FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[formerd3db]

iknow:

Welcome to the MIAA board.  Thank you for sharing your info with us.  We'll look forward to your contributions to the discussions.  One minor reminder though, just in case you were not aware.  The "unwritten" protocol on all of D3.com is that if you are an current player (or coach) on any college D3 team (or for that matter any college team), one should refrain from posting once the "in-season" begins i.e. once camp opens in August.  When the regular and playoff seasons are completed, then one can return to posting according to this generally accepted "rule".  So you have until you report to college camp in August to post your opinions on here.   Again, welcome to the board! 

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

****BREAKING NEWS****

Adrian College Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach has resigned his position with the college.  He made his announcment to Head Coach Jim Lyall on Friday and announced it to members of the team today.  Not making money and a new job opportunity led him to leave and take a new position with a company in Adrian.  I dont know for certain but having been inside the Adrian Staff and seeing how the new administration so "subtly" applied pressure to win and win now on the program did not lend itself to nearly as cordial of a working environment as had been present in the past.  Couple this with the fact that with win and win now pressure job security doesnt seem as secure at Adrian as it used to be.  I can only hope that now with only one Adrian guy left on the staff with Coach Lyall that he still has the loyality and understanding of what Adrian College Football is and always has been about.

This also lends even more pressure to a team that is filling holes for next season.  Unless they hire from within which could be doubtful they will be looking at installing a new defense and a new D coordinator for the season opener in early August.  I hope that they are able to find a solid and qualified replacment in the time that is available and the best of luck for next season.

[iKNOWstuff]

****BREAKING NEWS****

Adrian College Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach has resigned his position with the college.  He made his announcment to Head Coach Jim Lyall on Friday and announced it to members of the team today.  Not making money and a new job opportunity led him to leave and take a new position with a company in Adrian.  I dont know for certain but having been inside the Adrian Staff and seeing how the new administration so "subtly" applied pressure to win and win now on the program did not lend itself to nearly as cordial of a working environment as had been present in the past.  Couple this with the fact that with win and win now pressure job security doesnt seem as secure at Adrian as it used to be.  I can only hope that now with only one Adrian guy left on the staff with Coach Lyall that he still has the loyality and understanding of what Adrian College Football is and always has been about.

This also lends even more pressure to a team that is filling holes for next season.  Unless they hire from within which could be doubtful they will be looking at installing a new defense and a new D coordinator for the season opener in early August.  I hope that they are able to find a solid and qualified replacment in the time that is available and the best of luck for next season.

where did you get your information....i dont believe it...tell me your just joking

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

I coached there for the last three years, I played there for 4 before that, I recently left.  I talked to both Aaron Klotz as well as players in the program.  If you want better than that I dont know what to tell you.

[WLCALUM83]

Given Adrian's new stadium and all, anyone think poorer than expected attendance is a factor in those developments?

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

What, klotz resigning related to poor attendance?

[ACRULZ]

Given Adrian's new stadium and all, anyone think poorer than expected attendance is a factor in those developments?

That does not make much since.  Why would the defensive coordinator be fired for low attendance?  One thing I have noticed is that Adrian's attendance is about the same as all the other MIAA schools.  Not bad but not very good either.  From what I hear Klotz left because he found a job that doubled his money.  I don't know what Adrian was paying him, but whenever someone pays you double that would be hard to turn down.

[WLCALUM83]

Only threw the attendance supposition out there--wasn't sure whether that dog would hunt anyway (pardon the pun).

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

Attendance has nothing to do with coaching or with Klotz's decision to resign.  He simply found a better job offer that would greatly increase his compensation.  When it comes down to it, you have to make enough money to live on and support a family and while I guess that there are other factors in play I do not know what those are. 

The attendance at Adrian has nothing to do with the new stadium the coaches or even a teams record.  While the hope was that the on campus stadium would cause more students to attend, that did not happen.  The fact is that the best word to describe Adrians student body and the town itself towards athletics is apathy.  Students do not care about any athletic event, and for big crowds(i.e. some basketball games) other sports teams had meetings and made the teams go to the game afterward. I remember as a senior in 2002-03 we were 8-1 playing for a share of the league title and had an attendance of 900 for the final game.  As much as the players care and as much as the admin seems to care, the student body is not on the same line of thinking and until that occurs attendance at Adrian will always be a problem.

[formerd3db]

DAWG:

Some valid and interesting comments you make.  I would like to follow-up and share my thoughts on those as well.  First, I agree with you about the coaching job situations in DIII.  As a recent coach yourself (and my own personal experience in the past as well), I know first hand what you are talking about.  For someone who desires a coaching and teaching career for the right reasons and especially at the DIII level, it can turn into a rewarding lifetime experience.  However, you are indeed correct that it is, perhaps somewhat more difficult today for young recent grads to do that.  We all know that DIII level assistant coaching jobs, even if you are full-time faculty, are not high paying jobs.  Trying to raise a family on that type of salary is most difficult, although, I'm sure we could apply the same to those who are in the high school coaching/teaching ranks as well.  It is obviously easier for a single young man to begin his coaching career in that way at a small college and either stay (if he is of the persuation of trying to do one's entire career at one school - a rarity today, but extremely noble and rewarding for those who desire and can do it) or move up the coaching ladder and different levels (DII, DIAA, etc) if that is what one's goals are.  Yet in Klotz's situation, the opportunity for having a tremendous raise in salary to support his family is a very important, significant, difficult, yet necessary decision in many cases.  I know a coach who was in a similar situation just a few years ago.  Great guy, head coaching material - however, with a wife and children, an opportunity to more than double his full time coaching salary at a small school was a "no brainer".  Still a difficult decision to make.  Similarly as for Klotz, being an alum of Adrian as you are, likewise, I'm sure it was difficult and perhaps even a bit "heart-wrenching".  But again, one never knows what life will bring and sometimes those decisions have to be made when an opportunity comes along.  Perhaps he will have a chance to coach again sometime as a part-time assistant.  Many people are able to do that.  I wish him and his family all the best in their new path.

The second discussion is with regards to attendance.  I understand and agree with you on those general aspects as well.  I don't know all the details with regard to Adrian as much as you obviously, however, I do know some alumns and thus am not ingnorant as to the situation you describe.  For colleges like Hope and Albion (and even Calvin perhaps for the non-fb category!), they have always had a tremendous relationship with the community and as such, that has been reflected in attendance at football games.  I recall in my own playing days, we always had +4000 for the major games.  Of course, when a team is winning, that always helps attendance averages, but also it appears that DIII attendance has been declining (as has DII and DIAA at most schools - not all), in recent years.  Not sure as to all the factors in that.  I'm sure some of our colleagues perhaps know more about those aspects.  I haven't taken the time to look into that, other than what I know about what pertains to our MIAA.  Most small DIII schools have horrid attendance, although how can you blame the? It is understandable - i.e. most will be parents, families of the players, yet it is no less important to the players for obvious reasons.  As mentioned also, if a school has a traditionally poor program record, that does not help.  Yet schools like Olivet who have worked hard to improve their program in recent years, with a new commitment from the administration (perhaps similar to Adrian at present), have seen a tremendous increase in average attendance.  Olivet will never have the avg that Hope or Albion does, but considering about 2000 per game for the a size school that Olivet has is very good IMO.  Of course, Hope was down this past year despite what they ended up doing for the season.  Perhaps the poor start had a lot to do with it.  Perception of opposing teams and hype in any given year is a contributing factor as well - i.e. I recall just a few years ago in the mid-90's when the Albion/Alma game had about 8,000 for the title game (we had simiilar back in my day - at least +5000 for some).  Not so in recent years, but back then, Albion was at the "top of their game"  Also, as much as we know the situation is at Kazoo as has been discussed by various people on this board in the past, they did have +4000 for their Homecoming game against Hope about 2 years ago (uh, maybe it was 3 years ago) which was fantastic for them and a great site to see.

Overall, small college football with its tradition and excitement and the importance to those of us who played at those type of schools will always be that - very important and special place in our hearts and those who follow it - obviously for all the right reasons for college football and education at these type of schools and for future life careers, experiences, etc.  While I personally don't think that attendance (for whatever reasons) will ever be on the incline for small schools, nonetheless, whether a small crowd or a larger one shows up for games, those who do is still important and meaningful to the players regardless of that crowd size.

As far as Adrian, I've never perceived the college as having the type of relationship to the city, community, etc., like Hope has, although I may be wrong and I'm also not implying that it is a bad one either.  Yet, perception of that, and working towards that might just perhaps be what would help Adrian in the future, along with tyring to come up with some approach to get the student body more interested.  Hope needs to do the same in the latter category a bit IMO, although we all know that there will always be students at any college who do give a rip about the fb program.  Sad but true - I think every student should go to at least one game sometime during their career at their school!

Anyway, my apologies to you and all our collleagues here for rambling on.  However, just wanted to share some of my general thoughts on this with all of you.  Besides, it is still the "off-season" and thus conversation of any topic goes (well, not all, but almost all topics! ) Thanks for listening friends.  I look forward to hearing comments and thoughts from all of you on this if you are inclined.

Best,
formerd3db

[bulldogalum]

DAWG and Formerd3db:

I generally agree with both of you.  Dawg, I think we both witnessed widespread apathy during our time at Adrian, and it's really quite disheartening.  For a fan as passionate as I am, I just don't understand how people can take no interest in what is going on around campus.

I'm really hoping that the new emphasis on athletics, coupled with the increased enrollment (and with it, students with stronger scores, etc) we'll see a bit of a transformation in that regard.  I always thought while I was at Adrian that the admissions office relied too heavily on recruiting Lenawee County.  Don't get me wrong, Adrian College doesn't exist without the support it gets from Lenawee County.  But the downside to that is that many students go home on the weekends, since home is just down the road.  Because they go home, they're not on campus to make their way to the weekend athletic events and other campus events.  If we can attract more students from outside the county, I think more would stay on the weekends (at least, they'd probably stay more often), and by the simple fact of their being on campus, we'd see an increase in attendance.

Formerd3db, certainly every D3 school would love to have the relationship with the community that Hope has.  Adrian's not there, and probably will never get there.  I know during my time there, efforts were made to make more ties between the college and the community, but the fact of the matter is, it probably takes more than just a few years to change the culture of a community. 

I know also that during basketball season, Adrian's basketball team is usually not covered as well as Siena Heights is across town.  This was even true last season when Adrian did quite nicely in the league, while Siena Heights only won a few games all year.  I'm not sure what can be done to remedy that little problem, but I'd sure love to see the Adrian basketball program get a little more respect from the local paper.

Anyhow, that's an awful lot of writing to basically just agree with the two experts on the panel.

[iKNOWstuff]

so with klotz leaving who will most likely take his position...
and what do they tell the recruits that klotz recruited....
...ummm i guess we probably have to call the school for information now

[D306]

Great string of comments folks.

Nice to see some real conversation on the board.
I agree the local college aspect, with so many of the students now having cars, weekends are at home or other colleges to see friends.

I find that to be a shame, youlose so of the experience and growth of going away to college, if you spend every weekend at home, eating moms food and having all the comforts fo home.

I am serious, I believe that is why the NON elite or higher end schools have so much turnover, and lower grad rates for incoming freshman making it through the program.

On the football end any players reading the board, work hard this summer it pays off on the field. Come into camp in August in top shape ready to play and you will be rewarded.

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

The bond between Adrian College and the City of Adrian is minimal at best.  Adrian is never the top bill for any sport, football, baseball, basketball it doesnt matter.  Often programs find themselves taking second billing to a game between two division 6 high school football programs or baseball, or softball.  When Adrian won its second MIAA baseball title it received a one paragraph column on the second page of the sport section.  Part of this is that Adrian appears to want little to do with the town.  I know in my 7 years there, the football program at least never did any community outreach such as reading in elemtary schools or anything of the sort, something that I did in highschool even.  Could a bond develop, it could will it, who knows.  There is some bad blood with highschool football fans in Adrian as by building our own stadium, we did not go in halves with Adrian High School to refurbish Maple Stadium.  Even on community day in Adrian we never drew much of a crowd.

I think the lack of community support would be common at DIII schools and the reason is simple.  It is hard to get behind a team of players from all across the state when you have your own highschool in town.  People in town dont know the players on the team like they do the highschools, they dont know the coaches like the highschool either.  The bond between a community and highschool I think will always be stronger than that of a DIII school and the town it is in.  I could be wrong and I would love to hear what anyone else has to say on that subject.

bulldogalum:

You always were a passionate fan and I agree with your assesment that Adrian has in the past been hurt by its large numbe rof leanwee students.  Not that they bring down the school, but rather that they make it a suitcase college with their constant trips home every weekend, thus making the student body population greatly reduced every weekend.  It will take many years to change the level of community involvment, I just hope the new administration understands that and is there long enough to make the change.

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

iknowstuff:

I know for a fact that Coach Deere has been asked to get a resume and cover letter together for the defensive coordinator position.  He has been with Adrian for the last 14 years as the ILB or OLB  coach and is an amazing coach.  He currently works full time as an electrician but during the season still puts in about 40 hours a week coaching, gameplanning and doing everything a D coordinator would do.  He has coached numerous all league players and makes everyone he coaches much better.  He would be a great asset to bring in as a fulltime coach as he has a great passion for the job and would provide continuity for the program. 

As for who to contact I dont believe Klotz's resignation was immediate, if you had questions you can still contact him, if he is not available Coach Lyall should be reachable.