FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Polbear73.....thanks for the info and I tend to agreed wrt most of the "commercial" type videos of players in this new world of recruiting.  On the Amherst' s website, I have been educated also by posts... Twitter...of where coaches are in the Elite type camps/ clinics around the country.  Then there are the on campus camps/clinics for possible future players.  In short...it is a whole new world these days for Div3 football players...even in a conference that only plays an 8 game season!

[amh63]

Back again on a slow sports news day and a hot Summer one.  See the BowdoinTwiiter link is closed to non Twitter persons. 
Did find out that Amherst plays Bowdoin in Maine in the Polar Bears' first home game.  Good news as the field should be in fine shape...I hope?  What is the status of field..upgrades?

[PolarCat]

Good news as the field should be in fine shape...I hope?  What is the status of field..upgrades?

Thanks for the good laugh.  I needed one today.  A nice distraction from following the ongoing train wreck of Hillary - Comey.

Given how upset many former players are with the current Rose Administration, I doubt very much there has been any fund raising for renovations.  But Polar Kitten is headed to Brunswick on Sunday for the Bowdoin WLAX camp.  I will ask her to stop by Whittier and report back.

[polbear73]

Good news as the field should be in fine shape...I hope?  What is the status of field..upgrades?

Thanks for the good laugh.  I needed one today.  A nice distraction from following the ongoing train wreck of Hillary - Comey.

Given how upset many former players are with the current Rose Administration, I doubt very much there has been any fund raising for renovations.  But Polar Kitten is headed to Brunswick on Sunday for the Bowdoin WLAX camp.  I will ask her to stop by Whittier and report back.

Maybe she could stop by the President's Office first, grab him by the hand, and show him the way to Whittier. 

[PolarCat]

Maybe she could stop by the President's Office first, grab him by the hand, and show him the way to Whittier.

I think she'd have to dress up in a SJW costume and tell him there was a die-in to fool him into accompanying her, and I'm not sure Coach Grote would apporove.

[amh63]

See that there is a golf Tourny wrt football alums,etc.  so in a way there is some fundraising.  Would be interesting to see if the College prez attends...at least the dinner.  I always look forward to seeing the pics of Amherst's football golf event.  Look for several classmates...always an encouraging sight to see that they can play a round or two .

On the Trinity website, there is a pic of the Trinity football field...Twitter.  Took it as an indication that the field renovation has been finished.  Any comments Trinity8-0?  Amherst will help wear it down a bit this season...hopefully with a competitive game.

[DC 53]

I heard from a very reliable source, who has been involved with NESCAC football for decades, that the conference will go to a 9 game schedule, possibly as early as the 2017 season.  End of season rivalries and their approximate time frames will be preserved. Supposedly, there is near universal support among head coaches, and more importantly, college presidents are onboard!

[amh63]

Will wonders never cease and any other appropriate statement!  It would really perk up things on this board if it comes to past.  No more useless final inter- school scrimmages prior to the season's first games would be a positive start.
DC 53....plus K for the happy thoughts.  Boy, the discussions by the prez's' on this matter were " secret"....considering the turnover of prezs in recent years....Bowdoin, Conn, Middlebury within the last few years.  Been surprised a bit by the number of new head coaches this past year in other sports as well.  Nescac sports have gotten a great deal of positive attention recently.
Must proof read my posts better

[PolarCat]

My son's first comment was "Great.  If we play 9 games, that opens the door to post season play!". That may be a bridge too far for the Prez's, but it's an interesting thought.

[polbear73]

My son's first comment was "Great.  If we play 9 games, that opens the door to post season play!". That may be a bridge too far for the Prez's, but it's an interesting thought.

A very interesting thought but I do think play in the post season will not happen, at least for a long time, probably never.  A big step would be the Ivies opting to go to their playoffs, though.  In the past, NESCAC presidents have seemingly taken a perverse pleasure in being more restrictive than the Ivy League for some reason.  The 9th game and a full seasonal round robin would be a very welcome occurrence.

[jumpshot]

Forbes ranks Williams #1 liberal arts college in just released 2016 evaluations, as the plague tumbles to 5th and Wesleyan rockets to #3. Focus of presidents currently on elements other than more football games. Ephs capital campaign exceeds $450 million toward goal of $650 million with three years to go.

[nescac1]

Great news re: the nine games.  Seems easy enough to just replace a scrimmage with an actual game, and then everyone gets to play everyone else each season.  I really see no downside to that.  Hope it ends up being accurate!

Will be very interesting to see how the starting lineup shapes up for Williams.  With a coaching transition some players are bound to leave the program or be displaced in the lineup, and especially on offense, Williams has a lot of seniors graduating in all events, including at key QB, WR, and OL positions.  QB in particular seems to be wide open.  Between a young team without any returning all-NESCAC players plus a new system and nearly entirely new coaching staff, I imagine there will be an adjustment period, but the hope is that the team shows real signs of growth throughout the course of the season to build into a competitive team (something sorely lacking during the Kelton era), and hopefully back to juggernaut status in another 4-5 years once the new staff has a full complement of recruits.  I still think 4-4 would represent a massive success this season all things considered ...

[Cac7]

My son's first comment was "Great.  If we play 9 games, that opens the door to post season play!". That may be a bridge too far for the Prez's, but it's an interesting thought.

What if, instead of the NESCAC heading to the NCAA playoffs, there was a one game championship between the #1 and #2 teams? Still and 8 game regular season (preserving precious rivalries in week 8), but with a championship game in week 9. Obviously this would have to be tweaked for three-way ties for first, but I think a championship game (a NESCAC bowl if you will) would build some huge tension and be the biggest single game in the CAC of the year. That game is usually Williams/Amherst, or more recently whoever Amherst is playing that is unbeaten. A championship game would potentially give some teams a second chance, and encourage them to give it 100% on the year, so even if they lose early on they'll continue to play with some hope and purpose for the rest of the year (see 2015 Wesleyan).

Also some night games would be fantastic. Williams vs. Amherst under the lights in 2014 was a delight.

[amh63]

Cac7....a fresh outlook at Nescac football indeed!  However, any post season and playoff which may please the " fans" runs contrary,IMO, to academic and athletic positions of the member schools' admin.
Wrt night games...yes the first one at Amherst was nice but very cold...believe me.  On the subject of night sports events, there is a Maine school that is planning night contests for one women sport this Fall.

[PolarCat]

On the subject of night sports events, there is a Maine school that is planning night contests for one women sport this Fall.

Night games are nothing new for MLAX and WLAX.  From a fan's perspective, the best venue may be Bates, since spectators can watch from inside the second floor of Commons.  And don't talk to me about "cold".  Bates and Bowdoin MLAX and WLAX played in a mini blizzard this year, with the women's game (in Brunswick) called early due to conditions.  There were only a dozen or so hearty spectators left on the sidelines for that one. 

A night game in November could be painful.  But an Indian Summer Saturday night game in October?  Count me in!

While the idea of a NESCAC Bowl is intriguing, I think you'd wind up with happy fans and parents from 2 schools, and miserable fans and parents from the other 8.  IMO far better to play a full rotation, facing every school in the conference.  A full rotation removes any question of School X being the champion because they had an easier schedule than School Y.  If we could play a full rotation AND have a Bowl, OR do NCAA postseason, I'd feel differently.  But I doubt I will live long enough to see that.  One step at a time.