FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[ColbyFootball]

It was nice to see the recent $10M gift to Colby athletics. Unfortunately, money can't buy success. The football program had the assistant HC recruiting coordinator leave the day before the awards banquet without a word to the players. Now the AD leaves abruptly after only a few years on the job. And the HC who couldn't call a decent offensive game if he had Sid Luckman calling it for him is kept on. Kept on after winning a handful of games as HC. And my understanding is that at least 5 upperclassman are not returning including last year's best receiver. What a sad situation for those players. Thankfully the school us great academically.

[OldCardinal]

Where is the news about the Colby AD leaving? 

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

Biggest joke of 2017.... The Amherst Mascot contest has come up with the five finalists:

- Fighting Poets
- Mammoths
- Purple and White
- Valley Hawks
- Wolves

It took a year to whittle down the 400+ entries to those 5?

GMAFB!!! What a joke!!!

Link to the article is below, and it includes "the reasons" for each....

http://arial2.amherst.edu/CT00535802MDE0NDgxLTE0Nzg4MDY=.HTML?D=2017-03-16

What a waste of time!!!

And the explanations/reasons/justifications are the best:

Below please find some background information on each of the final five mascot choices, including the characteristics of each that make it a strong candidate for the Amherst College mascot.

Fighting Poets
Without embodying any single poet, this idea celebrates multiple poets who have taught, studied, or written poetry in association with the College or town of Amherst.  "Fighting poets" draws attention to the way that Amherst is invested in the literary tradition through its teaching of the liberal arts and the setting it provides for expression. Poet reflects the creativity and critical thinking of our students and alumni while fighting expresses the vigorous spirit of debate that characterizes the intellectual experience at Amherst.  Fans could describe Amherst's "gifted, graceful, powerful athletes as 'poetry in motion,'" wrote one proponent.

Mammoths
The word mammoth "describes something stupendous and monumental, something vast and mighty, something imposing and formidable," says one nomination for this mascot. But Ice Age mammoths were also highly social, wooly, herbivorous animals suggesting gentleness. Both males and females had curved, symmetrical tusks that could lend themselves to an appealing logo, and "Amherst Mammoths" strikes many proponents as a fun phrase to say. The Beneski Museum of Natural History famously displays the skeleton of a Columbian mammoth, unearthed by Professor Frederick Brewster Loomis and brought to the College in 1925. Amherst's archives also house a drawing of a mammoth skeleton by scientific illustrator Orra White Hitchcock, wife of Amherst's third president, the minister and geologist Edward Hitchcock.

Purple & White
"Purple has always been considered emblematic of royalty and leadership," wrote one proponent of this  finalist—and it has long been proudly associated with Amherst: The 1871 publication Student Life at Amherst College notes that purple and white have been the College's colors since April 30, 1868, in accordance with a student vote. In the tradition of "the Harvard Crimson," "the Syracuse Orange" and other colorful college nicknames, "the Purple & White" is already widely used in sports reporting in reference to Amherst teams; these are the instantly recognizable colors not only of our athletic uniforms but of most Amherst apparel and merchandise.

Valley Hawks
Known to be among the most intelligent of all birds, hawks have exceptional vision and impressive hunting skills. As noted by alumni and students alike, many different hawk species can be spotted in the Pioneer Valley, especially during spring and fall migrations. According to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, "hawks seem to provide the most pleasure and excitement when they are in the air, soaring, gliding, flapping, or stooping in awesome aerial displays." A hawk mascot would reflect pride in the campus bird sanctuary and the College's other connections to avian studies. Several alumni have donated ornithology books to Amherst—perhaps most notably, a rare double elephant folio edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America came from Herbert Pratt of the class of 1895—so the College already possesses beautiful illustrations of hawks of all kinds.

Wolves
Known for their keen senses, intelligence and power, wolves collaborate and care for one another in packs, but they can also represent individuality and independence. Wolves play a vital role in sustaining the health of their ecosystems. Thought to be extinct in Western Massachusetts by around 1840, a wild eastern gray wolf appeared in the area in 2008, making national news. Amherst Archives' edition of Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America features an illustration of a black wolf dating to 1851.

[JEFFFAN]

Biggest joke of 2017.... The Amherst Mascot contest has come up with the five finalists:

- Fighting Poets
- Mammoths
- Purple and White
- Valley Hawks
- Wolves

It took a year to whittle down the 400+ entries to those 5?

GMAFB!!! What a joke!!!

Link to the article is below, and it includes "the reasons" for each....

http://arial2.amherst.edu/CT00535802MDE0NDgxLTE0Nzg4MDY=.HTML?D=2017-03-16

What a waste of time!!!

You would be correct, he says with an embarrassed look on his face ...

[ColbyFootball]

Where is the news about the Colby AD leaving?

The school sent out an email.

[OldCardinal]

Very surprising.  Did it say why he is leaving?

[ColbyFootball]

Very surprising.  Did it say why he is leaving?

A personal decision allowing him to work at his family's educational consulting business. Now the Athletic Dept. lacks direction. If the President cares about football as he claims, he needs to get rid of Michaeles. Elevate the DC to HC, or bring in someone new. The terrible offensive game planning and play calling, and few wins, demands a change.

[IslandTime]

Biggest joke of 2017.... The Amherst Mascot contest has come up with the five finalists:

- Fighting Poets
- Mammoths
- Purple and White
- Valley Hawks
- Wolves

It took a year to whittle down the 400+ entries to those 5?

GMAFB!!! What a joke!!!

Link to the article is below, and it includes "the reasons" for each....

http://arial2.amherst.edu/CT00535802MDE0NDgxLTE0Nzg4MDY=.HTML?D=2017-03-16

What a waste of time!!!

NESCAC.....why such a hater? How would you in your infinite wisdom handle things differently??? Appears to me they are trying to handle the process while giving as much input to all respected parties (current students, alumni, faculty and staff) as possible.

Or are you just looking for a reason to hate???

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

[/quote]

NESCAC.....why such a hater? How would you in your infinite wisdom handle things differently??? Appears to me they are trying to handle the process while giving as much input to all respected parties (current students, alumni, faculty and staff) as possible.

Or are you just looking for a reason to hate???
[/quote]

Not a hater..... IMO the 5 final options couldn't be more ridiculously lame if they tried.

"Poets"?!?! 

Gimme a break.....

Share the 5 finalists with your kid..... I'm sure he'd agree.

I know my kid thought they were lame.  But he expected nothing less from the current Amherst Admin.

And going forward, please apply the "hater" label elsewhere...  I expressed an option..... doesn't make me a hater.

[IslandTime]

Offer some other options up. Would love to know what they missed out on.
And while a couple are real stinkers, there happens to be one on that list that has a real connection to the school and would be a great mascot in my opinion.

[jumpshot]

Let me guess ... oh, I know ... the plague!

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

Would love to know what they missed out on.

The full list of submissions is available here:

https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Amherst%2520Mascot_List%2520of%2520Suggestions_12_6_16.pdf

The mascot suggestion website is:
https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/mascot/mascot-suggestions

Some info:
- 2046 total suggestions
- 588 of those were unique

Given those numbers...... I wasn't making any suggestions..... I have been following the process, and feel the final 5 were weak finalists....... my opinion only.

My final comment is I hope "Poets" wins..... Amherst's Admin and the current PC culture there deserve that absolutely wimpy nickname.

[amh63]

Decided to make some comments wrt to Mascot topic that has appeared again on this board.
First, Amherst never had a "Formal" Mascot.  Lord Jeff was always an unofficial one.
The process at Amherst is to pick an offical one.
Have a classmate that was one of the selected alum reps in the group to pick a Mascot.  His input was No Mascot.
As posted earlier, another alum rep stated that Lord Jeff and any reference to Jeffs was NOT permitted by admin powers.  Therefore, I posted the selection process was "rigged".
It is interesting and somewhat amusing that one Mascot suggested by a student- athlete was his family name.  Watching the March Madness games, I am puzzled at times how a Mascot was chosen by some schools.  Yes, there is another school called the Polarbears!
Of the Five finalist, I find Wolves maybe my preference....for now.  When the present Amherst Prez is gone....will be pushing for another choice .

[IslandTime]

Considering there is an actual fully intact Mammoth skeleton in the museum on the Amherst campus, I feel that would be a great choice, with a true connection to the college. A mascot that can be both fun and intimidating. And certainly more dominant than a Jumbo or a Purple Cow.

Wolves and Vally Hawks are not bad.

Fighting Poets and Purple and White are just atrocious....

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

So I just read thru the whole list with reasons.....

Unbelievable how some people just don't get the purpose of a nickname....

If any of you have 25 mins to waste... go for it.

IMHO any of the below would be better than any of the finalists:

Aces
A's
Hamsters
Patriots
Pioneers
Raptors

"Hamsters" is a huge crowd favorite... anagram for Amherst..... 

Anyway... I suspect any of the above bring a masculinity and aggressive angle or just don't have enough PC cred, like "Poets", to make the grade.

Not my school... so I'm laughing at the whole process until such time as they pick "The Poets"!!!!