FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[skunks_sidekick]

Hello Mount & OAC gang!  Winter is finally here!  Now if it would kindly LEAVE, I would appreciate it.  

I have to chime in on all the movie talk.  Funny stuff by the way.    I have pitched "The Larry Kehres Story" to LK for the last three years.  I work in the advertising/marketing field, and my company has the capability to produce a project such as that.  If any of you saw the ESPN documentary a few years back about a PA high school coach, and his season, that was the direction we wanted to go with this project.  We have contacts at ESPN, and I was able to talk to one of the producers from that show, and got great insight as to what it takes to make something like that happen.  

To date, LK's response has been......."I don't know if I can support a project like that".  Translation........"I don't want a %^&*& camera following me around 24/7, and besides, who would be interested in me?"  
He really is a humble (but gruff at times) man.  I just think the story of LK's and Mount's success would be compelling.  We thought it could/would be a great PR/recruiting piece for the school, and my guess would be that an alumnae/donor would come forward to finance the project.  

All that being said, and based on what I know, I don't see it happening any time soon.  I will keep working on him though.  

On to my next project.  What is the opinion of all of you regarding an event in Canton that promotes D-III football by having a "D-III Football Extravaganza" in Fawcett/Massillon stadium?  I am currently talking to the Stark County VCB, Canton Schools (they own/control Fawcett), the HOF, and various other movers and shakers in Stark County.  I see it as a two or three game day (11, 3, 7), possibly on Labor Day weekend.  Picture this......JCU vs. Wooster, Mount vs. Averett, and Wittenberg vs. CAP for the first year's games.  As the event grew, and we had time to schedule, we would add prominent teams from around the country to play their opener here in Canton.  This event would be supported by a dinner/banquet the night before, tours of the HOF, and various other activities throughout the weekend.  

Thoughts/ideas?

[Small but Slow]

Marietta and the other mid-pack OAC schools can recruit the same quality athletes as the big boys by promising playing time early in their careers.  That's a huge hook as long as there is stability in the coaching staff.  The downside is that many young guys either shut it down because of injury or the frustration of getting the snot knocked out of them by older more experienced athletes.  These schools can rise to the upper level with a little patience by the administration, staff, and athletes. 

[kcreds]

skunks_sidekick, I think it is a great idea as long as each game has an Ohio school represented. This will promote all the Ohio schools, being selfish again, and help with attendance. It should be rotated only if the matchups are good, which may force some schools to schedule good competition.

Small but Slow, good point. 

[Small but Slow]

skunks sidekick - Here's a thought, given the number of NAIA schools in the vicinity now playing football, perhaps a D3 v NAIA challenge?  Walsh v Mount?  Malone v Marietta?  I'm not even sure I like it, but it's a thought.

[Toph]

If having your name linked to other gigs hurts recruiting let me make a formal announcement:

Larry Kehres is being considered for the Browns offensive coordinator job, the Alabama job (you can never have too much insurance with Saban), the Oakland Raiders head coaching vacancy, and the New York Knicks head coaching position.

[JK]

Sidekick-

First, I am not sure if any D3 schools can/ would play a "neutral site" game.  It would depend on $$'s in my mind.  I know D3 schools don't make a lot at the gate, but what they do make playing at home, they get to keep.  If the game could be lucrative enough in terms of money, it might be doable.  I know when I was at Cap, we did overnights whenever we played at MUC or one of the Cleveland Schools.  I would assume that, in your scenario, Cap, Witt, and Averett would have to stay locally.  That only adds to the expense and would be a detriment to your proposal.  Again, if the money was there, though, at least enough to cover the expense of the trip, you might be successful.

That being said, I think you would be disappointed with the gate for this event.  Fawcett would look awfully empty.  Not all schools have a following like MUC.  Even Cap, who has been very good the last few years, doesn't travel all that well.  When Cap played at Wabash in the playoffs in 05, a huge game with lots of meaning, Cap's side of the field was relatively sparse- maybe 500 people.  Most of the other OAC teams don't have "casual fans" like MUC does or the large colleges do.  Usually the people in the visitors stands are family and friends only.  I think the distance might preclude even some of those folks from coming.  MUC would bring a lot of people, JCU might have a decent turnout, but you can't really rely on one or two schools to bring in a big gate for an event like you propose and have it be successful or worthwhile for schools from outside of the general area.

One last point.  I don't know how OAC coaches would feel about playing a game in front of other OAC schools fans/ parents.  There is a "No live scouting" rule in the OAC for a reason.  Seeing a team live vs. on tape is a huge difference.  You get a better feel for the speed of the team, can catch some small nuances that you might not see on tape, etc.  By playing three games involving three OAC teams on the same day at the same site, each of those schools fans (and presumably some coaches would sneak a look) would get to scout a future opponent live.

It is an interesting thought, and sounds good in theory, but in reality it probably won't fly.  You might be better served by playing a HS game with McKinley in the early slot, an NAIA game with Malone or Walsh in the afternoon slot, and MUC in the evening.  THat would probably give you a better fan turnout with three or more local teams, you wouldn't need to worry about the scouting I discussed, and you probably wouldn't have to worry about "luring" teams to play with $$ since maybe only MUC or the NAIA opponent would have to worry about staying locally.

Actually, in that vein, we could organize these Ohio-wide.  You could do one in Columbus with a Columbus HS, then Ohio Dominican could play, and then Cap or Otterbein.  They could play at the Columbus Crew stadium.  We could do one at ONU with Lima or Ada or even Dola Hardin Northern HS, then Urbana or Findlay, and then ONU.  Heck, you could even do one in Tiffin with Columbian, then Tiffin University, then Heidelberg.

[Small but Slow]

Those are good points.  How long has the OAC had the rule agains tlive scouting?  You could also do one in SW OH with Thomas More v Witt.

[frank uible]

In 2005 the OAC college with the highest average home attendance (for all 9 of its home games) was Mount Union with 3735 (11th among all DIII colleges). No other Ohio DIII college was higher.

[e_lee]

Perhaps a Football Festival at either Kent or Akron

Game 1- High School Game 11:00 AM
Game 2-Division III Game  3:00 PM
Game 3-Kent or Akron Game  7:00 PM

I really don't see this succeeding in any form due to money, but skunks, I would most likely attend if I were in Ohio.  Perhaps the NCAA can kick in some money to help promote it.

Maybe a

Cap/or whomever looks like 2nd best OAC team vs Whitewater in early game
Mount Union vs St. John's

By having it in Canton you might get some fans willing to travel for Labor Day with the HOF.  Maybe make it like a Stagg Bowl type atmosphere with events throughout the week.

[Small but Slow]

Mount also travels well for a D-III school.  Do they still draw the groups of kids in their varsity jackets of a school near the home team that sit in the visitor stands?  That speaks volumes about the rapport LK and staff develop with high school coaches.

[frank uible]

Kent and Akron draw very poorly - in 2005 they were 116th (6658) and 113th (10,893), respectively, in average home attendance out of 117 in DIA.

[Small but Slow]

sidekick - How about a two day event with a high school game Friday night, another around 11 A.M. Satruday, then two D-III games at 3 and 7.  The ticket could include admission to all four games and to the HOF.  Attendance is not going to be staggering any way you look at it, but it does give Ohio fotball lovers an opportunity to see some great football.

[skunks_sidekick]

All good points.  I really view this as a Stagg Bowl type of an event.  To work, there would need to be corporate sponsors ponying up $$ to defray costs, and to make it viable for a team to give up its home game to play at a neutral site.  My research tells me there are very few (relatively speaking) D-III schools making any significant $$ from their home games.  Other than Mount, and a few others, no one is giving up any significant financial aspect by playing at a neutral site.  They may even make money at an event like this. 

I think there are more "casual fans" interested in D-III than we give credit.  I wouldn't expect to pack Fawcett, but I think we could get a decent crowd.  For the teams, it's a great chance to experience a "play-off type atmosphere", and really have a wonderful experience.  My hope would be to get SOME kind of television/cable exposure, and I have put feelers out to a few of the smaller, more obsure outlets to gauge interest.  Pat Coleman and I have had an email exchange, and I know this site would do whatever they could to promote the event. 

Imagine a St. John's, St. John Fisher, Ithaca, LAX, WW, Wabash, Linfield type team playing in this event.  They all travel well, and what a great way to spend a holiday weekend watching your team and other D-III teams play, visit the HOF, and have a great tailgate shared by 4 or 6 teams worth of fans. 

Anyway, that's my vision.  At this point, I am unsure if it is doable this year, or any year.  I have just started the process of seeing how viable the project really is.

Thanks for your thoughts, and keep them coming. 

[Small but Slow]

A selfish perspective, I'd like to see you do this in Florida, possibly Disney's Wide World of Sports Resort so I could see it, but that's crazy talk.  The only exposure this state has to D-III is the once a year televising of the Stagg Bowl.  It could be a great recruiting tool to attract Sunshine State talent.

[e_lee]

I know Fawcett Stadium would be a great place, but maybe start small and have it at Mount Union College the first year.  You can still tie in events with the HOF and such and see how it goes.  If all goes well in year one it can be moved to a bigger venue the next year or down the road when it gains some momentum.

By having it at MUC initially you can probably keep the cost down and have some sort of guaranteed gate.