FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[jumpshot]

An item of interest for all ----

The NCAA allows all Division III teams sixteen weeks of elapsed time for each sport (Division I teams somewhat more). Conferences can choose to hold, for example, 10 days of formal, mandatory fall practices with coaches for spring sports, as long as the total time for the entire year does not exceed sixteen weeks. The Centennial Conference has had this procedure for many years, resulting in constantly good teams in a few sports such as lacrosse.

NESCAC is one of the few, if not the only conference, that has chosen not to conduct athletic programs with this element. Of course, informal "captain's workouts" are permitted in NESCAC.

There are obviously benefits and costs to excessive emphasis, such as skill development versus specialization with fewer two-sport athletes, burnout, etc., and not all athletic directors living with formal fall practices support this element entirely. Most are afraid to pull back on their own for fear of losing the few Division I calibre athletes they currently attract, or losing ground in the competitive escalation of small college athletics.

Other thoughts from anyone ....?

[NewtoNescac]

Unless the NESCAC enters the playoffs, I don't see a need for any change. Personally, I would love additional football, like a spring intrasquad game.

[amh63]

Mid morning with time on my hands....decided to scan the CAC websites for football related info.
My quick survey turned up a mixed bag of interesting info.
First, final rosters...posted ones....are in the minority!  Seems Trinity, Wesleyan, Tuft's, Williams, Colby and yes Amherst are still unfinished. 
Many season previews are posted...except Amherst...and Trinity has one on the Colby opener.
Two 2015 rosters....Middlebury and Hamilton are complete.  kudos to the Coaches and SIDS!  Middlebury's roster lists 29 freshmen...including HFC Ritter's son, I believe.  Hamilton's roster Lists over 20 freshman too....and a full 75 players.  Been a long time coming in Clinton.
At Amherst, all the rosters of Fall sports are set...except for Football.  Appears work still to be done....or there will be a big preview and upcoming game projection...all on the same day maybe.  Last season was a great one with a video and photos....oh well.  Chores to be done

Forgot to put Bowdoin on the list of unfinished roster.  Still shows no freshmen players. 

[Pat Coleman]

Unless the NESCAC enters the playoffs, I don't see a need for any change. Personally, I would love additional football, like a spring intrasquad game.

Spring practice might be tough in the NESCAC as currently constructed. Here's my thinking:

There's just 75 kids on the roster in the first place.
Let's estimate 12 of them are seniors. (No idea if that's a completely fair estimate, but just throwing it out there.) That leaves 63.
Of the 63, let's assume 60 are not injured.
Are any of them multi-sport athletes? Let's say we have 55 who are healthy underclassmen not also playing another sport.
Anyone studying abroad in the spring?
That still leaves 54-55, which is a healthy number. But then you take away all of the freshmen and sophomores who saw the writing on the wall and decide that they are not going to see the field and have left the program. Or who have decided that an unsuccessful program is one they would rather not spend their time on. Attrition is natural in every D-III football program. I'd say you might be in the high 30s.

Of course, if there are greyshirts who didn't make the 75-man roster, this could be a completely different story. But when you start with a hard cap of 75 players, the number of people in the program in the spring could be particularly small. That's what I hear from coaches who have small programs, that fielding a spring practice is sometimes difficult.

[NothingButNESCAC]

That still leaves 54-55, which is a healthy number. But then you take away all of the freshmen and sophomores who saw the writing on the wall and decide that they are not going to see the field and have left the program. Or who have decided that an unsuccessful program is one they would rather not spend their time on. Attrition is natural in every D-III football program. I'd say you might be in the high 30s.

You might be overselling attrition a little with that number of nearly 20 at a NESCAC school. However, you miss something that is prevalent at NESCAC schools: juniors who go abroad. A good number of juniors go abroad (including stars like Matt Milano and Mark Riley), and that leaves a huge leadership hole for schools.

I don't think the NESCAC would (or should for that matter) want to make football players not be able to go abroad just so that they can get a few weeks of spring football in.

[NewtoNescac]

All good points regarding spring practices. I hadn't given it much thought.

[Trin9-0]

Trinity football season preview is posted:
http://www.bantamsports.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/Football_51516

I'll echo the sentiment that the Nothing But NESCAC preview is outstanding. I don't think the return of Sonny Puzzo to the Bantams has garnered as much attention as it deserves. Trinity has had excellent teams the past few years but has lacked a star at QB. I think Puzzo could be the missing piece for Trin and elevate them to the top of the league once again. I'm hoping Joe Moreno and Ethan Suracci will be an effective backfield duo in the same way that Bunker and Crick were for Trin. They're both only sophomores so there should be a ton of upside for both. I would expect the defense to be dominant again and with Kyle Pulek returning they should be very sound in the kicking game.

Back to back road games at Middlebury and Amherst are surely the biggest obstacles for Trin but I think this year's squad is highly motivated to get the program back on top. I'm looking forward to catching a few more games this year as I'm now working at Conn College whose football team has been undefeated since 1911. Go Bants!

[polbear73]

http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20150923mpyife

Bowdoin preview of Williams game.  Kind of skimpy on details, but get a load of the new helmets!!!!!

[gridiron]

A preview of this season's Colby/Bates/Bowdoin teams from the Portland Press Herald and the rivalry between the schools all located within 45 minutes of each other.  Coaches comments and key players to watch this season.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/09/22/college-notebook-bowdoin-bates-colby-finally-open-nescac-football-seasons-saturday/

[NewtoNescac]

In the spirit of early fun, here are my weekend picks. But please do not rely on them for your office pool, or call you Bookie based on this. I am notorious for bad predictions. Here goes:

Middlebury 24 Wesleyan 14
Amherst 31 Bates 21
Bowdoin 27 Williams 24
Trinity 29 Colby 7
Hamilton 21 Tufts 20

I'd love to hear everyone else's pick's.

[amh63]

The "Amherst info dam" is leaking. .   Season preview posted this morning on the football website.  However, the roster is not updated yet.  Expect the head shots and weights, etc taking time.  Photos of the scrimmage with Williams will be posted later.  Expect the preview of the Bates game will be posted on Friday as the team get on the buses.  There is a preliminary starting lineup on the website....buried on the games selection.  I took a look....several exceptions to the one from NBN.  The QB is different, a WR and a LB.  the LB is a newcomer....all interesting differences. For those interested, suggest you wait for the Bates game preview.
NewtoNescac.....plus K for your predictions!  They are both Bold and intriguing...nice
Trinity8-0.... See the move to Conn is closer to Hartford . Also noted that Trinity is planning a renovation of its football facilities.

[AUPepBand]

Pep read this morning of the death of Yogi Berra at the age of 90. Yogi was every American's uncle who had something ludicrous to say at the Thanksgiving table. And while he may have become better known for his "Yogi-isms," he was an accomplished athlete who as a catcher handled the pitchers for Yankees clubs that won 10 World Series including five in a row from 1949-1953.


"He hit from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."


And just like his cartoon character look-alike Yogi Bear, he was "smarter than the average Berra." Some of the Yogi-isms:

"We made too many wrong mistakes."

"It ain't over 'til it's over."

"It's deja vu all over again."

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

"The future ain't what it used to be."

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

There are more....go ahead and add to my list if you wish.

On Saxon Warriors!

[gridiron]

Newtonescac-thanks for the predictions.  All look reasonable with the boldest in my view being Hamilton over Tufts.
Amher63-thanks for the Amherst update.  Appears as if the competition for positions has continued to the very end.

With three of the five NESCAC games this weekend in Maine, expect to see fans from all six schools at the northbound Kennebunk service area/rest stop Saturday between 9 and 11 AM...

Beautiful weather forecast: 66/67 degrees, sunny, wind 4/5 mph, 0 percent chance of precipitation.

[Pat Coleman]

That still leaves 54-55, which is a healthy number. But then you take away all of the freshmen and sophomores who saw the writing on the wall and decide that they are not going to see the field and have left the program. Or who have decided that an unsuccessful program is one they would rather not spend their time on. Attrition is natural in every D-III football program. I'd say you might be in the high 30s.

You might be overselling attrition a little with that number of nearly 20 at a NESCAC school. However, you miss something that is prevalent at NESCAC schools: juniors who go abroad. A good number of juniors go abroad (including stars like Matt Milano and Mark Riley), and that leaves a huge leadership hole for schools.

I don't think the NESCAC would (or should for that matter) want to make football players not be able to go abroad just so that they can get a few weeks of spring football in.

Well, I did mention it: "Anyone studying abroad in the spring?" But no, I don't know the numbers.

[PolarCat]

Traditionally, a lot of the Bates juniors go abroad together the Spring of their Junior year.  (For better or for worse, several teammates were in Italy when John Durkin died).