FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

Dean Paul is a finalist for the UWW job.  As is another Mount guy...Erik Raeburn.  Based on the list I'd think Raeburn is the front runner.

[bceagle80]

Very interesting. I agree with you that Raeburn would appear to be the front runner. Dean Paul has had some success and could be a very reasonable choice. If Raeburn gets the job, he will add a whole new layer to the discussions regarding MU & UW-W.

[section13raiderfan]

Since Vince Kehres and Erik Raeburn are related, the Stagg Bowls would be like a family reunion if the current trend were to continue. It certainly speaks well of the Mount Union coaching tree that two former players are considered for the position.  What an upgrade for Dean Paul if he lands to job. Instant talent bonanza.

[raiderpa]

I think Raeburn would be the better choice...

[reality check]

Really hoping that the "..." at the end means you're going to provide some reasons for your stance.

[raiderpa]

Good question, I should clear up that my opinion only refers to the two Mount Union candidates.  After a good start at ONU, Dean Paul's teams have appeared to level off and he has not challenged for the conference championship when, I feel, he has the facilities and a fine school to recruit for.  Raeburn has taken teams, improved them at each step, and they have consistently been at the top of their game under his leadership.  He appears, to me, to get more out of his teams, and challenge for championships and playoff appearances.

[reality check]

I understand those points but I also can't help but feel Wabash is the medium-sized fish in a small pond.  Would Wabash be challenging for playoff spots every year if they were placed in the OAC or would the be a top-half team like ONU that finished in the 6-4 to 8-2 range and gets a Pool C bid once or twice a decade?  I am inclined to think that they are pretty even but I am also biased and admit that fully.  I don't want to disparage what Coach Raeburn is doing at Wabash either.  But I'm sure that I run the chance of ticking someone off with my opinion on the matter. 

Part of me wants Raeburn to get the job so Coach Paul stays in Ada.  Another part of me says Paul deserves the UWW job and hopes he gets a chance to prove his worth up north.  Both are great candidates.

[reality check]

Being that it's the off-season and there's not a ton for us to talk about, I thought I'd share this so-stupid-you-might-think-its-a-joke realignment situation we are dealing with in AZ.  Firstly, the AIA (our version of the OHSAA) has never been accused of being intelligent in their decisions.  We do not have leagues as Ohio does for high school athletics.  They juggle regions and sections and whatnot every couple years so that no real league rivalries are established for many schools.  For one block, the school ten minutes down the road is your "rival" and for the next scheduling block you don't even have the opportunity to play them.  It's all kinds of screwed up.

Anyways, they released the initial placements for sports for the next two competition years.  Instead of basing placement strictly off enrollment size, the AIA tried to establish some sort of formula that took into consideration enrollment, % of free/reduced lunch program kids (presumably to drop some schools down) and 6-year history of success by sport (how many games you've won in the last six seasons).  It was supposed to "FIX" everything and limit the need for appeals. 

I have vested interest in two different schools.  I teach at a school named Combs but no longer coach football there.  I coach football at a school called Apache Junction.  Okay, so Combs has only had a varsity program for five years and in that time has gone 17-34 with seasons of 7-4, 6-5, 1-9, 0-10 and 3-6.  We are in a low-income community so presumable our lunch% is above average.  We previously competed in Div. IV which is on the smaller side.  AZ has Div. I thru VI with VI being 8-man schools.  So we were one above the smallest 11-man division.  The AIA used that magical formula to determine Combs needed to be bumped up not one, but two divisions to D. II.  Only five teams out of the 200+ in the state were bumped two divisions.  Combs was one of the lucky ones.  What is even more puzzling is that the two programs that have had moderate success in our five varsity seasons (boys basketball and baseball) were kept in their respective divisions.  Our girls volleyball team (atrocious) was bumped up along with golf and soccer who have barely been competitive.  At Apache Junction, a school that was D-III in football and 22-40 in the previous 6 seasons and shrinking in population was bumped up to D-II as well.  13 of those 22 wins came 5 and 6 seasons ago. 

Needless to say, the alignment process is going really well and they nailed it.  Gotta love the wisdom of HS athletic associations.  Like the NCAA Jr.

[badgerwarhawk]

raiderpa, do you think the fact that they are coaching in different leagues might make a difference in their respective abilities to maintain a level of competitiveness?   Of course I know about Mount and Wabash but I'm not that familiar with ONU or the rest of either league. 

Doesn't D3.football.com consistantly rate the OAC higher than the NCC?

[reality check]

raiderpa, do you think the fact that they are coaching in different leagues might make a difference in their respective abilities to maintain a level of competitiveness?   Of course I know about Mount and Wabash but I'm not that familiar with ONU or the rest of either league. 

Doesn't D3.football.com consistantly rate the OAC higher than the NCC?

The NCAC was ranked 16th according to Kickoff 2014 compared to the OAC's ranking at 4th.  OAC is usually ranked top 4 year in and year out if I recall correctly. 

Comparing the two coaches:

Raeburn is seven years in at Wabash with a record of 66-12, 4 playoff appearances and a playoff record of 4-4.  Raeburn was 51-26 prior to coming to Wabash at Coe where he saw the playoffs twice.  Overall coaching record of 117-38.

Paul is 11 years in at ONU with a record of 75-37, 1 playoff appearance and a playoff record of 1-1.  At Thomas More he was 40-12 in five seasons with a 1-1 playoff record.  Overall coaching record of 115-49 as a head coach.

As I said before, both are worthy candidates.  I think Paul has done a bulk of his work in a tougher conference but I'm also an ONU guy so I realize I am biased.

[SaintsFAN]

raiderpa, do you think the fact that they are coaching in different leagues might make a difference in their respective abilities to maintain a level of competitiveness?   Of course I know about Mount and Wabash but I'm not that familiar with ONU or the rest of either league. 

Doesn't D3.football.com consistantly rate the OAC higher than the NCC?

The NCAC was ranked 16th according to Kickoff 2014 compared to the OAC's ranking at 4th.  OAC is usually ranked top 4 year in and year out if I recall correctly. 

Comparing the two coaches:

Raeburn is seven years in at Wabash with a record of 66-12, 4 playoff appearances and a playoff record of 4-4.  Raeburn was 51-26 prior to coming to Wabash at Coe where he saw the playoffs twice.  Overall coaching record of 117-38.

Paul is 11 years in at ONU with a record of 75-37, 1 playoff appearance and a playoff record of 1-1.  At Thomas More he was 40-12 in five seasons with a 1-1 playoff record.  Overall coaching record of 115-49 as a head coach.

As I said before, both are worthy candidates.  I think Paul has done a bulk of his work in a tougher conference but I'm also an ONU guy so I realize I am biased.

Would LOVE to see Coach Paul get the HC Position at Whitewater.  He would be wonderful there. 

I think Raeburn is also a great candidate. 

Alot has been said about the "Whitewater list", but I think its a fine list.  I'm biased, though.

[rscl70]

raiderpa, do you think the fact that they are coaching in different leagues might make a difference in their respective abilities to maintain a level of competitiveness?   Of course I know about Mount and Wabash but I'm not that familiar with ONU or the rest of either league. 

Doesn't D3.football.com consistantly rate the OAC higher than the NCC?

The NCAC was ranked 16th according to Kickoff 2014 compared to the OAC's ranking at 4th.  OAC is usually ranked top 4 year in and year out if I recall correctly. 

Comparing the two coaches:

Raeburn is seven years in at Wabash with a record of 66-12, 4 playoff appearances and a playoff record of 4-4.  Raeburn was 51-26 prior to coming to Wabash at Coe where he saw the playoffs twice.  Overall coaching record of 117-38.

Paul is 11 years in at ONU with a record of 75-37, 1 playoff appearance and a playoff record of 1-1.  At Thomas More he was 40-12 in five seasons with a 1-1 playoff record.  Overall coaching record of 115-49 as a head coach.

As I said before, both are worthy candidates.  I think Paul has done a bulk of his work in a tougher conference but I'm also an ONU guy so I realize I am biased.

Raseburn has not faced Mount every year.  Take UMU out of the equation and Paul is (I think) 114-39, while Raeburn would be 117-37.  Pretty darn close.

[emma17]

raiderpa, do you think the fact that they are coaching in different leagues might make a difference in their respective abilities to maintain a level of competitiveness?   Of course I know about Mount and Wabash but I'm not that familiar with ONU or the rest of either league. 

Doesn't D3.football.com consistantly rate the OAC higher than the NCC?

The NCAC was ranked 16th according to Kickoff 2014 compared to the OAC's ranking at 4th.  OAC is usually ranked top 4 year in and year out if I recall correctly. 

Comparing the two coaches:

Raeburn is seven years in at Wabash with a record of 66-12, 4 playoff appearances and a playoff record of 4-4.  Raeburn was 51-26 prior to coming to Wabash at Coe where he saw the playoffs twice.  Overall coaching record of 117-38.

Paul is 11 years in at ONU with a record of 75-37, 1 playoff appearance and a playoff record of 1-1.  At Thomas More he was 40-12 in five seasons with a 1-1 playoff record.  Overall coaching record of 115-49 as a head coach.

As I said before, both are worthy candidates.  I think Paul has done a bulk of his work in a tougher conference but I'm also an ONU guy so I realize I am biased.

Raseburn has not faced Mount every year.  Take UMU out of the equation and Paul is (I think) 114-39, while Raeburn would be 117-37.  Pretty darn close.

I don't know Coach Paul at all, but it does seem like OAC fans hold him in high regard.
Your point in comparing records if both teams played Mt Union every year has merit.  However, the hurdle I have a hard time getting over is this:
2014:  62-0 Mt
2013:  58-7 Mt
2012:  54-0 Mt
2011 was a very close game, even a bit closer than the Mt vs Wabash score the same year. 
I've said this before about the OAC, it's much harder for an outsider (or maybe just me) to consider it a top conference when so many conference games are such blowouts.  It's an absolute head scratcher as to why more of the programs can't close the scoring gap even a little.  Why hasn't Paul been successful in addressing the Mt issue?

Many Bears' fans evaluate the Bears' HC based on how the team plays Green Bay.     

[reality check]

Tongue in cheek tale of the tape:

Dean Paul is undefeated versus the NCAC in his time at ONU - 1 win, 0 losses
Dean Paul is undefeated versus the WIAC in his time at ONU - 1 win, 0 losses
In fact, if you look at just the 2010 season, ONU beat every NCAC and WIAC opponent they faced; 2-0.
Dean Paul has never lost to Whitewater. Career record of 0-0.
Erik Raeburn has lost every game he's coached versus the OAC while at Wabash - 0 wins, 1 loss
Erik Raeburn has lost every game he's coached versus the WIAC while at Wabash - 0 wins, 1 loss
Raeburn has one less win versus Mount Union than Paul. 
Raeburn has one more loss to Whitewater than Paul.

Pretty cut and dry really.   

[TailGate]

Have great respect for Dean Paul & staff.   Top shelf.   ONU sits in middle of cornfield - miles from anything more than a feedmill and a small town McDonalds.  In addition, ONU has the highest academic admissions standard in OAC -- ACT middle 50% between 23 and 29, compared to low - Muskingham, where middle 50% is between 18-24.  ONU cost highest in OAC and significantly higher than many OAC schools.  With D3 academic-only Scholarships - Pretty tough to find a large number of really smart kids with lots of money who want to live in a cornfield for 4 years.  Granted - not an all guys school - but still a VERY tough pitch.

At WW -  Abundance of talented athletes who can attend very inexpensive school where everyone is not required to be a rich brainiac.  Dean Paul  - very good fit if character and development really matter.   

Taynor - surprised to see on list - does not project to have D3 "traits"  - will leave at that.