FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[markerickson]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.  Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement. I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

[CardinalAlum]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.  Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement. I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

Hopefully they recruited well and those recruits added to the 40ish players helps them to start building something. 

[Gregory Sager]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.

That's just the returnees. Look again, Mark -- there's no freshmen or transfers listed.

Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement.

For the third time, Mark, he didn't fire him. Mike resigned.

I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

[kiko]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.  Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement. I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

I would be very surprised to see even a modest influx of players from outside the Lower 48 in a COVID environment.

[Gotberg]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.  Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement. I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

It looks like the NPU full roster is now posted:  https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/football/roster

[AndOne]

The Parkers have evidently not been sitting on their thumbs with regard to recruiting as they've attracted newbies from a wide geographical area. A quick perusal of the roster reveals freshmen from AZ, FL, TX, MI, GA, NC, NY, NV, and Cheeseland. Impressive if they've brought CCIW 🏈 level skills with them.

[USee]

I am increasingly skeptical we are going to see any D3 football this fall. I just don't see it happening given the current environment and the decisions being made. It will be interesting to see if D3 tries to push things to spring for football and then what do 5th year seniors do (Wheaton has a bunch).

If they cancel the non conference slate (likely) and try to play conference only, I presume that means no scrimmages against other opponents so the first competition weekend in the CCIW would be Sept 19 (Wheaton @NCC). That's an interesting dynamic.

[MUC57]

I am increasingly skeptical we are going to see any D3 football this fall. I just don't see it happening given the current environment and the decisions being made. It will be interesting to see if D3 tries to push things to spring for football and then what do 5th year seniors do (Wheaton has a bunch).

If they cancel the non conference slate (likely) and try to play conference only, I presume that means no scrimmages against other opponents so the first competition weekend in the CCIW would be Sept 19 (Wheaton @NCC). That's an interesting dynamic.

USee

You described the action taken by the OAC. No non-conference game, start the season on Sept. 19.
However, a few more issues to be addressed. Damn covid-19!   

[AndOne]

In a sport characterized by almost all 22 players on the field literally being "in the face" of another player, or playerS, on almost every play in the game, what does everybody think are the chances we'll see D3 football this fall?

Like USee, I seem to be increasingly pessimistic with each passing day. When it's not difficult to comprehend how two complete strangers (incoming freshmen) are going to live together in a small box, called a dorm room, without many eventually infecting each other, how can adequate measures be taken to insure the health of a complete football team over the course of an entire season? 
Most schools will be setting aside a block of rooms for students who become infected over the course of a semester. When you introduce the numbers inherent to a football team, it seems that whatever the number of those "quarantine rooms" is at any particular school, that there is a good chance that "occupied" signs might be hanging on every such door sooner rather than later.

I hope to he🏒🏒 that I'm wrong on this, but the virus seems to be everywhere and college kids likely aren't at the top of the list when it comes to constantly practicing social distancing/protection measures. So, even if infectious germs can be held at bay during the week, what happens when many (not all  ) of those students and student-athletes alike, attend those parties that invariably seem to find their way to student housing, especially to the off campus domiciles of senior team members, on Saturday nights? 🤔

[Gregory Sager]

North Park's roster has been posted.  Barely over 40 players with zero Samoans from LA or American Samoa.  Am still baffled that AD Surridge fired Coach Conway just prior to announcing his retirement. I predict the Vikings will lose conference games by an average of 39 points in 2020.

It looks like the NPU full roster is now posted:  https://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/football/roster

I counted 41 freshmen. I didn't track transfers, but I consider 41 freshmen to be a decent haul for Kyle Rooker and staff, considering the looming uncertainties regarding this coming school year due to Covid-19.

The Parkers have evidently not been sitting on their thumbs with regard to recruiting as they've attracted newbies from a wide geographical area. A quick perusal of the roster reveals freshmen from AZ, FL, TX, MI, GA, NC, NY, NV, and Cheeseland. Impressive if they've brought CCIW 🏈 level skills with them.

That's a typical geographical spread for North Park football, even without the annual Pacific Islander contingent connected to the previous coaching regime.

But, yeah, whether these guys have CCIW potential or not is the $64,000 question.

I am increasingly skeptical we are going to see any D3 football this fall. I just don't see it happening given the current environment and the decisions being made. It will be interesting to see if D3 tries to push things to spring for football and then what do 5th year seniors do (Wheaton has a bunch).

Moving football to the spring ain't gonna happen, USee. For one thing, if you move football, you have to at least open up the option to move the other affected fall sports to spring as well for equity reasons. Football doesn't get preferential treatment. More importantly, the vast majority of D3 schools simply aren't set up for shifting a sport's season like this. There are limitations to training staffs and support staffs (sports information, game management, physical plant, etc.) that are tough enough to handle for a typical D3 school just in meeting the regular needs of the spring sports slate. Dump a resource-intensive sport such as football on top of that, to say nothing of the other fall sports? Unh-unh. And that's not even mentioning the fact that an awful lot of D3 schools play multiple sports in/on the same facility.

If they cancel the non conference slate (likely) and try to play conference only, I presume that means no scrimmages against other opponents so the first competition weekend in the CCIW would be Sept 19 (Wheaton @NCC). That's an interesting dynamic.

I said here a few weeks ago in talking about the NPU @ Bethel game that non-conference football was in jeopardy. I didn't see it surviving then, and now I'd be willing to put money on it. Two CCIW schools have already canceled their non-conference games, and I think that the other eight SIDs are just sitting on their hands waiting for the official cancellation announcements so that they can send out press releases about it that they probably wrote a week or three ago.

[jamtod]

In a sport characterized by almost all 22 players on the field literally being "in the face" of another player, or playerS, on almost every play in the game, what does everybody think are the chances we'll see D3 football this fall?

Like USee, I seem to be increasingly pessimistic with each passing day. When it's not difficult to comprehend how two complete strangers (incoming freshmen) are going to live together in a small box, called a dorm room, without many eventually infecting each other, how can adequate measures be taken to insure the health of a complete football team over the course of an entire season? 
Most schools will be setting aside a block of rooms for students who become infected over the course of a semester. When you introduce the numbers inherent to a football team, it seems that whatever the number of those "quarantine rooms" is at any particular school, that there is a good chance that "occupied" signs might be hanging on every such door sooner rather than later.

I hope to he🏒🏒 that I'm wrong on this, but the virus seems to be everywhere and college kids likely aren't at the top of the list when it comes to constantly practicing social distancing/protection measures. So, even if infectious germs can be held at bay during the week, what happens when many (not all  ) of those students and student-athletes alike, attend those parties that invariably seem to find their way to student housing, especially to the off campus domiciles of senior team members, on Saturday nights? 🤔

I think the best chances are for some limited number of conference games where teams can ensure the same protocols are being followed, and in geographic regions that have few or no cases (although the travel to college campuses from all around the country complicates that).

Aside from the hurdle of college student life not exactly being conducive to not spreading germs broadly, the bigger concern seems to be that faculty, coaches, training staff, bus drivers are not as likely to be in the low risk demographics and a college campus and athletics can't run without these folks. I saw an article the other day that 11 MLB umps opted out already. This presents an opportunity for Minor League umps, but will D3 have the same issues with refs? I think we'd be looking at a very different situation if we were in any number of other locations around the globe where case numbers were limited and not the equivalent of playing wack-a-mole.

[Gregory Sager]

I think the best chances are for some limited number of conference games where teams can ensure the same protocols are being followed, and in geographic regions that have few or no cases (although the travel to college campuses from all around the country complicates that).

Yes, AndOne just mentioned the geographic diversity of the North Park roster. Well, the downside to that is that all of those NPU players who will be coming to campus from the "wrong" states, Covid-19-wise, will undergo a fortnight of mandatory quarantine.

As for "some limited number of conference games," I've heard an unconfirmed rumor this afternoon that CCIW football teams will only be playing five-game schedules this season. (It's from a good source, but the source emphasized that his info is still only secondhand at this point.)

[AndOne]

I think the best chances are for some limited number of conference games where teams can ensure the same protocols are being followed, and in geographic regions that have few or no cases (although the travel to college campuses from all around the country complicates that).

Yes, AndOne just mentioned the geographic diversity of the North Park roster. Well, the downside to that is that all of those NPU players who will be coming to campus from the "wrong" states, Covid-19-wise, will undergo a fortnight of mandatory quarantine.

As for "some limited number of conference games," I've heard an unconfirmed rumor this afternoon that CCIW football teams will only be playing five-game schedules this season. (It's from a good source, but the source emphasized that his info is still only secondhand at this point.)

And, if any games at all are played, the question arises as to which of the top couple of teams is assigned to primarily play upper division foes, and which gets the luxury of a schedule consisting primarily of teams not expected to be as formidable? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Pat Coleman]

I think the best chances are for some limited number of conference games where teams can ensure the same protocols are being followed, and in geographic regions that have few or no cases (although the travel to college campuses from all around the country complicates that).

Yes, AndOne just mentioned the geographic diversity of the North Park roster. Well, the downside to that is that all of those NPU players who will be coming to campus from the "wrong" states, Covid-19-wise, will undergo a fortnight of mandatory quarantine.

As for "some limited number of conference games," I've heard an unconfirmed rumor this afternoon that CCIW football teams will only be playing five-game schedules this season. (It's from a good source, but the source emphasized that his info is still only secondhand at this point.)

And, if any games at all are played, the question arises as to which of the top couple of teams is assigned to primarily play upper division foes, and which gets the luxury of a schedule consisting primarily of teams not expected to be as formidable? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I would guess that this is a divisional setup for ease of travel and you would see a north 5, a south 5 and a crossover game for the AQ, if it were to happen.

However, I know there aren't five south/west teams. Someone from the metro or further north would have to be added to that outstate group. Or perhaps someone from another conference would be willing to conference in for this year.

Honestly, this is likely only a fun mental exercise.

[augie77]

I think the best chances are for some limited number of conference games where teams can ensure the same protocols are being followed, and in geographic regions that have few or no cases (although the travel to college campuses from all around the country complicates that).

Yes, AndOne just mentioned the geographic diversity of the North Park roster. Well, the downside to that is that all of those NPU players who will be coming to campus from the "wrong" states, Covid-19-wise, will undergo a fortnight of mandatory quarantine.

As for "some limited number of conference games," I've heard an unconfirmed rumor this afternoon that CCIW football teams will only be playing five-game schedules this season. (It's from a good source, but the source emphasized that his info is still only secondhand at this point.)

And, if any games at all are played, the question arises as to which of the top couple of teams is assigned to primarily play upper division foes, and which gets the luxury of a schedule consisting primarily of teams not expected to be as formidable? ‍♂️

I would guess that this is a divisional setup for ease of travel and you would see a north 5, a south 5 and a crossover game for the AQ, if it were to happen.

However, I know there aren't five south/west teams. Someone from the metro or further north would have to be added to that outstate group. Or perhaps someone from another conference would be willing to conference in for this year.

Honestly, this is likely only a fun mental exercise.

One thought would be including North Central in the South/West Division.  Not only does this make sense geographically, but it really makes sense to place the two powerhouses (Wheaton and North Central) in opposite divisions.  On the other hand, North Central would seem to have the more challenging scedule based on such a scenario, as IWU, Washington U, and even Millikin provide strong competition.