FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[bant551]

I read some of the posts above about academic standards at Trinity and Williams.  While my numbers would not have gotten me into Trinity without football, I wouldn't have gotten into Williams without football either.  Not a chance.

[Trin9-0]

It kills me to have similar picks to dirty (if we're still tied towards the end of the season I'll pick some upsets)

Trinity 46
Hamilton 7

Trinity's Freshmen and Sophmores would win this one by a few scores.

Bowdoin 28
Tufts 10

Polar Bears go to 3-0. Tufts shows it's true colors.

Colby 38
Wesleyan 6

Can't Wes Tech and Hamilton High just play again this week so we can have a Trin-Colby showdown?

Williams 24
Bates 10

After that brutal schedule in their 1st two games the Ephs take care of business in their home opener.

Amherst 17 OT
Middlebury 14

I have a feeling 0-2 Middlebury will make it close, but Amherst won't lose 2 in a row at home. Does anybody else think it's funny that "Tiger" "Lyon" is the quarterback for the "Panthers"?

[bant551]

Trin8-0, do you think Priore is going to stay at Trin?  At first, I got the impression that he hated it there, but that was also after two 4-4 seasons and a team made mostly out of leftovers from the old regime.  After we went 7-1 my senior year, he actually seemed to enjoy it, and I'm sure he loved it when you guys became a powerhouse, and then they continued to play at that level after your year.

As much as I'd like to see him stay, I did always have the feeling that he could, and probably wanted to coach at as high a level possible. 

[frank uible]

Glad to see you Bants woke up from your Saturday night celebration in time to post by Monday afternoon!

[formerbant10]

Frank....I even made it to work on time after the reunion style celebration on Allen Place.  Good weekend for Williams outside of football, they dominated every other contest on Saturday afternoon.  Fun to be back at good ole Camp Trin Trin.

[frank uible]

former: Is winning such things as field hockey and women's and men's soccer sufficient compensation for being crushed in football?

[Trin9-0]

Trin8-0, do you think Priore is going to stay at Trin? At first, I got the impression that he hated it there, but that was also after two 4-4 seasons and a team made mostly out of leftovers from the old regime. After we went 7-1 my senior year, he actually seemed to enjoy it, and I'm sure he loved it when you guys became a powerhouse, and then they continued to play at that level after your year.

As much as I'd like to see him stay, I did always have the feeling that he could, and probably wanted to coach at as high a level possible.

Bant551: After talking about this in some detail a few weeks back I think everyone came to the conclusion that the only person who could answer that is Priore himself. I've heard rumors that he is just padding this win streak until the right job (i.e. Ivy or big-time I-AA) opens up.

I can assure you he's the same misearble SOB that we all loved playing for. The only difference between now and his 1st two years at Trinity is that you might actually see him smile on Saturday's around 4:00pm. I agree he could be very successful at a higher level, but I hope he stays at Trinity for as many years as we can keep him. The program that he has instituted there will be the benchmark that all future NESCAC football programs will be compared to.

Glad to see you Bants woke up from your Saturday night celebration in time to post by Monday afternoon!

Frank: It just proves that not only does Trinity play football better than any other NESCAC school, we also throw a better party. 8)

[formerbant10]

Frank, while I love winning the football game, I don't think Williams' AD minds too much when he's accepting the Sears Cup for the past 8 years or however long their streak is.  They can win most, but they can't win everything.

[facultybrat]

Trinity is by the best team in NESCAC...to the point of 'something is rotten in Denmark.I would say that Trinity could compete comfortably in Div IAA.The students from my high school that get into Trinity to play football are C to C+ students with 1000 to 1100 boards.I really do not believe those admitted to Trinity could get into the other NESCAC schools.But this is Trinity's decision.They choose to play it this way.As an alum I'm more concerned about other things at Trinity-like the debt to endowment ratio.We turn over Presidents like a croupier in Vegas....but we win football games.

[bant551]

Well Trinity IS ranked a little lower than some of the other NESCAC schools.  If Williams' standards are just a hoo-hoo hair below the Ivy's wasn't it a "disgrace" to the school that they were going to let me in with an 1180 and B/B+ average in high school?  Just because the numbers are higher than some of the kids Trinity can get in, doesn't mean it shouldn't "disgrace" the school when somone like me would have gotten in, while Trinity can get someone in with a B and a 1000-1100.

What do you want Trinity to do when it is still considered a great liberal arts college, but is ranked significantly lower than Williams?  Have the same academic standards as Williams for football recruits?

[admin]

Hmm, brat, I'm going to draw the line at unsubstantiable rumors about an individual person's transcript. Don't start that.

[gullgrad]

Congrats to Bowdoin, they are doing a great job up there and its nice to see the bears winning.

[dirtybirds8-0]

facultybrat:  Obviously your screen name speaks for itself, but I appreciate the attempts to once again knock down a football program.  Please return to playing "Teken 3" or some other fantasy video game...let the atheletes have the pleasure in participating in real life competiton, and being proud of it.  By the way...have you ever met the transfer from UCONN?  Are his (apparent) grades from previous schools an indication of what type of person he is?  I hate the fact that everyone dictates individuals on their GPA....I will have everyone know that most if not all individuals in the real world dont care to much about your GPA, however, they do care about the type of person you are.  Cheesy....yes...but I cant stand what (facultybrat) just posted.

[Trin9-0]

NESCAC schools position in the U.S. News and World Report 2006 Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings:

1. Williams
2. Amherst
6. Bowdoin
8. Middlebury
12. Wesleyan
15. Hamilton
20. Colby
21. Bates
25. Trinity
(*Tufts was ranked 27th in National Universities)

1. All NESCAC schools have the same recruiting rules/regulations for football.

2. It is the Trinity College admissions standards (NOT the Trinity football admissions standards) that are lower than other NESCAC schools.

3. No one complained about Trinity having lower admissions standards when the football team was average.

4. Trinity is ranked only 4 spots behind Bates in the above ranking... Why isn't anyone upset about their standards?

5. The only reason this is an issue is because the alumni and administrations of other NESCAC schools are searching for an answer as to why the Trinity football program is making a mockery of the competitiveness of NESCAC football.


Is it an advantage to have a wider recruiting base? Of course it is. However, it is also difficult to recruit athletes who are eligible for any NESCAC school when your academic reputation is slightly lower than schools you're competing with.

The admissions standards of NESCAC schools haven't changed, the recruiting rules haven't changed. The only thing that has changed is attitude that Priore and his staff have instilled in the program.

The paramount reason Trinity is that much better than every other NESCAC school is because their coaches and players work harder, both in and out of season.

[bant551]

I agree with Trin 8-0.  I was there for Priore's first three years.  I played offensive line.  It took about three years for the O-line to have any clue, whatsoever, as to what Priore was trying to teach us.  He has a very nuanced zone-blocking scheme with unconventional footwork that is counterintuitive to what most offensive linemen are taught in highschool, college, and the pros.  Its a quirky system that took a few years to catch on.

After the team finally got used to Priore's offense, it perpetuated itself, because the older kids in the program knew it, and were able to "bootstrap" and pickup the younger players who were forced into starting positions.

I know that my senior class was average at best, yet we were 7-1 and a bunch of seniors started.  Thats because Priore has a great system, and he brought in very good younger players who contributed.  There did not seem anything out of the ordinary about the kids Priore brought in while I was there, they all seemed just as intelligent as the kids in my class, and those who graduated before me and I didn't hear anything about the standards being lower.