FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BoBo]

I'm sorry 413, I've been busy too, so I get the last word...

...I just want notlongago to tell me where that mall is in Whitewater, Wisconsin? I've been looking for it for 50 or 60 years and still haven't found it. Are you kidding me?

[fredfalcon]

Have been out of touch on  vacation and still am, but am impressed with freshman Ryan Kusilek's 21/35 performance as starting qb (FROM RFHS) vs Simpson. Know nothing about Simpson, but the game report/stats indicate reasons to be hopeful.

[02 Warhawk]

Have been out of touch on  vacation and still am, but am impressed with freshman Ryan Kusilek's 21/35 performance as starting qb (FROM RFHS) vs Simpson. Know nothing about Simpson, but the game report/stats indicate reasons to be hopeful.

I was really hoping UWRF would take that game. It was very winnable, compared to the rest of their schedule.

[footballfan413]

I'm sorry 413, I've been busy too, so I get the last word...

...I just want notlongago to tell me where that mall is in Whitewater, Wisconsin? I've been looking for it for 50 or 60 years and still haven't found it. Are you kidding me?

LOL, it's right next to the movie theater!            Oh, wait....................

I'm guessing notlongago has never been to Whitewater.   

[footballfan413]

Have been out of touch on  vacation and still am, but am impressed with freshman Ryan Kusilek's 21/35 performance as starting qb (FROM RFHS) vs Simpson. Know nothing about Simpson, but the game report/stats indicate reasons to be hopeful.

I was really hoping UWRF would take that game. It was very winnable, compared to the rest of their schedule.

Me, too, and not just hoping, I picked them.......

[emma17]

But they don't pick kids by hanging up signs in the dorms like you might in the halls of your high school. It's not an open tryout -- kids are recruited to come to the school with football in mind just as with every private school. There might be a facilities edge (don't tell River Falls that) but there's nothing that a state school does that a private school couldn't do. Just ask Mount Union.

I know they don't recruit the dorms....but whats easier to recruit to: a school of 8,000-10,000 or a school of 1,500? A big city with a mall, restaurants, and other attractions or a small town? A school that offers 20 Majors or a school that offers 50 majors? Paying professors from a private school budget or using state money?

With that logic, schools from the NJAC should always beat a Mount Union?

I hear what ur trying to say, but that's not why the WIAC is a very strong conference.

Off topic (sorry) but does anyone know what happened to josh williams. And congrats to  Blanchard. I'll be waiting for the day when he leads the Bears to victory over the Pack. BTW '02, hope you enjoyed your trip to Naperville.

NCF- I think the Williams subject is still in "classified" status. I honestly don't know the details but am surprised he wasn't higher on the depth chart in camp.

[BoBo]

I've spent much of my Labor Day going D3football.com retro.  I went to the then-D3football.com WIAC chat room in its first year - 2005, The smack talk the weeks of the St. Johns, Linfield and Mount Union playoff games was incredible.

We all know that Bobo is the spiritual leader of this thread. He'll have to  verify but I think that he first went by Seoulman as in S. Korea. I first discovered his posts the week of the 2005 national semifinal vs. Wesley. He told the Wolverines to make sure to bring  long johns. They did but forgot to bring cleatless shoes. Good call Seoulman if thats who your really are.

First of all, please don't lay that on me. That is a cross to bear that I would rather not have to deal with. (reverse psychology alert)

Second, I have no relations with any poster on this site. I discovered this message board in the fall of '06 and have used the same screen name since then. I may live in Seoul, but everything else is totally coincidental. I actually knew only one other poster living here, but he was a Marietta baseball follower who happened to also be in the Air Force. He PCS'd back to the states a year ago. I'm pretty certain he never used that name nor did he post on the football boards. Where do I find these posts you speak of? Sorry about that voice, it does make for an interesting story, though!!

[BoBo]

I'm sorry 413, I've been busy too, so I get the last word...

...I just want notlongago to tell me where that mall is in Whitewater, Wisconsin? I've been looking for it for 50 or 60 years and still haven't found it. Are you kidding me?

LOL, it's right next to the movie theater!            Oh, wait....................

I'm guessing notlongago has never been to Whitewater.   

You mean there isn't a movie theater in WW either? How the hell are they supposed to recruit football players to the lousy, little town? There must be something else that is attracting them. 

[oshfb]

Congratulations to UWO on a whooping over my Dutch today.  We are a young team and you could have written the score of your choice.  Glad you gave us the chance to gain something positive out of the game in the second half.  You have a fantastic QB.  Good luck with the rest of your season.

How good of a team does the Dutch expect to have this season? Reason I ask, last couple contests between UWO and Central were quite close while this one was completely lopsided...I'm hoping it is because UWO has continued to improve its play and less that the Dutch may not have as strong a team this season. Any insights Klompen?

[emma17]

I'm sorry 413, I've been busy too, so I get the last word...

...I just want notlongago to tell me where that mall is in Whitewater, Wisconsin? I've been looking for it for 50 or 60 years and still haven't found it. Are you kidding me?

LOL, it's right next to the movie theater!            Oh, wait....................

I'm guessing notlongago has never been to Whitewater.   

You mean there isn't a movie theater in WW either? How the hell are they supposed to recruit football players to the lousy, little town? There must be something else that is attracting them. 

duh- Frozen Custard.

[notlongago]

Congratulations to UWO on a whooping over my Dutch today.  We are a young team and you could have written the score of your choice.  Glad you gave us the chance to gain something positive out of the game in the second half.  You have a fantastic QB.  Good luck with the rest of your season.

How good of a team does the Dutch expect to have this season? Reason I ask, last couple contests between UWO and Central were quite close while this one was completely lopsided...I'm hoping it is because UWO has continued to improve its play and less that the Dutch may not have as strong a team this season. Any insights Klompen?

The Dutch lost a lot....This is definitely a rebuilding year at this point. Many fans are worried about the 50 year streak of .500+ ball is in jeopardy.

[emma17]

Short article on Blanchard:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2012/09/lake_zurichs_matt_blanchard_gl.html

It would be interesting to find out the daily regimen of the practice squad player.  In Matt's case, I assume he'll be the scout team QB?  Does he get any snaps running the Bears' offense?  Does he participate in offense meetings or does he participate in defense meetings in order to play the role of opponent's QB?  Does he travel with team?  Does he know where Josh Williams is?

[hazzben]

The reason the WIAC is a solid conference has nothing to do with being public. And everything to do with the fact there is only one DI football program (Madison) and 0 DII programs in WI. If athletes don't receive a scholarship offer at Madison, and want to play football in-state, they have no choice but to play DIII. Which makes the WIAC very inviting.

I think this is the most legit reason. Places like MN, IA and WI are not recruiting hotbeds. They produce a limited number of HS football players that can legitimately play college ball. States like Illinois, Ohio and Michigan simply produce a far greater number of legit college football talent. It's really just a population thing. Then you factor in the number of colleges (especially FBS, FCS and DII) and you get a sense of what kind of talent the population can support.

Population Numbers
IL: 12.9 mil
OH: 11.5 mil
MI: 9.8 mil

WI: 5.7 mil
MN: 5.3 Mil

IA: 3 mil

SD: .8 mil
ND: .7 mil

States like IL, OH and MI have multiple FBS, FCS or DII schools. They've also got 2-4 times as many people as WI, MN and IA. There's plenty of talent to go around.

Wisconsin has a slightly larger population than MN and only 1 FBS, FCS or DII football playing school. Lower population, but fewer schools competing for the resources. And as others have noted, Whitewater has a great location to Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago (so they can even dip into the IL talent pool). 02 Warhawk is right, it's either DI or DIII.

MN has 1 FBS and multiple DII's. IA has 2 FBS, 2 FCS (Drake is a weird one in that they don't offer scholarship) and several DII's.

Another factor that I think gets overlooked with MN and IA is that they are bordered by two states, South Dakota and North Dakota, with tiny populations and 2 FCS schools a piece, plus a smattering of DII's. These boarder states have to raid talent from MN and IA to fill their rosters due to their lack of instate talent/population.

Case in point, NDSU (Defending FCS National Champs) has 33 MN kids on their roster to 20 ND or 14 WI kids. SDSU has 17 MN kids and 15 IA kids to 5 Wis & 22 from SD.

Personally, I think the population to FBS/FCS/DII ratio is a much more significant factor than any of the others listed.

But bottom line, a school still has to recruit and ultimately coach up and develop the talent. You can have all the population ration advantages, but junk coaching will kill you. Or you can have the disadvantages and close the gap through very good coaching. What's lethal is when you've got situations like UWW and historically UWL, who've taken advantage of both.

My 2¢

[badgerwarhawk]

You mean there isn't a movie theater in WW either? How the hell are they supposed to recruit football players to the lousy, little town? There must be something else that is attracting them. 

Actually there is a movie theater.  It's located on the far westside behind the Taco Bell.  Four screens no less.

Those who don't think Wisconsin athletes have any options but D3 or the UW should take a look at the Minnesota D2's rosters sometime.  Some of those schools have made recruiting Wisconsin a higher priority and they're loaded with Wisconsin athletes.  Particularly those like Winona and Duluth who are on the east side of the state.

Duluth: 45, Winona: 30, Mankato: 27 

[02 Warhawk]

A little late this week, but my Inside the Box Scores is out.

Looks like UWSP has a pair of linebacking brothers that are looking raise all sorts of hell in the WIAC. What a game they had Saturday!!