FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Uggh eight and a half months before our next D3 football game.  Thank you to the D3 staff for all your efforts in providing this web site.

You are welcome. Our team is looking forward to some free time after the past few weeks, to be sure.

For me it's like two days before I have to dive back in on hoops and D3hoops.com Classic stuff.

[JCUStreaks70]

Hello future Conference foes! Just wanted to pop in and say that I'm looking forward to future razzing and teasing

[CollegeGolf18]

We are back! And...Don Morel is still the head coach. Boo.

[wally_wabash]

Hello future Conference foes! Just wanted to pop in and say that I'm looking forward to future razzing and teasing

[WAF]

In addition to replacing Liam and company on the offense, the Little Giants will be looking for a new DC and a position coach. Ridings heading to Campbell as a position coach it looks like. Don has ZERO recruiting ability without Ridings. Things could be very disappointing for the next few years in C-ville, sadly to say.

[CollegeGolf18]

In addition to replacing Liam and company on the offense, the Little Giants will be looking for a new DC and a position coach. Ridings heading to Campbell as a position coach it looks like. Don has ZERO recruiting ability without Ridings. Things could be very disappointing for the next few years in C-ville, sadly to say.

Didn't even catch that. I thought Ridings did a solid job while here and was able to get some talent on the defensive side of the ball. It was an overhaul.

Morel will have to knock the hire out of the park...and I really have no faith in it - sadly.

[sigma one]

Congratulations to Pat and all the others who worked hard to get us up and running again.
I have some strong opinions on the vote to invite John Carroll into the NCAC, but I will save them for another day to see if my emotions on that settle down.
    Wabash is searching for a new DC.  Ridings has departed for Campbell. He improved the defense last year and almost all the starters and many of the contributors return.  He was also helped by a new OL coach, who improved production last year and will now, in his second year, make them even better.
    Let's be real.  JCU will almost certainly dominate football in the conference, with little chance for anyone else to represent the NCAC in the playoffs for the near term (maybe long
term) future.  Wabash will struggle to win 7/8 games a year--and that's assuming they recruit better than they have lately.  That being said, I'll repeat what I have written here several times:  Morel will be the HC as long as he wants to stay.  So we can lament the drop off over the last several years, but we are whistling in the dark.  Key to '24 will be replacing Liam at
QB; obviously there's not another one remotely like him out there. 
     Anyway, good to be able to share again. 

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Congratulations to Pat and all the others who worked hard to get us up and running again.
I have some strong opinions on the vote to invite John Carroll into the NCAC, but I will save them for another day to see if my emotions on that settle down.
    Wabash is searching for a new OC.  Ridings has departed for Campbell. He improved the defense last year and almost all the starters and many of the contributors return.  He was also helped by a new OL coach, who improved production last year and will now, in his second year, make them even better.
    Let's be real.  JCU will almost certainly dominate football in the conference, with little chance for anyone else to represent the NCAC in the playoffs for the near term (maybe long
term) future.  Wabash will struggle to win 7/8 games a year--and that's assuming they recruit better than they have lately.  That being said, I'll repeat what I have written here several times:  Morel will be the HC as long as he wants to stay.  So we can lament the drop off over the last several years, but we are whistling in the dark.  Key to '24 will be replacing Liam at
QB; obviously there's not another one remotely like him out there. 
     Anyway, good to be able to share again. 

I thought Ridings was the Defensive Coordinator?

[sigma one]

Yes, DC.  Thanks for the correction.  Any view on the change of conferences for JCU?

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Yes, DC.  Thanks for the correction.  Any view on the change of conferences for JCU?

A JCU poster on the OAC page said he thought it was JCU positioning themselves for a better future in case current OAC teams actually close down as institutions.  It seems possible, but I'm sure the changes to Playoff Bids (reduction of Group C due to conferences with at least 6 members getting automatic bids) had to come into play.  JCU used to be a pretty sure bet to make it to the playoffs as the runner up OAC team.  And they often did well.

[sigma one]

I read that post on JCU and their clever reasoning for leaving the OAC.  Which colleges in the OAC are in close danger of collapsing?  Frankly, this sounds like a defensible excuse for ducking UMU in football.  And I don't think I blame them, particularly because of the shrinking at-large invitations into the playoffs.  I really liked the D3 post about expansion to 40 teams, but I think it's a long shot that the NCAA will move very quickly in that direction.  I hope I am wrong! 

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I read that post on JCU and their clever reasoning for leaving the OAC.  Which colleges in the OAC are in close danger of collapsing?  Frankly, this sounds like a defensible excuse for ducking UMU in football.  And I don't think I blame them, particularly because of the shrinking at-large invitations into the playoffs.  I really liked the D3 post about expansion to 40 teams, but I think it's a long shot that the NCAA will move very quickly in that direction.  I hope I am wrong! 

I've not heard any specifics on schools closing.

[JCUStreaks70]

I read that post on JCU and their clever reasoning for leaving the OAC.  Which colleges in the OAC are in close danger of collapsing?  Frankly, this sounds like a defensible excuse for ducking UMU in football.  And I don't think I blame them, particularly because of the shrinking at-large invitations into the playoffs.  I really liked the D3 post about expansion to 40 teams, but I think it's a long shot that the NCAA will move very quickly in that direction.  I hope I am wrong! 

my first reaction on us leaving was that it looked like we were ducking Mount... However, I don't think that holds much credence when you schedule Non-Conference games with Whitewater, Oshkosh and even Washington and Jefferson.

[sigma one]

First, I love it that the top D3 teams have been scheduling other top teams, both in region and across regions.  Makes for good football.  I'm just spitballing here, but could it be that JCU scheduling competitive OOC opponents is a strategy that, assuming they win the OOC game against a quality team, will raise their SOS, thus giving them a better chance of being chosen for one of the very limited  playoff spots if (as is usual) they lose to UMU?   Right now, losing to Mount is an elimination game for them if they schedule a weak OOC team.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

First, I love it that the top D3 teams have been scheduling other top teams, both in region and across regions.  Makes for good football.  I'm just spitballing here, but could it be that JCU scheduling competitive OOC opponents is a strategy that, assuming they win the OOC game against a quality team, will raise their SOS, thus giving them a better chance of being chosen for one of the very limited  playoff spots if (as is usual) they lose to UMU?   Right now, losing to Mount is an elimination game for them if they schedule a weak OOC team.

Yes, I believe that was their strategy in recent scheduling.