FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[formerd3db]

I thought Calvin wasn't gonna play varsity until 2025. I would have reckoned they play JV next year.

One thing I know for sure, their athletics are really good overall so I wouldn't be surprised if they made some noise in the MIAA within their first 10 years.

No, the plan from the beginning as they said was like many of the other recently established college football programs- a season of practice followed by the first varsity season. I also believe they will be a legit/setious contender for the league title sooner than many people think.

Actually, their initial announcement didn't specify:

https://calvin.edu/news/archive/football-is-coming-to-calvin-university

That is correct, Pat. My mis-statement as I should have clarified that my info on that was from an alum source who knew what the intent was.

[wally_wabash]

Calvin football has released its 2024 schedule.

https://calvinknights.com/sports/football

That will be a roster loaded with Fresh/Soph and whatever transfers/already on campus guys they can add.  Eight weeks of football and only 2 homes for a brand new program is weird.



The "Heartland" tips that the MIAA/Heartland crossover will continue for at least a couple more years.

I hope the MIAA can accommodate Hope-Calvin in Week 11 sooner rather than later.  Feels like that game absolutely belongs in the final week of the season. 

[formerd3db]

Calvin football has released its 2024 schedule.

https://calvinknights.com/sports/football

That will be a roster loaded with Fresh/Soph and whatever transfers/already on campus guys they can add.  Eight weeks of football and only 2 homes for a brand new program is weird.



The "Heartland" tips that the MIAA/Heartland crossover will continue for at least a couple more years.

I hope the MIAA can accommodate Hope-Calvin in Week 11 sooner rather than later.  Feels like that game absolutely belongs in the final week of the season.

I have that feeling, too, Wally!

[TUAngola]

Calvin football has released its 2024 schedule.

https://calvinknights.com/sports/football

That will be a roster loaded with Fresh/Soph and whatever transfers/already on campus guys they can add.  Eight weeks of football and only 2 homes for a brand new program is weird.



The "Heartland" tips that the MIAA/Heartland crossover will continue for at least a couple more years.

I hope the MIAA can accommodate Hope-Calvin in Week 11 sooner rather than later.  Feels like that game absolutely belongs in the final week of the season.

I have that feeling, too, Wally!

That last game in November is usually a cold, snowy, nasty day.  If I were Calvin/Hope I'd want those rivalry football games to fall on a nice Indian Summer October Saturday, maybe in conjunction with Homecoming to maximize the biggest crowd of the season.  Even with a rilvary game, if it's a brutal November Saturday outside, it will hurt attendance.

[formerd3db]

Calvin football has released its 2024 schedule.

https://calvinknights.com/sports/football

That will be a roster loaded with Fresh/Soph and whatever transfers/already on campus guys they can add.  Eight weeks of football and only 2 homes for a brand new program is weird.



The "Heartland" tips that the MIAA/Heartland crossover will continue for at least a couple more years.

I hope the MIAA can accommodate Hope-Calvin in Week 11 sooner rather than later.  Feels like that game absolutely belongs in the final week of the season.

I have that feeling, too, Wally!

That last game in November is usually a cold, snowy, nasty day.  If I were Calvin/Hope I'd want those rivalry football games to fall on a nice Indian Summer October Saturday, maybe in conjunction with Homecoming to maximize the biggest crowd of the season.  Even with a rilvary game, if it's a brutal November Saturday outside, it will hurt attendance.

That would most likely be the situation with the exception of two situations, IMO: 1) the very first game (attendance at that one will be huge, regardless of when they would have scheduled it-which has been announced as Nov 3rd for the inaugural season) and 2) if/when that game would ever be for the championship, regardless of the weather. However, the latter situation will likely not occur for several years. Plus, the first two Saturdays off Nov are not always guaranteed nasty weather days. Of course, none of that is predictable. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to see what attendance will be for the inaugural game.

[DBQ1965]

Update on Calvin University athletics, with a particular eye on football.  There has been a !ot of construction activitiy on campus this summer.  On the west campus there us a new, artificial turf soccer field complete with lights for night games.  The running track no longer exists there, as it is being relocated to the east campus.   I don't know the time line for construction of the football facilities, but the football field and stands will be built in the area of the new soccer field.   Also to be built in this location is a locker room for football.
On the east campus, a new track and field facility is being built.  I believe the underlayment of the new track is in place with the running surface soon to come.  Just north of the new track facility will be a lacrosse and second soccer field. The Knights have two scrimmages scheduled for this Fall with a full MIAA schedule to be played in 2024 with games to be played at Grand Rapids Christian High School until the Calvin campus "stadium" is completed.

Another note:  Hope opens its home season Sept. 9 against Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa.  Loras is the cross town rival of my alma mater, the University is Dubuque (UD).  The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) now known as the American Rivers Conference (ARC) had its 2019 champion Warburg College beat Hope in the first round of D3 playoffs.  Hope also has played American Rivers Conference member Coe College. So I hold out hope (bad pun) that one if these days I will get to see a Hope - UD matchup.

The 2023 season is getting closer.  I will be in Holland on September 9 ... its about time.

[TUAngola]

MIAA 2023 Preseason Football Coaches Poll


1.   Alma       8 points   5 first place votes
2.   Hope     11 points   2 first place votes
3.   Trine     15 points   
4.   Albion   23 points   
5.   Adrian   27 points   
6.   Olivet   28 points   
7.   Kalamazoo   35 points   

I think there will be lots of parity this year.  Alma was the surprise of last year by far, being led by a Freshman at QB and RB.  Not surprisingly they are picked to repeat.  Albion is usually in the top two, but sliding to four this year, maybe their graduation losses are more significant than the other schools?  Trine has a handful of 5th year guys coming back, most notably their returning QB and starting RB.  Hope is always tough year in year out.

[HOPEful]

Alma was the surprise of last year by far, being led by a Freshman at QB and RB.

This is an understatement, even with the "by far"... Alma was preseason picked to finish 6th, only ahead of Kzoo by the coaches. Even going into the game against Albion, few were giving them their due.

This season, Williams and St. John have gone from unknowns to studs with giant targets on their backs.

Hope starts their season next Saturday with a tough matchup at Aurora.
When MIAA play starts, it might be over shortly after it begins. Alma hosts Trine on Sept. 30th for their homecoming. Then two weeks later heads to Holland to play Hope for their homecoming.

[TUAngola]

Trine 2023 FB roster is up.  A quick look at the numbers:

Freshman - 117
Sophomores - 61
Juniors - 26
Seniors/Gr - 36

State roster breakdown:

Indiana - 118
Michigan - 65
Ohio - 24
Florida - 16
Illinois - 4
Alabama - 2
Virginia - 2
Utah -2 (Utah?? - how did they find Trine?)
Colorado - 1
Georgia - 1
Kentucky - 1
Louisiana - 1
Tennessee - 1
Texas - 1
Washington - 1

Roster Total 240...that a lot of guys to supply uniforms to.  Noticed that most on the roster share same uniform number with at least one other guy and sometimes 2 other guys.

Some position observations:  most players by position is OL with 36, ILB has a full room with 27, RB has 23 with 16 of them freshman, 7 kickers, and what really stood out is 13 QB's which includes 7 freshmen QB's.  Anyone need a QB? We have plenty to spare. 

[HOPEful]

Some position observations:  most players by position is OL with 36, ILB has a full room with 27, RB has 23 with 16 of them freshman, 7 kickers, and what really stood out is 13 QB's which includes 7 freshmen QB's.  Anyone need a QB? We have plenty to spare. 

This seems bonkers to me... I just don't understand. I'll give the freshmen a pass, but if you're 6th on the QB depth chart, with 7 freshman coming in, what are you doing? Or 20th on the OL depth chart?

I'm familiar with scrimmaging 1sts v. 2nds.  Not so with 5ths v 6ths.

[Spartan27]

240 on roster (more than 1 in 10 students, and maybe 1 in 4 males walking around campus, which corresponds in % to many these days in D-3). 117 frosh ... a desperate necessity to stay in business?

[sac]

Trine is a pretty big D3 by most enrollment standards now.   5,500 last year but I don't know what exactly that counts.  That would make them the largest in the MIAA by about 2,300

[Spartan27]

I was going by the 2,046 reported on the D3 page, which I assume would be the number on campus from which football players would come.  They reported some 9,500 last spring, which includes 4,000 at some sort of Detroit center, plus thousands more, surely part-timers, at various other centers.   

[TUAngola]

The football roster numbers are somewhat inflated due to the extra year of eligibility granted due to the 2020 Covid season.  Trine has several 5th year seniors who elected to play another year, which makes the senior class larger compared to what the typical senior class would look like.  I'm sure it's that way at many D3 schools.  Trine always pulls in a hefty freshman class in football, but that number drops significantly once they become sophomores as many guys realize they will probably never see the field and elect to concentrate on academics, or perhaps transfer to another school.  And I agree about why you would come to a school as a freshman QB knowing that your class includes numerous other freshman QB's?  I would seriously consider looking at other schools.  This season Trine's QB elected to take his Covid option to come back for a 5th year, and it will be his 4th year as a starter.  So it hasn't been great for other QB's on the roster at Trine to see action on the field, other than mop up duty on occasion.

Trine's enrollment at the Angola campus, by my guess, is closer to 2200-2300, of which over 40% are in the school of engineering.  I can never find a breakdown when Trine publishes their total enrollment, which in 2022 was 8400, as that enrollment number includes their satellite campuses in Fort Wayne, Detroit and Phoenix, plus those enrolled in TrineOnline.  Trine University is by no means 'desperate to stay in business'.

[sac]

22-2300 seems more reasonable given the visible housing around campus and would match the "1 in 10" students comment.  That would put them #3 in MIAA enrollment I think, behind Hope and Calvin.



I just noticed Hope had a higher enrollment than Calvin last year, I'm not sure if thats been the case recently but that really surprised me.  Times have changed for sure.