FB: Conference of New England

[Jonny Utah]

But even if the NEFC does split into two "power" (lol) conferences, isn't there a minimum amount of schools needed in order to get an AQ?

Yes but I believe they have that already

[Upstate]

But even if the NEFC does split into two "power" (lol) conferences, isn't there a minimum amount of schools needed in order to get an AQ?

Yes it's 7, and the Bogan & Boyd divisions each have 7 (or more)....

[boobyhasgameyo]

I will officially stop relentlessly discrediting the NEFC.  We spend weeks every postseason defending the East Region in terms of legitimacy compared to the rest of the Country and then we turn around and cannibalize our own lesser conferences and totally disregard any of their supporters' stances to the contrary.

[Upstate]

I will officially stop relentlessly discrediting the NEFC.  We spend weeks every postseason defending the East Region in terms of legitimacy compared to the rest of the Country and then we turn around and cannibalize our own lesser conferences and totally disregard any of their supporters' stances to the contrary.

Fine, I'll stop making disparaging remarks about the NEFC & ECFC or any other conference in the East that's not the E8, LL, NJAC or MAC...

[AUKaz00]

I will officially stop relentlessly discrediting the NEFC.  We spend weeks every postseason defending the East Region in terms of legitimacy compared to the rest of the Country and then we turn around and cannibalize our own lesser conferences and totally disregard any of their supporters' stances to the contrary.

Fine, I'll stop making disparaging remarks about the NEFC & ECFC or any other conference in the East that's not the E8, LL, NJAC or MAC...

Unless they split into two conferences?

[Doid23]

Unless they split into two conferences?

Well played. +K

[Upstate]

Unless they split into two conferences?

Well played. +K

If they split the conferences I'm leading the charge to get Fisher into the NEFC (Boyd or Bogan) so they can go 10-0 every year...

[SJFF82]

I will officially stop relentlessly discrediting the NEFC.  We spend weeks every postseason defending the East Region in terms of legitimacy compared to the rest of the Country and then we turn around and cannibalize our own lesser conferences and totally disregard any of their supporters' stances to the contrary.

So???

[FOOTBALL1980]

There are only 3 states in the USA with more college football teams than Massachusetts Texas, New York, Illinois...that includes all divisions!!!  Safe to say that those three are more populated than Mass, the NEFC is a saturated conference which in part accounts for its lack of success versus outside conferences.

[ExTartanPlayer]

There are only 3 states in the USA with more college football teams than Massachusetts Texas, New York, Illinois...that includes all divisions!!!  Safe to say that those three are more populated than Mass, the NEFC is a saturated conference which in part accounts for its lack of success versus outside conferences.

I understand the logic here (I've used this very argument to explain the strength of the WIAC)...but I have to do a bit of fact-checking.

Pennsylvania has three Division I-A schools (Pitt, Penn State, Temple), at least six I-AA schools (Duquesne, Robert Morris, Lehigh, Lafayette, Villanova, Bucknell...and I might have missed a few), 17 Division II schools (the entire PSAC plus Seton Hill, who plays in the WVIAC), and 24 Division III schools (spread across numerous conferences, but trust me, they exist).  That's a total of 50 football-playing colleges in PA, and that number excludes a couple of junior colleges and trade schools.

If I've counted correctly, there are 20 Division III football schools in Massachusetts.  On top of that I count one Division I-A program (Boston College), three I-AA schools (Harvard, Holy Cross, and UMass), and five Division II schools (America International, Assumption, Bentley, Merrimack, Stonehill).  That would seem to be a few eggs short of the proverbial dozen.

Now, my math skills are a little shaky, but I do have a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Statistics...so I'm pretty confident that 50 is greater than 29.  So, um...yeah, there are more than three states in the USA with more college football teams than Massachusetts.  Nice try, though.

Ohio, also, has at least 40 football schools (eight Division I-A, two Division I-AA, eleven Division II, and twenty-some Division III).  For that matter, you didn't mention California, which has 21 four-year schools (seven I-A, four I-AA, one II, nine III, two NAIA) plus SEVENTY junior-college programs.

*Yes, California is huge and SHOULD have more football programs than Massachusetts - that's not my point.  If you're going to make this phony argument that "only three states have more college football programs than Massachusetts" you should at least get the facts straight.

I see your point - that whatever talent there is in Massachusetts is spready thin - but personally, I think that the "saturation" factor is only part of the story for the NEFC.  For example, I remember reading a story during Curry's playoff run that mentioned that most (if not all) of the NEFC head coaching positions are "part-time" jobs, and that the guys all work a "real" job in addition to coaching at NEFC schools.  Contrast that to most Division III schools, where the head coach is virtually ALWAYS a "full-time" job and, in many cases, so are the coordinator positions.  IMHO, that points to a larger issue of how seriously football is taken at the NEFC schools compared to most of Division III.

And, frankly, that's fine.  There's nothing wrong with playing in a conference of like-minded schools where you've decided up-front that the sport is not a PRIORITY but is more of a recreational activity.

Honestly, although it may come off that way, this isn't meant to demean NEFC football coaches or players at all, or to say that THEY don't take football seriously.  It's just a statement of facts.

[Desertraider]

I have been watching ESPN2 all day and the ticker at the bottom for NCAAF has the Div.1 FCS semi-finals with times - but nothing on the game tonight. Thanks for nothing ESPN. Even if you are not a fan of either team make it a D3 football event. Remember that one day your team will be in the Stagg and you will want networks to cover it - lets give them some ratings so that can happen. If you don't watch the game thats fine - just turn it on. Maybe if the ratings are decent ESPN will stop moving the game to friday (a TV dead zone!) or moving to a smaller ESPN network so they can show some damn Poker tournament! Even if you not a fan of the teams playing - we are all fans of DIII football!

[SJFF82]

I have been watching ESPN2 all day and the ticker at the bottom for NCAAF has the Div.1 FCS semi-finals with times - but nothing on the game tonight. Thanks for nothing ESPN. Even if you are not a fan of either team make it a D3 football event. Remember that one day your team will be in the Stagg and you will want networks to cover it - lets give them some ratings so that can happen. If you don't watch the game thats fine - just turn it on. Maybe if the ratings are decent ESPN will stop moving the game to friday (a TV dead zone!) or moving to a smaller ESPN network so they can show some damn Poker tournament! Even if you not a fan of the teams playing - we are all fans of DIII football!

You think you are funny?  Please keep all us bums in the East posted...

[fulbakdad]

In referance to the number of colleges in D3 from different states.

If you look at the states, you can see that most have chosen a path and gone with it.  For example, take a look at Florida.  How many D3 schools are there in that state?  I don't think you can then compare them to Mass.  I think when you look at the talent levels from each state, the percentage of D1-D3 schools comes into focus.  I was at an event where the speaker said that 85% of all the D1 players come from a total of 5 states.  As I remember, they were Florida, Texas, Ohio, Penn, and California. I could be off on one or two, but the 5 schools made you think.  Then how many kids from Mass end up in D1?  I think you'd be surprised how few.  So D3 makes more sense for the talent pool there.

[FOOTBALL1980]

Thank you that was my point, saturation....the numbers may have been off, but the saturation still exists.

[fulbakdad]

My post might not have been clear enough.  There are no D3 teams in Fla.  There are 17 D3 teams in Mass.  That's because the talent pool is much more suited for D3 in Mass.  The talent pool in Fla is more suited for D1.

When you look at the D1 teams in Mass you'll even see that they pull most of thier roster from out of state.  Many from New Jersey.....


My son is playing D3 football in Chicago.  It's awesome.  I'm not dinging it at all.....What I saw through the whole recruiting process with my son and others around him (in Prep Schools) was much higher hopes than what actually turned out....