FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[PolarCat]

We were at Bowdoin today for the women's lacrosse game when the junior day "tour" came through,  It was interesting on a whole bunch of levels.

First, there must have been 30 "recruits" plus their parents.  Really big turn out.  Really nice looking bunch of kids, too, though no particularly big kids, and surprisingly, no players of color.  (My son, who plays for Bates, was with us, and he found the whole spectacle really interesting).

Second, it must have been kinda, sorta like old home week for JB Wells and his assistants, as both the Bowdoin's men's and women's lacrosse teams were hosting Endicott, and I bet he saw a number of his former players and other familiar faces.  (The Gulls destroyed the Polar bears Men's team, while the Polar Bear Women returned the favor when they played later in the day).

Third, former Bowdoin HC Dave Caputi was on the premises, watching his son Mac play in the boys game, and his daughter Lydia play in the women's game.  I imagine it may have been a little awkward, but Dave is way too classy a guy to let on if it was.

[polbear73]

We were at Bowdoin today for the women's lacrosse game when the junior day "tour" came through,  It was interesting on a whole bunch of levels.

First, there must have been 30 "recruits" plus their parents.  Really big turn out.  Really nice looking bunch of kids, too, though no particularly big kids, and surprisingly, no players of color.  (My son, who plays for Bates, was with us, and he found the whole spectacle really interesting).

Second, it must have been kinda, sorta like old home week for JB Wells and his assistants, as both the Bowdoin's men's and women's lacrosse teams were hosting Endicott, and I bet he saw a number of his former players and other familiar faces.  (The Gulls destroyed the Polar bears Men's team, while the Polar Bear Women returned the favor when they played later in the day).

Third, former Bowdoin HC Dave Caputi was on the premises, watching his son Mac play in the boys game, and his daughter Lydia play in the women's game.  I imagine it may have been a little awkward, but Dave is way too classy a guy to let on if it was.

Thanks of a very interesting post, PolarCat and your last comment is very true; while there were not as many wins as Bowdoin supporters would have liked over Dave's tenure, he was an important member of the Bowdoin community and cared deeply about his players on and off the field.  To put the blame entirely on the coach for the poor won-loss record would be unfair and patently untrue.

Having said that, reports out of Brunswick indicate a significant change of attitude within the football program, primarily relating to off season conditioning and the building of team chemistry.  Whether this improvement is the usual result of a regime change or a permanent change of culture remains to be seen, but there is clearly an excitement that has not been seen in years. 

[NewtoNescac]

Happy Easter to all.

[gridiron]

Talking with a friend over the weekend whose child is a Harvard athletic recruit (and was admitted and will be attending).  Apparently the kid had to take the SATs "around 10 times" seeking to super-score to the 1800 level target (which was never achieved, by the way).  Confirms NESCACs aren't the only ones to bend guidelines from time to time depending on flexibility among the admissions folks. 

[PolarCat]

Harvard seems to be bending the rules in EVERY sport: football, men's and women's hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, crew, even sailing.  We come on here and carp about what we perceived to be lowered standards for football players in a couple of CAC programs, but it is nothing like what the Crimson seem to be doing across the board.  Want proof?  Go to any prep school and look at the class rank of the athletes that got into Harvard, and compare that to to the kids who got into the NESCAC's, the other Ivies, or the top public universities.

[Jonny Utah]

Harvard seems to be bending the rules in EVERY sport: football, men's and women's hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, crew, even sailing.  We come on here and carp about what we perceived to be lowered standards for football players in a couple of CAC programs, but it is nothing like what the Crimson seem to be doing across the board.  Want proof?  Go to any prep school and look at the class rank of the athletes that got into Harvard, and compare that to to the kids who got into the NESCAC's, the other Ivies, or the top public universities.

The Ivy Leagues use an academic index which is standard among all the schools.  They are pretty secretive about it for the most part, but you can get the basics online if you google it.  "bending the rules" would be common among all the schools, and nescac schools do the same thing.

[polbear73]

Harvard seems to be bending the rules in EVERY sport: football, men's and women's hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, crew, even sailing.  We come on here and carp about what we perceived to be lowered standards for football players in a couple of CAC programs, but it is nothing like what the Crimson seem to be doing across the board.  Want proof?  Go to any prep school and look at the class rank of the athletes that got into Harvard, and compare that to to the kids who got into the NESCAC's, the other Ivies, or the top public universities.

The Ivy Leagues use an academic index which is standard among all the schools.  They are pretty secretive about it for the most part, but you can get the basics online if you google it.  "bending the rules" would be common among all the schools, and nescac schools do the same thing.

Several years ago, I had a conversation with the Dean of Admissions at a NESCAC school about this subject.  He made the point that NESCAC schools could each fill their classes a couple of times over with applicants possessing perfect board scores and GPAs if they so desired.  His point was that it would make for a very boring community and that college admissions is an "art" , not a science as it balances demands from many constituencies.  "Rule bending" seems to exist not only for varsity athletes, but for musicians, artists, actors, etc.  The only difference is that athletics is more visible and therefore subject to the "rule". 

[NewtoNescac]

Bending the rules is systemic in athletics at most levels. It is done from D1 to D3, and at the high school level. Even younger than that at times. It varies in degree. And I agree completely that admissions us not a science, and that a diverse college community is important. That said, the overall minimum standards at the Ivies and NESCACs are very respectable.

[PolarCat]

A coach can "game" the Academic Index on an Ivy athletic team, and the bigger the roster, the more gaming you can do.

When my kids were going through the recruiting process, the average AI of the team as a whole had to be very close to the average AI of the school as a whole.  (I forget if the test is measured in XX% or Y standard deviations).  And the "as a whole" piece is the proverbial camel's nose.  If an Ivy coach wants a stud nose tackle or RB who is dumb as a post off the field, he can recruit a brainiac punter or a 145 pound 6th string RB who is a Mensa member.  Those kids will ride the bench for 4 years, but they pull the team AI up enough to let the coach bring in the dumb jock.

For some of the brainiac kids, that's a totally acceptable bargain.  They get to go to Harvard, and tell their friends back home and the girls on campus that they play football.  Other kids don't get the memo, and report for camp not knowing the deck is totally stacked against them, and they've got 4 years of bench riding ahead of them.  My kids have had friends and classmates in both camps.

The CAC Admissions process is different, and the coaches' shenanigans are more constrained by a small roster size.

[amh63]

PolarCat......gaming it in Sailing!?  Really?  Can't be bolstering its sports for Money from Alums...biggest Endownments and low alum giving historically.  Maybe I will check with my brother..a Harvard grad...two degrees....nah, he doesn't care...does not give to Harvard.....maybe to his beloved Crimson Tide....RollTide is his football yell.
Wonder if Tufts is worried in the Charles River Basin....MIT is not...about this local threat.

[PolarCat]

Well, Harvard Sailing beat both Tufts and MIT at MIT's big home regatta this past weekend.  Maybe they should be worried?

[amh63]

PolarCat....thanks for the news..... hmmmm..need  to direct my donation to Course2/13 to fix that growing threat.  Redesign the dingy class hull a bit with possible addition of some fluid injection along the hull....or go to a new class of boat design for competition...like in the American Cup.  Just kidding here wrt to hull alterations.  Got time on my hands....now where are my old design tools, slide rule and ducks.  Heck where is my old drawing table?

[Jonny Utah]

Harvard seems to be bending the rules in EVERY sport: football, men's and women's hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, crew, even sailing.  We come on here and carp about what we perceived to be lowered standards for football players in a couple of CAC programs, but it is nothing like what the Crimson seem to be doing across the board.  Want proof?  Go to any prep school and look at the class rank of the athletes that got into Harvard, and compare that to to the kids who got into the NESCAC's, the other Ivies, or the top public universities.

The Ivy Leagues use an academic index which is standard among all the schools.  They are pretty secretive about it for the most part, but you can get the basics online if you google it.  "bending the rules" would be common among all the schools, and nescac schools do the same thing.

Several years ago, I had a conversation with the Dean of Admissions at a NESCAC school about this subject.  He made the point that NESCAC schools could each fill their classes a couple of times over with applicants possessing perfect board scores and GPAs if they so desired.  His point was that it would make for a very boring community and that college admissions is an "art" , not a science as it balances demands from many constituencies.  "Rule bending" seems to exist not only for varsity athletes, but for musicians, artists, actors, etc.  The only difference is that athletics is more visible and therefore subject to the "rule".

Athletics also has scoreboards, and those scoreboards don't always reflect grades or SAT scores.

[NewtoNescac]

Heard that Colby OC is leaving. Can anyone confirm? And who might replace him? Starting to look like a revolving door over there.

[lumbercat]

Can't imagine that OC Fogarty who the Mules brought in last year with impressive credentials would be moving on this quickly but I have no information to the contrary.

Colby struggled big time on offense last year despite having lauded QB in Harrington. Their challenge all year long was the inability to get the ball in the hands of great talent Dunklee. Opponents shut him down all year which led to criticism of the Mule offensive approach and a vastly underachieving year for the Blue Team O following the Ciero exodus. Last years offensive struggles must be a contributing factor to the rumors surrounding Fogarty.

Also not sure if ex UConn guy Fogarty had anything to do with the transfer of former UConn QB Ecke to Colby. Ecke may well be the best non starting QB in the NESCAC, dont think he transferred with intentions of carrying a clipboard on the sidelines in Waterville. Incumbent Mule QB Harrington has been elected a Captain, as a Junior, so guessing the QB job is his. Ecke and a handful of fine athletes at the crowded QB position creates a dilemma for Colby.

Colby landed a fine recruit from BBN- Gerry Nvule- D1 D1AA prospect with much interest and multiple offers from higher levels. 6'3" 227 -played as FB / DE but maybe projected as MLB with the Blue and Grey. He should excel in the NESCAC right away.