FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

wlcalum:

The line of thinking which I have heard from other coaches and Athletic Directors in the league is that due to the fact that Football is the most popular and also the biggest in terms of program size that it is also the most legislated.  This is true at every level from Division I all the way to Division III, the Division I baseball season with the College World Series stretches deep into the summer, well past school calendars.  As it stands the MIAA jsut this year allowed usage of footballs in spring practices but we are still operating 6 days below the NCAA allowed number of days.  This is mainly due to the fact that administrators in the MIAA see the league as being superior academically to these other leagues and thus not wanting to take away from the educational aspect of college.  This reasoning is noble however when we hear administration sources talk of how the MIAA needs to be better represented in the postseason and what not, those same people must first allow the programs in our league which are all good programs the same equal footing as the competition.  Until the day that happens the MIAA will be playing from behind as 6 days may not seem alot, but when installing base offenses and defenses it can be the difference between useful camp time and simply wasting time teaching the basics and base plays.  At least those are my thoughts on it, any others would be welcome.

[bulldogalum]

Seems to me, DAWG, that if league administrators are going to place an emphasis on postseason success, eventually they have to allow the programs to start on equal footing with their competition.  The MIAA is one of the strongest academic conferences in DIII, but I don't see how 6 more days will cause huge academic disruptions.  The league has come a long way, though.  I'm sure formerd3db could tell better stories than I about when the MIAA refused to enter NCAA playoffs at all due to a sense of academic pride (we're students, not athletes, they seemed to say).  Thank goodness we've balanced things a bit.

[formerd3db]

wlcalum:
Regarding your other post, I wasn't aware (or perhaps forgot ) that WLC's new facility was not on campus?  Nonetheless (and regardless of the context of what we've been discussing concerning that issue at Adrian), at least WLC has a very nice new facility and it can only help with recruiting student-athletes in the future there as you mention and point out.

DAWG, bulldogalum, and wlcalum:

All valid points on the spring football use in the MIAA.  I would have to agree that I don't believe that six more days in spring football workouts with the use of a football (or for that matter with or without a football) is going to have any detrimental effect on the academic aspects of the student-athletes.  They know their responsibilities and besides. . .the spring sport athletes are engaged in much more days/time that those who would be participating in spring football and who are therefore not involved in the "regular" season of that sport obviously at that time.  That argument (i.e. against having the additional 6 days) doesn't make sense, nor do I think it is valid.  On the other hand, at least the MIAA has taken a step to make a comprimise, unlike the NESCAC.

[wlcalum]

As with any learning institution, elementary school through college, education comes first and extra curricular activities are second. We can all agree on that!
I believe we also are all proud of the fact the MIAA is storied in education. That being said - paying as much as we do for our education, how many kids put more into sports than they do the books? Not many I would bet. While some kids will come to a school for the sports program, the vast majority are there for the sheepskin. Now should DIII ever award scholarships for sports... 

I cannot see where six extra days of organized practice in the spring for our football program would affect book learning one bit. The benefits to our football programs would be huge. Lets hear more talk from our alum to get these things rolling.

Is football the only sport in the MIAA operating under the maximum allowed days of practice? Do the other sports use their full number of days?

fd3db - The sports complex is only about 4 blocks away from the college(half a mile or so). No room near campus unless they bulldoze houses and a hospital.  8)  You can see the big screen from Hwy45 when driving in from the north. Driving in from the south, Bluemound Road is the campus exit - Watertown Plank Road (the very next exit) is the complex exit. Keep imroving those facilities!!

[formerd3db]

WLCalum:
Valid points.  Also, your stadium being only 4 blocks away then, is really not that far and thus, certainly much different situation than was at Adrian.  Most likely, in future years, WLC will probably have the opportunity to buy land between the stadium and current campus, thereby expanding it to include the complex.  That indeed, is what has essentially happened at Hope, with the new huge Fieldhouse and campus expansion to the athletic fields soccer, baseball, track, indoor tennis complex, athletic training building buy the fields and football stadium which are at that end of the campus now. 

Flea Shooter:
It will remain to be seen if the other MIAA colleges follow suit regarding elevating their club lacrosse teams to varsity sports and even perhaps reinstating women's field hockey which was a huge sport with good traditon in the MIAA for many years.  That was dropped when women's soccer was added, but I would like to see that sport reinstated.  The eastern DIII schools still have it and so should the MIAA schools.

[wlcalum]

fd3db

Think that the DOT would have a BIG problem with WLC tearing down Hwy45 to ajoin the campus and complex. In all actuality I do belive the campus and complex are in two different cities. One is in Milwaukee and the other is in Wauwatosa. Even some of the campus housing is in different cities as you have to get an overnight parking pass from both depending what side of the street you park on. Only numerous parking tickets on different streets teach you those lessons. Life in the big city... ain't it great.  Give me a couple acres in the north country, surrounded by trees, and you would never see me again.  8)

[albinomascot19]

I am a 5th year senior at Albion College.  It would have been nice to graduate in 05, but coming back for another year, I saw some great MIAA football.  The league got pretty tight, and in the end Albion prevailed.  However, it was another year of struggle for the MIAA, as Albion wasn't able to pull through with a win in the playoffs against Wabash College, as they fell in Crawfordsville, Indiana 38-20.  I hope one day in the near future the competition will soon rise, and we will be at the same playing field as other schools.  There isn't any real constitency that I have seen, as such the case in basketball, where the MIAA is deemed as one of the best conferences, if not the best.  For Football, we are seen to be at the very bottom.  I dont know if recruiting poses an issue.  I have a dream of an MIAA team lifting the hardware sometime in the future, but right now we need to focus on just having a team win a game in the playoffs.

Even though that mystical playoff win didn't come, I was glad to see the competition in the MIAA.  I was able to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I saw Albion battle it out against Wisconsin Lutheran.  Might I say, I was very impressed with the stadium.  The warriors have a very nice field to play on.  I remember Wisconsin Lutheran used to play their games on University of Marquette's multi purpose field, but now Warriors fans can come to a stadium which they can call their own.  Also there was a nice big scoreboard, along with a screen which was playing animations.   In addition to that, the refs were miked up for the game.   It was cold, and rainy that day, but we all stuck through it to the end.  Oh yeah might I say I loved the Qdoba Grill....some great mexican food (they gave out for free, which is always a plus).

I also made the trip to Crawfordsville.  Man, what can I say, that stadium gets louder than any other stadium I have been to.  It had a lot of life to it.  The students were pretty into the game.  There were a lot of fans on the Albion side, which is always nice to see.   The game could have been something special, however that changed, as Shane Brogan couldnt hold on to the ball in the endzone.  Also the blocked punt didnt help either.  I felt there were just a lot of miscues that took place, and Albion didnt play their style of football.  Once they were rattled, it had an affect on the entire game. 

In all it was a good season for Albion, as they gained their first MIAA championship since 2001.  It was an exciting season for all the other teams involved too. 
I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays.  I will be looking forward to another season of MIAA football, but as an alumn in Fall 06.

I am curious, as to who will be setting their eyes on an MIAA Championship run.   

[bulldogalum]

Next year in the MIAA should be very interesting.  Unless I'm mistaken, most MIAA schools have to find new QBs, although I think Brehm is back for Alma.  Who will this affect the most?  I think Albion could have a hard time early, as Wasil has been the only QB for them for some time.  Hope should be strong, as usual, and I would imagine my Bulldogs will again be competitive in the league, especially with the opening of the new stadium.  Olivet was a dangerous team last year, will that continue next year?  Will they take a step up and win the conference? 

With Brehm back, Alma has to be the preseason favorite.

[albinomascot19]

Word out at the moment is that Albion has picked up a transfer from Tri-State University at the quarterback postion.  Further details will be posted later.  All I heard is he was at Tri State just briefly.  After an 0-10, 0-7 season, I am sure there have been some players 2nd guessing returning to Tri-State.  I believe Albion will feature Jake Wilson as the starting quarterback, as he will be a Senior in the fall.  He was mainly a backup to Wasil, and hasnt gotten many snaps in.  I haven't seen him in enough to make any assesments on his play.  However, many of his teammates say he should do well.  Just like the rest of the league, I agree there will be a shuffling of quarterbacks.  Nothing is set in stone, who will the Brits quarterback, but the front runner seems to be Jake Wilson at the moment.  He will have a hard time filling the shoes of departed QB Steve Wasil who finished his Senior season throwing 33 touchdowns, against only 12 picks, and 3,313 passing yards.

The fall should provide another year of MIAA Football at its finest.  I think this will be the year when the winless streak in the playoffs ends, and everyone can focus on bigger goals for the years to come.       

[wlcalum]

albionmascot - thanks for the nice complements. We are really looking forward to having the complex finished. The food is good isn't it?!

bulldog - we are also bringing back our young QB. He will be a junior and learned a lot last year. With him takiing all the snaps lat year and the league leading running back returning we should have a fairly potent offense. Looking forward to the season.

[albinomascot19]

wlcalum:  No prob for the compliments.  You all have a start of an art football stadium.  So just curious, are refs are always miked up for the games?  Plus they must have spent a lot of money on the stadium.  I am curious as to how they were able to get funding for it.   Will the rest of the community play on it as well, such as the surrounding high schools?  I know you have been posting on the board for a little less than a year now, but so are you a former football player, or just a graduate, who supports Warrior football?

It was nice to have Wisconsin Lutheran in the league, too bad they are leaving the MIAA.  I know it must have been quite a hassle for traveling purposes, playing league games in Michigan.  I remember the first time I saw Albion play Wisconsin Lutheran, they had a fair share of fan support.  Now I am sure it will only continue from here.   I wish you well for next season.   

[bulldogalum]

wlcalum:

Good to hear you have a returning QB.  I haven't yet gotten to see Wisconsin Lutheran, though hopefully next year I'll get a chance.  Seems like when they played at Adrian, I had other obligations on those days, and of course Albion had to go to your place this year, I couldn't quite make the trip.  I'm already excited to see some great football action next year.  Unfortunately it's quite some time before we get to that point. 

[albinomascot19]

bulldogalum:  Do you know when Adrian College will be completing the new stadium?  Whats the status of the stadium, if you can give me any info, that'd be great. 

[bulldogalum]

As far as I know, the plan is to play in the new stadium next season.  I don't know if the stadium will be fully completed at that point, but they're expecting to have the essentials finished.  They're building the stadium behind the Merillat Center, and they're digging down 7 feet to so as to create a distinct bowl effect around the entire field.  I'll be interested to see how far they've gotten by next fall.

[matblake]

Taking a look at next year's schedule, the usual MIAA vs CCIW clashes are taking shape.  Looks like Olivet is playing both Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst.  Both Albion and Hope are taking on Wheaton.

Since Wheaton has played Hope frequently over the past 10 years or so and Albion was the Pool A from the MIAA, I am at least familiar with them.  However, I have not heard much about Olivet.  Are they still playing the single wing?  I think like 2 years ago they had a mammoth rushing attack?