FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[OldOtter]

Why do Mount Union fans really care how the rest of the OAC looks?  I mean if you think about it, even if the OAC were complete garbage as a conference, as long as MUC keeps rolling through the playoffs every year, it doesn't reflect badly on them.  It's not like we're talking about a situation like Ohio State and the Big Ten.

I'm pretty happy to see Heidelberg spotting 19.5 to ANYONE. Mount Union needs a competitive conference to be competitive. Games like last week are a waste.

PIOS where art thou?

I think OldOtter should put up a picture of LK

Nah, I'll pass on the LK picture. JK and I really enjoy showing off our Otterbein PRIDE 

[bushman]

I didn't post this observation in my wrap of the OC game but I thought that the Otters looked beat before the game even started.  Their body language and lack of pep did not bode well in my observations.  I might be all wet but thats what I observed.

[old scot]

HScoach,
       I beg to differ with you. Mount has built such a strong program it makes no difference what the conference does.Yes, it looks good if the OAC gets a pool C bid but , it is not relevant.
Do you think Kenyon's swimming program gives a hoot if another NCAC team makes the show?
They win no matter what and so does Mount's  FB program.

[Raider 68]

HScoach,
       I beg to differ with you. Mount has built such a strong program it makes no difference what the conference does.Yes, it looks good if the OAC gets a pool C bid but , it is not relevant.
Do you think Kenyon's swimming program gives a hoot if another NCAC team makes the show?
They win no matter what and so does Mount's  FB program.

I would think football especially one of the oldest conferences in D3 and
a top playoff record (not just Mount) would attract more athletes and prestige than swimming. (No offense to the great swimming programs).
Football also helps pay the bills for the universities and colleges.

[MUCheats]

Why do Mount Union fans really care how the rest of the OAC looks?  I mean if you think about it, even if the OAC were complete garbage as a conference, as long as MUC keeps rolling through the playoffs every year, it doesn't reflect badly on them.  It's not like we're talking about a situation like Ohio State and the Big Ten.

I would say its the opposite of the OSU situation.  Instead of the top team choking in big games and embarassing the conference, its the conference embarassing the top team.  Mount being great helps the OAC, and Mount fans want the rest of the OAC to return the favor.  It all comes down to who plays who, and the Mount fans want the OAC to do well in the playoffs to validate Ohio football.

That's precisely my point.  If the OAC is now embarrassing the top team, it doesn't really matter because Mount Union is proving it doesn't matter by the way it plays in the postseason on an annual basis.  I'm not sure it would matter if Mount Union were playing in the OAC, NCAC, or any other conference--the Purple Raiders are just that good.  Maybe it mattered in the early years of the dynasty, but I'm not sure it does anymore.

On the flip side of the equation, having a dominant force like MUC in the OAC hasn't really inspired any of the other OAC programs to raise their level of play on a consistent basis.  You've had schools (first JCU, then ONU and Capital) that have put together decent runs in recent years, but none so far has had staying power.

If it really matters to MUC (and again, I'm not sure it does either way), what can be done to truly raise the level of play amongst other conference members?  Is it a recruiting thing?  Perhaps the well is only so deep in Ohio?  Or is there something else that can be done?

I find this topic to be interesting.  I have pride in the conference like to see other OAC teams do well, but I'm not sure that Mount Union's successes really reflect on the OAC anymore.  We've all heard the snickers about the OAC being a bunch of schools that just roll over and take their medicine when the boys from Alliance come to town.  When Mount Union is spanking the next best team in the conference by 20 points, it's hard for anyone to look at that and think it's respectable.

And that's not even to expand upon what I said a week or two back about how Mount Union's presence in the OAC makes it much harder for all other teams to qualify for a Pool C bid.  Every OAC team basically starts with an 0-1 record meaning they have little margin for error.

[OldOtter]

HScoach,
       I beg to differ with you. Mount has built such a strong program it makes no difference what the conference does.Yes, it looks good if the OAC gets a pool C bid but , it is not relevant.
Do you think Kenyon's swimming program gives a hoot if another NCAC team makes the show?
They win no matter what and so does Mount's  FB program.

I would think football especially one of the oldest conferences in D3 and
a top playoff record (not just Mount) would attract more athletes and prestige than swimming. (No offense to the great swimming programs).
Football also helps pay the bills for the universities and colleges.

It doesn't get more prestigious in DIII athletics than the Kenyon swimming program. Take a look at their national championships in the pool for both mens and womens. Unreal. Blows Mount's 10 outta the water

[drt]

Fuggetaboutitt, Kenyon is NCAC, an "academic conference," so theie athletic endeavors don't count....

[Mr. Ypsi]

HScoach,
       I beg to differ with you. Mount has built such a strong program it makes no difference what the conference does.Yes, it looks good if the OAC gets a pool C bid but , it is not relevant.
Do you think Kenyon's swimming program gives a hoot if another NCAC team makes the show?
They win no matter what and so does Mount's  FB program.

I would think football especially one of the oldest conferences in D3 and
a top playoff record (not just Mount) would attract more athletes and prestige than swimming. (No offense to the great swimming programs).
Football also helps pay the bills for the universities and colleges.

'Athletes and prestige', maybe, but a given potential student is attracted by a given sport or (occasionally) sports.  As LK must envy Kenyon's record, I dare say that swimmers will gravitate to Kenyon (football players, not so much).

[drt]

We all know that top football players are attracted to Mount, and that top swimmers are attracted to  Kenyon.  Are you saying that non-athletes are attracted to certain schools by their high-profile programs?

[old scot]

Raider 68,
      I guess you suffer from the Joe Paterno syndrome. He thinks PSU needs an extra home game each season to finance the athletic department. It might be that way at a D1 school but not D3.


drt,
     Your view is so short sighted. Academics or not, Kenyon's swimming records are outstanding and probably untouchable.
     

[doctor_t]

old scot,
No disrespect to Kenyon intended.  My views are not short-sighted, but they are sarcastic.  Check out earlier posts about the Wittenberg and the NCAC.  If I knew how to quote, I would, to clarify things.
Sorry if you took it the wrong way.

[MUCheats]

Football also helps pay the bills for the universities and colleges.

Eh, I just don't know about this one.  Certainly a number of schools are making a nice dime on football.  But for others, operating in the red for the sport is normal and expected.

[seventiesraider]

Bruse Brennen was ranting on "All Bets are Off" yesterday about what a natural it would be to bring big time football to Clleveland State."Because the talent is all there.

Doesn't seem to be helping St Schula's and the The Pile

[jam40jeff]

Bruse Brennen was ranting on "All Bets are Off" yesterday about what a natural it would be to bring big time football to Clleveland State."Because the talent is all there.

Doesn't seem to be helping St Schula's and the The Pile

JCU and BW aren't going to attract D1 football players (obviously).  A D1 school could.  Look at how many Cleveland area players end up in the Big Ten (and many for Ohio State in recent years).  If CSU built up a respectable program, they'd have a good amount of local D1 talent to draw from that currently must go elsewhere to play D1 football.

[skunks_sidekick]

Random thoughts and musings..........by double S..

OAC - I think this board has been instrumental in connecting OAC fans/former players, and in turn has led most of us to support any OAC team that makes the play-offs.  I can honestly say I am a quasi-CAP/ONU fan. 

Cleveland State - I somewhat agree with Drennan, but I think they would only be so good.  I think that is what Lake Erie thinks/thought would happen. 

Successful Football Program attracting non-football playing students - absolutely.....this has been documented at Mount. 

So who's Mount's first round opponent?  Any guesses?