FB: Conference of New England

[ExTartanPlayer]

Anyone who has been around this for more than 15 minutes has seen this happen before.

I agree, the problem is that every year we have a new batch of D3 fans who haven't been around this for more than 15 minutes.

Also, I find the above comment kind of funny in light of your next comment....

I think more than who is hosting, people outside of MIT and Husson fans should be pissed because both of these teams should have been fed to the wolves but instead, one of them (MIT my guess) will get a postseason victory with the equivalent of playing a team like Rochester in the playoffs.

Because anyone who has been around for more than 15 minutes also knows that every year, there's an unusual set of pairings where either a) two really good teams meet way too early or b) two marginal teams play each other in the first round for convenience of local matchups and/or avoiding flights in the first round.  I'm pretty sure that MIT is literally the only opponent in the field within 500 miles of Husson.  Sure, you can be pissed about it if you want, but this isn't a new phenomenon.

[ITH radio]

We confirmed with Duey Naatz that MIT didn't file to host, hence they are on the road and they matched up these teams b/c of geo proximity.

www.blogtalkradio.com/ith/2014/11/17/in-the-huddlle--liberty-league-football-talk-show

FF to 30 mins and you'll hear this ? answered

[lewdogg11]

Anyone who has been around this for more than 15 minutes has seen this happen before.

I agree, the problem is that every year we have a new batch of D3 fans who haven't been around this for more than 15 minutes.

Also, I find the above comment kind of funny in light of your next comment....

I think more than who is hosting, people outside of MIT and Husson fans should be pissed because both of these teams should have been fed to the wolves but instead, one of them (MIT my guess) will get a postseason victory with the equivalent of playing a team like Rochester in the playoffs.

Because anyone who has been around for more than 15 minutes also knows that every year, there's an unusual set of pairings where either a) two really good teams meet way too early or b) two marginal teams play each other in the first round for convenience of local matchups and/or avoiding flights in the first round.  I'm pretty sure that MIT is literally the only opponent in the field within 500 miles of Husson.  Sure, you can be pissed about it if you want, but this isn't a new phenomenon.

We all know WHY this was done, but they literally could have sent Husson to Whitewater or anywhere and sucked up the cost.  MIT wasn't the problem.  Someone always has to fly, might as well send the team which is very likely the 32nd ranked team in the field from up in Nova Scotia.

[ECoastFootball]

Guys -- the people that watch from the garage doe it because they don't have to pay, they can tailgate, and can drink up there -- There are usually more away fans up there than home fans.  The stands are more than comfortable, and yes, the press box is small, but there is nothing wrong with the top-notch facilities and training rooms.

I didn't mean what I wrote as a slight to the program, I was just saying that the stands and box are extremely small, and my guess would be that they can not host because of that. The field they have is pretty new turf, and I'm sure the other facilities they have are very nice, but that's not what we were discussing.

[ExTartanPlayer]

We all know WHY this was done, but they literally could have sent Husson to Whitewater or anywhere and sucked up the cost.  MIT wasn't the problem.  Someone always has to fly, might as well send the team which is very likely the 32nd ranked team in the field from up in Nova Scotia.

Yeah, but look at the playoff bracket.  Where are you sending them without creating an extra flight in the first two rounds beyond what's already required? 

The only first-round flight is Chapman @ Linfield (I think). 

Without Google-mapping every possible matchup, I think that the only guaranteed second-round flight is that Linfield-Chapman winner flying to UMHB. 

Sending Husson to UWW, or UMHB, or anywhere else, doesn't allow you to eliminate either of those.  It creates a third required flight.

I'd see your point if you could fly Husson somewhere instead of flying someone else.  But you can't.

[lewdogg11]

Guys -- the people that watch from the garage doe it because they don't have to pay, they can tailgate, and can drink up there -- There are usually more away fans up there than home fans.  The stands are more than comfortable, and yes, the press box is small, but there is nothing wrong with the top-notch facilities and training rooms.

I didn't mean what I wrote as a slight to the program, I was just saying that the stands and box are extremely small, and my guess would be that they can not host because of that. The field they have is pretty new turf, and I'm sure the other facilities they have are very nice, but that's not what we were discussing.

The parking lot or whatever it is you're referencing at MIT COULD be the problem.  At RPI many years ago, we had to host up on the other turf field because there was a section where fans could watch without paying on our regular field.  This is a huge no-no for tournament games.  They want everyone to pay.  It's usually press boxes and tickets that are the killers.  RPI ended up figuring out a way to close that in later on so you could watch from there but could only access it with a ticket(prior to moving to the ECAV).  With MIT's first postseason visit, my guess is they haven't really worried about it yet. 

[jmcozenlaw]

Guys -- the people that watch from the garage doe it because they don't have to pay, they can tailgate, and can drink up there -- There are usually more away fans up there than home fans.  The stands are more than comfortable, and yes, the press box is small, but there is nothing wrong with the top-notch facilities and training rooms.

I didn't mean what I wrote as a slight to the program, I was just saying that the stands and box are extremely small, and my guess would be that they can not host because of that. The field they have is pretty new turf, and I'm sure the other facilities they have are very nice, but that's not what we were discussing.

The parking lot or whatever it is you're referencing at MIT COULD be the problem.  At RPI many years ago, we had to host up on the other turf field because there was a section where fans could watch without paying on our regular field.  This is a huge no-no for tournament games.  They want everyone to pay.  It's usually press boxes and tickets that are the killers.  RPI ended up figuring out a way to close that in later on so you could watch from there but could only access it with a ticket(prior to moving to the ECAV).  With MIT's first postseason visit, my guess is they haven't really worried about it yet.

I can understand people watching from somewhere other than the stands if they want to imbibe in alcohol but please don't tell me that saving the cost of a ticket is a big deal to 99.9999% of these people. People waste the cost of a ticket to a DIII game on Starjunks coffee or a number of other waste's of money. I can't buy that there are too many people who scheme to escape the $5.00 - $8.00 cost of a ticket. That is cheap with a capital 'C'!!!!!!!

It's also a shame that MIT has no endowment to be able to throw a few sheckles at stands/press box. Poor, poor school

[lewdogg11]

Guys -- the people that watch from the garage doe it because they don't have to pay, they can tailgate, and can drink up there -- There are usually more away fans up there than home fans.  The stands are more than comfortable, and yes, the press box is small, but there is nothing wrong with the top-notch facilities and training rooms.

I didn't mean what I wrote as a slight to the program, I was just saying that the stands and box are extremely small, and my guess would be that they can not host because of that. The field they have is pretty new turf, and I'm sure the other facilities they have are very nice, but that's not what we were discussing.

The parking lot or whatever it is you're referencing at MIT COULD be the problem.  At RPI many years ago, we had to host up on the other turf field because there was a section where fans could watch without paying on our regular field.  This is a huge no-no for tournament games.  They want everyone to pay.  It's usually press boxes and tickets that are the killers.  RPI ended up figuring out a way to close that in later on so you could watch from there but could only access it with a ticket(prior to moving to the ECAV).  With MIT's first postseason visit, my guess is they haven't really worried about it yet.

I can understand people watching from somewhere other than the stands if they want to imbibe in alcohol but please don't tell me that saving the cost of a ticket is a big deal to 99.9999% of these people. People waste the cost of a ticket to a DIII game on Starjunks coffee or a number of other waste's of money. I can't buy that there are too many people who scheme to escape the $5.00 - $8.00 cost of a ticket. That is cheap with a capital 'C'!!!!!!!

It's also a shame that MIT has no endowment to be able to throw a few sheckles at stands/press box. Poor, poor school

I don't disagree with you.  It's not the cost, it's just the ability to have that access.  The NCAA needs their money so they can spend it on covering up Jameis Winston's weekend autograph sales.

[rlk]

There's no football reason for MIT to go to Husson. They are a better team with a better resume and should be hosting. I know this is preaching to the chrior but being sent to Maine for that game is a screw job by the NCAA.  Although getting matched up with Husson is a gift to begin with. So I guess its a wash?

Can MIT even host?  They have a facility that may not be suitable for NCAA playoff purposes.

Having been to MIT, my guess would be that no, they cannot. When they played big games this year, most of the fans watched from the adjacent parking garage. There is not a D1, D2 or D3 high school team in Massachusetts that has a smaller set of stands than MIT does. If they are good again, hopefully they can get the ok to play at Cambridge HS or something, but I doubt they'd be in position to host if they made it back.

That's quite an exaggeration.  The garage in question really isn't that big, and the tailgate area doesn't have room for more than maybe 200 people to watch at any one time.  Here's a shot showing both (part of) the stands and the tailgate area from the WNE game: http://rlk.smugmug.com/Sports/MITWNE-crowd-shots/n-HF9fC/i-NvGpbBH

Perhaps the NCAA has different rules about hosting facilities for football and soccer, but the facility was good enough for women's soccer this weekend.

[Jonny Utah]

There's no football reason for MIT to go to Husson. They are a better team with a better resume and should be hosting. I know this is preaching to the chrior but being sent to Maine for that game is a screw job by the NCAA.  Although getting matched up with Husson is a gift to begin with. So I guess its a wash?

Can MIT even host?  They have a facility that may not be suitable for NCAA playoff purposes.

Having been to MIT, my guess would be that no, they cannot. When they played big games this year, most of the fans watched from the adjacent parking garage. There is not a D1, D2 or D3 high school team in Massachusetts that has a smaller set of stands than MIT does. If they are good again, hopefully they can get the ok to play at Cambridge HS or something, but I doubt they'd be in position to host if they made it back.

That's quite an exaggeration.  The garage in question really isn't that big, and the tailgate area doesn't have room for more than maybe 200 people to watch at any one time.  Here's a shot showing both (part of) the stands and the tailgate area from the WNE game: http://rlk.smugmug.com/Sports/MITWNE-crowd-shots/n-HF9fC/i-NvGpbBH

Perhaps the NCAA has different rules about hosting facilities for football and soccer, but the facility was good enough for women's soccer this weekend.

This has happened before (teams not being able to host), and I believe the reason usually is because the press box needs to hold x amount of people (official scorers, referees, clock operators, SIDS, NCAA site officials, and media reps).  I do not believe MITs press box is capable of holding the required amount of people.  The garage should be a non issue, MIT owns it, and can simply close it off or charge people to go up there/park or whatever.

Look at it this way, it could show the MIT higher ups what a great thing they are missing out on and they can upgrade the facilities.  This is a great thing for d3 football in Boston.  Once MIT sees how successful these football players will be after they graduate, they might even do more. 

And MIT can recruit nationally, I think they can really do some great things if they can build from this.

[jmcozenlaw]

There's no football reason for MIT to go to Husson. They are a better team with a better resume and should be hosting. I know this is preaching to the chrior but being sent to Maine for that game is a screw job by the NCAA.  Although getting matched up with Husson is a gift to begin with. So I guess its a wash?

Can MIT even host?  They have a facility that may not be suitable for NCAA playoff purposes.

Having been to MIT, my guess would be that no, they cannot. When they played big games this year, most of the fans watched from the adjacent parking garage. There is not a D1, D2 or D3 high school team in Massachusetts that has a smaller set of stands than MIT does. If they are good again, hopefully they can get the ok to play at Cambridge HS or something, but I doubt they'd be in position to host if they made it back.

That's quite an exaggeration.  The garage in question really isn't that big, and the tailgate area doesn't have room for more than maybe 200 people to watch at any one time.  Here's a shot showing both (part of) the stands and the tailgate area from the WNE game: http://rlk.smugmug.com/Sports/MITWNE-crowd-shots/n-HF9fC/i-NvGpbBH

Perhaps the NCAA has different rules about hosting facilities for football and soccer, but the facility was good enough for women's soccer this weekend.

This has happened before (teams not being able to host), and I believe the reason usually is because the press box needs to hold x amount of people (official scorers, referees, clock operators, SIDS, NCAA site officials, and media reps).  I do not believe MITs press box is capable of holding the required amount of people.  The garage should be a non issue, MIT owns it, and can simply close it off or charge people to go up there/park or whatever.

Look at it this way, it could show the MIT higher ups what a great thing they are missing out on and they can upgrade the facilities.  This is a great thing for d3 football in Boston.  Once MIT sees how successful these football players will be after they graduate, they might even do more. 

And MIT can recruit nationally, I think they can really do some great things if they can build from this.

Utes - I could not agree with you more. Maybe MIT can do a fundraiser or pass around a hat since they are so hamstrung financially

[jmcozenlaw]

Guys -- the people that watch from the garage doe it because they don't have to pay, they can tailgate, and can drink up there -- There are usually more away fans up there than home fans.  The stands are more than comfortable, and yes, the press box is small, but there is nothing wrong with the top-notch facilities and training rooms.

I didn't mean what I wrote as a slight to the program, I was just saying that the stands and box are extremely small, and my guess would be that they can not host because of that. The field they have is pretty new turf, and I'm sure the other facilities they have are very nice, but that's not what we were discussing.

The parking lot or whatever it is you're referencing at MIT COULD be the problem.  At RPI many years ago, we had to host up on the other turf field because there was a section where fans could watch without paying on our regular field.  This is a huge no-no for tournament games.  They want everyone to pay.  It's usually press boxes and tickets that are the killers.  RPI ended up figuring out a way to close that in later on so you could watch from there but could only access it with a ticket(prior to moving to the ECAV).  With MIT's first postseason visit, my guess is they haven't really worried about it yet.

I can understand people watching from somewhere other than the stands if they want to imbibe in alcohol but please don't tell me that saving the cost of a ticket is a big deal to 99.9999% of these people. People waste the cost of a ticket to a DIII game on Starjunks coffee or a number of other waste's of money. I can't buy that there are too many people who scheme to escape the $5.00 - $8.00 cost of a ticket. That is cheap with a capital 'C'!!!!!!!

It's also a shame that MIT has no endowment to be able to throw a few sheckles at stands/press box. Poor, poor school

I don't disagree with you.  It's not the cost, it's just the ability to have that access.  The NCAA needs their money so they can spend it on covering up Jameis Winston's weekend autograph sales.

LewDogg - The NCAA sickens me and their treating DIII like red headed stepchildren is obscene.

I know they can't/won't........but I wish that one day, maybe when he/they retire(s), Pat and Company go off on these incompetent fools!!!!

[rlk]

There's no football reason for MIT to go to Husson. They are a better team with a better resume and should be hosting. I know this is preaching to the chrior but being sent to Maine for that game is a screw job by the NCAA.  Although getting matched up with Husson is a gift to begin with. So I guess its a wash?

Can MIT even host?  They have a facility that may not be suitable for NCAA playoff purposes.

Having been to MIT, my guess would be that no, they cannot. When they played big games this year, most of the fans watched from the adjacent parking garage. There is not a D1, D2 or D3 high school team in Massachusetts that has a smaller set of stands than MIT does. If they are good again, hopefully they can get the ok to play at Cambridge HS or something, but I doubt they'd be in position to host if they made it back.

That's quite an exaggeration.  The garage in question really isn't that big, and the tailgate area doesn't have room for more than maybe 200 people to watch at any one time.  Here's a shot showing both (part of) the stands and the tailgate area from the WNE game: http://rlk.smugmug.com/Sports/MITWNE-crowd-shots/n-HF9fC/i-NvGpbBH

Perhaps the NCAA has different rules about hosting facilities for football and soccer, but the facility was good enough for women's soccer this weekend.

This has happened before (teams not being able to host), and I believe the reason usually is because the press box needs to hold x amount of people (official scorers, referees, clock operators, SIDS, NCAA site officials, and media reps).  I do not believe MITs press box is capable of holding the required amount of people.  The garage should be a non issue, MIT owns it, and can simply close it off or charge people to go up there/park or whatever.

Look at it this way, it could show the MIT higher ups what a great thing they are missing out on and they can upgrade the facilities.  This is a great thing for d3 football in Boston.  Once MIT sees how successful these football players will be after they graduate, they might even do more. 

And MIT can recruit nationally, I think they can really do some great things if they can build from this.

The field has had a major upgrade in recent years (the surface is new).  There's not a lot of room to upgrade the stands without disrupting a lot of other playing fields between Vassar St., Kresge, Amherst Alley, and Tang/Eastgate.

And I'm hoping that they upgrade Rockwell Cage for basketball and volleyball.  It has a lot of character in its own way, just as the old building 20 did, but the lighting is awful.  It's 1-2 stops darker than the football field at night.  I shot the WNE and Coast Guard football games at 1/500 at f/2.8-3.2 with ISO 2000-3200, and it actually came out a bit hot (the dark sky and home uniforms fool the metering, and since different shots do have different lighting there's only so much I can do; there's enough shot to shot variation that I can't simply go full manual exposure).  In Rockwell I have to use 1/400 and get ISO 6400, maybe 5000 when I'm lucky (ISO 12800 really isn't useful on the 7D).  The MIT-Harvard game on Friday at Lavietes Pavilion was much better lit.

Realistically, I don't think the stands have much impact on recruiting.  Coach Martinovich goes to all of the Ivy League camps and picks off a lot of players that way, and whatever happens in the playoffs our 9-0 regular season has attracted a lot of national attention.  I don't think prospective athletes visit MIT, say "gee those stands are small, I think I'll go to an Ivy and ride the bench for what may be 4 years vs. go to MIT and have a real shot at playing time from the get-go".  If you want to go to MIT, you want to go to MIT.  Somebody who really did and wanted to play football at a strong level might have had a bit of a dilemma before which is now resolved, but again, the playing facility isn't the issue.

MIT charges $5 to park in the garage on weekends.  Closing the garage during game times would really kill attendance because street parking, which is never very easy, would become impossible.  Fuhgeddaboutit for day games; the street parking is metered with a 2 hour limit that Cambridge enforces.  MIT has some other lots on the east side of campus, but they're small and it's a pretty good walk down Amherst St. and then across the east side of campus (including the Green Building wind tunnel region), through the Infinite Corridor, across Mass. Ave., and through a good part of west campus.  Placing campus police on the roof to stop tailgating could be done if they really had to, I guess, but wouldn't be very popular.

[wcrosby]

We confirmed with Duey Naatz that MIT didn't file to host, hence they are on the road and they matched up these teams b/c of geo proximity.

www.blogtalkradio.com/ith/2014/11/17/in-the-huddlle--liberty-league-football-talk-show

FF to 30 mins and you'll hear this ? answered

Well, I talked to the Athletic Director, and they did file.  But Husson's facilities were considered superior.

[rlk]

There's another consideration here: yes, MIT is committed to football, but there are 32 or so other varsity sports (not to mention endless intramurals), and shifting too much around to accommodate football (particularly if it's just for the sake of the tournament, with no guarantee that we'd ever host anyway) would run counter to the spirit of MIT and be a very unpopular decision.