FB: American Rivers Conference

[dutchfan1]

Coo coo: "A conference of excellence"?? You must be trying to win some of those karma points back. Compliments will get you everywhere!

[coocooforcoekohawk]

dutchfan1,

Compared to the MWC it is a conference of excellence.  As far as Karma goes I obviously don't know how that works.

[qbdriver]

Charlie,

Now, now, you need to settle down.  Just a little good natured fun from some of your conference buds.  Face the facts, your field is the worst in the conference. Where are you going to get more grass space? 

It's too bad your administration feels that way and thinks that student athletes should not get any more financial aid then non-student athletes.  A school can be excellent at both!  Just ask St Johns, Mt Union and Linfield.  Don't fool yourself into thinking that Coe is the "Harvard of the Midwest".  That's what they used to say in the 1950's.  Student athletes work their tales off and get good grades while some of those other lazy saps sit around in the dorms and get free passes.  Not talking just about football but what about those girls down at your school on the softball or tennis team that carry a 3.8 GPA and still pay full tuition or have to pay as much as the other students?   That's just too bad.  Student athletes work hard and deserve more!  As do exceptional art and theater students!

Here's another question for you, what other school in the conference lets a soccer team play on their football game field?   Other than the field turf schools.....

As to the endowment....  What happened?   Did they loose money in the stock market debacle in 2000-2002?   Poor investment choices like many other schools?  Wartburg, Central and even Loras have huge endowments.  Can't Coe spare a couple million to upgrade their facilities? 

Wartburg seems to have no problem raising funds.  Loras and Central continue to keep up with the times.  BV, Warburg and Loras have the best technical backbone in the conference and have gone to wireless.  I also hear that the computer systems at Coe are always down.

And as to this coach D.W.,  is that the same D.W. that was there in the early 90's as a coach?   My high school buddy said he was the best coach he'd ever had.  He told me he had most teams beat by Tuesday during the week.  He said he could never understand why he left the program in '94 when he was such a good coach.  What happened?  I know he left for a while because of his family, but is he back.  What position does he coach?  He was on defense before but I heard he was coaching the QB's??? Is that the case?

[warthog]

qbdriver:

Soccer on the holy ground called Walston Hoover?  You must be kidding.

Wartburg gave soccer their own corner of the world and it has worked out well for everyone.  The soccer team has a decent place to play with adequate seating for most of their games.  Football has their own place that doesn't have a hodge-podge of multi-colored lines.  If Coe can't separate football and soccer, I hope they don't waste money on a field-turf facility.  Nothing looks worse than a football field covered with soccer lines.

[thehouse76]

well i would hate to say it but the Rockbowl does have those lines for soccer, does it make the field as a whole look bad? Hell no, the field still looks great and if it helps the soccer team get even better players then they have had before then great.  Every schools overall goal is to have every sport be the best in the conference, so if recruits are seeing that sports are getting better at school(a noticable difference) then they will be more proned to stick with that school. 

On another note, some of us in here talk about Loras being always behind in things, I dont feel this is the case. I dont know that much about how funding for schools goes besides all the letters in the mail from Loras, but to put down that EVEN Loras has this, or to make it sound like losing recruits to Loras is like losing to UD(no offense).  Many would admit that Loras arguable each year has the talent to take on some of the top tear teams and these past few years have been in the top tear of the conference.  Loras is hopefully going to get a few kids that they normally wouldnt get, but remember there is more to Loras then just sports or any school for that matter.

[Cochuck]

Hello Chat Cats,

As on of the older alumni of Coe and an avid reader of this board I felt it was time for me to jump in.  I think there are a lot of guys out here like me that read the board but never posts because time restraints with their job.  But do to the recent discussions I felt it was high time to get in on the action and help straighten a few things out.  So here goes my first post.   

Warthog,  I couldn't agree more.  Soccer lines on a football field? That turns my stomach....... I suppose I could put up with it because of the space limitations that Coe has.  But it's still not ideal.   The only other option Coe has to keep Soccer on campus is to buy up several more blocks of old houses and knock them down to create more space. And no, we were not off sides on that on-side kick   and Sportknight there was no punch.  Reaburn mentioned at the QB club that he talked with Willis on Monday and he apologized and admitted he was wrong.  Which was extremely hard for me to believe as proud as he is.......

Floyd, you're right on with the Loras defense.  Coe and Wartburg will have their hands full in the next few weeks.  Their offense is starting to click and the defense is extremely fast and can frustrate an offense early.   

Thehouse76 – in response to your issue with Loras not getting much love or respect.....not the case here at Coe.  They are known for having the best computer systems in the conference and Dubuque is a great place for students to go to school.  We would never lump you into the same category as UD.  No disrespect intended UD.  I think qbdriver was just referring to the football situation.   And with your new turf, you are a force to be reckoned with!

And to Coocoo and Charlie my fellow Kohawks:  You both bring up good points.  We all know that academics will always come first, but it's the athletics that complete the college experience for many of us.  At least that was the case for me.  Those memories of my old playing days will never leave me and those values I learned from Coach D.W. on the practice field have propelled me to where I am today.   Coe does need to improve their facility if they intend to keep up with the times.  I have heard some discussion about it but probably just optimistic speculation.  But there's always hope when there's a vision.   And Charlie, you must admit we have a problem with seating.  My family can never get a good seat for the game.  If you're not there at noon it's very difficult.  I think CooCoo is correct.  The stadium only seats 1000 and those portable bleachers are embarrassing.  They need to do something so it's more enjoyable for the common fan!  Who wants to stand up the entire game, especially if you have kids or an elderly person with you?

Qbdriver – you're right! If we had the turf and the lights we would keep all the local kids from CR that aren't good enough for UI, ISU or UNI, much like what happens up in MN with St Johns.   What a great recruiting tool it would be for the Kohawks. 

That's it for now, I'm out of breath..........

[Walston Hoover]

Interesting discussions right now. My question-Will a new stadium take a team to the next level? Wartburg was at the top when Walston-Hoover went in. Central is at the top (or hopefully just near it) when their new turf will be installed. Are you that are talking about new fields going in think that it will automatically make you a champion? I would think this would no doubt be the right time at Coe with the success over the last 4 years. When I was a freshman I drove down there to watch the game. It wasn't so much having to sit on the home side, but the jack-ass fans who felt it necessary to rip on and mock the grandmother of one of the players who was also forced to sit on the home side. They kept yelling at this 80-some year old lady that she shouldn't be sitting over there and to go to her own side. I also remember the classic scenes of all the fans getting off the bleachers and several dads moving the portable bleachers to a better spot to see (if there is one)
As for the Wartburg homecoming shirts-They might have been offensive to Tekippe, but it wasn't a shirt anyone would be ashamed to where (ie. Luck Futher, Storm Blows, FTD, We pound Beaver for fun, Screw the Kohawks, Loras College-You Bong here-funny, yes, but who would show that off in their hometown?)

Predictions-
Coe in a close one over UD-Combination of a confident Spartan team who knocked of Coe last year and an overly-excited Kohawk team make this close for the first half. Coe pulls away in the second and wins by 21,

Is Sherden playing? It only matters in how much Luther will win by.

Simpson rips the Rams a new one

Wartburg gets up big early, the second half will be long and boring and I'll just want to get home.

Charlie, Coocoo-
What's the deal with all the dropped passes last week, has that been going on all year?

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Walston Hoover,
Sure I would like to see Coe continue their success and field turf may help that, what I am truly arguing is that we should have more respect for visiting fans and have a decent place for them to sit.  I sat on the visitors side for the Westminster game and it was ridiculous. 

[Walston Hoover]

Were those bleachers even over there when you were in the MWC

[Floyd in Iowa City]

This talk of facilities is interesting in that the field turf seems to be the surface of choice for many on this board.  As a longtime Iowa Football fan who goes to Kinnick when I am not at some Iowa Conference venue, I love it that Coach Ferentz voted down others in the athletic department and stuck with the real surface.  I know they had problems early this fall, but really the grass has held up pretty well almost every year over the last 10 or so.   

Kinnick Stadium is such a traditional stadium with that great brick look.  I remember going to the games when they had Astroturf in the 1970s and 80s and the stadium has felt and looked even more like a great football stadium since they went to the natural stuff again in 1989.  The work on the south end zone seating has also helped.  I know Iowa has more money for field maintenance, but is the field maintenance really that hard when only football games are played on the surface at Iowa Conference venues?

The Luther-Wartburg game was played in some rain and wet conditions early in the conference season on grass.  Call me a traditionalist but I think that is what football is all about.  The gridiron game IMO should be played outside (not in the Metrodome), on grass whenever possible, and in almost any kind of weather.

I understand why Coe fans would want the field turf since more than one sport uses the football field in the fall and the Coe campus does not have much space for athletic use.  That is why many East Coast high schools have done the same thing.  However, why would Luther and Wartburg (as two examples) want field turf since they have bigger campuses with more space for athletics?  They both have separate soccer fields and obviously Luther has tons of open fields in that valley for athletic and intramural use.

Why did Wartburg go to the field turf?  Was it as a recruiting tool like the scoreboard and the other changes to the stadium?  Was it because of the mixed research that is divided about whether field turf is better for reducing injuries?  Did they have problems with grass growing and staying healthy since the field in the middle of Waverly and might not have the wind conditions that dry out ISU's stadium and prevent grass disease?

Sorry about being longwinded on this post. 

[War Pig]

Listen to you narrow minded folks, all talking about bleachers, field turf, endowments and concession stands.  The best coaches will be able to recruit the best athletes and win the most games.  The problem is that most of these schools probably don't pay very much for their assistant coaches which makes it difficult to retain them.  I always felt the assistant coaches should have been paid as much as the professors because they probably had more impact on my development and they definitely cared more about my future well being.  I firmly believe that if you invest heavily in a quality staff of assistants and pay them accordingly, it will lead to championship seasons on a consistent basis.

I would like to thank all the coaches in the league who currently bust their ass for low pay, you are champions every year no matter what.

[lorbec47]

Floyd-
You bring up some interesting points. Football should be played on natural grass, however, it does make for an amazing recruiting tool. A place like Iowa doesn't have to worry about that. Their success and home field frenzy make recruits come. They also have so much more maintenance that nothing is a problem for them. Take for example the Central/Loras game earlier this season. After the 2 hour rain/lightning, with additional rain all morning, would have made Loras' field mud and ruined the field for the rest of the season. I think that would be common for any DIII school. Iowa can just replace all the sod the next day no problem. Field turf is the hit frenzy right now. DIII schools that do have football and soccer on the same field (as much as I hate it), almost have to have field turf.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I agree with CooCoo that the Coe administration needs to get more seating or at least taller seating on the opposing sideline.  That and Upper Iowa from a few years ago are/were the two of the worst IIAC places to watch a football game for an opposing fan.  I have no problem at all with standing and following the team along the sidelines, but with Upper Iowa the fans are penned in like the Peacocks only expected 20 opposing fans to show up.

At Upper Iowa in 2003 there literally seemed like about 10 feet of space between the front fence keeping fans from the field and the trees in front of the back fence that enclosed the stadium.  There was one bleacher for all the Luther fans that came down from Decorah.  I am trying to remember if the stadium was newly renovated in that year before the season, but the years are starting to blend together.  

There is walking space at Coe but as it was mentioned above the stands are not tall enough for real use past the upper two rows.

[dbljay21]

War pig...you are right on about coaches being able to recruit.

Coach Hefty is a great example of a coach being able to get talented players.  While he was at Aurora, the team went 27-1 during the first four years in conference play.  Aurora's facilities were horrible.  Recruits were not lured to Aurora for its facilities.  Now that Hefty is at Luther, the Norse are a rising program in the IIAC and Aurora is dropping in IBC.  Luther's facilities help, but Hefty is great at getting talented players because he is a great recruiter. Great coaches can recruit regardless of facilities, and Hefty proved that at Aurora.

[Dowjone$]

        Hey, everybody how's life? Good I truely hope. I come in peace, prosperity, and good will 2 all.
    I see that everyone iz readyand in most cases already have writen off my Spartans, and rightfully so. If it was one of U nerds I would be doin tha same thing. But WaIt... There's more!!! The Spartans have Coe's number. I played Center in the game last year when we beat Coe, but not only beating them holding them off inside the red zonetwice in the last 5 min and Coe was in first place!  . Coe don't run ****, but that ****ty ass field we are forced 2 play on . I think that If there has ever been a must win game for Coach B, I think this is it, for many reasons along with Loras. UD's administration is in year 5 of a 10 year plan that has survived scandals(with my friend & homeboy President Jeffery Bullock who was found innocent of all charges aganist him. How Gansta iz that.) Racial Tenision, (we all know Dubuque's history, Nuff said.) And of couruse the constant never ending competition with those lames down tha street. I am only 9 months removed from the school and the program and there was so much growth and geauty 2 the campus and community U can't help but 2 see there going places. I really do hope Coach B iz there 2 see The end product because with or without him UD will be a power. Money Talks, and there iz good conversation being spoken on the campus of the University Of Dubuque, and losing football games is a no,no even though most of them have been winable games. Will Vince be the guy 2 take the Spartans over the Hump?  I Bleed Blue.  I went from losing 0-73 at halftime, 2 winning my last homecoming aganist then 1st place Coe. Damn near sounds like a movie thats not finished yet, my chapter iz just ending.
    Never-tha-less I pray UD dosen't fold to a team and school that dosen't deserve 2 be on the same field with US! (Literally ) UD 23 Coe16 That's whats HAPPENIN!!! Thats all I have 4 now... Holla attacha Boy, till then 2 all I wish all Life, Lberity, and tha Pursuit of Happiness (even tha hatas). The Lords grace is free 2 all. 8) 8)