stadium is nearly complete and WAY overdue).  I would think that the entrance to the baseball facility would serve as a decent blueprint for what could be done outside of Hollett when the time comes. 

[Joe Wally]

Reading Ryan Tipps' comments got me to thinking about the prospect of bringing in portable lights and playing a night game at Wabash.

Can you imagine a full days worth of tailgating ahead of a night game against Witt!?!  That would be extraordinary.

[Raider 68]

Reading Ryan Tipps' comments got me to thinking about the prospect of bringining in portable lights and playing a night game at Wabash.

Can you imagine a full days worth of tailgating ahead of a night game against Witt!?!  That would be extraordinary.

Joe Wally,

Night games for college football are really neat for the reasons you state, especially in the early part of the season! Hope they can have a few!

[smedindy]

Reading Ryan Tipps' comments got me to thinking about the prospect of bringing in portable lights and playing a night game at Wabash.

Can you imagine a full days worth of tailgating ahead of a night game against Witt!?!  That would be extraordinary.

The livers! Won't somebody think of the livers?