FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Pat Coleman]

If opening weekend is also Labor Day weekend, teams are allowed to play Thursday night by Division III rule. Why the sad face?

[CometAlum]

What would be considered an acceptable year for Hulkow at Olivet?

[Diezel1]

Raider:

Trine has opened up the season 2 of the last 3 years playing at Manchester on Thursday night and now that Trine has installed lights on their field, they are now opening up on Thursday also.  I loved getting the chance to open the season before everyone else and playing under the lights is always fun!

Comet:

I think if Olivet gets 3-4 wins it will be an acceptable year. The players and coaches on the team, I'm sure, want to win more than that, but I think that is a good starting point to build momentum for next year and in the future.  And looking at their schedule from last year, they lost 5 games by 19+ points so another emphasis for the coaching staff is going to be playing closer, more competitive games, IMO.

[Raider 68]

If opening weekend is also Labor Day weekend, teams are allowed to play Thursday night by Division III rule. Why the sad face?

Maybe the trend has been there all along. I am not sure how many teams have a Thursday night opener, but  think night games are great early in the season!  I do not recall OAC teams playing many Thursday night games until this year!

[sac]

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

[Raider 68]

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

Over 50 recruits for Hope, Former 3 db should be elated!

[formerd3db]

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

Over 50 recruits for Hope, Former 3 db should be elated!

sac:

Actually, the Flint Journal and the Detroit Free Press did it for all the MIAA schools (they featured one school each week while in other years they just listed the ecruits in columns like the daily scores for each school during others) for about 3-4 years many years ago (late 1970's and early 1980's), however, they have not done it for many years.  Yet, it is great to see that the Holland Sentinel has done it.

Raider68:

Yes, that is great news.  I don't recall the exact numbers the past two years, although I think the recruiting classes were slightly larger in number than this year's class - I will have to check on that with the coaches.  Yet, as we all know, there will be the usual attrition the first week of practice and even some right before then.

[Raider 68]

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

This is the first time I can ever remember a full list of Hope College athletic recruits being listed in one place by the media for any sport.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x41620396/List-of-Hope-College-football-recruits

I'd cut and paste, but I guess the Sentinel has their high tech security guards on full alert and it won't let me.

Over 50 recruits for Hope, Former 3 db should be elated!

sac:

Actually, the Flint Journal and the Detroit Free Press did it for all the MIAA schools (they featured one school each week while in other years they just listed the ecruits in columns like the daily scores for each school during others) for about 3-4 years many years ago (late 1970's and early 1980's), however, they have not done it for many years.  Yet, it is great to see that the Holland Sentinel has done it.

Raider68:

Yes, that is great news.  I don't recall the exact numbers the past two years, although I think the recruiting classes were slightly larger in number than this year's class - I will have to check on that with the coaches.  Yet, as we all know, there will be the usual attrition the first week of practice and even some right before then.

Former 3 DB,

The key as we all know is how many freshman make it to graduation. It begins with that first year, maybe Hope can take advantage of a good recruiting year!

[formerd3db]

Raider68:

Indeed, that eventually becomes the bottom line.  I agree with you.

[formerd3db]

What would be considered an acceptable year for Hulkow at Olivet?

Raider:

Trine has opened up the season 2 of the last 3 years playing at Manchester on Thursday night and now that Trine has installed lights on their field, they are now opening up on Thursday also.  I loved getting the chance to open the season before everyone else and playing under the lights is always fun!

Comet:

I think if Olivet gets 3-4 wins it will be an acceptable year. The players and coaches on the team, I'm sure, want to win more than that, but I think that is a good starting point to build momentum for next year and in the future.  And looking at their schedule from last year, they lost 5 games by 19+ points so another emphasis for the coaching staff is going to be playing closer, more competitive games, IMO.

I think you are right on regarding Olivet Diezel.
ASlo, CometAlum - what is your own opinion to your own question.  BTW, welcome to the board and looking forward to your participation with us.

[CometAlum]

I would say this, without trying to air dirty laundry, I personally know team moral was not were it should have been when classes ended. I talked to several would be seniors and the fire was not there during spring ball as the seniors before them was. Two, Hulkow has made some comments about recruiting that has made several people nervous. I do not think him and some of his staff realize what they are getting into. Third, they do not have the resources they once had. Heather Bateman, the A.D., has took over the whole wing that was used for football. There is not, at least back in May it wasn't, a designated film/meeting room anymore, most of the assistant coaches are cramped in a 10x20 office, and there was just a "gloomy" feeling when I last walked thru there. I still do not know if players even have a playbook to study. But, they did keep a good coach in Larry Smith and added Ryan VanDyke to the staff.

I still cannot get over the fact they past up on Mike Sparks as the head coach. I think with him at the helm they would have been in the mix of things.

[formerd3db]

CometAlum:
Thanks for your personal evaluation of the situation.  I have to agree with you that, IMO, Mike Sparks would have been a great head coach and I would have liked to see him get that chance.  It is too bad if the sitauation at Olivet is as you say, however, I guess all that can be done at this time is to give the new head coach and his staff a chance.  With the coaches they did retain, perhaps that will be enough to sustain some stability there.

I will say this, however, that indeed making the change from high school coaching to the collegiate level - regardless of what level/tier i.e. DI, DII or DIII - is not a forgone conclusion of being an easy change/transition - even for the best of high school coaches.  It is an entirely different atmosphere - even at the DIII level.  If Hulkow doesn't produce after a fair and adequate amount of time (say 4-5 seasons or so), I would think he will be gone.  I hope that your Olivet will not revert back to the doldrums which they experienced for years.  Other than the 0-10 year that occurred last year, I believed they had come a very long way in the last decade or so as a competitive program with much potential.  Anyway, time will tell obviously.  Let's hope for the best.   

[CometAlum]

Being on the inside I can see why we went 1-19 the last two seasons. I do not know if people on the outside understood what happend. It goes back to the 2007 season (championship year). Many of our number 2's were junoirs who backed up all conference players and did not get a lot of PT. Such as WR's and TE's, we lost just almost all of our O-Line, all of our D-line. We lost two young RB's, ( Jackson & Jones)who got a lot of PT that year and a potential Senior QB. We lost that entire freshman class (all but 3, who will be seniors now) and two seniors due to personal issues. So the team that has been fielded the last two seasons was fairly young, I beleive we started and played more freshamn than any other team. If we did not lose some of those guys or if the others had more playing time earlier in thier careers I truly think we could have repeated as conference champs and been very competitive last season as well.

As a Comet, I want them to do well, but I'm just not sold on the fact on the coaching decsion that was made.

[RFMichigan]

Being on the inside I can see why we went 1-19 the last two seasons. I do not know if people on the outside understood what happend. It goes back to the 2007 season (championship year). Many of our number 2's were junoirs who backed up all conference players and did not get a lot of PT. Such as WR's and TE's, we lost just almost all of our O-Line, all of our D-line. We lost two young RB's, ( Jackson & Jones)who got a lot of PT that year and a potential Senior QB. We lost that entire freshman class (all but 3, who will be seniors now) and two seniors due to personal issues. So the team that has been fielded the last two seasons was fairly young, I beleive we started and played more freshamn than any other team. If we did not lose some of those guys or if the others had more playing time earlier in thier careers I truly think we could have repeated as conference champs and been very competitive last season as well.

As a Comet, I want them to do well, but I'm just not sold on the fact on the coaching decsion that was made.

CometAlum: I am wondering whether the situation which you describe is actually fairly common with dIII teams trying to establish their programs as consistant winners. You bring in a TON of freshman, but when they don't play right away for whatever reason, they may drop out of football. Then if you happen to have a year where the team is top-heavy with seniors, you may have short-term success, but struggle in following seasons because younger players either don't get groomed with playing time (as you seem to indicate happened at Olivet in their championship year) or just get tired of waiting and quit. Suddenly you are relying on freshman and sophomores and that just doesn't work in college football. This sounds like the situation which you describe as what happened at Olivet.

It is a skillful coach who can keep a core of younger players in the program while they're not seeing much playing time so that they're still around for their junior and senior years. One thing that I think a coach does to help themselves is to: a) recruit kids who may attend that school even if they weren't playing football, and b) create an atmosphere where the players like to be at the school and be part of the team regardless of whether they play alot as underclassmen.

Two questions for CometAlum, formerd3db, or anyone else who may have insight into a MIAA football:
1) How much is having a junior varsity schedule is helpful to keep younger players interested in sticking around in a program.

2) What is a rough percentage of freshman who come into an MIAA program that are still around as sophomores from year to year? juniors? seniors?

[Raider 68]

"Two questions for CometAlum, formerd3db, or anyone else who may have insight into a MIAA football:
1) How much is having a junior varsity schedule is helpful to keep younger players interested in sticking around in a program. "

If the school desires to have a growing, successful program, then a JV program and defined schedule is vital to retain interest and groom players. As a note Mount's JV's play a 9-10 game schedule!