FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[polbear73]

I think we all hope that Polar Cat will be more than an infrequent contributor, even though his son has graduated.  Can never get enough insight and humor, particularly his!

[frank uible]

That stripe is called a Northwestern Stripe and was originated  by Northwestern in 1909 when uniform decorations were unheard of. All these years it was seen solely on biceps in various color combinations until recently it has cropped up on chests too.

[amh63]

The depth of knowledge of posters here is amazing!  Thank you Frank U .
Hope Polar Cat will continue to make his guest appearance here.  His wit and humor is needed.
Me, do need to watch my grammar....never took Latin or Greek in school .

[PBPOP20]

Bowdoin has started announcing the incoming class of 26 recruits.  JB Wells twitter account.

[PolarCat]

LC, that is exciting about the incoming recruits.  I had just assumed lame duck Harriman mailed in the recruiting duties last year.  To have good quality recruits - in a position where Bates was notably weak - and bring them home is quite an accomplishment.  Not sure if it was Skip Capone or Tito Lopes who kept the wheels from falling off, but one of them (maybe both) deserves an "Attaboy".  Maybe even a 12 pack of Natty Light.

Damn.  New offense?  New uniforms?  WR's who can get separation?  I may have to make a road trip to Garcellon this year after all, if only to see what the new K can do with all those trips to the red zone.

[lumbercat]

PC

Good to hear from you--you are updated on things, it was not a fantastic recruiting year--but ironically it is a very good class from the WR receiver perspective which was huge need for the Cats.

The lame duck syndrome did hurt Garnet recruiting. However,  coaches Capone, Lopes and Cottle did a fine job in assembling a decent recruiting class in a time of uncertainty.

Those 3 incumbent coaches will remain on the staff led by Skip Capone who has been the glue and spirit of Bates Football for 20+ years. Skip will relinquish OC duties but will continue to work with the OL. Guys who played for Skip swear by him forever for a reason.....great to have him continuing on the staff.

Coach Hall brings with him pieces of the Priore culture at Penn along with his own tweaks. He's got 2 hand picked coordinators and 2 other coaches which come as part of his negotiated deal with Lane Hall.

The 2 coordinators have great credentials-

OC- Custavious Patterson- QB at Empire 8 Morrisville St (HOF '99-)---5th year transfer to Morgan State where he was Sr. starter. -6 years at Fordham working with QBs and WRs and 3 years at Wagner. ----Finally the Bobcats get a QB coach who played the damn position- Defensive Lineman coaching skill position guys doesn't work. This is a great hire for Coach Hall.

DC- Hall brings a younger guy with great credentials- Brandon Potvin- 4 year starter at UMass, Captain in his senior year. 6 years coaching experience at Becker and Nicholls.

Prexy Spencer seems to have loosened up finances a bit to give the HC some initial support- not sure if AD Fien fully understands how expensive will be to compete successfully in this league but this is a great first step........time will tell if they are willing to pay the price to support a winning program long term.

At the end of the day it should be noted that AD Fein, despite being a Yankee fan, has done a great job so far with his restructuring of the Bates Bobcat Football Program.

[lumbercat]

PBPOP20

Bowdoin commits:

Brendan Ward- DB/RB 5'11" 178  Marshfield, Ma

Roshaun Christopher- DB 5'10" 185   Conestoga, Pa

Miles Hugee- DB 5'11" 165  Springside Bluebell, Pa

Brian Lenaghan- DB 6'3" 195  Massapequa, NY

Noah Clack OLB 5'10" 205  Williston, Ma

Maddox Stirrat LB 6'2" 210  Jensen Beach, FL

Drew Oriz LB 5'11 225  Westfield, NJ

Jake Maus LB 5"11" 205  Carver, Mn

Alex Clark- OL 6"3' 260  Forest Hills North, Mi

Cam Walters- OL 6'0" 315  Lawrence Academy, Ma

Jason Bussgang- OL 6'1" 255  Milton Academy, Ma

Jack Recchiuti- OL 6'4" 278. Alliance, Oh

Frank Paine- C/LS 6'2" 235 Notre Dame Ct

Alex Tyson- DE 6'2" 210  Chanhassan, Mn.

Brandon Krupp- DT 6'3" 265  Brophy Phoenix, Az

Colin Lamphier- DT 5'11" 290  BBN Cambridge, Ma

Jason Otis- WR 6'2" 190  St Andrews Boca Raton Fl

Jack Pollock- WR 6'4" 190 Belmont HS Ma

JBW is introducing his recruits now- I will be watching out of curiosity to see how reliable my sources were from back when I posted in March-

I didn't have em all but JBW was very close to the vest this year-- the delays and lack of disclosure were due a pretty private tug of war in Bowdoin Admissions. It was said there was a lot of conflict and tension among the Bowdoin academics who fought the new leniency for Football players tooth and nail so JBW appropriately delayed his victory lap until now.

Inside word is JB and his supporting cast, including Alumni Football influence, prevailed in a very contentious admissions process where the Football influence prevailed and they landed a robust class of 26.  The result is a lot of ticked off Admissions folks and athletic detractors who are irate with the whole thing. Bowdoin Admissions getting a double barreled attack from Football and Hockey, both programs pleading for leniency.

Polar Bear Football got their way this time around but not without a lot of scar tissue....many characterize it as a Pyrrhic victory if admissions livid.

Why can't the Trinity standards just be uniform throughout the conference so the NESCAC can achieve parity....an interesting thought but it will never happen in a conference where academics are the primary focus.

[polbear73]

You nailed it, as usual, Lumbercat!  Sure, every school in this conference could fill their incoming classes with nothing but students with 4.0 GPAs and perfect SAT scores a couple of times over and that's what the Bowdoin academics perceive to be the perfect class.  When we speak of "leniency" in the NESCAC, we are speaking about a kid who can do the work, has good character, and brings a unique skill to the college.  How boring would a place be with nothing but Phi Beta Kappas?  To the Bowdoin academic elitists (which every NESCAC college has, only perhaps more vocal here) not at all.  Perhaps a few more football and hockey victories will change some minds as electricity returns to campus.  Amherst, for one (I'm sure there are others) has espoused the policy of being great in every endeavor that it sponsors, and having great athletics doesn't seem to have hurt its reputation.  Bowdoin Admissions needs to take a page from that book. 

[NBC93]

PB73
I'm new to the CAC this year but I agree that leniency is probably the wrong word. If these schools truly want the most qualified young people filling the halls, then measuring only GPA and SAYs doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. An athlete that commits oneself to performing at the highest physical level possible is making sacrifices in other areas and academic perfection is one of them. However, as you said, their character, drive, and ability on the field and in in the classroom is no less than non-athletes with somewhat higher measurables. The admission of high quality student-athletes doesn't diminish the academic endeavor and performance of the school in any way. If the athletic coaches recruiting talent see a kid with holistic qualifications, then admissions should be able to also.
In fact, I know several executives that have always said that job candidates who played varsity college sports move to the top of the hiring list because it says something about their character and ability to thrive in a team environment.
My two cents as a noob.

Curious about the Trinity comment because its not the first time I've heard it. What's the difference in standards?

[frank uible]

Trinity most probably acts in what it perceives to be in its best interest, as presumably do each of the other members of NESCAC independently. It's called a free market.

[Jonny Utah]

Funny nescac story:

So about 5 years ago I was walking outside of my work (also my hometown) when I saw this kid with a football jacket from his private high school here in the Boston area.  I stuck up a conversation with him and told him how I also coached HS football in the Boston area and he told me that he was interested in playing football in college and that Bates was his "dream school".  I looked him up and he was a legit HS player who had good size and seemed like a great kid.

4 years later I see the same kid walking down the street in a Trinity Football sweatshirt.  I asked him what happened with Bates and he said he just liked Trinity better.  He said the football program was better and overall he just felt it was the best school for him.  I didn't ask him if he got into Bates or not, but knowing a little about him now I assumed he did.

Admissions and standards aside, we have to remember that Trinity has a very successful football program whose coaches recruit hard in the Boston area.

[lumbercat]

Very true Johnny.

No question Trinity has the very broadest admissions standards for athletes, especially Football. They are run more like a Patriot league program. They have made a strong commitment to winning and I give them credit for that--I believe they may still provide tutors for their FY athletes with nightly study hall type setting which is indicative of their commitment.

They spend more money and have the strongest, unwavering commitment from their administration and in addition to that they have a tremendous large Football alumni group which supplements their large budget significantly.

Winning Football brings strong alumni support and the Trinity program embodies that.

Essentially you have Trinity and then then the rest of the NESCAC. They are unique, again, to their credit.  From my prospective it's been that way as far back as I can remember.

[polbear73]

As someone whose college affiliation as different as can be to Trinity in terms of football success and philosophy, I have absolutely no problem and wholeheartedly support their track record in the sport.  In these days of quantification (if that's a word) of a college's quality through the  polls and rankings, Trinity's excellence is sometimes undeservedly diminished when compared to the so-called metrics of other NESCAC schools.  The fact remains that Trinity is one of the select finest liberal arts college in the country and, through it choice of NESCAC affiliation remains subject to the same recruiting constraints as other members:  a closed conference schedule and a ban on NCAA playoffs and a mission policy that student-athletes must reflect the student population of the college.  Trinity serves its constituents in the best manner it can, and if having a successful football program within NESCAC guidelines is part of that, than, instead of complaining about it, the other members should be finding a way to compete. 

[NBC93]

My perception about recruiting in the NESCAC is that there are conference wide guidelines or standards for recruiting in all sports, not just football. Is it called the band system? Coaches have x amount of chips to use in trying to help less academically inclined players in the admission process? Also, I believe there is a limit to how many players from each academically lower band that a school is allowed to have. If that is the case I'm not sure how much leeway there is for schools to get around those recruiting rules. Or do some schools opt to stay within the higher academic band and keep their chips?
This is new for me, but I keep hearing about Trinit's "suspect" admissions standards for football players. Is there a basis for these claims or is it speculation? I have read through some history on this board and it seems that when a team rises to the top the discussion turns to newfound admissions leniency whatever the school.

[lumbercat]

 They all have similar rules for bands and tips but a big part of it is still Admissions input which has some elements of subjectivity despite the league structure. Trinity is often willing to extend their academic guidelines a bit more but they are well within the NESCAC guidelines.....I believe.

Again, this is their option and they have built a tremendous football tradition which is the envy of the rest of the league.

Admission leniency is a factor in the conference but it typically seems to remain pretty consistent in Hartford.

Several years back Wesleyan decided they wanted to be more competitive and they loosened things up resulting in better Little 3 results and getting more competitive with Trinity