FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

Good luck to Kevin Burke.  To no one's surprise he was named one of the ten semifinalists for the Gagliardi. 

[wabashcpa]

Congrats to Hank Spencer - grew up in Wabash/DePauw country - one that got away from both!

[bleedpurple]

Congratulations to all the Raider players and Coaches for being selected All-OAC, well done!

Wow! I never checked the details and I didn't realize ALL the Raider players and coaches were selected All-OAC!  Probably the most accurate All-OAC team they have ever named! 

[Dr. Acula]

Congrats to Hank Spencer - grew up in Wabash/DePauw country - one that got away from both!

Even more impressive?  He was an Elite 89 winner last year and an Academic All-OAC/District pick both years with a 3.98 GPA in Computer Science according to the release. 

[Raiderplaybyplay]

This might seem off topic.. but YSU's football coach got the boot today, and rumor has it that one of the names to replace him is UWW's Lance Liepold.

As a Mount Union and YSU football fan, it kind of made me sick to think about... he's a good coach, but not sure I could root for a guy who beat my beloved Purple Raiders so many times. blehhhh....

Anyway, after I overcame the urge to puke I started thinking that VK could perhaps be a candidate for that job as well. Anybody know if he's planning on staying at Mount for long?

[Desertraider]

This might seem off topic.. but YSU's football coach got the boot today, and rumor has it that one of the names to replace him is UWW's Lance Liepold.

As a Mount Union and YSU football fan, it kind of made me sick to think about... he's a good coach, but not sure I could root for a guy who beat my beloved Purple Raiders so many times. blehhhh....

Anyway, after I overcame the urge to puke I started thinking that VK could perhaps be a candidate for that job as well. Anybody know if he's planning on staying at Mount for long?

I have NOTHING BUT RESPECT for LL - however he can leave at any time . LL is a heck of a coach and has gone as far as he probably could go at DIII level (read: leave!). Seriously, though he would do well where ever he decides to go, if he decides to go that route. I have said this a few times on here but I would love for a solid DIII coach to take over my beloved Black Knights at Army. LL, VK, LK (Please LK consider this!!). Army is D1 but they suffer recruiting hurdles like DIII (they are limited for different reasons n the talent they can reasonably expect to get). I think a real solid DIII coach could do well at any of the service academies simply because they would be able to mold the talent for 4 years instead of having 1/2 a class jump ship (no pun intended) for the NFL every year. In addition D1 coaches tend to recruit players to fit a specific system they want, and you just can't do that at Army. D3 coaches tend to be better at X's and O's and fundamentals. A coach that can do what LK preached (create a system around the players you have, instead of forcing them to fit what you want) will do well anywhere.

On the VK side of this. VK can't leave, yet. Not until he gets a ring of his own. But I do not expect him to stay at Mount for 20 years. Maybe he leaves and LK gets the coaching itch again?

[Desertraider]

Wow.  Initial reaction to All-OAC is that it looks very exclusive this year.  Of the 29 first team slots, only 5 OAC teams were represented and of Mount/JCU/Berg accounted for 26 of 29 first team players.  I'm sure the recipients were deserving but hard to believe that ONU/OTT/ETTA/WILMA/CAP don't have a single player on their rosters worthy of a first team vote at their positions.  Okay, I get that WILMA but still...

Etta had a RB with 930 yards and 15 rushing TD's.

Heck, 6 of the top 8 tacklers in the league were on teams that didn't place a player on the first team.

OAC sack leader doesn't make first or second team.


Just some weird omissions if you ask me.

I understand what you are saying and it does seem odd. But are you gonna vote for the Etta RB or BJ Mitchell/Cartel Brooks? I mean, just for argument, what if the Etta RB got 2nd team. Who drops to HM - Brooks or Mitchell? I don't know enough about the selection process to really comment much more. I mean do they consider what these players did against the top teams in their conference? If so then Ettas back had 539yds against Wilma (286), BW (167), and Cap (86) on 105 carries (5.13 yds/car) and in those games he had 12TDS. Against Mount, JCU and Berg he had 142 yds on 59 carries (2.4 yds/car) and 2TDS. Plus he is 5th in the conference in rushing and 4th in TDs. To me that says he is an average back with some great stats against the bottom half. The way I see it is that the majority of the OAC talent was on the Mount/JCU/Berg. I was however a bit  surprised with the QB. I thought that Burke and Myers would split it as well.

[Craft_Beermeister]

This might seem off topic.. but YSU's football coach got the boot today, and rumor has it that one of the names to replace him is UWW's Lance Liepold.

As a Mount Union and YSU football fan, it kind of made me sick to think about... he's a good coach, but not sure I could root for a guy who beat my beloved Purple Raiders so many times. blehhhh....

Anyway, after I overcame the urge to puke I started thinking that VK could perhaps be a candidate for that job as well. Anybody know if he's planning on staying at Mount for long?

LK turned down more than few D1 head coaching positions.  One in particular he came closer then people know in making the jump.  Larry is happy where he is and I don't see Vince leaving anytime soon.  Larry did encourage his nephew Erik leave the nest and go out on his own.  This weekend provides Erik to further establish his own legend when he takes his team to Whitewater.

[mr_mom]

Round 2 spreads are out. 

Gonna be a fun week!  Now we're getting to the meat of the thang!

And if Lance wants to go up a level or two, power to him.  He's earned it!

[Dr. Acula]

Can you imagine the caliber of the offensive and defensive lines LL could assemble when armed with athletic scholarships and his recruiting ties from UWW??  I don't want him to leave UWW as a fan of D3, but as someone who roots for all the local teams I'd be excited if YSU landed him.  The guy is a great coach.  Whether it's more the LK route or the Brian Kelly route, LL has certainly earned the right to choose any path he wants in the future.

As for VK, I'm not sure if he's a lifer or not.  if he decides he wants to give D1 a crack then I'll wish him the best of luck.  I don't think you can ever fault a guy for wanting to see how he stacks up in D1.  That being said I don't feel like VK is going anywhere for a while.

[raiderpa]

I believe that Vince is a Mount Union lifetime appointment. Why not, as long as he continues to maintain the excellence that Larry brought. 
On an earlier post, I too, would love to see LK take over a service academy like Army or Navy.  He would do an great job and his values and loyalty are a perfect fit. Never gonna happen, though.

[TailGate]

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/football/uw-whitewater-coach-ex-griz-pease-interested-in-um-football/article_98abe987-2bff-551c-8f7b-929fa1817cf6.html

LL - maybe Montana?  Posted a few days ago on West boards....

[BoBo]

This might seem off topic.. but YSU's football coach got the boot today, and rumor has it that one of the names to replace him is UWW's Lance Liepold.

As a Mount Union and YSU football fan, it kind of made me sick to think about... he's a good coach, but not sure I could root for a guy who beat my beloved Purple Raiders so many times. blehhhh....

Anyway, after I overcame the urge to puke I started thinking that VK could perhaps be a candidate for that job as well. Anybody know if he's planning on staying at Mount for long?

I have NOTHING BUT RESPECT for LL - however he can leave at any time . LL is a heck of a coach and has gone as far as he probably could go at DIII level (read: leave!). Seriously, though he would do well where ever he decides to go, if he decides to go that route. I have said this a few times on here but I would love for a solid DIII coach to take over my beloved Black Knights at Army. LL, VK, LK (Please LK consider this!!). Army is D1 but they suffer recruiting hurdles like DIII (they are limited for different reasons n the talent they can reasonably expect to get). I think a real solid DIII coach could do well at any of the service academies simply because they would be able to mold the talent for 4 years instead of having 1/2 a class jump ship (no pun intended) for the NFL every year. In addition D1 coaches tend to recruit players to fit a specific system they want, and you just can't do that at Army. D3 coaches tend to be better at X's and O's and fundamentals. A coach that can do what LK preached (create a system around the players you have, instead of forcing them to fit what you want) will do well anywhere.

On the VK side of this. VK can't leave, yet. Not until he gets a ring of his own. But I do not expect him to stay at Mount for 20 years. Maybe he leaves and LK gets the coaching itch again?

A very political job, West Point, would you agree d'raider? Plus, I think it is a big bonus if the HC has a military background of some kind.  BTW, one of the finest venues to witness a game, that Michie Stadium - whether Army is doing well (which I remember fondly working there for over 10 years) or not (which I remember too!)

[Desertraider]

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/football/uw-whitewater-coach-ex-griz-pease-interested-in-um-football/article_98abe987-2bff-551c-8f7b-929fa1817cf6.html

LL - maybe Montana?  Posted a few days ago on West boards....

No disrespect towards LL but the article states he is the "biggest name in DIII....since Gagliardi". How about biggest name since LK?

Bobo: Perhaps a political job and yes a military background is disireable...but winning trumps them both. Army has had a lot of military background guys lead them to 4-7, 3-9, 2-10. Best season in recent memory was 7-6 in 2010-11. I think that LK at Army would lead to Army in the national rankings inside of 3 years. And they have not beaten Navy since 2001!! LK would fix that quick. It may be a dream...but it is my dream!

[Pat Coleman]

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/football/uw-whitewater-coach-ex-griz-pease-interested-in-um-football/article_98abe987-2bff-551c-8f7b-929fa1817cf6.html

LL - maybe Montana?  Posted a few days ago on West boards....

No disrespect towards LL but the article states he is the "biggest name in DIII....since Gagliardi". How about biggest name since LK?

Two things:

1. Shows nobody outside of D-III knows anything about D-III (not a surprise, right?)
2. John Gagliardi coached in Montana before St. John's, so perhaps that's the local tie he chose.