FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Great stuff from those of you who did the deep dig and posted the records over years, and the head to head  W/L over the years.

Those numbers tell the tale for sure.

Brings me back to a question raised by a few of us after JBW was let go: How much does the recent history (honestly, two decades worth of history) impact the candidates who apply to Bowdoin?

In talking with folks at another school who had used the same search firm that Bowdoin is using for this one, it sounded like the firm was brought in not to find candidates but to help spin the numbers and make the job seem more presentable / desirable....my guess is that similar strategy is being used for Bowdoin job.

The role of the headhunter here is to take the search to a national level. Bowdoin is going to pay this firm somewhere near 50k to take this opportunity to places that extend beyond the traditional New England cocoon where Bowdoin has hired their coaches in the past. New frontiers for the Black and White.
They did it the old way with JBW and this was a bomb with the Bowdoin community. So this time they are going with a headhunter.....not different from the corporate world where many of us reside.
Polar Bear Bear Cub Ad Ryan has gone from commander of the hiring process to a compliance administrator this time around as the Bowdoin non Football people are managing the process.
The AFCU element at Bowdoin is in control.

[polbear73]

I vehemently disagree with you last statement Lumbercat. The people managing the process are very much football people.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the ACFU?

[NED3Guy]

I vehemently disagree with you last statement Lumbercat. The people managing the process are very much football people.

I hope for the polar bears' sake that you're correct and that the search is being conducted by "football people". With recent history in mind, one has to wonder if anybody in the Bowdoin administration can actually be called a "football person" at this point.

[polbear73]

It's at the trustee level.

[GoBlue61]

As I have posted previously, unless the AD at Bowdoin had someone in mind for the job, he should have kept Wells for another year.  To start from scratch with a search firm seems like a CYA move.  I know D3 is different, but ADs typically keep a list of candidates for their high profile jobs like football and basketball.  The search process being described seems like a Mickey Mouse operation.  Probably indicative of why Bowdoin's football program had a losing record for a 100+ years.  Sorry for the vitriol, but I just spent 4 years watching Bowdoin football.  A disservice to the players and parents who committed the time to be involved.  I hope I am wrong and they come up with the right person for the job!

[lumbercat]

I vehemently disagree with you last statement Lumbercat. The people managing the process are very much football people.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the ACFU?

Polbear
You and I have shared a good relationship based on mutual respect emanating from our past experiences with the great Bates-Bowdoin rivalry. No intent here to misinterpret the composition of the Bowdoin coaching search.

However, my conclusion that this Bowdoin coaching search has moved away from true football influence was based on your disclosure of the composition of the search committee. Further, some of my contacts in Brunswick provided additional information which influenced my comments.

No negative intent.

AFCU is "Anti Football Clique Underground" This was a term invoked following the Vietnam war in the lat 60's and early 70's when the flower child faction on many Ivy and NESCAC campuses rebelled against Football as a extension of the violence and aggression that fueled the Vietnam mistake. The popularity of football in New England especially in the Ivies reached its abyss at that point in time.

[quicksilver]

LC -- the trustee who is perhaps the most important figure in the search process is a big football guy. There is a certain amount of weirdness about the presence of the admissions director on the committee but PB73's explanation makes sense. IIRC, the other 2 people on the search committee are AD Tim Ryan and the top development guy (Scott Meiklejohn). I am not seeing this process as being run by the anti-football clique at all. If that were the case, there would be someone from the English Department (or at least one faculty member) on the search committee!!

[polbear73]

Lumbercat, I continue to have great respect for your sources and knowledge of NESCAC football and Maine college football in particular.  This time, I have to say that you've read the tea leaves incorrectly. 

While a bit unorthodox, this search is the result of Bowdoin actually taking a proactive approach to improve football and to work with their major donor on a mutual promise to "fix football", hence Scott Meiklejohn's presence on the search committee. If you doubt this donor's commitment to football, please check the Boston College football page as they are naming a brand new football facility after him to honor his financial support. Same guy who was the major Whittier Field benefactor. I have already explained Director of Admissions Whitney Soule's participation along with AD Tim Ryan. These are hardly people to be tagged ACFU and I applaud them for the idea.

Bowdoin rightly gets criticized for its historical neglect of its football program and I've been outspoken about it. They are now trying to turn it around with an infusion of functions critical to success of the football program and, rightly or wrongly, holding a 3-29 coach accountable.  I respect everyone's views about whether JBW was treated fairly (I happen to agree that he deserved a final year) and one may question the methods employed, but Bowdoin's attempt to becoming relevant in football is a result of impatience on the part of serious football people. There is no AFCU anywhere near this search.

[nescac1]

Future Bowdoin, Williams, Wesleyan and Colby players mentioned here, including Duxbury's QB headed to Colby:

http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/20190112/all-scholastics-2018-football-team-leaves-big-shoes-to-fill

[lumbercat]

Lumbercat, I continue to have great respect for your sources and knowledge of NESCAC football and Maine college football in particular.  This time, I have to say that you've read the tea leaves incorrectly. 

While a bit unorthodox, this search is the result of Bowdoin actually taking a proactive approach to improve football and to work with their major donor on a mutual promise to "fix football", hence Scott Meiklejohn's presence on the search committee. If you doubt this donor's commitment to football, please check the Boston College football page as they are naming a brand new football facility after him to honor his financial support. Same guy who was the major Whittier Field benefactor. I have already explained Director of Admissions Whitney Soule's participation along with AD Tim Ryan. These are hardly people to be tagged ACFU and I applaud them for the idea.

Bowdoin rightly gets criticized for its historical neglect of its football program and I've been outspoken about it. They are now trying to turn it around with an infusion of functions critical to success of the football program and, rightly or wrongly, holding a 3-29 coach accountable.  I respect everyone's views about whether JBW was treated fairly (I happen to agree that he deserved a final year) and one may question the methods employed, but Bowdoin's attempt to becoming relevant in football is a result of impatience on the part of serious football people. There is no AFCU anywhere near this search.

PB73-
No tealeaves here. I was told  the process was changed and Bowdoin Football and Bowdoin Athletic Department has less influence this time around. Based on your account of the search committee that appears accurate when compared to the approach with JBW.

Good that they have Football influence in the search at the trustee level.

At the end of the day I agree that this national search with an outside firm will ensure a very comprehensive approach which I am sure will bring in a very qualified guy.

Believe we will see an announcement next week- very interested to see who the HC will be.

[polbear73]

I agree, Lumbercat and look forward to the announcement as well. From past history, I expect that you will scoop everybody.

[IslandTime]

Spent the weekend with Dan DiCenzo and his staff at Wesleyan with my middle son who is an OL/DL.

I have visited Amherst (Older son) /Midd/Williams/Trinity and Tufts so I have seen inside of most of the the programs in the league. Very impressed with athletic facilities at Wes and the coaching staff is young and seem to very high energy guys. Now I know why DiCenzo has turned Wes into a consistent winner in the NESCAC.

Heard a neat story that there was a wealthy Wes alum that was donating a substantial enough amount of $$$ to build a new football facility to rival Williams and Amherst, but the rest of the alumni base, shot down the proposal in order to keep playing at Andrus Field in the middle of campus. Considering it's history of being the longest consistently played football field in the country, I guess that tradition won out over keeping up with the facilities arms race.

[quicksilver]

Bowdoin has been beaten to the punch in the announcement of its new head football coach. It is BJ Hammer, the head coach of Allegheny College, until moments ago. He will be starting at Bowdoin next week. . . I don't think that he was on LC's list . .

And here is the official Bowdoin announcement.

[lumbercat]

Correct- never heard this name mentioned in the process. However, They did venture out of the Northeast/New England cocoon.

Looks like a solid guy and you gotta love the name Hammer for a Football coach. Good luck to him. He's inheriting some good talent contrary to whats been said on the street. He's in a position to experience some good results right away.

JB worked the ball down the field and Coach Hammer is going to come off the bench and run it in. He's in a good position.

[NED3Guy]

Interesting hire.  I would certainly count this as "out of the (NESCAC) box". Sounds like he's done some great things in short time building teams from the bottom. Taking a team from 1-9 to 6-4 in just three seasons is quite impressive. Looking forward to seeing how things go for the polar bears moving forward.

As many of us have said on here in recent weeks, the success of this hire will be based largely on how much the Bowdoin administration wants football to succeed.

Best of luck to Coach Hammer!