University Athletic Association

[SpartanMom_2016]

SpartanMom, it's very exciting to see your son's name in print, no?  Congratulations and best of luck to your son in his battle for a starting position.  I know it's been said a few times around the D3boards by other parents, but the years will go by too fast; if he gets a job, go to every game that you can.

It is always exciting to see your child's name in print.  He was a 4 sport athlete in high school so we got to see it quite a bit in the past. 

My parents came to every home game my junior & senior year (once my younger brother graduated HS and I had locked down a full-time starting position) and 8/10 away games over that time frame as well.  We picked a good time, too, that was the best stretch CMU's had in the last decade!  Your son is there in what should be a very exciting and competitive season for the UAA.

We are coming to the opening game.  We don't know if he will play or not but we are coming anyway.  We have always enjoyed watching our kids play.  We would come to every home game but we still have two other kids at home and they need us as they are still in high school.  Plus flying from FL gets expensive.  His fraternity is having father's weekend during one of the bye weeks and I think my husband will go to that.  Flights to Cleveland are pretty expensive.  I'm not really sure why.  Who wants to go to Cleveland?

If possible, I'll be at every CMU home game this year (there are only four), with the possible exception of a weekend I'm doing one of my races.  I will make it a point to be in town for the CMU-Case game, partly because I think it might decide the UAA title, partly because it would be nice to meet some of you folks I've been exchanging messages with over the years.

If we are there I will let you know.  It would be great to meet some of the folks on this board.

On a personal note: I'm not sure if I posted this here last week, but I've just recently completed my Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health and will be starting this fall as a biostatistician/epidemiologist working for Magee Women's Research Institute (branch of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), with a faculty appointment at Pitt - I may also lecture for the statistics department on the side.  So I expect to remain in Pittsburgh for some time.  Never visited Pittsburgh until I was 17 years old, now I've grown to love the place.  Although I will NEVER become a Steelers fan.  Eagles fan for life.

Mazel Tov!  My son is already starting to talk about grad school.

[ADL70]

Chicago's new HC

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/news-2012-13/FB-Wilkerson-hire.htm

[ADL70]

Updated CWRU coaching staff:

http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/coaches/index

Former Spartan RB James Rosenbury will coach RBs, no QB coach listed.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Chicago's new HC

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/news-2012-13/FB-Wilkerson-hire.htm

Tough time of year to find a new head man, gotta figure this was the best they could do.  Pretty nice to get a guy with Illinois roots, and as a bonus, experience at an Ivy League school who will understand the difficulty of recruiting with high academic standards.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Gang,

I noticed on Twitter that Coach Debuljak apparently spoke at the PAC media day.  Does anybody have any details?

[ADL70]

He spoke last year too. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

We are coming to the opening game.  We don't know if he will play or not but we are coming anyway.  We have always enjoyed watching our kids play.  We would come to every home game but we still have two other kids at home and they need us as they are still in high school.  Plus flying from FL gets expensive.  His fraternity is having father's weekend during one of the bye weeks and I think my husband will go to that.  Flights to Cleveland are pretty expensive.  I'm not really sure why.  Who wants to go to Cleveland?

LOL @ "who wants to go to Cleveland" - having lived in Pittsburgh for several years now, this is quite deeply ingrained in me as well.  I had a number of teammates from the Mistake by the Lake and we gave them endless grief...the irony, of course, being that Pittsburgh and Cleveland are nearly identical cities from ten paces' distance.  But we Pittsburgh residents rag on Cleveland constantly.

Re: the above, I totally understand - as I alluded, my parents faced the same dilemma, so they stayed "home" my first two years while my brother was in high school (although they did pull a few "doubles" of watching my brother play on Friday night, then driving out on Saturday morning for my game), which especially made sense as he was not planning on playing in college and I'd told my parents to watch him while they could, since they'd have two more seasons to watch me afterwards.  So, I would heartily encourage you to enjoy the younger children's games and pick a judicious Case game or two each year to attend.  Do your younger kids also play football (or, if they're girls, soccer or something else in the fall)?

As I said, I give my parents tons of credit for coming to'em all my last two years, but they "only" had a 4-hour drive from the Philly area, not a flight from Florida!  I can't imagine flying to EVERY game, although I did have one teammate from Washington state whose parents flew in for every game his entire career!  Of course, he was a four-year starter and one of the most distinguished players in school history by the time he graduated...

One of the difficult things about college ball vs. high school is that, with parents coming from all over, it can be harder to develop the sense of community that's fostered in high school.  I was impressed at how many CMU parents did come to games and get to know each other over the years (we had a large tailgate on the roof after each home game organized by the upper-class parents, which was the best place for parents to meet one another and their sons' friends).

Mazel Tov!  My son is already starting to talk about grad school.

Thanks! Does he have a specific field in mind? (not that these things are set in stone...I did not even know what "epidemiology" was as an undergraduate, discovered it halfway through my Master's degree, and ended up getting a PhD in it)

[SpartanMom_2016]

LOL @ "who wants to go to Cleveland" - having lived in Pittsburgh for several years now, this is quite deeply ingrained in me as well.  I had a number of teammates from the Mistake by the Lake and we gave them endless grief...the irony, of course, being that Pittsburgh and Cleveland are nearly identical cities from ten paces' distance.  But we Pittsburgh residents rag on Cleveland constantly.

Honestly, neither Pittsburgh or Cleveland would be on my list of favorite vacation spots.  My last trip to Cleveland was for mother's weekend at the fraternity and it snowed all weekend.  I really should have stayed in Ft. Lauderdale!

Do your younger kids also play football (or, if they're girls, soccer or something else in the fall)?

We are an all boy family.  Except for me of course.

The older is a senior and he is on the drum line so we still go to every high school game.  He plays lacrosse in the spring.  He will be busy with his college applications.  We did all of our college visits this summer.  The younger is a freshman and he will be playing JV this year as the varsity is not in need of a 160 lb center.  He wrestles and also plays lacrosse so we are busy with sports and band all year.  We enjoy seeing them play and perform and we don't want to miss out on their high school performances.  That said if the oldest is playing at CWRU we will make it for at least a few games even if we take turns flying up so someone will be home with the younger ones. 

We do watch most of the games on the internet even if our son is not playing. 

Thanks! Does he have a specific field in mind? (not that these things are set in stone...I did not even know what "epidemiology" was as an undergraduate, discovered it halfway through my Master's degree, and ended up getting a PhD in it)

He is currently a math/economics major.  He is interested in pursuing a PhD in economics.  He has been told by his academic advisers that the undergrad math degree will make him a stronger candidate for a PhD in economics.  Ultimately, he would like to work for the Fed and most of the higher ups have PhDs in economics.

Like most of the UAA football players/graduates he defies the stereotype of the dumb jock.  At least in college nobody has asked if belongs in this class like his AP World History teacher did when he was in HS.

[ADL70]

UAA coaches' poll

http://athletics.case.edu/sports/fball/2013-14/releases/20130813v84rn5

[BearFan]

Hope everyone won't mind if a Wash U fan joins the board.  Unfortunately, it appears we have been under represented in the past. Looking forward to a very promising year with a ton of returning starters.  Hope we can keep the momentum going from the end of last year.  Defense should lead and hope we can find enough play makers on offense.

[ExTartanPlayer]

On the contrary, we will be GLAD to have a Wash U representative!!! Welcome aboard and feel free to introduce yourself - what's your connection to Wash U?

[ADL70]

Indeed, welcome BearFan!  Keep us updated on happenings in StL.  There is better WUStL representation on the Hoops boards.

You know the cliche', "defense wins championships."

Spartan players report today with physicals tomorrow.

[casefldad]

Son is on his way back to Case..... Very excited about this coming year.  I'm hoping we (and think we will!) have a bunch of players step into a starting position in defense.  We have some good kids sitting mostly on the sidelines for the past couple of years.  This is their big chance to step up and produce.

[D3MAFAN]

Son is on his way back to Case..... Very excited about this coming year.  I'm hoping we (and think we will!) have a bunch of players step into a starting position in defense.  We have some good kids sitting mostly on the sidelines for the past couple of years.  This is their big chance to step up and produce.

I have the 9/28 game against Linfield set and locked on my calendar. Hopefully we get a good showcase. Good Luck to your son.

[casefldad]

Thank you for your words.  I plan to attend the opening game, homecoming (Linfield) and 10/26.  A long trip from Florida, but well worth it.  I truly enjoy seeing the kids play and the complete college atmosphere.
Just hoping first of all, that all the kids remain injury free for the year and that they play to the best of their capabilities.