FB: American Rivers Conference

[DutchHawk]

Why would Luther abandon their best asset to go against a running offense in the Wing T??

DutchHawk-
I'm really not trying to start any bickering or what not but have you watched Cornell play this year? Cornell does run the Wing T but they have really been more of a passing team this year thus far. Obviously when they line up in their Wing T formations you are probably expecting run first but they run more than just Wing T. I agree though Luther may not have to abandon the run game if Cornell cannot stop it. They may just pound the ball and keep Cornells defense on the field as long as possible.
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Me either. Just looking for reasoning!

[Purple Heys]

dbljay-
My karma has taken a severe hit over the last 2 weeks as well. Who is the "karma bandit" around here.

Question for the board-If there were such a thing as a "hot seat" at an IIAC school, who would be on it right now?
Niemann? Hefty with the 2-8 season last year and winless to start this year? BV coach after to straight 0-fer the game to start the conference.?
I have to imagine after last year and the beginning of this year that Brautigham seat has cooled considerably.

Its D-3...how hot can the seats actually get?  To fire a coach for not winning football games at this level seems to imply that typically private, liberal arts colleges place a higher emphasis on athletic performance than academic performance.  This would mean that the coach at Grinnell is in deep kimchee.

Its been thrown out there that having a football team draws males to small colleges, which generates tuition fees.  Make no mistake, having a good coach ios positive draw.  App State got flooded with applications after upsetting Michigan.

On what basis, really, does a D-3 coach have to compete for that more competitive athlete in the face of a school at the NAIA or D-2 or 1-AA levels that can offer direct athletic aid?  Unless there are creative means of providing direct financial other than athletic aid...

1) Son, I hear you used to play the trumpet in middle school, here's a $15k music grant...Oh, and I see you play a little football, too.

2) Young man, you have qualified for the President's Scholarship award for running a 4.4...uhh...earning a 4.4 GPA

That's not to say that coaches shouldn't get dumped for poor performance...but is W-L record to real indicator...I would think that enrollment due to recruiting numbers mean more to a small college...if as a by-product of losing, enrollment numbers drop THEN the heat turns up.

[Airborne Dutch]

At this level, it is foolish to think that a school and its supporters would force a coach out because of a win/loss record. Everybody who plays and follows sports at this level understands that it is education first, and athletics second. There are no "mandatory" workouts (although if you don't show up, you are going to pay the consequences). I'm losing focus, so if you see a coach leave it probably has more to do with a better paying opportunity elsewhere or a desire to spend more time with the family as was the case with Coach Kac in 2003. I'm sure a lot of people thought that it had to with not having a winning record since the start of the Cold War, but it certainly was not. Coach Kac had been affiliated with the Dutch for a decade and a half and had certainly made his mark. How many people can stay that they stayed with an organization for that long? Again, I think supporters at this level are too reasonably minded to put pressure on a coach. Everybody wants to see results, but if the program is turning out quality young men with college educations, who can complain?

[dbljay21]

Question for the board-If there were such a thing as a "hot seat" at an IIAC school, who would be on it right now?
Niemann? Hefty with the 2-8 season last year and winless to start this year? BV coach after to straight 0-fer the game to start the conference.?
I have to imagine after last year and the beginning of this year that Brautigham seat has cooled considerably.

Its D-3...how hot can the seats actually get?  To fire a coach for not winning football games at this level seems to imply that typically private, liberal arts colleges place a higher emphasis on athletic performance than academic performance.  This would mean that the coach at Grinnell is in deep kimchee.

I think you are right on with your assessment Heys.  The pressure at most D-3 schools to win isn't that high.  But what about schools like Mt. Union, Linfield or St. Johns where they are used to having successful conference seasons AND successful runs in the post-season?  What if Mt. Union came out next year and didn't qualify for the playoffs?  What if that "trend" continued for a few seasons?  Would the coach be on the hot seat then? 

[ramfan27]

I think W-L is a little more important than you guys make it sound like in the IIAC.  For everybody, probably not, but I would say it is for some teams more than others, depending on the current state of the program.  Take the Rams, if they go 3-7 this year, it's an improvement from last year and Dillon is certainly safe.  But what if Central goes 3-7. With all that McMartin has done the past few years he's probably safe for this year, but what if they 3-7 again next year?  How safe is he then?  IMHO, I would guess probably not as safe as Dillon would be with two 3-7 seasons.

[xstorm]

Status of Simpson Football-

They seem more like "the drizzle" then "the storm". I have not seen them play in a long time but I do follow them. What seems to be the problem? Is there support on campus, community? It does seem weird that no one really discusses them on this board. Every other team in the league is written about but not Simpson. I realize that Nemann is a defensive guy. However he is responsible for all phases of the program including their inept offense, terrible special teams and lack of productive players (recruiting). What is the vibe on campus, community, etc.?  

[DutchFan2004]

xstorm,

Well Simpson isn't discussed all that much because you (now) and scstormchaser are the only ones posting for the Storn.  It's kind of hard to post for a team you don't follow.  Welcome aboard and look forward to your posts.  Keep us informed about them.  The IIAC board could use more posters and from other teams. 

[Ash Park]

I think W-L is a little more important than you guys make it sound like in the IIAC.  For everybody, probably not, but I would say it is for some teams more than others, depending on the current state of the program.  Take the Rams, if they go 3-7 this year, it's an improvement from last year and Dillon is certainly safe.  But what if Central goes 3-7. With all that McMartin has done the past few years he's probably safe for this year, but what if they 3-7 again next year?  How safe is he then?  IMHO, I would guess probably not as safe as Dillon would be with two 3-7 seasons.

I agree the W-L is more important than one would think. I do believe when Reasland was at Cornell he told the team that he had four years to turn the program around and it didn't happen so he resigned. From talking to people at Cornell it was one of those deals that you resign or we fire you kind of deals. I think that along with Cornell having trouble keeping players in the program at that time that the W-L record played a big role in Reasland getting canned. If that can happen at Cornell it could certaintly happen at any school in the IIAC. I remember hearing a few years back that vince was on the "hot seat" at Dubuque. However, at most schools there is a coaching evaluation and I bet as long as a coach is getting good evals and bringing in a good number of recruits he is probably safe even if the W-L record isn't that great.

[dbljay21]

xstorm,

Well Simpson isn't discussed all that much because you (now) and scstormchaser are the only ones posting for the Storn.  It's kind of hard to post for a team you don't follow.  Welcome aboard and look forward to your posts.  Keep us informed about them.  The IIAC board could use more posters and from other teams. 

I second that...more Simpson followers would do this board some good.  They definitely don't get talked about because they aren't well represented.  Welcome to the fold xstorm...glad to have you here  

[youcantseeme]

That's not to say that coaches shouldn't get dumped for poor performance...but is W-L record to real indicator...I would think that enrollment due to recruiting numbers mean more to a small college...if as a by-product of losing, enrollment numbers drop THEN the heat turns up.

I would say that using this logic BV would be the #1 school looking that the goings on in their program.  The enrollment numbers have dropped significantly the last two years and you can really see a lack of depth with their football team.  

With the Beavers being the only D3 in western Iowa, they should have a large stable to draw from, but that doesn't seem to be the case recently.  I don't claim to know what is going on, maybe the kids they are chasing jsut end up elsewhere, but the fact has to be addressed that he is 0-2 in getting solid classes in.  That has to improve or the school has to step in and fix that problem.  Just my opinion.

[Walston Hoover]

This is why the original question was "If there was such thing as a hot seat, who would be on it"
The only thing not mentioned is the these private schools are run in large part by donations. Looking at schools like Luther, Simpson, and Central who have had great success in the past, I'm sure there are several wealthy ex-football players around there that support the program. If one of those ex-players doesn't like the direction of the football program, don't think they wouldn't have a little say in it. Money talks.

[dbljay21]

This is why the original question was "If there was such thing as a hot seat, who would be on it"
The only thing not mentioned is the these private schools are run in large part by donations. Looking at schools like Luther, Simpson, and Central who have had great success in the past, I'm sure there are several wealthy ex-football players around there that support the program. If one of those ex-players doesn't like the direction of the football program, don't think they wouldn't have a little say in it. Money talks.

Good point Walston.  With enrollment being a large factor in how much money the schools bring, I would say that any school that sees a decline in enrollment as the prime candidates for a coaching change.  The question that comes to my mind is how much of an impact on enrollment does a bad football program have on these schools?  Can the loss in enrollment be directly connected to a football program that is performing poorly?

[Ash Park]

I would say that using this logic BV would be the #1 school looking that the goings on in their program.  The enrollment numbers have dropped significantly the last two years and you can really see a lack of depth with their football team.  

With the Beavers being the only D3 in western Iowa, they should have a large stable to draw from, but that doesn't seem to be the case recently.  I don't claim to know what is going on, maybe the kids they are chasing jsut end up elsewhere, but the fact has to be addressed that he is 0-2 in getting solid classes in.  That has to improve or the school has to step in and fix that problem.  Just my opinion.

I think and I could be wrong but I was hearing that they were having trouble because more kids are going to Morningside, Northwestern or Waldorf.

[sc_stormchaser]

I don't know what's going on at Simpson. It seems like they've been getting some good players in the past few years, but it hasn't produced on the field. There have been several games over the past few years where we were up (and dominating) at half, only lose the game. The BV game last year was just like the UD game last week. I will be at the Simpson - Central game on Oct. 6. So I'll be able to comment more than, but the past few years have been tough.

Oh how times have changed, I remember the '98 team went 7-3 (coming off IIAC championships in '96 & '97) you would have thought the sky was falling. That was the talk of campus...3 losses in one season, how could it be? I thought we were back when we went to the playoffs in '03, but haven't had a winning season since. It's funny how the perspective can change in just a few years...we would be excited about a 6-win season.

[BeaverFan3208]

I would say that using this logic BV would be the #1 school looking that the goings on in their program.  The enrollment numbers have dropped significantly the last two years and you can really see a lack of depth with their football team. 

With the Beavers being the only D3 in western Iowa, they should have a large stable to draw from, but that doesn't seem to be the case recently.  I don't claim to know what is going on, maybe the kids they are chasing jsut end up elsewhere, but the fact has to be addressed that he is 0-2 in getting solid classes in.  That has to improve or the school has to step in and fix that problem.  Just my opinion.

I think and I could be wrong but I was hearing that they were having trouble because more kids are going to Morningside, Northwestern or Waldorf.

Morningside and Northwestern tend to take a lot of recruits because of where some of them live.  I live close to BV so i know the territory. People sometimes don't want to go to BV because of the cost. Lots of people can get aid but for most good recruits it still isn't enough.