FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Read another  football teaser today.  The HFC at Columbia Un. has just resigned.  Seems that he has been accused by some of his players of verbal abuse and lack of concern wrt to concussions.  Strange story..in the Ivies no less and a HFC with a  not very stellar record. 

[frank uible]

amh63: You certainly cover the waterfront.

[amh63]

Just reading my morning paper....the WSJ.  A paper with only a page of sports..good writers with stories based on numbers and a different angle.  The Columbia  note must fall into the pail of local news.

[PolarCat]

Looking at the Columbia website, the University President (in one of the most un-gracious announcements I can recall) implies the HFC was fired because of the teams losing record.  Ouch.

[amh63]

Yes, a 3-27 record is not good.  However, in the WSJ, the accusations was reported by the school newspaper scourcing a letter listing the players.  Seems a number of players wanted to be delisted, etc.  Yes a strange story/issue.

[frank uible]

Columbia! Stop firing coaches. You've more than proved that doesn't work. If you insist on winning, get lots more good players - by hook or crook if necessary. Hook or crook works for lots of winning programs.

[banfan]

How about some indignation that Tufts SOCCER team won the national D3 title after playing 22 games all over this great country of ours.

American football in the NESCAC just does not have that certain panache that turns the President's heads.

I am soooooooooo mad that Tufts cares more about Futbol than Football!

[frank uible]

The NESCAC presidents are deathly afraid that given half a chance we posters here and other NESCAC fans like us will cause NESCAC football to be treated inconsistently with NESCAC academic missions - and they might be wrong, but they're not about ready to let a counter proposition be tested.

[banfan]

I hope that my sarcasm was apparent.
As I have pointed out in the past, many of my family members are Tufts grads. Always proud of any NESCAC national champion.
It is a double edged sword that I will run on if football went into the D3 playoffs, but F@#$%^g 9 games is not too much to ask for!

Trinity football banquet tonight! Fill the car with food and essentials like new socks....

[polbear73]

As has been discussed many times in this forum, there is no reason whatsoever why a 9 game full round robin schedule can't be played with no increase at all in time nor significant incremental expense.  The benefits are many and the downside is virtually non-existent, except in the Presidents' minds as starting down the whatever imaginary slippery slope they fear. 

[Nescacman]

Read another  football teaser today.  The HFC at Columbia Un. has just resigned.  Seems that he has been accused by some of his players of verbal abuse and lack of concern wrt to concussions.  Strange story..in the Ivies no less and a HFC with a  not very stellar record.

Just catching up and sorry I missed the debate on admissions, Williams v. Amherst, the value of coaches, and helmetless football (an idea first suggested by John Madden...maybe "helmetless" lax is a better idea given the recent decertification of 90% of the lax helmets in circulation in the US).

The reality on the admissions discussion is none of us really knows what goes on at these schools behind closed doors. We can all guess, but unless we are on the admission staff, the football staff or administration at a 'Cac school, all of this back and forth is here-say, rumor and guesswork. I have a HS student at home that is being recruited by about half the 'Cac right now. I have a sense of who is willing to do what as far as admissions is concerned, but who really knows.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard that Coach Mangurian was "leaving" Columbia is what a perfect job for former Columbia DC and current/soon to be former Eph HCOF Kelton. It allows him to get the Ivy HCOF job he's always wanted, he can return to the place where he had his last great "success" prior to his run in Williamstown (sort of like Macarthur!), and he can escape the pressure to win given Columbia's stellar history in the sport (I am sure a .250 winning percentage at Baker Field would be more than acceptable).

Expect some coaching announcements this week or next. I am still betting on 3 changes for 2015, including the Bowdoin spot (and no, Sid is in no way taking that job...wishful thinking).

Lastly, Amh63, read the WSJ sports columns religiously on a daily basis. Definitely quality over quantity. Check out the column my friend Mike Salfino writes weekly giving a look behind the numbers. Really insightful stuff.

[amh63]

Nescacman....always try to wrt WSJ.  Will look for your friend's efforts.   thanks.
Did wonder where you disappeared to at the end of the season.  I too had the same flicker of a thought about a possible candidate for the Columbia Un. HFC job....too many strikes in the way...timing of the search, record in recent years, etc.

[PolarCat]

Though not technically about football, here's a news item that does impact a bunch of football players at one NESCAC school.

Tim Foster, Bowdoin's Dean of Student Affairs, has just sent a strongly-worded rebuke to the Bowdoin community for a most heinous, politically-incorrect crime against humanity.  The crime?

This year (as in years past) the off campus house that includes many of the Polar Bear Men's Lacrosse team as members, hosted a Thanksgiving celebration party.  A theme party.  A costume party, at which guest were invited to celebrate the original Thanksgiving by dressing up as either Pilgrims or Native Americans.  A gathering re-enacted with great approval at Plimoth Plantation (yep, that's how they spell it), the beloved site which re-enacts the original Plimoth settlement to the delight of small children, PBS and educators everywhere.

My child at Bowdoin reports there were no ugly caricatures at the party; certainly nothing so offensive as Chief Wahoo, or the logo of the-football-team-from-Washington-which-must-not-be-named.  Just a good humored party to celebrate the season (as opposed to the unimaginative keggers that are de riguer).

Apparently the painfully PC Bowdoin Administration took great offense to this "hate crime".  So much so that they have promised "disciplinary action against those who recently dressed in Native American attire, since this is 'conduct unbecoming of a Bowdoin student'".

Strangely enough, there is no similar punishment for those who dressed in Pilgrim attire.  I am not sure if that is because the Pilgrims have a better sense of humor, or that they just haven't attracted the sort of leadership hell-bent on protecting their image and their rights.

There is talk of cancelling the Bowdoin Men's Lacrosse season.  (And in the wonderful NESCAC tradition of multi-sport athletes, many members of the football team are also members of the lacrosse team).

(Facepalm)

[iamhuge]

I still think the whole argument is over-blown.  I'd be amazed if MIT  bend their admissions standards one iota for their football recruits, and the Engineers did pretty darn well this year.  MIT proved that you can be a rocket scientist and a winning DIII QB at the same time.

I'd be willing to bet the kid who got the most Admissions help at __________ (fill in the blank: Amherst, Williams, Wes, wherever) is still brighter than 90% of the HS seniors in his graduating year.

Actually my youngest was recruited at some NESCAC schools and also MIT.   Football is an admissions tiebreaker at MIT but the kids need to meet the admissions standards of the general population.  On the other hand, the NESCAC schools have slots for admissions where kids are admitted with an academic index well below admission averages for each school.

[lumbercat]

IMHuge-
Don't let them fool you at MIT- Football is more than a tiebreaker - they just don't publish their recruiting methodology like the NESCAC.