FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Slightly off topic, as I am scheduling the CAC games that I will attend.  Two booked and thinking really hard wrt to the Amherst-Williams game.  Major art exhibit at the Clark with Van Gogh, the new field to sit in, etc.  Expecting that the Williams Inn will still be open...seems a new one is in the near future.
Frank U.....will the Log renovation be completed for Homecoming?  Seems there is a multi-million renovation ongoing at Frank's home away from home .  Have not been in the Log for over fifty years.  Hear that the renovation will bring back a little of the atmosphere found in the 60's.  Wait, the last time I actually had a meal/drink in the place.....Williams "upset" the undefeated Amherst team....fine game.  Amherst fans to this day when discussing that game in 61? Or 62? ....shake their heads and wonder if the injured Jeff backs would have made any difference.  My crowd with starting Players in the discussion have now accepted the loss.....took about 45 years though!

[frank uible]

amh63: The best information which I have is that the Log renovation will not be complete during the football season.

[frank uible]

P.S. amh63: The last day for the Van Gogh exhibit at the Clark is 9/13.

[madzillagd]

Just took a side trip from Oslo to Amsterdam last month and hit the Van Gogh museum where we found out many of the famous works including Starry Night were on loan to......Oslo 

[amh63]

Frank U.....Thanks for the info!  oh Well...two strikes .  Have had a number of visit to art exhibits recently.  Still....Van G. Is a favorite.
Madz.....the side trip was a costly one all around.  The Van G. museum is expensive.   Need to check with my oldest son who may have been at the museum around the same time.  He and his wife flew into Olso...from NYC...and transferred to Holland to meet friends, etc. They hit the major museums in Paris, Florence, Rome.  Bet he did not even notice that major works were elsewhere....if he shows his pics at the beach next week, I will quiz him.  I wanted to see the "wheat fields" painting again...like the crows too.

[gridiron]

Gridiron, Colby does have 12 seniors returning this fall of the 14 on the roster.  Two will not play due to past injuries but will stay on as student coaches/mentors to younger players helping where they can.  Of the 12 healthy returning seniors, 7 would be considered to have had significant playing time or starting experience.  Most notably these would be starting offensive linemen Eddy and Choos, captains Ruiz (DE) and O'Grady (LB) as well as tight end Parsons.  These were the last players brought in under the Mestieri regime, but it is important to note that Michaeles was the recruiting director and interim head coach during this recruiting period.  Mestieri's time ended even before early decision 1 deadlines, so these recruitments were heavily handled by Michaeles.

Retired Mule, thanks for the insight.  For all intents and purposes based upon your take, one could consider the seniors part of Michaeles regime. Sometimes leadership is most effective when NOT coming from the "glamor" positions.  From what you referenced (o-linemen, DE, LB and TE), Colby may have a good mix of seniors with the experience and talent necessary to provide strong, unselfish leadership this upcoming season.

[nescac1]

amh63, if you haven't been to MassMOCA, you really should check it out, the coolest attraction in the region.  Also be sure to drop by the new Williams library, at least if you'd like a serious case of Eph-envy .  I'm looking forward to the new Log opening -- supposedly they are keeping the same feel in the main seating areas with, I imagine, the same historical artifacts.  I certainly hope so, because it has the potential to be one of the greatest spaces on campus.  The new Purple Pub, while nice enough, is wayyyy too sterile, no character at all, so I hope the Log can be going forward the go-to place to gather on game days. 

It should be an interesting year for Eph football.  Very quiet off-season with little news.  Coming off two 2-6 seasons, last year of Kelton's contract, four straight losses to Amherst and Bates -- the pressure is certainly on.  Perhaps the Ephs will respond well to, for once, being in the overlooked / underdog role who no one expects anything from -- certainly, no one will be anticipating a winning record after the last few years and in light of what the Ephs lost to graduation, and bringing ZERO players back who made last year's all-NESCAC team (they do return former all-NESCAC lineman Howe who needs to bounce back in a HUGE way).  I'm hopeful that there will be some dramatic schematic changes made to take better advantage of the talent on hand (there is still plenty, as well as some promising newcomers), but obviously, the overall talent level is not nearly what it was five years ago ...  first and foremost, the Ephs needs to find a way to pull out a few games that come down to the last possession or two, which has been a problem for several years now.  To get back to .500 or above the Ephs will need massively improved play from both the O and D lines.  Is the talent on hand to allow for that, and has it been a hugely productive off-season for the big bodies up front?  We'll find out in September ...

[amh63]

Interesting differences in schedules wrt to start of FY orientation...start of classes....Fall team practices based on two points of references...Bowdoin and Amherst.
Saw on the Bowdoin website a reference that FY Orientation will begin on 24 Aug.  Amherst planning has FY Orientation starting on 1 Sept.  Different schools...different programming....whereas both schools show first athletic events starting on the 8th of Sept.
This year's Orientation at Amherst is somewhat different.  There are particular periods during the daily schedules for students to try out for NCAA teams....usually very early in the morning....starting at 6:30AM!  Initial programming have daily events going late into the evening......even shuttle buses to the nearest Target to pick up things.  First few days, events for parents and students are separated of course.
All in all....the NCAA rules will prevail.  Do not expect the football players to be staying up for the social events in the evenings....dances in the freshman quad for example.  Same goes for the soccer players, etc.  Then again, today's youths/recruits .

[lumbercat]

NESCAC preseason Football Poll-


Middlebury
Amherst
Trinity
Wesleyan
Bates
Tufts
Colby
Williams
Bowdoin
Hamilton

[amh63]

Lumbercat....Nice!  Something to really chew on....   I agreed for the most part on the preseason order of things.  However, "poll" implies a gathering of thoughts among peers.  Me thinks that a poll of posters here is like "herding cats"..too partisan
The hardest region of the listing is the bottom half, IMO.  Hamilton will surprise fans...much like Tufts did last season.

[Eagle322]

Perhaps the Ephs will respond well to, for once, being in the overlooked / underdog role who no one expects anything from...

@nescac1 I wouldn't say there are too many teams across the league who overlook Williams when they come up on the schedule. If anything, the history of the program and general on-field arrogance the past few years, despite their mediocrity, has had them highlighted on the calendar by teams. Plenty have enjoyed beating up on them and I don't expect that to change unless there is a strong turnaround in talent.

[lumbercat]

Amh63- I agree, poll is probably not the right term. Maybe "prediction" is more appropriate but either way it may elicit some discussion on the board as we move into the season.

Regarding Hamilton, from my distant perspective, Murray continues to make changes in all areas of the program. They are no longer the Buff n' Blue and are now the Blue 'n White based on the recent overhaul of the Hamilton football uniform and colors. When rebuilding an ailing program change can be good in all areas right down to uniform style as they attempt to establish a new culture and identity.

[gridiron]

Wondering if any posters on the board have checked out the D3 football previews for NESCAC.

[gridiron]

Here is the NESCAC preseason prediction from Hero Sports, a website covering college football. 
http://herosports.com/conferences/nescac/?sports=Football&gender=Men&division=D3

87 Middlebury   
90 Amherst   
94 Wesleyan (CT)   
117 Trinity (CT)   
173 Bates   
181 Williams   
188 Tufts   
195 Colby   
202 Bowdoin   
224 Hamilton

[Jonny Utah]

Here is the NESCAC preseason prediction from Hero Sports, a website covering college football. 
http://herosports.com/conferences/nescac/?sports=Football&gender=Men&division=D3

87 Middlebury   
90 Amherst   
94 Wesleyan (CT)   
117 Trinity (CT)   
173 Bates   
181 Williams   
188 Tufts   
195 Colby   
202 Bowdoin   
224 Hamilton

Was talking to a bates player the other day.  He didn't seem pessimistic, but told me they lost. A lot of key people and have some big question marks at QB this year.