FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

I just read about Wells being let go by Bowdoin. A tough business to get let go the week before Thanksgiving. My son played for Wells for the past 4 years. He seemed like a good guy, but obviously did not get the job done on the field. Given the results the past 100+ years, Bowdoin will never be a top team in the NESCAC. However, based on four years of watching NESCAC football, there is no reason that Bowdoin can't beat Colby, Bates, Hamilton, and be competitive with the mid-tier teams.

Since the news came out, I have had several conversations with Bowdoin football alums.  To a man, the opinion is that this failure is not on JB Wells but on the College.  It's one thing to solicit donations to renovate Whittier Field and fund the program well, but it's all meaningless unless they find a way to admit football players, and not just the potential starters, but a meaningful amount of depth. 

The hope is that JB lands a head coaching job that is worthy of his ability and that Bowdoin really listens to candidates as to what it really takes to be competitive.  Not only listens, but follows through on the promises that it have to make to be able to hire the right coach. 

I just read about Wells being let go by Bowdoin. A tough business to get let go the week before Thanksgiving. My son played for Wells for the past 4 years. He seemed like a good guy, but obviously did not get the job done on the field. Given the results the past 100+ years, Bowdoin will never be a top team in the NESCAC. However, based on four years of watching NESCAC football, there is no reason that Bowdoin can't beat Colby, Bates, Hamilton, and be competitive with the mid-tier teams.

Just a word of warning to any up and coming coach considering applying for the Bowdoin HCOF job...

DON'T DO IT!!! YOU ARE DOOMED TO FAIL...THE COLLEGE WILL LIE TO YOU AND TELL YOU THAT YOU WILL GET ADMISSIONS SUPPORT...IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!! TURN BACK BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!

[GoBlue61]

NESCACMAN -- Can't argue with you on the Bowdoin Head Coaching position.  History backs your POV for sure.

BTW...has anyone seen the NEWMAC teams like MIT play?  I saw that they got blown out in the D3 Playoffs by Johns Hopkins.  Too bad the NESCAC does not let their champion go to the playoffs like the rest of the sports in the league.  Gotta believe that Trinity or Amherst would make a good showing.

[polbear73]

NESCACMAN -- Can't argue with you on the Bowdoin Head Coaching position.  History backs your POV for sure.

BTW...has anyone seen the NEWMAC teams like MIT play?  I saw that they got blown out in the D3 Playoffs by Johns Hopkins.  Too bad the NESCAC does not let their champion go to the playoffs like the rest of the sports in the league.  Gotta believe that Trinity or Amherst would make a good showing.

Maybe if the Ivy League approved playoffs there might be a chance. Otherwise, never will happen.

[Joe Rockhead]

The Ivy League is reconsidering participation in the FCS playoffs. It's time for the NESCAC to follow suit and join the rest of D3 (although one more AQ would make getting into the field even tighter). One of the league's teams playing one or two extra games isn't exactly an overemphasis and would probably help with recruiting....and while they're at it, a 10th game (now that you've broken down and decided to play a full league round-robin) would be nice. A cooperative scheduling agreement with another 10-team league like the Centennial would work. Wouldn't match-ups like Trinity-Hopkins or Amherst-Muhlenberg have been entertaining this year? Travel wouldn't be particularly odious.  I know this isn't the first time you folks have heard this, but if every other sport, all of them with far more dates of competition, participate, why not football?   

Princeton football won't get to play for national title and that's a shame

Bob Surace knew it was coming and was ready to fiercely argue in favor for his Princeton football team to get a spot in next week's FCS playoffs.

Of course he also knows that's impossible because the Ivy League does not allow its football champion to compete for a national title."It's an empty feeling," Surace said after his Tigers roared to an outright Ivy title with a 42-14 win over Penn on Saturday. "It's the unknown. We would want to play. It's going to be Tuesday at 4:45 and we're going to feel sick to our stomachs because we don't get to practice."

That's a shame and it's time for the Ivy League to fix it.

Here's the short version: The Ivy League de-emphasized athletics somewhere around the 1950s and by the 1980s an it had stopped playing top-division football. Rivalries like Princeton-Penn and Yale-Harvard remained, but playoffs and by extension an opportunity to win a national title was off the table.

Which brings us to Princeton.

Ranked No. 9 in the FCS poll and undefeated, the Tigers set the Ivy record for points in a season, averaging a whopping 47 per game. Quarterback John Lovett and receiver Jesper Horsted are two of the most explosive players in the country.

Wouldn't you want to see them get a crack at North Dakota State or James Madison — the last two FCS national champions.

https://www.trentonian.com/sports/kyle-franko-princeton-football-won-t-get-to-play-for/article_dec3953e-eacd-11e8-bda4-0fb7df11d9e5.html

[Pat Coleman]

In this hypothetical, the Centennial might not be up for using all of its non-conference games (aka its only non-conference game) on a challenge. That would leave the coaches no ability to schedule any of their games.

[Joe Rockhead]

In this hypothetical, the Centennial might not be up for using all of its non-conference games (aka its only non-conference game) on a challenge. That would leave the coaches no ability to schedule any of their games.

I hear you Pat. This conversation is probably best advanced on the CC board-that's the life in a 10-team conference. Let's just say that the Centennial's out-of-conference games have been scheduled more out of convenience than anything else. JHU & Muhlenberg each got tough foes this year by happenstance, not design. JHU has been playing RMC every year for the last 8 seasons and Muhlenberg-Thomas More was a one year opportunity. I believe they will be going back to a more local opponent (and back to a week 1 game) next year.   

The Ivy League has/had an arrangement with the Patriot League for years. I thought a similar approach might appeal the the NESCAC.

[Pat Coleman]

Johns Hopkins played Washington & Lee for a couple of years and that was a matchup of playoff teams, plus F&M and Susquehanna use their one non-conference game to play area rivals. The difference between the Ivy and Patriot situation is, as far as I can tell, the Ivy and Patriot have more than one non-conference game.

I agree it would be a cool concept and a nice way for the NESCAC to dip its foot in the water of non-conference play, but I'm not sure the Centennial would be motivated to participate, even though it would be a reasonable matchup.

[frank uible]

In a hypothetical playoff the best of NESCAC would fare poorly against the third best in OAC or WIAC.

[gridiron]

If the NESCAC were to ever agree to a tenth non- conference game, a much more realustic approach would be for them to play local rivals. Travel expense would be controled as well.  Lots of great options abound for all teams in the league.

[ITH radio]

In a hypothetical playoff the best of NESCAC would fare poorly against the third best in OAC or WIAC.

Maybe to start, but if they went all in on FB, I could see the NESCAC competing for NCs like they do across the board in every other sport in a few years. No schools in the nation, especially D3, can compete with the resources they have.

[JEFFFAN]

In a hypothetical playoff the best of NESCAC would fare poorly against the third best in OAC or WIAC.

Maybe to start, but if they went all in on FB, I could see the NESCAC competing for NCs like they do across the board in every other sport in a few years. No schools in the nation, especially D3, can compete with the resources they have.

Completely agree.  NESCAC blows away all other conferences in being part of the national picture in so many sports.   Just yesterday, Middlebury beat Tufts for the national championship in field hockey while there are still at least two women's teams and one men's teams fighting in soccer.   Football would up its game and be able to compete at the national level.

[amh63]

MIT can...Hugh endownment in spite of size.  In MBB, check out the number of assistant coaches.  Compare the number with Nescac schools....as well to the schools in their conference.  JHU just got another big gift recently from alum Bloomberg...1.2 billion!  JHU present reported endownment is 3.5 billion.  Both schools play D3 sports....except JHU plays D1 Lax

[ITH radio]

Resources and commitment have to be equal. JHU gets more national recognition in Men's lax so I'm sure they get treated differently than FB, but to fair, the Blue Jays have been in the national picture FB wise for about a decade now. They can elevate up if they want to, I think MIT could also, but I'm guessing FB is less of a consideration for them than JHU.

[Oline89]

I think MIT has found a nice little niche in the NEWMAC.  They are competitive in the league, and have a chance to play in the post season.  I can't confirm this, but talking to coaches during recruiting visits a few years ago, it seemed that there is no "benefit" to being a recruited athlete (Ivies, NESCAC, and every other top academic school has something).  MIT overall admission rate is a ridiculous 6.7% (even Amherst is 14%).  I somehow doubt that, despite a giant endowment, MIT has any interest in making the commitment that JHU has, to become a powerhouse in D3 football.

[Nescacman]

NESCACMAN -- Can't argue with you on the Bowdoin Head Coaching position.  History backs your POV for sure.

BTW...has anyone seen the NEWMAC teams like MIT play?  I saw that they got blown out in the D3 Playoffs by Johns Hopkins.  Too bad the NESCAC does not let their champion go to the playoffs like the rest of the sports in the league.  Gotta believe that Trinity or Amherst would make a good showing.

This is all opinion...

Having seen MIT play, they would be in the lower echelon of the NESCAC fer sure...we base that on our observations and kids that we have recruited who went to MIT and started but were "non-players" according to NESCAC coaches...interesting tidbit on MIT...admissions does not help athletes including football players....athletes need to get accepted at MIT solely based on academic merit...

Our opinion on the Centenial v NESCAC discussion...pretty comparable footballwise...Hopkins probably slightly better than whomever the best team is in the NESCAC on any given year...rest of the league, similar, with possibly a slight edge to the NESCAC...if you look at other sports as a comparison, NESCAC does better than the Centential in the Learfield Directors Cup standings (NESCAC had 4 teams in the top 10, Centenial had 1 and that 1,,,Hopkins...was the only one in the Top 50...NESCAC had 7)...btw, MIT came in 2nd in the 2017-2018 Learfield Cup standings...