FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[skunks_sidekick]

Sorry to interrupt the Glen Caruso love fest but we should all see this play from Berg/Cap...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=zNqCVTs38nU

Gotta love it when a big man scores!

[skunks_sidekick]

I forget, are schools allowed to charge to watch streaming video of playoff games?

MTU has a link to watch this weekends game on Stretch Internet and it's usually $10 for a regular season home game.

I believe I have read that teams are not allowed to charge for playoff games.

[jknezek]

I forget, are schools allowed to charge to watch streaming video of playoff games?

MTU has a link to watch this weekends game on Stretch Internet and it's usually $10 for a regular season home game.

I believe I have read that teams are not allowed to charge for playoff games.

They aren't.

[skunks_sidekick]

You can tell it's playoff time, because I am BACK baby!

Quick story...Jr. was looking at colleges back when he still thought he wanted to play football in college.  He had a fair amount of interest through his junior year, and we put together a target list of who we wanted to visit, etc.  I brought up Washington & Lee due to the beautiful campus, amazing academics, and a solid football team where I thought he could eventually play with a lot of hard work.  Then...we spoke to the coach there at time about academic requirements.      Jr. was a pretty smart kid, but not really fitting in W & L's typical student.  He had a 25 ACT, and GPA around 3.5.  The coach basically said ummm....we can try to get him in but no promises.  At that point Jr. said I am just not smart enough to go there AND play football. (Translation...I want to party & have as much fun as possible in college.)  He did receive a lot of interest from PAC schools, and a few random D-3's in the Northeast & Southeast.  He determined after his not so fun senior year (2nd concussion), that he really didn't want to play football in college.

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

[jknezek]

You can tell it's playoff time, because I am BACK baby!

Quick story...Jr. was looking at colleges back when he still thought he wanted to play football in college.  He had a fair amount of interest through his junior year, and we put together a target list of who we wanted to visit, etc.  I brought up Washington & Lee due to the beautiful campus, amazing academics, and a solid football team where I thought he could eventually play with a lot of hard work.  Then...we spoke to the coach there at time about academic requirements.      Jr. was a pretty smart kid, but not really fitting in W & L's typical student.  He had a 25 ACT, and GPA around 3.5.  The coach basically said ummm....we can try to get him in but no promises.  At that point Jr. said I am just not smart enough to go there AND play football. (Translation...I want to party & have as much fun as possible in college.)  He did receive a lot of interest from PAC schools, and a few random D-3's in the Northeast & Southeast.  He determined after his not so fun senior year (2nd concussion), that he really didn't want to play football in college.

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

W&L is brutal to get into, to the point that a little over 20 years after I squeaked through the doors I'm quite sure I would be borderline at best these days. And from everything I continue to hear, admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not. I'm ok with that. I'd rather W&L hold on to their top 15 liberal arts rating than win a football national title, let alone progress out of the first round.

That being said, W&L's biggest problem in the 80s, 90s and early 00s was horribly dated facilities. The weight room when I was there from '96 to '00 didn't belong in a halfway decent high school and the stadium was a utilitarian set of much too large bleachers left over from the 50s. Since the mid 90s though, every athletic facility has been updated or built new, pretty much ending with a new natatorium (swimming facility) opening last school year.

And it has shown because except for the basketball teams, W&L is an ODAC power across the board in both men's and women's sports and increasingly a viable competitor in the NCAA tournament. All of that can be traced to a massive investment in facilities from the mid-90s through last year and some very smart coaching hires in the last decade. The football team benefited from both, as the facilities were in dire need and Coach Abell certainly falls near the top of the hiring list.

While W&L's first conference championship since the early 80s in 2006 pre-dated Coach Abell's arrival as OC after the 2007 season, the offensive consistency and ingenuity he brought with him have made W&L a conference competitor with few exceptions every year since. What he does, under the constraints of a small roster built from a small pool of qualifying players, has been really impressive.

[Dr. Acula]

You can tell it's playoff time, because I am BACK baby!

Quick story...Jr. was looking at colleges back when he still thought he wanted to play football in college.  He had a fair amount of interest through his junior year, and we put together a target list of who we wanted to visit, etc.  I brought up Washington & Lee due to the beautiful campus, amazing academics, and a solid football team where I thought he could eventually play with a lot of hard work.  Then...we spoke to the coach there at time about academic requirements.      Jr. was a pretty smart kid, but not really fitting in W & L's typical student.  He had a 25 ACT, and GPA around 3.5.  The coach basically said ummm....we can try to get him in but no promises.  At that point Jr. said I am just not smart enough to go there AND play football. (Translation...I want to party & have as much fun as possible in college.)  He did receive a lot of interest from PAC schools, and a few random D-3's in the Northeast & Southeast.  He determined after his not so fun senior year (2nd concussion), that he really didn't want to play football in college.

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

W&L is brutal to get into, to the point that a little over 20 years after I squeaked through the doors I'm quite sure I would be borderline at best these days. And from everything I continue to hear, admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not. I'm ok with that. I'd rather W&L hold on to their top 15 liberal arts rating than win a football national title, let alone progress out of the first round.

That being said, W&L's biggest problem in the 80s, 90s and early 00s was horribly dated facilities. The weight room when I was there from '96 to '00 didn't belong in a halfway decent high school and the stadium was a utilitarian set of much too large bleachers left over from the 50s. Since the mid 90s though, every athletic facility has been updated or built new, pretty much ending with a new natatorium (swimming facility) opening last school year.

And it has shown because except for the basketball teams, W&L is an ODAC power across the board in both men's and women's sports and increasingly a viable competitor in the NCAA tournament. All of that can be traced to a massive investment in facilities from the mid-90s through last year and some very smart coaching hires in the last decade. The football team benefited from both, as the facilities were in dire need and Coach Abell certainly falls near the top of the hiring list.

While W&L's first conference championship since the early 80s in 2006 pre-dated Coach Abell's arrival as OC after the 2007 season, the offensive consistency and ingenuity he brought with him have made W&L a conference competitor with few exceptions every year since. What he does, under the constraints of a small roster built from a small pool of qualifying players, has been really impressive.

This is the most impressive part.  It's one thing to compete in hoops, golf or any other small roster sport that a couple kids can make all the difference.  It's a completely different animal to compete with those admissions standards in football where depth is essential.  It's the same reason I am always impressed when Case makes the playoffs or when Case/Emory contend in baseball regionals. 

[jknezek]

This is the most impressive part.  It's one thing to compete in hoops, golf or any other small roster sport that a couple kids can make all the difference.  It's a completely different animal to compete with those admissions standards in football where depth is essential.  It's the same reason I am always impressed when Case makes the playoffs or when Case/Emory contend in baseball regionals.

Agree 100%. Getting enough kids in the door, we had 19 frosh in camp this year which was poor even by our standards, is a huge challenge. I expect we'll get closer to 30 this year. 25 to 30 is normal for the Generals. However, since they are almost all recruited, the retention is quite good. Generally 50-65% from frosh to seniors, and I expect out of our 19 this year we will hold on to 75% or more since many are already playing. Not many programs in DIII can boast that kind of retention. But yeah, in good years we are in the low 70s total, most years somewhere in the 60s.

That's why when we lost our senior qb, senior rb, senior wr (yeah, I know, but still a 4 year player who made an impact at times especially blocking), junior cb and others for significant parts of the season and kept on trucking I was very impressed.

[SaintsFAN]

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

Can't believe he's already graduating.  Has it been THAT long since we sat in the Mexican joint pre-gaming for UMHB/UMU, otherwise known as the 4th Quarter Comeback?? 

Football talk, you say?  I'll start it off with a classic*:

Skunks:
Mount Union, you've never seen an offense like what Washington & Lee runs.

Come on now... I've been sitting here (mostly) quietly eating my popcorn and now I'm going to have to throw the bucket at you Saints...

used to love seeing teams in the early 2000s come into the OAC Board to say "Mount Union hasn't seen......."

[Sherburne]

You can tell it's playoff time, because I am BACK baby!

Quick story...Jr. was looking at colleges back when he still thought he wanted to play football in college.  He had a fair amount of interest through his junior year, and we put together a target list of who we wanted to visit, etc.  I brought up Washington & Lee due to the beautiful campus, amazing academics, and a solid football team where I thought he could eventually play with a lot of hard work.  Then...we spoke to the coach there at time about academic requirements.      Jr. was a pretty smart kid, but not really fitting in W & L's typical student.  He had a 25 ACT, and GPA around 3.5.  The coach basically said ummm....we can try to get him in but no promises.  At that point Jr. said I am just not smart enough to go there AND play football. (Translation...I want to party & have as much fun as possible in college.)  He did receive a lot of interest from PAC schools, and a few random D-3's in the Northeast & Southeast.  He determined after his not so fun senior year (2nd concussion), that he really didn't want to play football in college.

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

W&L is brutal to get into, to the point that a little over 20 years after I squeaked through the doors I'm quite sure I would be borderline at best these days. And from everything I continue to hear, admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not. I'm ok with that. I'd rather W&L hold on to their top 15 liberal arts rating than win a football national title, let alone progress out of the first round.

That being said, W&L's biggest problem in the 80s, 90s and early 00s was horribly dated facilities. The weight room when I was there from '96 to '00 didn't belong in a halfway decent high school and the stadium was a utilitarian set of much too large bleachers left over from the 50s. Since the mid 90s though, every athletic facility has been updated or built new, pretty much ending with a new natatorium (swimming facility) opening last school year.

And it has shown because except for the basketball teams, W&L is an ODAC power across the board in both men's and women's sports and increasingly a viable competitor in the NCAA tournament. All of that can be traced to a massive investment in facilities from the mid-90s through last year and some very smart coaching hires in the last decade. The football team benefited from both, as the facilities were in dire need and Coach Abell certainly falls near the top of the hiring list.

While W&L's first conference championship since the early 80s in 2006 pre-dated Coach Abell's arrival as OC after the 2007 season, the offensive consistency and ingenuity he brought with him have made W&L a conference competitor with few exceptions every year since. What he does, under the constraints of a small roster built from a small pool of qualifying players, has been really impressive.

jknezek,

Curious, if "...admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not.", how did the laudable upgrades to the athletic plant come pass (or run ?
I, for one, hope that the culture, traditions and name of Washington and Lee University continue.

Sherb

[jknezek]

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

Can't believe he's already graduating.  Has it been THAT long since we sat in the Mexican joint pre-gaming for UMHB/UMU, otherwise known as the 4th Quarter Comeback?? 

Football talk, you say?  I'll start it off with a classic*:

Skunks:
Mount Union, you've never seen an offense like what Washington & Lee runs.

Come on now... I've been sitting here (mostly) quietly eating my popcorn and now I'm going to have to throw the bucket at you Saints...

used to love seeing teams in the early 2000s come into the OAC Board to say "Mount Union hasn't seen......."

I know the joke but it still wouldn't stop me from throwing popcorn at you for going back to that old well. I will say that I think UMU is likely to have seen very little of the type of offense W&L will run. Bits and pieces sure. I'm willing to bet they have seen option plays throughout the season. But a game long steady dose of it will be different. That, however, has absolutely no bearing on what I think the efficacy of that offense will be. I've already posted that estimate a few pages back. And let's face it, having a rare offense didn't help W&L very much in either of our two trips to Cincinnati.

There simply is a limit where creativity and execution just can't help against a talent gap. For W&L to be in this game, they will have to be perfect and UMU will have to be... very, very imperfect. 

[jknezek]

jknezek,

Curious, if "...admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not.", how did the laudable upgrades to the athletic plant come pass?
I, for one, hope that the culture, traditions and name of Washington and Lee University continue.

Sherb

It's a fair question but it's 2 different things for W&L from what I understand. It was well known around campus even when I was there that our facilities had badly lagged and needed upgrading. The program to do that began slightly before I arrived and I believe just ended, though I suspect construction on college campuses these days never really ends. In the administrations' eyes, the school owed those upgrades to the student athletes who chose W&L.

The money was not spent primarily in hopes of becoming national contenders so much as it was spent to ensure that the student athletes on campus had the best possible experience, win or lose. Now I'm sure there was an understanding that better facilities leads to better athletes leads to better teams, but the discussion was always about how the school was lagging in the experience for those on campus, not how it would help get better athletes to campus.

There simply is no drive at W&L to make allowances for athletes to get to campus. However, once they are there, there is, and has been for quite a while, an understanding that W&L owes those student athletes a first class experience. And that was why the money was spent. Plus, it simply looks better. For a long time, W&L had one of if not the largest football stadium in DIII. And it sat 90% or more empty every game. It looked bad and it was a bad experience. So it was fixed.

The quality of the academic student body is everything to the administration. Now that's not to say a coach can't or won't go to admissions and say I really like this guy/girl, where do we stand? And to corrupt a saying... tie goes to the athlete. But a coach who goes to that well with a kid that doesn't fit into the incoming class as it is being formulated? He isn't going to get much of a listen. And the coaches know this and, from what I know of the locals that I've interviewed, yes I've been an alumni interviewer for the Birmingham area though its been a few years, the coaches are very forthright with the kids.

The coaches know who to recruit and where to invest their time. So they don't waste it, and from what I understand they try not to waste applicants time and money either.

[Sherburne]

jknezek,

Curious, if "...admissions simply doesn't much care whether the kid is an athlete or not.", how did the laudable upgrades to the athletic plant come pass?
I, for one, hope that the culture, traditions and name of Washington and Lee University continue.

Sherb

It's a fair question but it's 2 different things for W&L from what I understand. It was well known around campus even when I was there that our facilities had badly lagged and needed upgrading. The program to do that began slightly before I arrived and I believe just ended, though I suspect construction on college campuses these days never really ends. In the administrations' eyes, the school owed those upgrades to the student athletes who chose W&L.

The money was not spent primarily in hopes of becoming national contenders so much as it was spent to ensure that the student athletes on campus had the best possible experience, win or lose. Now I'm sure there was an understanding that better facilities leads to better athletes leads to better teams, but the discussion was always about how the school was lagging in the experience for those on campus, not how it would help get better athletes to campus.

There simply is no drive at W&L to make allowances for athletes to get to campus. However, once they are there, there is, and has been for quite a while, an understanding that W&L owes those student athletes a first class experience. And that was why the money was spent. Plus, it simply looks better. For a long time, W&L had one of if not the largest football stadium in DIII. And it sat 90% or more empty every game. It looked bad and it was a bad experience. So it was fixed.

The quality of the academic student body is everything to the administration. Now that's not to say a coach can't or won't go to admissions and say I really like this guy/girl, where do we stand? And to corrupt a saying... tie goes to the athlete. But a coach who goes to that well with a kid that doesn't fit into the incoming class as it is being formulated? He isn't going to get much of a listen. And the coaches know this and, from what I know of the locals that I've interviewed, yes I've been an alumni interviewer for the Birmingham area though its been a few years, the coaches are very forthright with the kids.

The coaches know who to recruit and where to invest their time. So they don't waste it, and from what I understand they try not to waste applicants time and money either.

jknezek,
Thank you. Well said.
Sherb

[SaintsFAN]

I am happy it looks like he should graduate on time, with decent grades, and no arrests.  I mean that is a win/win when you go to Ohio U!   

Can't believe he's already graduating.  Has it been THAT long since we sat in the Mexican joint pre-gaming for UMHB/UMU, otherwise known as the 4th Quarter Comeback?? 

Football talk, you say?  I'll start it off with a classic*:

Skunks:
Mount Union, you've never seen an offense like what Washington & Lee runs.

Come on now... I've been sitting here (mostly) quietly eating my popcorn and now I'm going to have to throw the bucket at you Saints...

used to love seeing teams in the early 2000s come into the OAC Board to say "Mount Union hasn't seen......."

I know the joke but it still wouldn't stop me from throwing popcorn at you for going back to that old well. I will say that I think UMU is likely to have seen very little of the type of offense W&L will run. Bits and pieces sure. I'm willing to bet they have seen option plays throughout the season. But a game long steady dose of it will be different. That, however, has absolutely no bearing on what I think the efficacy of that offense will be. I've already posted that estimate a few pages back. And let's face it, having a rare offense didn't help W&L very much in either of our two trips to Cincinnati.

There simply is a limit where creativity and execution just can't help against a talent gap. For W&L to be in this game, they will have to be perfect and UMU will have to be... very, very imperfect. 

I wholeheartedly agree with this 100% -

Folks who believe this is similar to Capital under Candetto are both right and wrong for the reasons you stated. 

[merlecanlas]

I wonder if VK got Keith Wakefield out to practice this week?

[Desertraider]

Are we there yet?   

No $ hit Mom!

Moving on...is there a game this weekend - I forgot.

Yes, 'des', there is. Drop the recent impostor role, it is beneath you. Get back to what you do best - d3 (OAC/Mount) Football Technology!

Sherb

Sherb - I like ya however...man's gotta know his limitations.


What time does the Brunch start? My 2 daughters are 'want to see the game' but only ask about brunch and how early they can get in. I know noon kickoff will make brunch earlier - they hope.