FB: American Rivers Conference

[Willie University]

Thing is, this years Dubuque team has 23 seniors with a lot of those being 4 year starters.  If next years Dubuque team falls back to a 4-6 team will everyone be jumping up and down saying same old Dubuque or will they realize that any coach that loses 23 seniors will probably suffer a bit in the win/loss department?

And remember last season, everyone on here was saying that Belleus was the reason for UD's success and didn't think they'd be half as good without him. They proved that theory wrong. I do agree with doolittle, losing 23 seniors would hurt ANY team but UD has also had a JV program going for a few years and have lots of younger talent as well. Losing a player like Jackson will hurt for sure but I still believe they will be a competitive force for years to come.

Willie U

[DBQ1965]

Since everyone knew it would be Central and Wartburg battling for the title ... and UD was the unknown factor ... I would vote for Brautigham and Jackson if UD wins out.  Who ever would have figured them for 3rd place in the IIAC?

[Willie University]

Since everyone knew it would be Central and Wartburg battling for the title ... and UD was the unknown factor ... I would vote for Brautigham and Jackson if UD wins out.  Who ever would have figured them for 3rd place in the IIAC?

I did pick them 2nd before the season started 

1. Central
2. UD
3. Wartburg

Of course none of any of this talk matters without 2 more victories and BV and Luther will do anything but lay down and let UD win.

[rookie11]

Based on his significant contributions in all three phases of the game,and the simple fact that he is unarguably the best player on potentially the best team in the league, Nick Weber would get my vote.

[oldNorse]

......thoughts on recruiting and Dubuque's 23 seniors:

The Dubuque athletic department should be congratualed for having 23 seniors on the roster.  Most IIAC teams recruit about 30 to 40 freshman (with the exception of Wartburg), and to have 23 on the roster as seniors is a tribute to a focus on the student/athlete that D3 is supposed to be all about.

Wartburg, rumor has it, recruited 70-80 first year football players this fall and have  9 seniors on the current traveling squad.  I don't know how many were recruited 4 years ago....but is it a trend?

How many who are recruited as first year students remain as seniors.  That tells something about a D3 program in my opinion.

[Walston Hoover]

Is that all we have?? 9 Seniors. The future is bright.

[Wartburg Fan]

Thought I'd add in my two cents after last weekend. After competing against both, it is my opinion that Wartburg is a better team than Central. Now, it could be that the Dutch just played bad against the Storm this year, but I don't think so. They certainly did not play like a #6 team. I agree that they seem disciplined but the bottom line is that Wartburg's athleticism will trump the Dutch discipline.

Thought I'd also throw in my 2 cents on recruiting and opinions of colleges. I have to say I echo the centiment on Central. (you can take it with a grain of salt if you like, since I went to Simpson. Although my opinino was formed after my campus visit, before I had ever even looked at Simpson.) Now, I won't go so far as to say Cult'ish, but if I were describing it to a friend I'd probably say kind of a "holier than thou" attititude. I think some of it stems from the very conservative religious background of the institutation, but not sure. I have known good kids that have gone there, it's nothing like that, I'd agree it's just a little different culture than most private colleges. I'd say in all honestly, Wartburg does the best job, you can tell it is a priority of the college that their coaches WILL recruit and do it well. They are persistent and aggressive. Wartburg has made athletics a priority more so than any other IIAC school. They make recruiting a priority. They invest in facilities. they don't accept failure.  The only reason I didn't go there was because I liked the Simpson campus and location better and it felt like a better fit. But as far as consistency of contact, Wartburg was (and I think still is) the most aggresive. I didn't visit many of the others at that time. I did visit BV and it had a note of desperation in my opinion. Really big promises, "we're the best at everything!" type of attitude. I can see years later why it didn't seem very authentic- it's not very true!

I never considered UD, Loras, Cornell or Luther. Coe- so-so but I eliminated if fairly early on becasue of being in the ghetto. (Ha ha, j/k, I know Coe'ites are sensitive about that!)

+k  very well said

[DutchHawk]

We do hear about the enormous numbers that Wartburg brings in every year but what has their largest Senior class been? I know at Central we have had around 20 seniors every year for the last 3 of my memory. Scanning through the roster I see 17 this year so I agree with Walston...the future is bright here as well!!

[doolittledog]

Well thank you very much WH and DutchHawk.  All your "future is bright" talk put that 80's song "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades" song in my head!!!

Damn you both to hell I say!!!

Dubuque travelling to Storm Lake this weekend has me wondering.  Do most teams travel on friday night to where they are playing or do they leave early saturday morning?  Or is it a little bit of both depending on how far away they are going?

[Walston Hoover]

......thoughts on recruiting and Dubuque's 23 seniors:

The Dubuque athletic department should be congratualed for having 23 seniors on the roster.  Most IIAC teams recruit about 30 to 40 freshman (with the exception of Wartburg), and to have 23 on the roster as seniors is a tribute to a focus on the student/athlete that D3 is supposed to be all about.

Wartburg, rumor has it, recruited 70-80 first year football players this fall and have  9 seniors on the current traveling squad.  I don't know how many were recruited 4 years ago....but is it a trend?

How many who are recruited as first year students remain as seniors.  That tells something about a D3 program in my opinion.

I've asked this all 1000 times before that it has been brought up because I know how a lot of kids get to Wartburg. Is the school supposed to ignore a kid who wants to be part of the program? If a kid (like I was) shows interest, the school is not going to ignore him.
If by most schools having 30-40 freshmen, you mean all schools not in the top 3 right now, then you would be accurate.
I checked the "Big Dogs" and St John's has 66 frosh and Mt Union has 85.
Both have about a third that as seniors.
Its the wife's V-ball night and my daughter is sleeping so I checked most of the IIAC schools- These numbers may not be on the money, but they are close. It is small print and these old eyes ain't what they used to be.
School Fr/Sr
Wartburg 72/10
Central 57/19
UD 51/21

Then for the rest, a couple #s that stood out was Luther and BV having more Srs than Freshmen??
That can't be good for the future. Didn't count Loras but No one else had over 40 frosh.
I checked UW-Whitewater's website as well, but I'm wondering if they cut because I only counted 90 guys on the roster.
Wartburg may have a higher attrition rate than the rest, but of the top 4, no one had more than half the amount of srs as freshmen.  (Coe and UD around 40%) Central at about 30.
This year is lower than most. Usually there are around 15-20 Srs and 60-70 kids recruited. I have a feeling the freshmen #'s at Wartburg are going to be high for at least the next couple years because that new PEC is going to attract more guys than normal.
* According to UD's 2004 preview (This year's Srs freshmen year) They welcomed over 70 newcomers that year. Looking at their roster this year, I notice Collins Eboh who was at ISU. Is he playing? I would have expected to hear his name more.

[Walston Hoover]

My earlier post should say all schools not top 3 "In the IIAC"
Lets face it, by the end of a guy's soph year, he has a pretty good idea if he's going to be playing very much over the next 2 years. Unless he really has a love for the game, he's probably not going to put all the time in that football takes.

[doolittledog]

They mentioned Eboh during the Wisconsin Lutheran game as 2nd team d-line.  His brother is a grad assistant at UD.  I've never heard them mention his name again this season so I don't know if he got injured or just wasn't able to work his way into the rotation.  I don't know if that is impressive for UD that a D1 transfer isn't getting much playing time or if that is a knock on ISU to have recruited him or if it's just a case of him being injured. 

[Walston Hoover]

Worse yet I think he played at ISU as a frosh.

[Old Dutch]

Purple H beat me to the draw on the Andre Dawson call.  He got it based on huge offensive numbers for the lowly Cubbies.  Now if Gustafson were on offensive player he may have a  better chance at POY.  But the cold hard facts are he hasn't helped his team win.  I agree with the majority on POY, lets just agree to get along and have a 3 way tie.   

For COY, I would be hard pressed to support a coach who allowed an inferior team to win at his place.  Even though the Auggies are .500, the Wart fans have been calling their team the class of the conference all year.  To motivate your squad week after week, regardless of the competition is the trickiest part of coaching.  DBQ last year with a playoff spot on the line and Auggie this year, seems like a weakness there.

So for COY, a split vote Brautigam for adopting his offense to fit his star players abilities and creating a conference contender, and Mac for all those close wins with a 2 time POY on the sideline.  Hows that for decisive!

[DBQ1965]

Old Dutch ...

If Brautigham fit the offense to Jackson, does that mean UD loyals will have to wait another 4 years to be disappointed when the Spartans don't come within an inch of the Conference title?