FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[wally_wabash]

From my POV, there's not a lot of upside to going all out in your non-league schedule.  All of that said, I do think it's better to play a full schedule than to deliberately not play your allotment of 10 games.  Were I on a regional advisory committee and North Central lost a CCIW game and it was a known fact that they purposefully didn't attempt to schedule their non-league game, I'd bury them in the rankings and basically disqualify them from at-large consideration.

Yep. That 11-point percentage difference between 8-1 (.889) and 9-1 (.900) is all the legitimate excuse that the committee would need to freeze out a team that deliberately avoided playing a tenth game.

Just not scheduling the OOC game because you don't feel like it isn't in the spirit of fair play.

It would be counterproductive for the program in general as well. You're right that it would be an unpopular decision in the locker room, but I suspect that it would be unpopular on the recruiting trail as well. Don't think that other CCIW coaching staffs wouldn't use that against North Central. More than anything else, kids want to play football, not be told by the coach sitting in the kid's living room that the team's season is strategically shortened so that it can maximize its chances of qualifying for the playoffs if it doesn't win the league.

That's one reason.  But of equal importance is the health of the team with two byes, and the opportunity to get ahead in your school work since exams at NCC generally occur during the playoffs.  To sit in a kids living room and say you can go to X school and play ten games or come to NCC where we play a nine game schedule so we can focus on what is important the playoffs, and play your 10th, 11th or 12th game in the tournament may have some appeal. 

Considering NCC has made the playoffs seven of the past ten years, the concept making the tournament is not far fetched.

Yeah...the second you take playing in the tournament for granted is the second you'll lose it.  From a fan's POV, fine.  Anybody coaching or playing though...you just can't assume games beyond Week 11.  Those are earned. 

[Kovo]

And, since 2012 NCC has lost four non-conference games (3 to WIAC schools and one to Wesley).  I don't see how that has helped the program.

Hey, that 2012 loss to UWLAX gave me the opportunity to visit the Cal Lutheran and Linfield campuses for the first time!   

Nice!  +k to you Sir for your role as an NCAA frequent flyer!

Your point to well taken.  Why schedule an easy OOC game when you can lose to a WIAC team on the road early in the season and get to fly to So. Cal and Oregon on back to back weekends presumably in the middle of exams for the playoffs?

[New Tradition]

Congrats to Austin Breunig on being named a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist! 

http://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2017/11/20/football-breunig-named-gagliardi-trophy-semifinalist.aspx

[Pat Coleman]

Congrats to Austin Breunig on being named a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist! 

http://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2017/11/20/football-breunig-named-gagliardi-trophy-semifinalist.aspx

And don't forget the fan voting: http://www.d3football.com/notables/2017/11/gagliardi-semifinalists-announced

[Stagg Again!!]

And, since 2012 NCC has lost four non-conference games (3 to WIAC schools and one to Wesley).  I don't see how that has helped the program.

Hey, that 2012 loss to UWLAX gave me the opportunity to visit the Cal Lutheran and Linfield campuses for the first time!   

Nice!  +k to your Sir for your role as an NCAA frequent flyer!

Your point to well taken.  Why schedule an easy OOC game when you can lose to a WIAC team on the road early in the season and get to fly to So. Cal and Oregon on back to back weekends presumably in the middle of exams for the playoffs?

Ditto.  Nicely done ncc_fan.

[markerickson]

OT:  There were over 37,000 people in attendance at the St. John's v St. Thomas football game earlier this year at Target Field, which is where the MN professional baseball team plays.  >37,000 fans at a D3 contest!

[formerd3db]

OT:  There were over 37,000 people in attendance at the St. John's v St. Thomas football game earlier this year at Target Field, which is where the MN professional baseball team plays.  >37,000 fans at a D3 contest!

That was an exciting for sure (and no gimmicks)!  Just like it was several years ago when there were just under 12,000 for the Hope/Calvin basketball game, also a DIII record! (and also no gimmicks or ticket give-aways, etc. either).

[NCF]

And, since 2012 NCC has lost four non-conference games (3 to WIAC schools and one to Wesley).  I don't see how that has helped the program.

Hey, that 2012 loss to UWLAX gave me the opportunity to visit the Cal Lutheran and Linfield campuses for the first time!   

Nice!  +k to you Sir for your role as an NCAA frequent flyer!

Your point to well taken.  Why schedule an easy OOC game when you can lose to a WIAC team on the road early in the season and get to fly to So. Cal and Oregon on back to back weekends presumably in the middle of exams for the playoffs?

Those were two almost fun trips.  But North Central has the advantage from here on out. They are done with finals tomorrow and if they win this week-end they are free to focus on football. Most of the rest of the field will still have class and finals along the way.

[Kovo]

And, since 2012 NCC has lost four non-conference games (3 to WIAC schools and one to Wesley).  I don't see how that has helped the program.

Hey, that 2012 loss to UWLAX gave me the opportunity to visit the Cal Lutheran and Linfield campuses for the first time!   

Nice!  +k to you Sir for your role as an NCAA frequent flyer!

Your point to well taken.  Why schedule an easy OOC game when you can lose to a WIAC team on the road early in the season and get to fly to So. Cal and Oregon on back to back weekends presumably in the middle of exams for the playoffs?

Those were two almost fun trips.  But North Central has the advantage from here on out. They are done with finals tomorrow and if they win this week-end they are free to focus on football. Most of the rest of the field will still have class and finals along the way.

Sure, but they have to win.  Obviously, having finals in between the first and second round of the playoffs hasn't been helpful, but NCC's finals have been scheduled that week since I was a student at NCC studying by candlelight. I have heard that there is a change from quarters to a semester calendar in the works which will help.

But, the point is that having road games makes it that much more difficult especially in the 1st round.  I imagine that it was pretty difficult flying to and from S. Cal and having to study on the plane or in airports, getting home late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and getting up for that 8 am Monday exam.  And, having to catch up on studying for other exams while preparing for Linfield and the flight to Oregon five days later.  I'm sure some of the guys on that team can chime in.

We should be ok this year since we had a home game, but to me given the academic schedule, NCC has to have that first round game at home and can't risk the OOC loss which puts us on the road in most cases.

[AndOne]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

[robertgoulet]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

[bluestreak66]

NCC:
Let's go out and get one for the pride and honor of dear Naperville! 
#citypride #forgetthetitans

[New Tradition]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it. 

[Kovo]

I believe the plan is for North Central to switch from trimesters to semesters in the 2019-2020 school year.

Gotta say as a student who went form semesters in HS to trimesters in college, I was a huge fan of the trimesters. May have been different had a played football, but for basketball it worked great!

I'm with you.  I thought the trimester system was fantastic.  It's one of the reasons I chose NCC.  It's a shame they plan on scrapping it.

I too loved trimesters.  Not only did we get the six week break from class, but many of us would work for UPS helping deliver packages.  We could make a decent chunk of change as a college student.  And, back in the day---they would tip you for the delivery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have to worry about the playoffs.  Only 8 teams made it, and it happened to be Augie all four years I attended NCC.

[AndOne]

And how many kids don't like the idea of getting 1st term finals out of the way before having (if they don't take a 4 week D term class) a six week vacation before 2nd term starts in Jan?

As robertgoulet mentioned, it works very well for basketball. Allows for a great long trip to a warm weather destination for a 2 game tournament or 2 single games.
The NCC basketball team leaves tomorrow morning for 2 games and six days in Hawaii. The 3rd time they've "gone Aloha" in recent years.