FB: American Rivers Conference

[5 Words or Less]

One-way travel to Nebraska Wesleyan:

• Buena Vista - 174 miles @ 3:19
• Central - 226 miles @ 4:06
• Coe - 312 miles @ 5:15
• Dubuque - 385 miles @ 6:34
• Loras - 385 miles @ 6:32
• Luther - 394 miles @ 6:49
• Simpson - 202 miles @ 3:29
• Wartburg - 316 miles @ 5:31

[5 Words or Less]

I'd add Wartburg's JV 

[Fannosaurus Rex]

I like the conference at 8 as long as no one has any trouble scheduling 3 non-con games.

[doolittledog]

I suspect Nebraska Wesleyan would get their conference to go D3 before we would see them join the IIAC.  But who knows.  We won't find Cornell, Grinnell, or Iowa wesleyan moving to the IIAC.  I don't know how excited anyone would be for Graceland to join from the NAIA.  Northwestern and/or Morningside might be interesting, but I think they would be a long shot.  Grand View or St. Ambrose I think would go D2 before thinking about D3 and the IIAC.  I wouldn't be interested in Briar Cliff, Dordt, or Waldorf.  Billie Penn???  Possibly would be an interesting choice, but I have no idea if they would ever consider moving back.  I think we need to just keep our remaining 8 together, and I think that is actually what we will see over the near future. 

[hazzben]

Hazbeen on this site mentioned Northwestern and Morningside are interested in D3 and the IIAC...not so sure about that.

Not so sure about those two teams being a part of the IIAC or not sure that they are talking about these things?

As for the latter, I know for a fact administrators at the highest levels at NWC are having informal discussions about the D3 option. One of the big questions revolves around financial aid. Whether this ever leads to formal talk and then to formal pursuit of D3 membership remains to be seen. But people have definitely floated the idea. And from what I've heard that same thing has happened at Morningside, although I don't know nearly the details of this one. But they do have a long history with the NCAA, having been a longtime D2 member of the old NCC.

[hazzben]

One-way travel to Nebraska Wesleyan:

• Buena Vista - 174 miles @ 3:19
• Central - 226 miles @ 4:06
• Coe - 312 miles @ 5:15
• Dubuque - 385 miles @ 6:34
• Loras - 385 miles @ 6:32
• Luther - 394 miles @ 6:49
• Simpson - 202 miles @ 3:29
• Wartburg - 316 miles @ 5:31

That was my initial reaction as well. That kind of travel just seems impossible to maintain for a sport like basketball.

Your closest road trip is almost 3.5 hours, half are 4+ hours and over 60% are 5+ hours. Not to mention being the only non-Iowa school in the conference.

But they would definitely be a nice addition to the track competition in the IIAC. Football and B-ball...not so much.

[Mr. Ypsi]

One-way travel to Nebraska Wesleyan:

• Buena Vista - 174 miles @ 3:19
• Central - 226 miles @ 4:06
• Coe - 312 miles @ 5:15
• Dubuque - 385 miles @ 6:34
• Loras - 385 miles @ 6:32
• Luther - 394 miles @ 6:49
• Simpson - 202 miles @ 3:29
• Wartburg - 316 miles @ 5:31

That was my initial reaction as well. That kind of travel just seems impossible to maintain for a sport like basketball.

Your closest road trip is almost 3.5 hours, half are 4+ hours and over 60% are 5+ hours. Not to mention being the only non-Iowa school in the conference.

But they would definitely be a nice addition to the track competition in the IIAC. Football and B-ball...not so much.

They were in the national title game in 1997.  Any IIAC team matched that since?

My understanding (from here or elsewhere on the boards?) is that they have applied to the IIAC several times and been denied - any updates?

(I'm a sucker for d3 isolates.  I lobbied for years for Finlandia, UP of Michigan and almost 500 miles from the nearest Mideast team, to be reclassified as West - while I doubt I had any part in it, it finally happened!  My new projects are Neb Wes and Colorado College.  Give poor Neb Wes a break! )

[footballdaddy]

I think we can kill two birds with one stone by adding Grand View to the IIAC. Not only would that bring the conference back to nine teams, we could actually get some media coverage in the Des Moines area. The only thing that is more frustrating about the lack of IIAC coverage here in the center of the state is the overblown coverage Grand View gets. Even though they are a glorified junior college they are looked at as a mid major program around here because they offer "scholarships". They would be a bottom half team in the IIAC in every sport except basketball.

[doolittledog]

Hazbeen on this site mentioned Northwestern and Morningside are interested in D3 and the IIAC...not so sure about that.

Not so sure about those two teams being a part of the IIAC or not sure that they are talking about these things?
As for the latter, I know for a fact administrators at the highest levels at NWC are having informal discussions about the D3 option. One of the big questions revolves around financial aid. Whether this ever leads to formal talk and then to formal pursuit of D3 membership remains to be seen. But people have definitely floated the idea. And from what I've heard that same thing has happened at Morningside, although I don't know nearly the details of this one. But they do have a long history with the NCAA, having been a longtime D2 member of the old NCC.

Not so sure their fans would let it happen without going into melt down mode first.  But if the admin wants it, it will happen.  I would be fine with one or both of those schools.  Nice tradition at both schools.  Northwestern fans are the opposite of their Reformed relatives over at Central.  Obnoxious is a good way to describe them. 

[warthog]

Be on the lookout for transfers in and around the Wartburg campus this summer.  The Little Warthogs are in the process of building a new house in the same neighborhood where Roofgate took place a few years ago. 

[Bird Dog]

What I find interesting is that with the Gazette you will find more information about Luther than Wartburg.  I only find it interesting because Waverly is much closer to CR than Decorah.

During the 2008 football season I emailed the Gazette regarding their lack of coverage of Wartburg's playoff run and I included the number of players on the roster that were from the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City area which I believe was over 40 players.  I got the obligitory appology and we will do better next time response. 

Just another example of "The Man" trying to keep the Dark Side down. 

I think the lack of coverage is due to the Sports Information Director (SID).  My guess is that Wartburg  doesn't call the results into the Gazette where Luther does.  We have news articles on local Luther student athletes in the Iowa City Press Citizen when ever the student earns an honor. The Gazette also covers Upper Iowa University, again I think it is because the SID calls in the results.   

[Bird Dog]

Have any of you ever heard of a semi pro football team called the Emmetsburg Celtics?  The Des Moines Register ran stories on this fictitious team.  Why because someone made up the results of the game and sent them in.     

[doolittledog]

Have any of you ever heard of a semi pro football team called the Emmetsburg Celtics?  The Des Moines Register ran stories on this fictitious team.  Why because someone made up the results of the game and sent them in.     

There was a student at Dubuque when I was there that would take stories the UD SID wrote and white-out the UD quarterbacks name and type his name in, and then send the story to his home town paper up in Wisconsin and they would run the stories.  After a few weeks of this, the paper called UD to ask if they could interview the coaching staff because they wanted to know what the Dubuque coaches were able to do to get a kid that didn't play high school football into a record setting college QB.  This was during the Roger Wailiea era of the late 80's.  This all made for some good comedy around campus after everything came to light.   

[hazzben]

Northwestern fans are the opposite of their Reformed relatives over at Central.  Obnoxious is a good way to describe them.

Talk about a sweeping generalization

Every team has their good and bad apples, on the field and in the stands. Case in point. We experienced some great Dutch hospitality on our trip to Central in 2007. But we also experienced several healthy dashes of Dutch 'pride' that went a bit over the top. Same for Wartburg in 2003. Some good folks, some classy players. Some coaches stepping onto the field to cuss out, mock and talk smack to our players during the game. But they've also got guys like Warthog.

Pick the program. Bethel's got its boneheads, I've given a few of them a piece of my mind when I felt they were out of line. SJU on our board runs a range from Johnnie Red to Touchdown Tommy; UST runs from USTBench & miacmaniac to Mr.MIAC. Bottom line, every team and fan base is a mixed bag. Shoot, even the Yankees had Lou Gehrig   

[doolittledog]

Hmm, ok, hazzben has correctly called me out for generalizing...something I have called out others on here in the past and then went and did myself.  Guilty plea entered by me. 

I will say, those that post on the NAIA board lean towards the extreme.  Anyone remember that fake Central poster that was banned on this site?  That is pretty much your average Northwestern poster.  Not representative of their fan base as a whole, but representative of 99% of their messageboard posters.

I am ready for some football.  Youtube clips aren't doing it for me anymore.  I want to see some real live D3 football...letting my kids run around the stadium...the smell of hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy filling my senses and stomach.  Letting my wife drive home as my kids and I all sleep through the return trip (that part is unlikely to ever happen)