FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[The_Bishop]

Thanks The_Bishop,
It is good to hear. The facilities have come a long way compared to where they were when my son started at the school 3.5 years ago. While the facilities were not an over riding concern, I do know that one very competitive Baseball school that was recruiting him, was marked off the list because the weight room was so much worse than he already had at HS and the academics did not compare well with his other choices.

My Lord, BLD.  The weight room was banged up in the mid 90s when I arrived so I can't imagine how things deteriorated when you first visited just a few years ago.  Problem corrected, thankfully.  The plans for the new fitness center where the old natatorium was located looked impressive.   Oh, the things you can do when a donor writes a check for $8MM!   

[BashDad]

Wittenberg has forced 17 turnovers.

[NCAC4Life]

OWU stepping it up a little.   http://www.battlingbishops.com/news/2014/10/9/FB_10092014.aspx

[aueagle]

AWESOME news for the Bishops program!!! The Cru is an outstanding program....
And to play back to back...at their stadium, which I think is one the best in all of
D3...and D2 for that matter....Kudos to Caoch Watts & AD Roger Ingles
GO BISHOPS

[HCAlum86]

OWU stepping it up a little.   http://www.battlingbishops.com/news/2014/10/9/FB_10092014.aspx

Wow!! Wow, wow, wow! Great for OWU! That will be a tough game against what could be the defending National Champions at this time next year...

And piggy-backing off of that AND the facility discussion, I think MHB takes the cake in Division III. Their stadium was designed by the same man that designed Yankee Stadium
http://www.umhb.edu/stadium/
http://cruathletics.com/galleries/?gallery=173

Also, if you get a second, check out their locker room and player's lounge. Truly a Div. 1 FBS facility

[Wabash Hokie]

Here is the updated link to Wabash's game notes for this weekend's game at OWU: (previous link did not work)

http://sports.wabash.edu/documents/2014/10/9//ReleaseOct92014.pdf?id=294

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Thanks The_Bishop,
It is good to hear. The facilities have come a long way compared to where they were when my son started at the school 3.5 years ago. While the facilities were not an over riding concern, I do know that one very competitive Baseball school that was recruiting him, was marked off the list because the weight room was so much worse than he already had at HS and the academics did not compare well with his other choices.

My Lord, BLD.  The weight room was banged up in the mid 90s when I arrived so I can't imagine how things deteriorated when you first visited just a few years ago.  Problem corrected, thankfully.  The plans for the new fitness center where the old natatorium was located looked impressive.   Oh, the things you can do when a donor writes a check for $8MM!   

The facilities were not bad when he made his visits. But they have improved. I can tell you an OAC competitors was terrible. Old beat up equipment in a dank floresent lighted room, with cinderblock walls.

[The_Bishop]

OWU stepping it up a little.   http://www.battlingbishops.com/news/2014/10/9/FB_10092014.aspx

Wowee, stepping it up a little indeed (with all due respect to Bluffton, Catholic, Olivet and some of our other non-conference foes the past decade or so).  Thanks for posting, NCAC4Life.

[aueagle]

Food for thought...With Coach Watts's connection to Baldwin-Wallace..Playing the Yellow-Jackets
would have his coaching exoerience linked, players on both teams would connect (Ohio high school
ball - for the most part), OAC/NCAA Challenge. Then we can add Mount Union, Cortland State, Redlands,
John Carroll, UWW, etc....

[Li'l Giant]

OWU stepping it up a little.   http://www.battlingbishops.com/news/2014/10/9/FB_10092014.aspx

Oh my. I might try to get up to Belton and root on OWU in 2016.

[smedindy]

UMHB is a wee bit more a stretch than Bluffton! Though UMHB is always looking for games...

[Bishopleftiesdad]

UMHB is a wee bit more a stretch than Bluffton! Though UMHB is always looking for games...

Why's that? Is it because the region they are in? Tough to find games closer to home in Texas? Just curious, I do not doubt the veracity of you statement.

[Caveman # 95]

Leftie-  Smed's statement "UMHB is always looking for games" could come across a bit dooshy, but I think he was insinuating that they may have trouble finding games...as no one wants to get their butts kicked.

I think it's great that the Bishops had the balls to schedule such a tough opponent... this is a great thing for NCAC.

[smedindy]

UMHB is a wee bit more a stretch than Bluffton! Though UMHB is always looking for games...

Why's that? Is it because the region they are in? Tough to find games closer to home in Texas? Just curious, I do not doubt the veracity of you statement.

Unless the Texas schools want to play them, non-conference games for them are harder to get as it usually involves a flight of some sort or verrrry long bus rides. Belton is between Austin and Waco, near Temple and Killeen.

UMHB's conference kind of imploded on itself. Right now there are just six teams after Mississippi College left for D-2. I think McMurry is coming back, but if / when they do return that's just six conference games out of 10. Teams in the SCAC, USA South and SAA are probably not too keen on getting shellacked by 50 or so early in the year. I really can't think Austin nor Southwestern would be up to have anything to do with UMHB.

Last year, they played Redlands, Kean and Wesley in non-conference - pretty far flung. This year - they got games with Redlands, UW-Lax and Kean.

In the past, they've played NAIA Southern Oregon and D2 Southern Nazarene to fill their non conference slate, even though they had 8 conference games they had a hard time finding people to play.

Nothing "douchey" about it, it's a fact of life for them and I'm glad OWU is going for the gusto, as it were.

Though I'm saddened as a D-3 fan that Wesley and UMHB aren't continuing to play in the non-conference year. I don't think it would hurt any team's playoff chances.

[HCAlum86]

UMHB did not develop the reputation in Texas that Mount Union has in Ohio. I have some relatives in Dallas and El Paso, the general feel down there is that UMHB bought their program and their players. They brought in a President that had a firm belief in building a united student body around athletics and had no qualms pursuing philanthropists to achieve that goal.

Kehres more or less built Mount from scratch, having to recruit his butt off for years before developing the sterling reputation he carried. UMHB does not have that reputation. A few JuCo kids, a slew of DII, DIFCS and FBS transfers, along with some kids that had trouble with clearinghouse.

I think that stigma has given them trouble finding teams to play them. That, plus the lack of DIII schools in Texas, plus having no reservations about dropping 84 on a team.