FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Trin8-0....thanks for the field pics, etc.  Have a question wrt to single stand design for fans.  Never been to a football game with all fans sitting together..HS, college, pro's.  Williams new field has a small seating arrangement for opponent fans.  Being an intense rivalry, I believe it does cut down Amherst's fans at the game.
At the Middlebury games, how is the seating arrangement set up for attendees...are opponent fans giving any settings around the 50 yard line?   Your games with Weselyan should prove educational in the near future at the COOP .

[Trin9-0]

amh63, I've actually never been to Middlebury as a fan so I can't offer much insight into that; although I'm sure some of the NESCAC parents on this board can. During my playing days I do remember some parents watching from the hill behind the visitor sideline at Midd and just standing the whole game. I seem to recall there were no visiting stands at Hamilton as well, but it's been a long time since I've been in Clinton, NY and my memory is fuzzy.

I think the fence around the track may negatively impact attendance at Trinity games, at least until the new stands are built. For Trin home games against Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan the home stands are usually close to capacity with at least several hundred watching from the track. I'm afraid the added distance from the field may deter those who decide to return to tailgate in the parking lot. I'm also curious if the end zone bleachers will no longer be present based on its previous location inside the track.

Hopefully the atmosphere in The Coop won't be changed too drastically. Although, at the end of the day winning plays the most important part in that.

[amh63]

Trin8-0.... thanks for your response.
The last cycle or two when Amherst played Hamilton in Clinton, I made the drive up...my daughter and her family lives about two hours west near Ithaca.    We went to the game and enjoyed the village on nice Fall days.  The visitor stands does exist, on one side of a large building.  Correction, a stand that maybe holds about a hundred fans.
Do not know if the situation will improve since the Hamilton squad visits Pratt field under new "management" to open the 2016 season!  Expect a competitive game as Amherst will miss many key players on both sides.

[amh63]

A bit of " trivial" information on the first of August.....the season is not so distant now .  Anyway, Amherst has announced that it has agree to a five year contract with Under Armour and BSNSports to supply uniforms and equipment for its teams.  Presently, most men's and women's teams have Nike brand uniforms....men's lacrosse team presently goes with UA...as far as I have checked.  men's track appears to be using another brand and I cannot find a label for the baseball team.  Guess the agreement will move all wear to a single brand.  I admit to ignorance wrt BSN.
Do not know if this is a trend in Nescac/Div3.  Comments and thoughts welcome.

[JEFFFAN]

Not sure what the ongoing status of NothingButNescac is ... can we start to get fans from the different schools offering up their views on the prospects for their college team this Fall?

[amh63]

JEFFFAN.....nice post for football info.  Nescac school websites are a desert now.  Did see a bit of info on D3 New England preseason football by Matt Noonan, a broadcaster that can be found on Noontimesports.com. Have to scroll up his blog a bit.  He mentions Amherst and Tufts as contenders and promise more in the near future.  Saw him online during the NCAA cover of the MBB quarter finals at/by Tufts.

[lumbercat]

Bates has also signed a deal with Under Armor for most, or all,  gear for all teams- cutting ties with Adidas after several years.
Under Armor is a hot brand these days and the quality of their gear along with appealing designs make them an attractive option.
UA provided some nice gear for participants in the Bates Football golf outing in June so with this commitment to UA comes an increased level of support for Bates Athletics as a whole.

[nescac1]

Short-term prognosis for Williams: not good.  A 2-6 team which loses its quarterback (with no obvious replacement waiting in the wings) and most of its receiving core (which was its greatest strength) and returns exactly zero pass rushers of consequence and zero all-NESCAC players in total.  It's hard to identify a single returning area of strength on the team.  On top of that, there is the short pre-season to adjust to the coaching transition, a weird recruiting year completed without a head coach, and likely a lot of roster turnover. 

Fortunately, with a spectacular facility, the storied Williams football tradition, and, now, a strong coaching staff that knows how to recruit, game plan, and motivate players, the long-term prognosis is excellent.  But I figure that the new staff needs at least two, maybe three, really strong recruiting years to turn things around from the disastrous Kelton tenure and return Williams to a NESCAC power. 

[PolarCat]

A couple of recent Tweets about Bates Football:

Noontime Sports has named the Bobcats and Wesleyan as among "10 Teams On The Rise" headed into the 2016 D3FB season.  (No details given).

The Bates coaching staff is taking a "different" approach to their Twitter offerings.  Instead of highlighting incoming recruits, or talking about boiling owls and watering bamboo, they are highlighting the summer internships of their rising junior and senior players.  I personally think that's a pretty cool strategy, particularly for recruiting:  "Instead of just focusing on the 32 games your son will play in Garnet during his career, we take pride in helping him prepare for "the real world".  https://twitter.com/Bates_Football?lang=en

Boy, are we all ready for the season to start or what?

[amh63]

Well the Rio Olympics will absorb some of my attention.  Some other stir the pot comments while awaiting a number of ordered books to arrive...to read at the beach, etc.   Anyway...here goes.
Noontime Sports cited  by PolarCat is one of a number of social media outlets by Matt Noonan.
Nescac1...nice to hear from you.  Do not know whether to take your outlook of the Williams football season as a " setup" post .  Will point out that the Williams' athletic website is the least informative of all the CAC schools....no maybe tied with Hamilton.  Saw the note that the social media links are being improved...ready by this week?  Oh well, for a school that seeks to be the best in the Nescac and beyond, the athletic website is not helping in recruiting, IMO.  Brings me to a true story that occurred at an Amherst graduation....
Shortly after Prez Falk of Williams arrived from Chapel Hill, he was given a Honorary doctorate by Amherst...a sort of tradition.  The only speakers at graduation are the Amherst prez and a graduating senior selected by his/ her classmates.  The student speaker gave a humor filled talk that included some remarks relating to the school in Willytown.  He paused and mentioned that his talk may be monitored online by Williams.  Then looking towards the presidents sitting behind him on stage, he remarked that he was not worried considering the status of the internet links at Williams.  Both presidents enjoyed the humor....Amherst's prez smiled broadly while President Falk shook his head and laughed.
Yes, killing time and turning the board's pages.   Boy no news anywhere wrt to the 9 game season!

[nescac1]

Thanks for the concern trolling, amh63, but I think that Williams (including its Sports Information site and internet/social media presence more broadly) is doing just fine. 

[jumpshot]

Agree with Nescac1:

Nice try amh63 (aka plague63), "Lions (and Williams) don't need to roar!"

Ankle biters on the other hand ....

[PolarCat]

"Trolling"?  "Ankle biters"?  What's with all the name calling?  Did I take a wrong turn on the internet and wind up in the middle school cafeteria instead of the D3 board?  Sheesh.

[ITH radio]

From the NYTimes, going back to our earlier conversation re the fate of Amherst's Lord Jeff, but a different twist.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/us/college-protests-alumni-donations.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&referer=https://t.co/4bjy7UnktG

[middhoops]

Trin8-0....thanks for the field pics, etc.  Have a question wrt to single stand design for fans.  Never been to a football game with all fans sitting together..HS, college, pro's.  Williams new field has a small seating arrangement for opponent fans.  Being an intense rivalry, I believe it does cut down Amherst's fans at the game.
At the Middlebury games, how is the seating arrangement set up for attendees...are opponent fans giving any settings around the 50 yard line?   Your games with Weselyan should prove educational in the near future at the COOP .

Visitors often come early and occupy the midfield seats at Middlebury games.  It's a friendly environment.
The field is in a hole.  Youngman Field was designed to appreciate the Green Mountains in the distance more than the game. 
No bleachers on the opposite side to distract from the view.  And yes, we know this isn't popular with all NESCAC fans.
amh63, let us know when you're coming, exactly where you'd like to sit and Vandy74 and I will absolutely guarantee your comfort.