FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Thanks all....I stand "educated" now.  In reflection, Tufts has the largest enrollment in the CAC and it makes sense to have home stands capable of seating its students.  Assume that players and coaches with press and cheerleaders, etc. on the "field" are not included in the attendance count.  In the past at Amherstvs Williams games, attendance numbers were given over 10,000....wild guess for the most part.
Short of smiled when the Amherst soccer attendance...men's game...was 342.  Then read that there were alums, family, etc  for  the first game on Hitchcock field since winning the National Title.  Must been a reception affair number .
Lumbercat...plus K

[middhoops]

nescac.com says the Middlebury/Bowdoin attendance was 3,250. 
It was the largest crowd I can remember ever seeing at the new field or the old one.
During the first half, it appeared that students just poured in constantly.  The stands were packed. 
Middlebury students are not generally known to attend sports events in large numbers.  Sure hope it is an indication of a new trend.

[JEFFFAN]

Many of us have been waiting for a long time for Tufts to finally get good at football and it appears that the Jumbos are there now.   Largest student population plus proximity to Boston - for those who prefer that - is a good combination.   No reason to suggest that their coach is gone too soon - they haven't won anything yet and beyond that there are a lot of coaches (hello EJ) who prefer the D3 environment and lifestyle such that they turn down larger opportunities.   Didn't work out so well for Sedlecki, did it?   Regardless, real nice start for the Jumbos and a very, very tough loss for Wesleyan.  I agree with the post that it will be interesting to see how the Cards bounce back after a season-opening loss on top of very high expectations.

The rest of the games were pretty much as expected - no real surprises based on most of the posts here and the predictions from NothingbutNESCAC.   All true to form.

Finally, "the sticks"   Really?   Yes, there are those that might prefer proximity to a city, but spend a Fall day on the campuses of Middelbury, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Amherst, Hamilton, or Williams and one has to walk away feeling like they were in the middle of beauty.   Wesleyan, Trinity, and Conn College a little different, especially Trinity, but the former schools define New England academics and athletics.

[Zlax45]

In case anyone was interested. Here are some pics from yesterday's Trinity victory over Bates

https://foleyphotography.smugmug.com/Football/College-Football/2016-Season/Bates-vs-Trinity-CT/

[lumbercat]

NESCAC 1
A very good post on the Williams deal- so well stated. As a Bates guy i consider this down time for Williams as a gift....only a matter of time before the Mighty  Ephs are a powerhouse again but in the interim  there is no sympathy here. How can Wiliams as one of the most prestigious institutions in the country be this bad at Football---given their great tradition how did this happen.

At Bates they live for an opportunity to take down the big guys.....the recent Bates dominance of Williams beginning with the win in Williamstown a few years ago was a HUGE shot in the arm for Bates football. Frankly, I can't believe how such a prestigious academic institution with so much athletic success sits in witness of a deteriorated football program.

If the Williams new head coach falters consider hiring Mark Harriman from Bates who has a losing record at Bates but has a great level of success competing against the mighty Ephs with half the operating budget, half or less of  the assistant coaching salaries and a fraction of the overall Football expenditure at Williams.

Can't believe Kelton failed in that deal.

[PolarCat]

In case anyone was interested. Here are some pics from yesterday's Trinity victory over Bates

https://foleyphotography.smugmug.com/Football/College-Football/2016-Season/Bates-vs-Trinity-CT/

Wow!  Those are some GREAT photos!  (Thanks for reminding me how deficient my own photographic skills are).  +K

[westcoastDad]

Don't take that being out "in the sticks" as a total negative.  Just an observation by one who has to fly into Logan or Hartford!  When Middlebury was recruiting my son.....I stubbornly refused JUST because of the 3 hour drive to their campus.  Beautiful campus is great but not when you're flying in on the redeye to catch a 1pm Saturday game. 
Amherst works out just perfectly.  Lol

[PolarCat]

Good to know your priorities.   

[Vandy74]

Don't take that being out "in the sticks" as a total negative.  Just an observation by one who has to fly into Logan or Hartford!  When Middlebury was recruiting my son.....I stubbornly refused JUST because of the 3 hour drive to their campus.  Beautiful campus is great but not when you're flying in on the redeye to catch a 1pm Saturday game. 
Amherst works out just perfectly.  Lol

Come October 8, the Panthers will be more than happy to stick it to you.  Fly into Albany.  It's a much shorter drive.

[Trin9-0]

It was a beautiful day in Hartford. The new field looked fantastic, as did the scoreboard. I was happy that spectators were allowed to cross the track in a few locations in order to watch the game from the back of the end zones. The fencing definitely encouraged more fans to actually sit in the stands which were close to full on the home side. The announced attendance of 3,888 seems about right (the weather helped and it was Family Weekend at Trinity). Another nice addition was bringing food trucks into Jessee/Miller Field for those whose tailgates consisted more of liquids than solids.

Despite the lopsided result it didn't seem like Trinity dominated the game and it took a while to finally pull-away from a plucky Bates squad. One coach told me after the game that it felt like a loss. Such are the expectations at Trinity for this year I suppose.

The biggest standout for me was Trinity's electric WR, Darrien Myers. He was by far the most athletic player on the field as his 3 receiving TDs and 234 all purpose yards indicate. If Trinity can continue to established their running game Myers is sure to rack-up big plays through the air for the Bantams.

[westcoastDad]

Brutal u are Polar Cat.  Yes, my priorities may seem shallow because I left out the obvious:  Amherst is a top academic school.  Geez.  Tough crowd.  I'm going to leave it at that.  Academics, social culture, location were my "priorities".  My son's were probably academic,  football, social. 

You probably live in the NE region Polar Cat.  Send your kid to California and have him or her attend Fresno St.  That's about 3 hours drive from LAX.  Then make sure that school only has.....well neveemind....save that for another conversation.

Will just say....isolation is not what we had in mind for college.  Diversity was and is very important. 

Don't take that being out "in the sticks" as a total negative.  Just an observation by one who has to fly into Logan or Hartford!  When Middlebury was recruiting my son.....I stubbornly refused JUST because of the 3 hour drive to their campus.  Beautiful campus is great but not when you're flying in on the redeye to catch a 1pm Saturday game. 
Amherst works out just perfectly.  Lol

Come October 8, the Panthers will be more than happy to stick it to you.  Fly into Albany.  It's a much shorter drive.

[Vandy74]

Brutal u are Polar Cat.  Yes, my priorities may seem shallow because I left out the obvious:  Amherst is a top academic school.  Geez.  Tough crowd.  I'm going to leave it at that.  Academics, social culture, location were my "priorities".  My son's were probably academic,  football, social. 

You probably live in the NE region Polar Cat.  Send your kid to California and have him or her attend Fresno St.  That's about 3 hours drive from LAX.  Then make sure that school only has.....well neveemind....save that for another conversation.

Will just say....isolation is not what we had in mind for college.  Diversity was and is very important. 

Don't take that being out "in the sticks" as a total negative.  Just an observation by one who has to fly into Logan or Hartford!  When Middlebury was recruiting my son.....I stubbornly refused JUST because of the 3 hour drive to their campus.  Beautiful campus is great but not when you're flying in on the redeye to catch a 1pm Saturday game. 
Amherst works out just perfectly.  Lol

Come October 8, the Panthers will be more than happy to stick it to you.  Fly into Albany.  It's a much shorter drive.

You wanted diversity and you passed on a Nescac school in a small Vermont town?  Do your homework.  Read a dictionary.  Btw,  My father, Amherst '43.  Brother Pete played for the DARP.  But also, 9th generation native Vermonter, Middlebury or surrounding area.  Sticks are cool.  You can stick people with 'em.   October 8.  That's the plan.  You don't play MC, I root for you guys, but you gotta have your priorities.

[lumbercat]

I guess there are no Tufts posters on the board but quite a production in Medford Saturday and a huge win by the Jumbos.
Civetti pulled out all the stops including new 3rd jerseys--the whole thing was really well done and surely cost some dollars. The team responded with a great comeback win.  Its clear that the Tufts Football program has some very strong administrative support.

Tufts is or will be in the elite NESCAC Football class for the foreseeable future.

Civetti deserves a lot of credit. He came into a program that was in disarray. He stuck to his guns and turned things around but it took time. No question he is receiving much more support but he has done a fantastic job. He has come a long way from 3 years ago  after an 0-24 start when some on this board were calling for and predicting his dismissal. A good story at Tufts.

[mariner75]

You're correct in that the current school administration at Tufts is much more supportive not only of football but all of the athletics programs there. The Jumbos have seen their Directors Cup rankings consistently improve over the past decade (top 10 the past 2 years).....and lacrosse, soccer, m&w basketball, baseball, track & field/cc have all had championship caliber seasons the past few years.

The third jersey color (silver/grey) I wasn't too crazy about though.  I wasn't there so maybe it was better in person but found it too similar to Wes' white jerseys while watching on Jumbocast (still the best).

Call me old school but I still like the home brown jerseys with either white or blue numbers and the all whites for away games.

Go Bo's.

[lumbercat]

Mariner
Yes, the grey jerseys were not that great looking and like the Bowdoin grey jerseys introduced a couple of years ago it was difficult to see numbers. But nonetheless a 3rd jersey a neat thing for the team and wont hurt them in the recruiting arena either.

The whole structure of the Jumbos football program now rivals Trinity------Civetti's alma mater.
Move over Bantams- Tufts coming on board