FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[reality check]

I just know I'll be in Lincoln Nebraska to welcome  Luke to big time footballl

Nebraska still has a program?

[reality check]

Jim Tressel resigns as HC at Ohio State. Luke Fickell will coach in 2011.

I don't know who I feel worse about.  The amoral players who betrayed his trust or Tressel for trying to cover it up.  Both are really sad comments on society and values.

IMHO, the events of this past week with comments by WR Ray Small were the final straw. Although I thought Jim Tressel had a good run at OSU, the Unversity should have asked him to resign much sooner. Now the NCAA still will address any further penalties in August.

That is why D3 football is so meaniful vs. D1. Dealing with all the pitfalls causes so many of the D1 programs
to lose sight that going to school should be about education first, football second!

Please don't give Ray Small that kind of credit.  He was a complete disappointment both on and off the football field and has almost as much clout as an old tire when it comes to his "allegations".  He has/had an ax to grind. 

The University probably looked for a resignation much sooner but as Division I football is more of a corporate juggernaut and not really much of an educational institution, the decisions and internal investigations would drag on for quite a while.  What is laughable whenever a program or coach is thrown to the woodchipper like this is to think that the majority of other big-time programs aren't equally guilty but yet to be targeted. 

Unless Fickel wins a Big Ten championship, look for Urban to get the "itch" again.

[ThunderHead]

I disagree about D3 being more "meaningful".  

I am sure 98% of all the D3 football players out there (who haven't transferred in from a D1 program) would take a full ride to a D1 school for football if they could. As a Big Ten graduate I can proudly say my school has always maintained a high educational standard. I highly doubt that a few peoples mistakes at OSU reflect the feelings of the University as a whole, many many many people choose OSU for their educational values, not their football team.

If D3 school could pull in 85,000-110,000 people every Saturday, they would build bigger stadiums to handle the crowds. Not limit ticket sales in effort to keep the game more pure.  

Let's not act like it's a D3 school's choice to somehow avoid the "pitfalls" of big programs by keeping game attendance much much much smaller then D1 programs. It has nothing to do with educational standards, or putting football "second", it has everything to do with fan demand.

Now you know you're my boy Raider 68, here I just gotta disagree with you.  

Go Trine!!!

[seventiesraider]

I just know I'll be in Lincoln Nebraska to welcome  Luke to big time footballl

Nebraska still has a program?

As long as the state of Ohio keeps cranking out football coaches and the Cornhuskers have one more Mount Union grad coach than that team down south

[PurpleSuit]

I just know I'll be in Lincoln Nebraska to welcome  Luke to big time footballl

Nebraska still has a program?

As long as the state of Ohio keeps cranking out football coaches and the Cornhuskers have one more Mount Union grad coach than that team down south

I would hope that Mount Union grads are smart enough to stay away from that mess down south, leave that for the BW crowd

[seventiesraider]

Wow Dunderhead, I'm sure that all of us from small elite schools are buying the argument that we would all have rushed to the U of something for scholarship bucks. I went to school where I chose to go as I imagine you did as well. Am I buying the argument that D3 non-scholarship athletics are more pure than their big business D1 counterparts, Damn right I am. Check the facts.

[BoBo]

Jim Tressel resigns as HC at Ohio State. Luke Fickell will coach in 2011.

I don't know who I feel worse about.  The amoral players who betrayed his trust or Tressel for trying to cover it up.  Both are really sad comments on society and values.

IMHO, the events of this past week with comments by WR Ray Small were the final straw. Although I thought Jim Tressel had a good run at OSU, the Unversity should have asked him to resign much sooner. Now the NCAA still will address any further penalties in August.

That is why D3 football is so meaniful vs. D1. Dealing with all the pitfalls causes so many of the D1 programs
to lose sight that going to school should be about education first, football second!

Please don't give Ray Small that kind of credit.  He was a complete disappointment both on and off the football field and has almost as much clout as an old tire when it comes to his "allegations".  He has/had an ax to grind. 

The University probably looked for a resignation much sooner but as Division I football is more of a corporate juggernaut and not really much of an educational institution, the decisions and internal investigations would drag on for quite a while.  What is laughable whenever a program or coach is thrown to the woodchipper like this is to think that the majority of other big-time programs aren't equally guilty but yet to be targeted. 

Unless Fickel wins a Big Ten championship, look for Urban to get the "itch" again.

...even if OSU gets multiple years of probation, loss of scholarships, etc, etc, etc, as a result of the cover-up? Get ready for the NCAA to lower the boom on the scarlet and gray.

From what I've heard, OSU is his dream job, but would he leave the comforts of broadcasting to clean up a mess in Columbus?

[HSCTiger74]

I disagree about D3 being more "meaningful".  

I am sure 98% of all the D3 football players out there (who haven't transferred in from a D1 program) would take a full ride to a D1 school for football if they could. As a Big Ten graduate I can proudly say my school has always maintained a high educational standard. I highly doubt that a few peoples mistakes at OSU reflect the feelings of the University as a whole, many many many people choose OSU for their educational values, not their football team.

If D3 school could pull in 85,000-110,000 people every Saturday, they would build bigger stadiums to handle the crowds. Not limit ticket sales in effort to keep the game more pure.  

Let's not act like it's a D3 school's choice to somehow avoid the "pitfalls" of big programs by keeping game attendance much much much smaller then D1 programs. It has nothing to do with educational standards, or putting football "second", it has everything to do with fan demand.
Now you know you're my boy Raider 68, here I just gotta disagree with you.  

Go Trine!!!

  While I don't pretend to know the history of every D3 program, in many cases it WAS in fact a choice by the schools to de-emphasize sports to bring them in line with the educational values of the institutions. Washington and Lee, for example, was a founding member of the Southern Conference in 1921 along with 13 other universities that are now members of the SEC and ACC; Sewanee joined them in 1923. By the 1950s, however, both felt that sports were becoming an outsized influence and made the decision to scale back.
  In other cases some conference members left to pursue a more large-scale athletic program while the rest chose to continue as they were. For example, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Toledo and Bowling Green were all once members of the Ohio Athletic Conference.
  The instituting of divisions within the NCAA has never been about degree of fan demand or limiting ticket sales. It's all about the choice each member institution makes as to what size role athletics should play in campus life. George L. Cross, who was president of the University of Oklahoma 1943-1968, was once quoted as saying he "wanted to build a university that the football team could be proud of". Perhaps he was intending to be tongue-in-cheek, but at the D3 level a quote like that would not even be possible.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

What is laughable whenever a program or coach is thrown to the woodchipper like this is to think that the majority of other big-time programs aren't equally guilty but yet to be targeted.  

Unless Fickel wins a Big Ten championship, look for Urban to get the "itch" again.

This is one of the reasons "why" Urban left Florida in the first place.  I think he is done with D1 college coaching.  Too much "under the table" stuff going on if you want to compete at the highest level.  A lot of it being done by the Agents and "Handlers" which can not be controlled  by the coaches or Universities.  I think that is what frustrated Meyer the most.  Kids couldn't follow the rules and stay away from that garbage.

[Blutarsky]

I chuckled out-loud when Urban Meyer was quoted as saying that he: "would not pursue a coaching job this year" when asked about OSU..........duh.  Nice of him to allow Fickell to complete the year. 

[02 Warhawk]

TSN Preview is out

#1 UWW
#2 UMU

top QB Seaman?
RB Coppage
K Almeida

B-W #13???

Lindys has the teams the same, but no mention of Seaman on either first or second teams.

With Coppage, UWW gets the nod, but Mount has alot coming back. The voters may be split this fall on the number of #1 place votes for either school. UWW loses theeir top OL players, Mount returns theirs. It will be another on-going discussion IMHO!

Do you have a link to these two polls? I can't seem to find them.

Does Mount have Samy Guerrero coming back? I saw he was listed as a Sr. last season.

[ThunderHead]

Seventies Raider: Fair enough point.

I guess we just see things differently. I don't buy your argument for a second that D3 sports is more pure, I also don't buy that your education is somehow "elite". I could have gone to several D3 schools and I opted for a Big Ten program, because I felt all in all, for my field, it was a better for educational purposes. And as for calling me "Dunerhead" - you're icon image seems to be appropriate.

HSCTiger74: I appreciate your insight. The only thing I would say is that the institution of divisions in athletics is very much about fan demand, that's why to be a D1 program you must meet attendance standards that are set fourth by the NCAA, at least in general ticket sales.

Some MAC schools struggle with this, ala Eastern Michigan, who depends a great deal on ticket sales, as opposed to actual gate count, to maintain their D1 status as a football program.

At Trine several things have started due to the football program, including the band. (It was a priority to Coach Land to have a band, and the school bought a church to start the program) Again, if attendance went to 14,000 on average for game days in Angola, Trine would be adding on, not limiting ticket sales. Money definitely would play a part in that.

D3 football isn't more pure because they can't give scholarship money. I love football in Angola because it's good football, if I get tickets to the Ohio State VS Michigan game, I go to that too. Either way, I have a good time. I definitely don't think I'm getting a "corrupted product" when I'm at a D1 game, and spend the day wishing for the "pure" D3 game. It's football.

Go Trine!!!

[HScoach]

Seventies Raider: Fair enough point.

I guess we just see things differently. I don't buy your argument for a second that D3 sports is more pure, I also don't buy that your education is somehow "elite". I could have gone to several D3 schools and I opted for a Big Ten program, because I felt all in all, for my field, it was a better for educational purposes. And as for calling me "Dunerhead" - you're icon image seems to be appropriate.

As does yours. 

I'd quote real stats and known facts in defense of D3, but it's obviously not worth my time trying to enlighten you with real data.

[02 Warhawk]

Wow Dunderhead, I'm sure that all of us from small elite schools are buying the argument that we would all have rushed to the U of something for scholarship bucks. I went to school where I chose to go as I imagine you did as well. Am I buying the argument that D3 non-scholarship athletics are more pure than their big business D1 counterparts, Damn right I am. Check the facts.

My thoughts exactly. I don't see DIII athletes being accused of signing jerseys for car deals or tattoos. (that sounded humerous as I typed it).

High School football athletes go to schools like Ohio St, Auburn, Florida (the entire SEC just about) for one reason only. A stepping stone to make millions in the NFL. Upon recent allegations, looks like they making money in college in the interm.

Is DIII sports more pure than DI? Absolutely. 99.9% of DIII athletes know they won't compete on a professional level, so they have to attend all 4 years to get a degree. DIII is home to the REAL student/athlete. DI is becoming more of an (illegal) business.

[seventiesraider]

 And I believe I referred to the institutions as elite, signifying some certain need of academic credentials to qualify for admission, although given the current economy I think those qualifications may be down to the ability to fog a mirror and write the first term tuition check.

At least my avatar is sports relevant, humorous, and successful