FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

4). Middlebury (2023 Record: 8-1 NESCACMAN Predicted 2024 Record: 6-3)

Bulletin board material for Midd -- defending champs ranked 4th and behind their week 1 opponent. I'm not sure the team has lost as much talent on offense as the board seems to think, and this might be the best DL group in all of Division III. The beautiful thing is we don't need to argue because we will see on Saturday.

There are no lockdowns but an outbreak. The rule

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

No lockdowns or policy changes I know Wesleyan and Trinity have had a spike in cases. I guess rules to practice , games classes etc have changed just thought this was interesting news.Did not know if this was occurring at other schools

@Pat Coleman

Can we get a messaging/quoting/forum training sesh for our esteemed Mr. Charlie? That was a massacre.

Amen to that John...actually was trying to figure out how he did that. Maybe he hit the quote button one too many times?!? So good...

[Trin9-0]

Kudo's to the Wes SID on working OT on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_yQs--yoyw/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Let's go!

This is well done, but I had to laugh when I saw the Bates version which is nearly identical!

Did Coyne recruit the same video editor when he left for Lewiston? It's amazing how some slick editing can almost makes a team that went 0-9 last season look formidable... or should I say "frisky".

[Nescacman]

Kudo's to the Wes SID on working OT on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_yQs--yoyw/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Let's go!

This is well done, but I had to laugh when I saw the Bates version which is nearly identical!

Did Coyne recruit the same video editor when he left for Lewiston? It's amazing how some slick editing can almost makes a team that went 0-9 last season look formidable... or should I say "frisky".

The Frisky Kitty's...Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow 

[monjmafb]

Looking forward to the start of the NESCAC season!  And already seeing some rankings.  So here are my rankings of the top NESCAC football stadiums/venues.  FWIW, I have been to all of them at least twice.  One of the key components for a good ranking is the absence of a track around the field:

1. Williams - best elevated stands for the visitors with great mountain views
2. Middlebury - no stands for the visitors (among 3 in the conference), but great mountain views
3. Wesleyan - worst actual playing field in the conference, but being surrounded by academic buildings makes it unique
4. Bowdoin - gotta love that grandstand
5. Hamilton
6. Bates
7. Amherst
8. Trinity
9. Tufts
10. Colby - worst visitor stands in the league.  Need to be on the top row to see anything

[Nescacman]

We are very proud to introduce "Nine Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast".

"Nine Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast" is the first podcast of its kind in NESCAC history.

Hosted by Chris Grace (play-by-play announcer for Wesleyan) and Dave Bagatelle (Wesleyan Alum and former player), our weekly show features coach and player interviews, game analysis, rankings, previews, and predictions.

Episode 1 features Wesleyan University Head Coach Dan DiCenzo, Bates College Head Coach Matt Coyne, and Bowdoin College LB/DL Koy Price.

Look for us on YouTube and Spotify.

If you have questions, feedback, ideas or are a player or a coach and would like to appear on our show, please email us at: 9weeksnescac@gmail.com

Follow us on X (aka Twitter): @9weeksnescac

Follow us on Instagram: @9weeksnescac

Facebook: Nine Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/141Ru3gKgk/)

YouTube: 9 Weeks Nescac (https://youtu.be/64Vne3foO4Q?si=Xy8zoY8l9b_Qwunc)

[lumbercat]

Colby stadium- bring a step ladder and binoculars. No other field in the NCAA has the home stands further from the field of play. You sit behind the track then behind another 20 foot berm with plantings....who designed that disaster. The game is a rumor from those home stands.

No better setup than Wes with old school football/baseball facility with real grass.

You won't get closer to the action in any other NESCAC venue than Bates. Stand down by the fence and you will not only see the game more closely but you will hear all the calls and sounds of the game- a very unique venue. You are almost on the field.

The Vermont foliage brigade or the Middlebury Chamber of Commerce must have mandated that visitors sit on the home side to make sure they see that spectacular mountain foliage view. In reality, NESCAC football visitors will forego the shared confines forced with Panther loyalists and do their leaf peeping after the game. Home side stands overbuilt- nothing on the visitors side.

Tufts- a nice facility that they have upgraded nicely but again, at a D3 game why are we so far away from the field. Fences and barriers everyplace. Tracks around football fields are old, old.

No contesting the great Bowdoin grandstand. Truly classic and iconic venue that extends well beyond New England football venues. The travesty here occurred a few years back when the Bowdoin AD and some hidden group within the Bowdoin athletic culture decided that they would rip out half of the home side stands and move the Bowdoin home side across the field to the newly renovated stands on the other side of the field which had been the visitors side for around 100 years. They relinquished their iconic home bleachers to their visitors!!!
(Note when you go to a Bowdoin game this year that the Polar Bear logo faces what is now the visitors side!)
Justifiably, there has never been a bigger uproar of Polar Bear stuffed shirt Alums. Needless to say the decision was reversed promptly after one tragic year where the black and white were unbelievably displaced on their iconic home field.
Sadly they also tore down the supporting structures adjacent to the iconic grandstand and now the visitors side is much larger than the home side and always sparsely filled. Tragic mistake.

So now the Bear logo faces the visiting side and the Bowdoin Cub AD narrowly kept his job.

[quicksilver]

. .. . .
No contesting the great Bowdoin grandstand. Truly classic and iconic venue that extends well beyond New England football venues. The travesty here occurred a few years back when the Bowdoin AD and some hidden group within the Bowdoin athletic culture decided that they would rip out half of the home side stands and move the Bowdoin home side across the field to the newly renovated stands on the other side of the field which had been the visitors side for around 100 years. They relinquished their iconic home bleachers to their visitors!!!
(Note when you go to a Bowdoin game this year that the Polar Bear logo faces what is now the visitors side!)
Justifiably, there has never been a bigger uproar of Polar Bear stuffed shirt Alums. Needless to say the decision was reversed promptly after one tragic year where the black and white were unbelievably displaced on their iconic home field.
Sadly they also tore down the supporting structures adjacent to the iconic grandstand and now the visitors side is much larger than the home side and always sparsely filled. Tragic mistake.

So now the Bear logo faces the visiting side and the Bowdoin Cub AD narrowly kept his job.

The bleachers that surrounded the Hubbard grandstand and diminished its look were basically a mess. Plus they would have precluded the landmarking of the grandstand since they were not a part of the original design in the early part of the 20th century. They are not missed. The grandstand generally suffices in terms of home seating. Plus many student fans prefer to stand on the track so they can be closer to the action.

I can't argue with how strange it was for the planners to think that the grandstand should be turned over to visting fans while Bowdoin fans should sit on metal bleachers in what had been visitors' seating for many decades. Truly inexplicable. Unfortunately, the PB logo cannot be properly re-oriented until the existing turf is replaced.. 

[BigKat]

Looking forward to the start of the NESCAC season!  And already seeing some rankings.  So here are my rankings of the top NESCAC football stadiums/venues.  FWIW, I have been to all of them at least twice.  One of the key components for a good ranking is the absence of a track around the field:

1. Williams - best elevated stands for the visitors with great mountain views
2. Middlebury - no stands for the visitors (among 3 in the conference), but great mountain views
3. Wesleyan - worst actual playing field in the conference, but being surrounded by academic buildings makes it unique
4. Bowdoin - gotta love that grandstand
5. Hamilton
6. Bates
7. Amherst
8. Trinity
9. Tufts
10. Colby - worst visitor stands in the league.  Need to be on the top row to see anything

Fella, you need to get to a Tufts' night game- it's top two and maybe the best when the mobile Irish pub is in play. Agreed the day games aren't anything electric and the stands are too far away from the field .


If you can play 18 at Taconic and then roll into the tailgate area/parking lot next to the final green , it's a spectacular day. Cherry on top is beating up on the purple moo-ers.

[VoodooDoc]

The old grandstands at Bowdoin not only have a nostalgic feel, but they provide nice shade on the sunny fall days in Maine as well giving shelter on the rainy days.  The new training and locker facilities are to notch and as nice as you will find at the top Division I schools albeit on a smaller scale.  All in all, Bowdoin is a great venue to enjoy a football game. Congrats to the AD, the alumni donors, and the others who planned the new stadium facilities.  The mix of the old and the new is unique, but a very good venue for spectators.

[LochNescac]

4). Middlebury (2023 Record: 8-1 NESCACMAN Predicted 2024 Record: 6-3)

Bulletin board material for Midd -- defending champs ranked 4th and behind their week 1 opponent. I'm not sure the team has lost as much talent on offense as the board seems to think, and this might be the best DL group in all of Division III. The beautiful thing is we don't need to argue because we will see on Saturday.

There are no lockdowns but an outbreak. The rule

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

Has anyone also heard rumor that COVID is spreading around Colleges again. I heard the bug has Hit Amherst , Trinity & Wesleyan. Just wanted to see if anyone else has heard about this and how and if at all would affect upcoming games.

Not sure that it ever went away. It's endemic now. Do you mean that there are active outbreaks spurring lockdowns or changes in policy on those specific campuses? Folks with kids at those schools might have insight.

No lockdowns or policy changes I know Wesleyan and Trinity have had a spike in cases. I guess rules to practice , games classes etc have changed just thought this was interesting news.Did not know if this was occurring at other schools

@Pat Coleman

Can we get a messaging/quoting/forum training sesh for our esteemed Mr. Charlie? That was a massacre.

Amen to that John...actually was trying to figure out how he did that. Maybe he hit the quote button one too many times?!? So good...

Throughout history there have been watershed events; meteors, world wars, space travel, internet technology, etc.

Some people experienced these remarkable happenings firsthand, (for better or worse).

People have said, "I lived when....."

We select few, the NESCAC forum members, will always hold the distinction of being able to proclaim:  "I posted with CHARLIE!!"

[blitzBowdoinblitz]

lol tufts will not have a good year this year, they dont need their star RB from last year plus losing richardson and most of their defense from last year were seniors. roll bowdoin

[lumbercat]

All in all, Bowdoin is a great venue to enjoy a football game. Congrats to the AD, the alumni donors, and the others who planned the new stadium facilities.  The mix of the old and the new is unique, but a very good venue for spectators.

Agree it's a fine venue as I pointed out but the story behind the original plan to move the Bowdoin side from the old Grandstand was laughable, no one could believe it.

Fortunately the AD and the misguided group that mandated that change couldn't ruin the great feel of the Grandstand. However, I know countless Alums across generations of Bowdoin Football who disagreed vigorously with the AD and planners. It was their collective outcry and rage that got the whole thing turned around very quickly.  They do not share your congratulatory stance toward the AD and planners.

[nescac1]

Coach Raymond confirmed that Holden Gering is going to be a two-way starter at WR and CB.  When was the last time that happened in NESCAC?  It's certainly been a LONG time.  He's not a big guy at all, so hopefully he can hold up physically.

I'm kind of surprised we don't see a few other guys around the league pulling at least partial double-duty.  Like Perry, imagine adding him to the middle of the already-nasty Middlebury d-line on a handful of key defensive plays?  Richardson playing as a roaming free safety last year in must-pass situations would have been terrifying, as well. 

[Nescacman]

Coach Raymond confirmed that Holden Gering is going to be a two-way starter at WR and CB.  When was the last time that happened in NESCAC?  It's certainly been a LONG time.  He's not a big guy at all, so hopefully he can hold up physically.

I'm kind of surprised we don't see a few other guys around the league pulling at least partial double-duty.  Like Perry, imagine adding him to the middle of the already-nasty Middlebury d-line on a handful of key defensive plays?  Richardson playing as a roaming free safety last year in must-pass situations would have been terrifying, as well.

That's certainly one way the Ephs can deal with a self-imposed 76-man roster limit. Not sure this speaks to young Holden's athletic abilities or Williams lack of roster depth/quality at DB/WR. We suspect that both factors weighed in on this decision.

[MapleBBQChicken]

Coach Raymond confirmed that Holden Gering is going to be a two-way starter at WR and CB.  When was the last time that happened in NESCAC?  It's certainly been a LONG time.  He's not a big guy at all, so hopefully he can hold up physically.

I'm kind of surprised we don't see a few other guys around the league pulling at least partial double-duty.  Like Perry, imagine adding him to the middle of the already-nasty Middlebury d-line on a handful of key defensive plays?  Richardson playing as a roaming free safety last year in must-pass situations would have been terrifying, as well.

Agreed that Perry would be a beast in the middle of the Middlebury DL between Kenary and Filias. That would be an immensely hard group to block. Middlebury has partially explored this idea, having Perry in at DT to block field goals and extra points last year.