FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[DadofBashWarrior..]

Am anxious to hear more recruiting results...Saw the big change in Alliance...

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Hiram's President stepping down. Will this lead to a change in their philosophy towards athletics?

http://news.hiram.edu/?p=7313

[wabco]

Dad of ...
What was the big change to which you referred in Alliance Ohio?

[ExTartanPlayer]

Dad of ...
What was the big change to which you referred in Alliance Ohio?

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but Larry Kehres stepped down as coach, and Mount has named his son Vince the head coach.

[Pat Coleman]

If you missed it, check the D3football.com home page. If you're being sarcastic, relatively well played.

[wabco]

I wasn't.  Apparently I was in a different solar system ... I didn't see that.  Thanks.  and .... WOW !  Wonder what that brings longer term.  I am sure, being a part of the system, it is being touted as "seemless".  But you never know whether the dynasty is tied to a person or is institutionalized.  Time will tell.  Again, I was not being sarcasatic ... just badly underinformed.

[wabco]

Just visited the D III website.  I don't do that very often in the off season.  Lesson learned.  Looks like he made it as seamless as possible, waiting till this year's recruiting season is over, staying on as director of athletics (which will allow him to spend time with the football team and program ... probably in a more fun way) ... still ... you go Vince ... there will be some pressure on you.  What an opportunity.

[smedindy]

Hiram's President stepping down. Will this lead to a change in their philosophy towards athletics?

http://news.hiram.edu/?p=7313

Hmmm...

Some of their sports are doing OK for themselves - not great but OK. (Except for women's volleyball, which is pretty darn good). And while their football team was bad, they did have a decent sized roster to begin the year, so at least they were attracting male students.

How many alums will clamor for a change in their football philosophy? Are there financial concerns and academic concerns to deal with first?

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Hiram's President stepping down. Will this lead to a change in their philosophy towards athletics?

http://news.hiram.edu/?p=7313

Hmmm...

Some of their sports are doing OK for themselves - not great but OK. (Except for women's volleyball, which is pretty darn good). And while their football team was bad, they did have a decent sized roster to begin the year, so at least they were attracting male students.

How many alums will clamor for a change in their football philosophy? Are there financial concerns and academic concerns to deal with first?

Their Baseball team has been down for a while as well. They had a decent year by their standards, but were still on the bottom of the NCAC.

[sigma one]

I think Chema is pro-athletics.  During his presidency Hiram has made significant (though perhaps modest by most stardards) upgrades in their athletics facilities.  In recent years he has served as president of the NCAC.  He has also been on the NCAA Division III Presidents' Council.  Those presidents' positions do not in themselves signal a pro-athletics position, but I bellieve he has been interested in improving Hiram sports if for no other reason than to increase enrollment--which has gone up significantly during his time there.  On the other hand, Hiram  dropped a couple of sports in what was  almost certainly a financial move.  It could be, however, that the decision to drop those sports was tied to the desire to more adequately fund other sports.   

[wally_wabash]

Reports from the twitternet indicate that Wabash won their exhibition game down in Panama last night 56-6.  As always with these trips abroad, the game is secondary to the experience for the student-athletes, which appears to have been quite positive.  Here's to a safe journey back home for the travel squad.  WAF!

[Li'l Giant]

Best thing about that game for me is Wabash going 8 for 8 on PATs. Lets hope we see more of that.

[smedindy]

Since we're in a lull (and I had five minutes between meetings), I looked up the ONE non-conference game everyone has this coming year and power ranked them:

1. Wooster - Washington & Jefferson - Tough debut for the new regime of the Scots. "Hi, take this 2-8 team and play a perennial playoff contender. You're welcome!"
2. Oberlin - Case Western - The Spartans were down last year but are still a quality program that will be a tough test for a re-tooling Yeoman squad.
3. Allegheny - Carnegie - Mellon - They may have had a few losses, but the Tartans will still be a decent non-conference test for anyone in the conference.
4. Wabash - Hanover - The Panthers are on an uptick, but I think the UAA > HCAC. Still, it's a good in-state rival that brings back memories for this alum of games featuring over 80 passes by Hanover.
5. OWU - Bluffton - The dictionary definition of a middling program - the Beavers are smack in the middle of a blah conference. It'll be a decent warmup for the Bishops.
6. DePauw - Sewanee - Did the New Tigers have pangs of nostalga for the old SCAC? Is that why they scheduled the University of the South?
7. Hiram - Westminster - I can't really get excited about a middle-tier PAC team, but Hiram's got to win a game at some point, right? Why not this one?
8(t) Kenyon - Earlham - A smart scheduling choice for the Lords. Yeah, the Quakers are poor but it'll be a win for us. The Lords may backslide a bit and every bit helps.
8(t) Denison - Earlham - Meanwhile, I think the Big Red could have scheduled up a bit. You won't get better by playing cupcakes, Denison (see SEC hoops this year).
10. Wittenberg - Butler - I demoted them to #10 as this game does nothing for Witt or the NCAC vis-a-vis playoffs and seeding. Oh, Witt. Don't ever change. Wait, do.

[wally_wabash]

I think I see three wins in there, two of them against Earlham.  DePauw has a shot but it is on the road and who knows how quickly things will get clicking there.  Maybe Allegheny could make a fifth win, but again that's on the road and you never know what Gator squad will show up.  The best case scenario is five wins IF we can win two coin toss games on the road. 

The last time Witt went out of division, they played Dayton in 2005-2006 and actually played decent games.  They held a lead at half in 2005 before things got squirrely in the fourth quarter (at Dayton) and went back and forth with the Flyers at home in 2006.  I think 2013 Wittenberg is better than 2005-2006 Wittenberg.  2005 Dayton lost only once (to San Diego...coached by Jim Harbaugh who, as it turns out, is pretty good at the coaching thing).  2006 Dayton was just 4-6.  Butler seems to be on the rise a bit.  That's all a long winded stream of conciousness kind of way of saying I don't know that Witt can't win that game necessarily, but I still think the odds are long and, as has been mentioned, there is no tangible benefit for anybody for winning that game (not for Witt, not for anybody else in the league who Witt contributes OWP and OOWP variables to). 

Totally derped on this...there are four wins there (Kenyon, Denison, Wabash, and OWU which I didn't count earlier).  My bad, Bishops.  It's the offseason for me as well.   

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Kenyon Player Brett Williams ot play in Germany:

http://athletics.kenyon.edu/news/2013/5/28/FBALL_0528135536.aspx

Good luck, Nice to see an NCAC guy playing on.