FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

Cruiser: Solid picks. I'm torn with almost every game this week. All but one of the games is a toss up. I wonder how, if at all, the rain will effect the outcomes. Any thoughts?

Despite my bias towards Trinity, I do believe Caputi and Mestieri have a better shot to win Coach of the year. Trinity has so much talent on the field Priore doesn't necessarily have to do a great job of coaching in order for the Bantams to go 8-0. The same case could be made for Colby, but to a much lesser extent.

I agree with Utah, if Bowdoin finish 7-1 Caputi should win the award. However, the Polar Bears may have to at least play Trinity close. A tough task not only because that game is in Hartford, but also because the last 2 years Trinity has outscored Bowdoin 92-0.

[Monster]

i hate to be a bowdoin supporter here considering i went to colby, but i think bowdoin will go 6-2 and caputi will get it considering they've won 3 games in the last 3 years.  its hard to give it to priore the award because there are so many players he has that wouldnt get in at other schools in the nescac.

[formerbant10]

Bates vs. Wesleyan has been moved to Trinity @ 1pm due to unplayable fields.  This will be the first time in a while that someone other than the Bants won on their field.

[Trin9-0]

Monster: Thats a gross generalization. The majority of Trinity players would be accepted at most (though not all) other NESCAC schools, because the fact is the admissions standards at ALL NESCAC schools are very high, and not very different. Why does everyone think that the Trinity football players HAD to go to Trinity because it's the only place that would accept them? Couldn't it be that they WANTED to go to Trinity?

It does have much more to offer besides being slightly less competitive academically. Its location in a city and Greek presence gives it one of, if not the best, social atmosphere of any NESCAC school. It may not be South Beach but CT has a much better climate than ME, or VT.  Trinity also has one of the better study abroad programs. Everyone knows Trinity has the best looking girls, and oh yeah... the football team hasn't lost a game in 3 years! Those are all very attractive attributes to recruits.

What's next, should we start putting an asterisk next to each Trinity win? What about USC, their players wouldn't get into Stanford... so they're really just cheating.

Former: Smart move by Wes and Bates, that field is great in the rain. If they can keep the ball dry the conditions won't effect the game at all.

[Roonyhufsfarts]

There is no doubt that Caputi should win the coach of the year award if he goes 6-2.  If anything tey should give the award to the defensive coordinator there.  Bowdoin has a lways had a pretty good offense...maybe one that couldnt punch it in againt some of the better defenses but a pretty decent unit that would have won alot more games if their defnese had the equivalant talent.  Obviosly one has to balance those aspects of the game and it appears that Caputi has done that.

When i played d-line for trinity these past few years I remember how well the bowdoin o-line was coached.  they executed as well as any team inj thne league offensively but, like most teams, would just get worn down and outmuscled by trin (as most did).  lets not forget that this is a bowdoin team that was knocking pretty hard on the door last year....they came a play away from beating amherst. 

And to weigh in on this whole "Trinity football players couldnt get into other NESCAC schools"

First of all I could name half of our starters from my class who looked at other NESCAC schools and received offers from or were recruited by them (any of them, you name it).  And some of the others, including myself, applyed early decision 1 because I went on a recruiting trip, met chuck, loved it, loved the staff, the atmosphere, and said this is the place for me.  and i came from a long long way away.  also, this was when we were 4-4, so there was little of the glitz and glamour that the program now enjoys.  but i remember leaving the meeting with chuck and my dad and i were like, "this guy is good."  it was pretty clear to me that trinity had a good program, historically speaking, it was in  a rut, and this guy was obviously going to pull it out.  hindsight is 20-20, but this is seriosuly exactly what I thought. 

And for all those posters that go on and on about the academic inferiority of Trinity college, I'll stack up trinity professors against any other school in the nescac.  I revceived a top notch education from exceptionally bright and talented professors who were devoted to there students.  Like someone mentioed before, the rankings of the U.S. news and world report on colleges is based on alot a numerical factors like percentage of alumni giving, endowment, admissions, etc.  Trinity sufferes trememdously in the finacial category, so that seriosuly affects its ranking, but it still maintains a top notch professorial corp that can compete with any other NESCAC school. 

im done

[Monster]

You all make very vaild points and I don't mean to put down your education.  However, I think we should all take a taste of reality.  I mean I got a 1420 and when I told that to my interviewer at Trinity she was like you're definitely getting in.  I didn't get into Williams Amherst Bowdoin or Wesleyan, and I did get into Bates Colby and Trinity.  I went to St. Sebs in the ISL and everyone in our league knows that Trinity is the easiest school to get into.  I mean no other school in our league would take people that flunked out of Div 1 schools.  I had a friend, I won't name names, who was a back up o-line man at Trinity who had a C average in high school and didn't break 1100 on his SAT's.  I understand you still get a good education there, but putting up your professors against the Amherst Williams Bowdoins and Tufts of the league is just ignorant.  Its not your professors that are in question, its the students and admissions.  I bet I would have had a much better time at Trinity.  Whenever I partied there I had a blast, but when I was a applying for law school I realized why I made the choice I did.

[formerbant10]

Plenty of kids from Trinity go to law school.  Congrats on the 1420 by the way, thats good stuff.  But believe it or not, there are other things schools look at besides SAT's.  A lot of people say Trinity is a country club and the stress on academics....well there isn't any.  But that's starting to change because the Trustees flipped out when they saw the school rated as the #5 party school some years back.  Trinity is trying to find its identity...as seen by the constant turnover in Presidents (the classes of '04 and '05 had a different one each year), and the academic standard is being raised with each new incoming class....but let's be honest, we're arguing about how Trinity is ranked only #24 or 25 or whatever it is....GET OVER IT.  All of these schools are amazing, everyone gets a job when they get out of it (if they choose to).  Let's get back to enjoying a great football season with some expected things (Trinity and Colby) and a great surprise to many (Bowdoin).  All this rain the past week should make for some sloppy games, wonder what horses are gonna show up.

[TheLegend]

I have been taking a few spare moments over the course of the last few weeks to catch up on everybody's opinion on NESCAC football. On the whole, i feel there are alot of valid arguments and viewpoints made as well as some absolutly rediculous comments made.

To comment on the strength of schools in the NESCAC (more appropriatly: the Trinity bashing): NESCAC schools have the "little Ivy" tag for a reason. Now, whether you're Williams or you're Conn College, you're getting a great education. Whats the point of going to a good school? To set yourself apart from the rest of the educated people right? Now a days, over 85% of the woring world is educated at the post high school level. To quickly contrast, the reason NESCACs and Ivy's are so elite is because of their reputation, but also because of the relatively small graduating class sizes. For every 1 graduate from trinity there are 14 graduate from UCONN. Thats why our schools are special. Now, when a person is applying to a job after they graduate from school and the man is comparing a student from Trinity and a student from Amherst, do you think all the emplyer is concerned with is the institution? I hope not. The fact is, once you get into a school like any of the ones in the NESCAC you've got yourself in a good position for success in the future. Rest assured there are more successful people who have graduated from Conn College than from Williams or Amherst, and visa versa; what it comes down to is drive and desire, not alma mater. Now that being said, lets look to athletics ...

I think this stuff on trinity cheating is funny. The fact is that Trinity has done a great job closing the discrepencies between administration and athletics. At trinty, one helps the other, at other schools, the two dont give a load about the other. Its like any other BUSINESS organization; when everyone is on the same page, things happen smoother and more successfully. When you have one department fighting against the other, companies file for bankruptcy.

One last thing ... Trinity has never cheated in recruiting like one other university that I cant believe has been failed to be mentioned. Tufts univeristy in the season of 2001 had a tailback, last name Kelly, who wasnt even an enrolled student playing and winning games for the Jumbos. The league became wise to this and decided to simply slap tufts on the wrist.

[bant551]

I chose Trinity over Williams because (GASP) I thought I'd like it better and both were great schools.  I was right and I have no regrets.

[formerbant10]

Legend, can you give a little more detail about the Tufts scandal?

[Jonny Utah]

yea legend you are talking about serious ncaa violations here where if true, could actually forfeit games from past seasons so I hope you arent just makin crap up here

[Trin9-0]

I remember what Legend is talking about. His name was Keven Kelly, he made 1st team all NESCAC in 2001 as a Junior. However, from what I remember he was around 25 years old was either not enrolled in any classes or was not taking the minimum required number of credits to be eligible for participation in athletics.

Tufts finished 6-2 that season, losing to only Williams and Amherst by 4 points each. The scandal was very quietly handled and brushed under the rug. However, Kelly did not return to the field for his "senior" year in 2002 when the Jubmos finished tied for 7th in the league at 3-5.

I will admit this is all based on memory, and I don't know any of the facts. Anybody else have any info about this?

[First6Ws]

I remember such a rumor as well.  Don't know if it was true, but I can attest that the kid could definitely run the ball and didn't show up the next year.  I also still can't get over Trinity scoring more points than yards they allowed last week, 58-57.  Poor Hamilton High

[mariner75]

Regarding Kelly at Tufts.....He was enrolled.....he flunked out....that's why he didn't return for his senior year.  There were no "violations".  I'm done.

[Monster]

I've heard about some steroid use in the NESCAC.  Do you think there is any truth to the rumors?