FB: American Rivers Conference

[notlongago]

Yeah, I think the first one is going to be a nightmare. Too subjective and too harsh. When the game is going full speed it's not always easy to avoid this type of collision. And now a kid might get suspended a game. Are some hits dirty? No question. Are some hits just great plays that look bad? Yes. What I hate to see is when some kid makes what is a simply a great play and gets nailed with a suspension.

Not to mention, I'm not confident how D3 officials will handle this consistently. That's not a knock. Rather a recognition they have to do the same job as their FBS counterparts with less training and no replay. I dont even have confidence the major conference guys can wade through all this subjectivity. Tough duty. If I'm a ref, I'd be VERY slow to throw that flag.

It may be different now, but when I played a few years back, NCAA refs were NCAA refs. I recall one ref telling us he had just gotten back from reffing a University of Oklahoma game the week before.

[doolittledog]

Simpson preseason video is out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxKoyTReQs&feature=player_embedded

[hazzben]

Yeah, I think the first one is going to be a nightmare. Too subjective and too harsh. When the game is going full speed it's not always easy to avoid this type of collision. And now a kid might get suspended a game. Are some hits dirty? No question. Are some hits just great plays that look bad? Yes. What I hate to see is when some kid makes what is a simply a great play and gets nailed with a suspension.

Not to mention, I'm not confident how D3 officials will handle this consistently. That's not a knock. Rather a recognition they have to do the same job as their FBS counterparts with less training and no replay. I dont even have confidence the major conference guys can wade through all this subjectivity. Tough duty. If I'm a ref, I'd be VERY slow to throw that flag.

It may be different now, but when I played a few years back, NCAA refs were NCAA refs. I recall one ref telling us he had just gotten back from reffing a University of Oklahoma game the week before.

That's highly unusual. BCS conferences are very strict about restricting their officials from working other divisions. When you get to be a Big Ten, Big XII or SEC official, that basically means you'll just be doing major college football. They even discourage their officials from doing high school games because they want their guys to be experts in only one rule book. The time commitment is also much more intense. Their is significantly more training and film review both before and during the season.

Again, I'm not knocking our officials. My dad has been an IIAC and IHSAA umpire for decades. At one point he was asked by the Big XII to apply, but he turned it down as it was only a year or two before my brother and I were starting our college careers and he knew if he said yes to that it was basically a guarantee he wouldn't see any of our games. All that to say, I've got tons of respect for the tough job officials have. And in DIII it means tons of travel and time and the pay barely covers expenses. Our officials are a lot like our athletes, they do it because they love being a part of the game.

[notlongago]

Yeah, I think the first one is going to be a nightmare. Too subjective and too harsh. When the game is going full speed it's not always easy to avoid this type of collision. And now a kid might get suspended a game. Are some hits dirty? No question. Are some hits just great plays that look bad? Yes. What I hate to see is when some kid makes what is a simply a great play and gets nailed with a suspension.

Not to mention, I'm not confident how D3 officials will handle this consistently. That's not a knock. Rather a recognition they have to do the same job as their FBS counterparts with less training and no replay. I dont even have confidence the major conference guys can wade through all this subjectivity. Tough duty. If I'm a ref, I'd be VERY slow to throw that flag.

It may be different now, but when I played a few years back, NCAA refs were NCAA refs. I recall one ref telling us he had just gotten back from reffing a University of Oklahoma game the week before.

That's highly unusual. BCS conferences are very strict about restricting their officials from working other divisions. When you get to be a Big Ten, Big XII or SEC official, that basically means you'll just be doing major college football. They even discourage their officials from doing high school games because they want their guys to be experts in only one rule book. The time commitment is also much more intense. Their is significantly more training and film review both before and during the season.

Again, I'm not knocking our officials. My dad has been an IIAC and IHSAA umpire for decades. At one point he was asked by the Big XII to apply, but he turned it down as it was only a year or two before my brother and I were starting our college careers and he knew if he said yes to that it was basically a guarantee he wouldn't see any of our games. All that to say, I've got tons of respect for the tough job officials have. And in DIII it means tons of travel and time and the pay barely covers expenses. Our officials are a lot like our athletes, they do it because they love being a part of the game.

And it could've been a huge coincidence I happened to talk to the one dude who had to fill in and was local.

[doolittledog]

Wartburg and their new pro combat jerseys

[NCF]

Wartburg and their new pro combat jerseys

Must be the look this season. North Central has the same type of uniform.

[wartknight]

Took a quick peek @ the new turf & track yesterday. Looking pretty sweet; can't wait for the season. Hopefully the Knights will be back where they should be @ the top of the league!!

[notlongago]

Well the campers have made it through the weekend and are now in the "grind" of camp. It got me thinking back to my playing days and some camp memories. What are some of your most memorable moments (either college or HS)?

[badgerwarhawk]

I remember my high school coach getting into a fist fight with a parent.

[Duhawkin]

I remember my high school coach getting into a fist fight with a parent.

Well this escalated quickly

[putmeincoach]

any word on scrimmages???....where and when?  need to see some sort of live FB action soon!!

[doolittledog]

any word on scrimmages???....where and when?  need to see some sort of live FB action soon!!

Dubuque will scrimmage @ UW-Oshkosh Wednesday 08/28 @1pm

Head up there and tell me all about it...I'm too busy with work and you'll get a sneak peek at the Dutch week 1 opponant 

[D3MAFAN]

Yeah, I think the first one is going to be a nightmare. Too subjective and too harsh. When the game is going full speed it's not always easy to avoid this type of collision. And now a kid might get suspended a game. Are some hits dirty? No question. Are some hits just great plays that look bad? Yes. What I hate to see is when some kid makes what is a simply a great play and gets nailed with a suspension.

Not to mention, I'm not confident how D3 officials will handle this consistently. That's not a knock. Rather a recognition they have to do the same job as their FBS counterparts with less training and no replay. I dont even have confidence the major conference guys can wade through all this subjectivity. Tough duty. If I'm a ref, I'd be VERY slow to throw that flag.

It may be different now, but when I played a few years back, NCAA refs were NCAA refs. I recall one ref telling us he had just gotten back from reffing a University of Oklahoma game the week before.

That's highly unusual. BCS conferences are very strict about restricting their officials from working other divisions. When you get to be a Big Ten, Big XII or SEC official, that basically means you'll just be doing major college football. They even discourage their officials from doing high school games because they want their guys to be experts in only one rule book. The time commitment is also much more intense. Their is significantly more training and film review both before and during the season.

Again, I'm not knocking our officials. My dad has been an IIAC and IHSAA umpire for decades. At one point he was asked by the Big XII to apply, but he turned it down as it was only a year or two before my brother and I were starting our college careers and he knew if he said yes to that it was basically a guarantee he wouldn't see any of our games. All that to say, I've got tons of respect for the tough job officials have. And in DIII it means tons of travel and time and the pay barely covers expenses. Our officials are a lot like our athletes, they do it because they love being a part of the game.

What hazzben said. However, I do see many referees in Division III referee in local districts/counties that need help.

[doolittledog]

Rules changes for this season...

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201308/2013s-8-new-ncaaf-rule-changes#1

[D3MAFAN]

Rules changes for this season...

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201308/2013s-8-new-ncaaf-rule-changes#1

Thanks for the link. I think that targeting #2 is somewhat a grey area. As the photo showed, both the offensive and defensive player lowered their shoulders to initiate the contact. Then as far as the uniform change, I am a little indifferent about that.