Around the Nation board

[smedindy]

I think SMU is stuck, right now. Fundraising prowess is not congruent to academic reputation (real or imagined). I don't think moving to D-3 is the answer, since they at least win basketball games once in a while.

[PA_wesleyfan]

Here's an idea for the NCAA with regards to a D1 playoff. Use you major bowl games as playoff venues. Rotate the bowls so no one gets slighted.  Drop schedules back to 10 games. They can still fill minor bowls with teams not particpating in the playoffs  .  Too easy!!!!!!!

[redswarm81]

Since the article was in a Texas paper (I remember not which one), I was surprised to see the RPI mention.

Hey, we 'uns here in Texas ain't all dumb hicks. 

The author probably either wanted to cast SMU against a "comparable" elite D3 school back east or was an alumnus.   No self-respecting Dallas or Houston writer is going to do anything as gauche as compare SMU to a Texas D3 school because obviously SMU is way superior (and actually, they probably are - though I will note that Trinity, half the size of SMU, has 80% of their endowment). 

The reference to RPI was probably in the context of RPI alumnus and member of the RPI Hall of Fame, Erik Jonsson, the former Dallas mayor, a pioneer at Texas Instruments, and a major player in the creation of the DFW International Airport.

As for the use of the preposition, the word "on" more accurately describes the nature of the migration. 

Good, plausible theory about the SMU - RPI connection in the article, but I'd have noticed a mention of J. Erik Jonsson, there was none in the article.  As Pat learned last year, the J. Erik Jonsson Engineering Center at RPI runs along the full length of the center-of-campus '86 Field, and has a second floor balcony/sidewalk that makes for a decent viewing location.  I think the author-as-alumnus theory holds a little more water.

Pat the Poobah has used the "up to D-III" phrase many times.  Regardless of which preposition you took to get here, we're happy you made it, of course.   

Big thanks, btw, for clueing me in on how to embed a hyperlink.

[K-Mack]

Maybe we should just quit keeping score all together since it's simply for the joy of competition that we play the game......

I've never understood the mindset of those that don't want to compete to see who's the best.  If being the best isn't important, I wonder if these schools are going to quit keeping track of GPA's too?   Wouldn't want the lesser students to feel slighted by not finishing top in their class.

Yeah, that's kind of how I look at it too, that the essence of competition is pushing yourself to your limits, perhaps beyond your expectations, which is certainly a decent worthy life lesson. And if we're just playing for fun, to extend that line of thinking, why bring in another team? Why waste the dollars in making it intercollegiate when we can just run intramurals? (which also don't keep score...)

Also an interesting contrast in that the schools who we assume aren't obsessed with their rankings in football are the ones who are obsessed with their rankings in U.S. News & World Report. They also tend to be the schools very interested in winning championships in other sports, like tennis, cross country and crew (not knocking them, just saying that's an interesting point)

The need for a national championship has been addressed, and is still being considered.

The "secessionists", the D-IV'ers or whatever you want to call them are proposing these types of changes in the "Future of D-III" debate.

I refer you to the voluminous contemporaneous debate on the Future of D-III message board.

However, as it stands now, only the NESCAC, and in only one sport, has held true to that principle.

I haven't been avoiding it by accident. 

I did read some over the weekend at the Dome Day, trying to verify what I remembered about the NathCon and SLIAC ... I got sucked all the way back to Jan. 2006 where Pat posted that he didn't think the D3/D4 split was really going to happen.

My how things change.

It's an interesting discussion sometimes though.

[K-Mack]

Pat the Poobah has used the "up to D-III" phrase many times.  Regardless of which preposition you took to get here, we're happy you made it, of course.   

Yeah, I'm actually not a fan.

Makes it seem like we think we have something to prove, or we think we're better than someone.

I think we are what we are and we should be comfortable with that, regardless of what any other division is or is doing. I am.

I know i just jumped into the middle of that discussion, but I felt like explaining why I would never use it.

[K-Mack]

The column was all kinds of personal this week, so if Pat is able to get it posted before you guys go to bed tonight, there should be a lot to talk about. I think it'll be a fun read that inspires a lot of personal memories on people's parts. I also asked for a bunch of your feedback.

Lucky for us, Pat's playoff projection has held down the front page all Thursday.

[Pat Coleman]

It's up. No worries.

Well, actually, had to scrape off some of the poetic wax, but we got it done.

[K-Mack]

It's up. No worries.

Well, actually, had to scrape off some of the poetic wax, but we got it done.

Aw, really.

What got dead? Did it not make sense or not move along?

PM me. Probably no big.

[Pat Coleman]

Post was facetious, take it easy.

[K-Mack]

Post was facetious, take it easy.

Oh.

Although you rarely if ever cut anything, I'm not sure I would argue sometimes if you did. 

[crufootball]

Great column this week, nothing better than a good old fashioned rivalry.

[smedindy]

Good to celebrate good healthy hate, as it were. Just as long as no one gets hurt...physically. Bruised egos notwithstanding...

[old ends]

Pat your effort on your playoff projections took a lot of time. Would you pull your hair out if all ranked teams got upset.

[Mr. Ypsi]

BTW, Mr. "Mount Union of the message boards", what's your pick on the current front page poll?

[K-Mack]

BTW, Mr. "Mount Union of the message boards", what's your pick on the current front page poll?

Ooh, I avoided it for a while. I finally voted for 0-14.

Before UWW-UMHB, I thought someone might have a chance at MUC in Salem. We can do the any given Saturday thing, but Mount usually has the depth and flexibility to withstand injury, so I'd have to be really convinced by a team's playoff run to think MUC will lose a game.

But shhh! Let's have fun not knowing who will win the first four weeks of the playoffs!