FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[JK]

New to the site.I know a young man who is trying to decide between MUC &Cap & a D2 that is out of state.Can anyone please expound on how the administration at CAP is not supportive of the football program?Thanks.

PLease do not let our discussions on here affect this young man's decisions on where to go to school.  I can attest as an alum and former football player that Capital is a great school with great facilities.  Coach Stanford is young and energetic and his offense is exciting.  The city of Columbus, of course, has MUCH more to offer than virtually any other OAC school.

Our discussions here have been about why two coaches have left in three years.  The first, the resignation of Jim Collins, seemed to coincide with the retirement of Dr. Fredrickson and the appointment of Dr. Bowman as president.  There have been some whispers about Dr. Bowman not being a fan of the athletic department, but NEVER has there been a reduction in their budget or an outright statement that showed a lack of support from the administration.  These discussions are just the machinations of some old has-beens wondering why Collins would leave what he had built into an upper-echelon program, even if it was a step up to DII, and then why Bickel would leave after only two seasons (again, to move up to DII, but as a D-coord; although by all accounts he always was more comfortable as a Coordinator than as a HC).

This young man has to remember that this decision should be about where he wants to go to SCHOOL, not where he wants to play football.  Even if he goes to the D2 on scholarship, he likely isn't going to advance his career past college, so he needs to go where he gets the best education in what he wants to do after football.  Whether he chooses MUC or Cap, he's going to go to a good school and play in the best (or maybe second-best) D3 conference in America.

Although, I will add this... if he goes to MUC, he's going to have to compete for playing time with 200+ other kids, maybe 4 or 5 deep at EVERY position, and they'll bring in another 100+ freshman the next year too.  If he goes to Cap or anywhere else in the OAC, there's only going to be about 100 kids TOTAL on the team and playing time is going to be easier to come by (if he can play).  That might not be important to him, or he might believe that he's talented enough to crack the lineup at MUC, but there have been plenty who thought that who never played a down at MUC.  In fact, Cap had a linebacker a few years ago who never played a down at MUC, he transferred to Cap and was an All-American.

I'm just sayin...

[TooForRaider]

I agree that the stuff going on at Cap is hearsay and no one knows for sure.

But, if we're going to try to toot our own horns I gotta add my 2 cents-

It is true that there will be well over 200+ kids at camp at MUC. I was one of about 15 AS A FRESHMAN at my position. However, if you're good enough and have the character to stick with it, the coaches will see it. You may only have 2-3 other players at your position at other OAC schools, but the quality of those players will be lower than at MUC. I don't know how many times I wanted to give up my freshman year. The fear of being lumped in with so many other players at your position is intimidating to a lot of players. I think I've mentioned this before, but a player from my high school went to another OAC school because of the numbers game at MUC. He ended up having an excellent career at the other OAC school, but he doesn't have a ring to show for it.

Can't argue with Columbus....Alliance is....well.....Alliance 

[Raider 68]

JK,

Great post. As schools, the OAC has many to choose from. I still think that feedback from the coaches on a player's abilities will greatly affect what his football success may be. Playing time is a huge factor, so the young man must choose the school first, then where his football goals can be met!

[seventiesraider]

Bing, bing, bing we have a winner and 500 karma. Runyr, I was hunting that yearbook for the pic of you by the Interstate exit sign for Alliance with your hands up, like WTF.  Didn't remember they hatched over it with some artistic colored design making it impossible to scan. LK in classic QB form was an excellent replacement

[seventiesraider]

Can't argue with Columbus....Alliance is....well.....Alliance  

Of course does anybody use Cleveland as the draw for JCU or Bdubs.

At least it's not Hiram, or Gambier or .........Ada

or in all fairness...Tiffin

[TooForRaider]

Can't argue with Columbus....Alliance is....well.....Alliance 

Of course does anybody use Cleveland as the draw for JCU or Bdubs.

At least it's not Hiram, or Gambier or .........Ada

Ha-that is true. Ada is by far the worst.

[JK]

Of course does anybody use Cleveland as the draw for JCU or Bdubs.

No, Cleveland is a nasty, smelly rust belt relic.  Columbus is new and exciting and growing.  Despite that, Columbus remains a "College town" with all the benefits (concerts, etc.) that go with that.

Having grown up in Alliance and having my roomate from Cap now living in Ada, I can unequivocally say that Ada has much less to offer than virtually anywhere else in the State of Ohio, far less than Alliance.  On the "stuff to do in-town" scale, ranking the OAC schools, I'd say Alliance is probably near the middle, with Ada and New Concord in a tight battle for the 10th spot.

[bignscarey]

New to the site.I know a young man who is trying to decide between MUC &Cap & a D2 that is out of state.Can anyone please expound on how the administration at CAP is not supportive of the football program?Thanks.

PLease do not let our discussions on here affect this young man's decisions on where to go to school.  I can attest as an alum and former football player that Capital is a great school with great facilities.  Coach Stanford is young and energetic and his offense is exciting.  The city of Columbus, of course, has MUCH more to offer than virtually any other OAC school.

Our discussions here have been about why two coaches have left in three years.  The first, the resignation of Jim Collins, seemed to coincide with the retirement of Dr. Fredrickson and the appointment of Dr. Bowman as president.  There have been some whispers about Dr. Bowman not being a fan of the athletic department, but NEVER has there been a reduction in their budget or an outright statement that showed a lack of support from the administration.  These discussions are just the machinations of some old has-beens wondering why Collins would leave what he had built into an upper-echelon program, even if it was a step up to DII, and then why Bickel would leave after only two seasons (again, to move up to DII, but as a D-coord; although by all accounts he always was more comfortable as a Coordinator than as a HC).

This young man has to remember that this decision should be about where he wants to go to SCHOOL, not where he wants to play football.  Even if he goes to the D2 on scholarship, he likely isn't going to advance his career past college, so he needs to go where he gets the best education in what he wants to do after football.  Whether he chooses MUC or Cap, he's going to go to a good school and play in the best (or maybe second-best) D3 conference in America.

Although, I will add this... if he goes to MUC, he's going to have to compete for playing time with 200+ other kids, maybe 4 or 5 deep at EVERY position, and they'll bring in another 100+ freshman the next year too.  If he goes to Cap or anywhere else in the OAC, there's only going to be about 100 kids TOTAL on the team and playing time is going to be easier to come by (if he can play).  That might not be important to him, or he might believe that he's talented enough to crack the lineup at MUC, but there have been plenty who thought that who never played a down at MUC.  In fact, Cap had a linebacker a few years ago who never played a down at MUC, he transferred to Cap and was an All-American.

I'm just sayin...

[bignscarey]

Thanks for the info.The timing of Coach Bickel's departure( announced 2/2/10) was very disruptive in the recruiting time line for the staff &  a player thinking of signing a NLI. He likes Capital but didn't want to be considering a program that was having problems.Sounds like all is well. Coach Stanford is impressive in a quiet way.And yes BW does try to use the Cleveland card.And the player in question is about the school and location( Ada,Tiffin and New Concord yikes ) over the level of play (D2-D3) or he would have already signed the NLI. The $$$ are tempting,but the fit must be right.

[TooForRaider]

No NLI's in D3. You're new, so I assume you haven't seen our previous discussions on the issue.

[bignscarey]

I know there are no NLI in D3. This player has been sitting on multiple D2 offers and his D2 window will be closing soon.

[Raider 68]

I know there are no NLI in D3. This player has been sitting on multiple D2 offers and his D2 window will be closing soon.

If his offers are from quality D2 schools and they have good program then his choice should not be difficult.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I know there are no NLI in D3. This player has been sitting on multiple D2 offers and his D2 window will be closing soon.

If his offers are from quality D2 schools and they have good program then his choice should not be difficult.

With the financial aid packages available at D3 and the opportunity to play sooner and/or win a ring, maybe the choice becomes more difficult...

[snoop dawg]

I know there are no NLI in D3. This player has been sitting on multiple D2 offers and his D2 window will be closing soon.

If his offers are from quality D2 schools and they have good program then his choice should not be difficult.

With the financial aid packages available at D3 and the opportunity to play sooner and/or win a ring, maybe the choice becomes more difficult...

Manuel is right.   My son is in a similar situation with offers from d2 schools and opportunities to play at high level d3 schools.  If its not completely an economic decision, it poses pluses and minuses for both levels.  In my opinion, you visit the schools and do your best to determine which is the best fit.  Not always an easy decision.  Especially for my son coming from a JC.  He must make the right decision. 

He is extremely excited to visit Mt. Union and a few others.  Just wish the darn snow would go away to make travel easier.

[Raider 68]

I know there are no NLI in D3. This player has been sitting on multiple D2 offers and his D2 window will be closing soon.

If his offers are from quality D2 schools and they have good program then his choice should not be difficult.

With the financial aid packages available at D3 and the opportunity to play sooner and/or win a ring, maybe the choice becomes more difficult...

Manuel is right.   My son is in a similar situation with offers from d2 schools and opportunities to play at high level d3 schools.  If its not completely an economic decision, it poses pluses and minuses for both levels.  In my opinion, you visit the schools and do your best to determine which is the best fit.  Not always an easy decision.  Especially for my son coming from a JC.  He must make the right decision. 

He is extremely excited to visit Mt. Union and a few others.  Just wish the darn snow would go away to make travel easier.

Snoop dawg,

The snow is gone and spring drills begin this week. Will he be coming to visit soon?