FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

Today's twitter tidbit:

Zac Jackson
‏@AkronJackson
Update on the war on football: Word on the street is Mount Union has 150 freshmen signed up for training camp. One hundred fifty. Freshmen.

[HScoach]

150?   Great news for the admissions/financial office.

[Desertraider]

Today's twitter tidbit:

Zac Jackson
‏@AkronJackson
Update on the war on football: Word on the street is Mount Union has 150 freshmen signed up for training camp. One hundred fifty. Freshmen.

I guess the Black Matte and Chrome helmet is paying dividends!

[@d3jason]

That's a lot of football helmets. I'd like to see that line item on the budget.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I would like to add that the Twitter page says the Purple helmet is still the primary and the matte black and chrome is an alternate. So maybe not kicked to the curb....yet.

I think they've done a pretty good job trying to mix tradition with modern flare.  The helmet RAIDERS decal has remained unchanged for ages.  In fact, until now they've pretty much had the exact same helmet for what, 3 decades?  They seem to wear the all black or all gray uniforms sparingly.  However, I can also see the other side of the argument that it seems like they are drifting away from the purple as time goes by.

I did notice last year that the RAIDERS Helmet Decal had a Black outline around the White Text.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

That's a lot of football helmets. I'd to see that line item on the budget.

I know of an incoming MTU Freshman who purchased his own Riddell Speed Flex Helmet.

His mom said the players were given the option to purchase their own if they wanted to.

Nice savings for the Football Budget. 

[jknezek]

That's a lot of football helmets. I'd to see that line item on the budget.

Drop in the bucket compared to tuition, room and board. For any college I know of, first years provide the most revenue. Between required room and board and generally the larger class sizes of entry level classes versus higher level classes, first years are great to have around for budget reasons. If they transfer before they are seniors or drop football because they'll never see the field, that's OK. They don't live on campus, or pay as much for meal plans, as they become upperclass students. Transfers help keep the class size averages down, plus you lose the expense of having them tearing up your football equipment.

150 first year football players is all about the dollars, and having to buy more helmets doesn't affect that equation one bit. What UMU, and any other school that plays in these numbers, does with the dollars and how it benefits the student body going forward is key to the value of the school. By any measure of college standings, UMU's regional and national reputation has done nothing but improve throughout its dominant football run, so the benefits are there to those who have or will earn the degree.

That being said, I feel bad for the majority of those kids from a football point of view. If they really wanted to play D3 football, most of them should have gone somewhere else.

[Dr. Acula]

The other interesting thing is that Mount has added university owned apartments/townhouses on each end of campus.  This has recaptured a lot of upperclassmen room and board.  When I was in school the vast majority of upperclassmen lived in off campus houses or apartments.  That doesn't seem to be the case now.   

[jknezek]

The other interesting thing is that Mount has added university owned apartments/townhouses on each end of campus.  This has recaptured a lot of upperclassmen room and board.  When I was in school the vast majority of upperclassmen lived in off campus houses or apartments.  That doesn't seem to be the case now.   

W&L just built a new upperclass village and is now requiring everyone but seniors to live on campus. This is definitely a trend as these colleges all try to maximize revenue.

[Dr. Acula]

It's definitely a smart move for them.  They retain revenue and control.  I know some schools don't have the luxury, but Mount can just buy entire blocks around campus and build on them so I wouldn't be surprised if at some point they looked at a W&L type requirement. 

[joelmama]

Any opinions on the new matte black and chrome helmets for this season?  I think they're pretty cool as an alternative lid, but I want to see what they wear them with before giving them the thumbs up.

I like them a lot as well, but I agree with you on the combination being important. I liked the gray jerseys last year, but didn't like them with the gray pants. I think they would've looked sharp with purple pants though. I'm glad that UMU is staying with the jersey trend bc it's something that players are attracted to. It may seem simple, but all high school/college athletes like to look good when they're playing.

I'm not opposed to a change in helmet design, but at the risk of sounding like a stodgy old traditionalist, Mount Union's colors are Purple and White.  Not Purple and Black or Purple and Gray, and certainly not Matte Black and Chrome.

These are just alternate helmets.  Mostly they will be still in the purple.  I think it is cool they have alternates and it seems to be a good recruiting tool, that they  hit this note with the incoming recruits is a really good thing that I guess most D3's do not do.

[Desertraider]

That's a lot of football helmets. I'd to see that line item on the budget.

Drop in the bucket compared to tuition, room and board. For any college I know of, first years provide the most revenue. Between required room and board and generally the larger class sizes of entry level classes versus higher level classes, first years are great to have around for budget reasons. If they transfer before they are seniors or drop football because they'll never see the field, that's OK. They don't live on campus, or pay as much for meal plans, as they become upperclass students. Transfers help keep the class size averages down, plus you lose the expense of having them tearing up your football equipment.

150 first year football players is all about the dollars, and having to buy more helmets doesn't affect that equation one bit. What UMU, and any other school that plays in these numbers, does with the dollars and how it benefits the student body going forward is key to the value of the school. By any measure of college standings, UMU's regional and national reputation has done nothing but improve throughout its dominant football run, so the benefits are there to those who have or will earn the degree.

That being said, I feel bad for the majority of those kids from a football point of view. If they really wanted to play D3 football, most of them should have gone somewhere else.

I don't feel bad for them at all. They made the choice on their own. Kudos. Most will not see the field in competition - and I think they may know that. Some may think that regardless - it is DIII (the old glorified HS football mentality) and not appreciate the speed or size of an elite DIII team until they suit up. However, I am confident that the 150 chose Mount for more than football. I have had many students in the past that said they chose Mount over BW, Ashland, and OSU for (insert program here - mostly education majors) and played because they loved football and took a shot. They did not last on the team (except for one that I recall) but stayed at Mount. My .02 cents.

[jknezek]

You'll notice, desertraider, I said I only feel bad for them from a football point of view. There are plenty of reasons to choose UMU outside football and give it a shot if you want. There's nothing to feel bad about there. But... from a football point of view only, if they really wanted to play college football, they either are the very small number that were recruited hard, or didn't understand the reality of what they were signing up to do. For that majority of the 150, I feel bad if playing football at UMU was a significant part of their choice.

[Desertraider]

You'll notice, desertraider, I said I only feel bad for them from a football point of view. There are plenty of reasons to choose UMU outside football and give it a shot if you want. There's nothing to feel bad about there. But... from a football point of view only, if they really wanted to play college football, they either are the very small number that were recruited hard, or didn't understand the reality of what they were signing up to do. For that majority of the 150, I feel bad if playing football at UMU was a significant part of their choice.

My apologies - but where did I indicate you said otherwise?

[jknezek]

You didn't of course!    For the most part I agree with your "I don't feel bad for them at all." But to me, there is a difference from "at all" and "That being said, I feel bad for the majority of those kids from a football point of view."  That's what I was taking a second look at.