FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[matblake]

Article on the new stands and press box at Carthage.

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2011/4/26/Football_0426115732.aspx

Wow... that's a long way from the deer stand they used to have on top of the visitor stands back in the day.

Looks good.  Wonder what kind of deal exists between Seattle's Best Coffee and Carthage?  Neat to have a store on the premises for events.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton season preview has been posted.


http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/7/18/FB_2011_Pre.aspx?path=football

[hazzben]

Wheaton season preview has been posted.


http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/7/18/FB_2011_Pre.aspx?path=football

Looks like some solid experience returning from a very good Thunder squad last year.

What does NCC bring back?

Would Wheaton be the pick to challenge again this year or are there a few others (Illinois Wesleyan, Auggie, etc.) legitimately in the mix as well?

[lakeshore]

Wheaton season preview has been posted.


http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/7/18/FB_2011_Pre.aspx?path=football

Looks like some solid experience returning from a very good Thunder squad last year.

What does NCC bring back?

Would Wheaton be the pick to challenge again this year or are there a few others (Illinois Wesleyan, Auggie, etc.) legitimately in the mix as well?

I think Wheaton and NCC are the obvious on paper favorites however Augie will be very, very good this fall and IMHO Elmhurst might sneak up and do some serious damage in the CCIW this fall.  They have as much returning talent as anybody and a 3 year starting QB to go along with the best RB in the league.  

new turf too....http://www.elmhurstbluejays.com/news/2011/7/14/FB_0714112554.aspx  that was one of the worst surfaces in CFB

[lakeshore]

on that note (and very tired of hearing NFL labor talk) who are the CCIW's top returning offensive playmakers for 2011?

1.  Scottie Williams - RB - Elmhurst
2.  David Lee - QB - Augie
3.  Joe Antonacci - KR/PR - NCC
4.  Joey Driver - WR - IWU
5.  Jordan Roberts - QB - Wheaton
6.  Mike Koeneman - WR - Carthage
7.  Rodney Payton - WR - Elmhurst
8.  Jordan Tassio - RB - NCC
9.  Zac McCullough - WR - Augie
10.Peter Jarrett - RB - Wheaton

[matblake]

Wheaton season preview has been posted.


http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/7/18/FB_2011_Pre.aspx?path=football

Looks like some solid experience returning from a very good Thunder squad last year.

What does NCC bring back?

Would Wheaton be the pick to challenge again this year or are there a few others (Illinois Wesleyan, Auggie, etc.) legitimately in the mix as well?

I think Wheaton and NCC are the obvious on paper favorites however Augie will be very, very good this fall and IMHO Elmhurst might sneak up and do some serious damage in the CCIW this fall.  They have as much returning talent as anybody and a 3 year starting QB to go along with the best RB in the league.  

new turf too....http://www.elmhurstbluejays.com/news/2011/7/14/FB_0714112554.aspx  that was one of the worst surfaces in CFB

I'm sorry, I just don't like that logo for Elmhurst.  Even the "boring" or "classic" (depending on your point of view) numbers on the side of the helmet they had in the late 90's is better than that. 

That being said, the stadium looks good.  I agree that Elmhurst could be this year's dark horse.

[matblake]

Just signed up for this year's Kickoff.  The website indicates early bird pricing until 7/31.  Go to www.d3football.com and sign up for your copy today.  I personally have enjoyed each edition since they started doing it, especially for a national perspective.

[79jaybird]

Agreed that the flaming E shield doesn't fit a football helmet. 
the best Elmhurst Logo was from the Tom Beck 70's/80's.
they had a great helmet with the perched Bluejay (best logo) and blue masks.

I see they changed the logo on the new carpet at midfield too.  They most likely did this because soccer shares the same field & logo.  Liked the old Jay logo and frequently referenced it during the broadcasts.

I can see Elmhurst as a 7-3 team, but until they consistently win the big games,  I don't yet see them in a 1 or 2 position in the conference.

[Stagg Again!!]

Interesting note -- there are two D3Football.com pre-season All-Americans in Naperville:

TE  Kyle Fiedorowicz, North Central (Ill.) - 1st Team
S    Josh McLeod, Sr., North Central (Ill.) - 2nd Team

[Kovo]

I'm glad to see the kids from NCC on the list (as Stagg points out), but not a lot of love for the CCIW.  Does anyone know how the AA team is picked?  My impression is that they are spreading the kids out by conference, and region to build some excitement for the season.

I just don't believe that, beyond NCC, the entire CCIW does not have a single player worthy of second team AA status.  Seriously?!  Do they watch the non conference games?

[NCF]

I'm glad to see the kids from NCC on the list (as Stagg points out), but not a lot of love for the CCIW.  Does anyone know how the AA team is picked?  My impression is that they are spreading the kids out by conference, and region to build some excitement for the season.

I just don't believe that, beyond NCC, the entire CCIW does not have a single player worthy of second team AA status.  Seriously?!  Do they watch the non conference games?

Don't get so wrapped up in the preseason hype. This should be an exciting year for the CCIW. I think the conference will have several close, exciting games(much better than 40 point blow-outs)- can't wait for the season opener!

[Pat Coleman]

I'm glad to see the kids from NCC on the list (as Stagg points out), but not a lot of love for the CCIW.  Does anyone know how the AA team is picked?  My impression is that they are spreading the kids out by conference, and region to build some excitement for the season.

I just don't believe that, beyond NCC, the entire CCIW does not have a single player worthy of second team AA status.  Seriously?!  Do they watch the non conference games?

We do.

Listen, there's 239 teams in Division III and only 50 kids on this preseason team. Not everyone is going to have a large number of players on it. That's one spot for every five teams, more or less. Let your fellow fans who have seen our conference rankings tell you how we feel about the CCIW year-in and year-out.

[Kovo]

Pat,

Isn't that my point?  There is one spot for five teams, so the CCIW received its two slots.  Of course, that presumes that the CCIW is an "average" league since it received an "average" number of selections.  I don't see the league as "average" or close to it. 

In the meantime, Wesley had three selections on their team alone--one more than the entire CCIW.  I have to believe that is a result of being in a weak region--not that they have more high level talent on their team than we have in our entire league.

[Pat Coleman]

It just means they have more of the top 50 players than the CCIW does. Your league had a lot of good seniors, Wesley did not.

[Ralph Turner]

Pat,

Isn't that my point?  There is one spot for five teams, so the CCIW received its two slots.  Of course, that presumes that the CCIW is an "average" league since it received an "average" number of selections.  I don't see the league as "average" or close to it.  

In the meantime, Wesley had three selections on their team alone--one more than the entire CCIW.  I have to believe that is a result of being in a weak region--not that they have more high level talent on their team than we have in our entire league.

Welcome to the Boards...  

By your "9" posts, I will assume that you are new to the boards.

This is no real slight to the CCIW.  Wesley is a strong program that manages to attract very talented individuals, year after year.  Wesley's players have demonstrated themselves in playoff games deep into the season.  

There may be 4-5 CCIW players who are in the next 50. By December, we will have seen the outstanding CCIW players that have broken out of the pack of strong CCIW players to earn regional and national acclaim, and they will appear on the rosters of All-Region and All-American teams.

One other factor that you may not be used to...

D3sports.com all-region/American teams (football/basketball/baseball/soccer) actually look like a team.  Many other "All-American" teams may have 8 linemen, 3 QBs, 6 WR's and 4 RB's...on the first team, and 27 more names of the second team offense.