FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

Also, in things that are probably only interesting to me; the Williams Athletics twitter account uses the old "Ephs" wordmark and not the new one which is worn on the football team's helmets:




Boy I need the season to start.

[SpringSt7]

If I've learned anything throughout the years it's that the Williams athletics account is in no way, shape, or form representative of the athletic department as a whole.

Also their new football helmets are pretty ugly if you ask me. The rest of the uniform has improved but the helmet took a huge step back. Just doesn't all come together on the field.

[nescac1]

SpringSt7, that one is actually pretty bad-ass, I like it.  As opposed to the OTHER new cow, which was widely and justifiably derided, and hopefully will be ditched entirely.  But they better keep the old one, too, which I understood was always the plan. 

[lumbercat]

Like the new logo- nice improvement.

Now work on the Eph's Pop Warner uniforms. They had a chance to change the unis when Kelton left but they continued the little league look.

On the subject of uniforms there is no question that Jack Cosgrove, the Dean of NESCAC coaches, has done a great job at Colby. He's done everything right with one exception. He ruined the Nescac tuxedo. He blew up the classic Colby look with the current Nike version. The tiny numbers and trim not a good look. Bring back the old ones Coach!

[SpringSt7]

They changed the uniforms going into Raymond's second year in 2017.

[lumbercat]

I know they changed the unis but they didn't really get away from that Pop Warner look.

Like Cosgrove, Raymond has done everything right and if the only criticism the guy gets is on the uniforms he's doing a great job.

Again, I would embrace that new logo. That Cow looks a little mean.....like the Ephs D !
Those fat, jolly, goofy cow logos of the past should be banished.....but it's Williamstown so they gotta be careful.

[amh63]

I like to "repeat" Trin8-0's remark.......I need the season to start!.   Discussions here on the logos of Williams?  Remember a time I was at Amherst when the uniform/equipment suppliers were in town....UnderArmor, etc.  A Maryland based company getting their product out and challenging Nike.  No change to football shoes/cleats and headware brands. August is approaching fast!   When can the football players arrive on campus?  Any restrictions conference wise?

[nescac1]

The Duxbury to Williams pipeline is clearly alive and well, as the Ephs' already secured two commitments (the only two Eph commitments I have seen) from Duxbury players for the class of 2026, Campbell Pang and Teddy Massingham.  The latter is a football/baseball recruit, and the former looks particularly intriguing for football, as he was defensive MVP as a junior for an always-strong Duxbury squad and seems to have a really impressive speed / size combo.  Even after Maimaron graduates, Williams is going to have a big-time Duxbury flavor, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where the 2022 squad may well have as many as 3-4 Duxbury guys starting.  Between BC High and Duxbury, Raymond has two rock-solid recruiting relationships, clearly, and he attracts some really strong players from both. 

On another recruiting note, interesting to see the Boston Globe and Boston Herald all-scholastic players headed to NESCAC schools this fall ... Tufts did especially well, and Williams nailed two big-time commitments, as well. 

Tufts:

Michael Berluti, QB, Xaverian (Globe and Herald) (maybe related to Amherst's Bo Berluti?)
Dom DeCrescenzo, DL, Reading (Globe and Herald)
Henry Fleckner, WR, Xaverian (Herald, baseball recruit)
Louis Timmons, WR, BC High (Herald)

Williams

Anthony Morrison, TB, Bridgewater-Raynham (Globe and Herald)
Uyi Osayimwen, DT, Central Catholic (Globe and Herald)

Trinity

Mike Brice, OL/DL, Kipp (Herald)

Middlebury

Davie Filias, LB/RB, Kipp (Herald)

Bowdoin

Gordon Gozdeck, LB/TB, Lincoln-Sudbury (Globe and Herald)

Wesleyan

Mario Lee, ATH, Milford (Herald)

[ccd494]

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/07/27/head-football-coach-malik-hall-leaves-bates-college/

[Trin9-0]

As we wait for the season to get here, I humbly present my NESCAC football uniform grades:

AMHERST
Grade: B

The Mammoths have a solid uniform set. One issue though is the stripes on the pants don't match the sleeve or helmet stripes. But what's really bizarre is that they chose to have a Northwestern stripe inside of a larger solid stripe on the pants. Very strange. I'm also surprise that they chose to embrace grey rather than black as an alternate color. The black works so much better and there's a history with it. Oddly enough, Williams has incorporated black into their uniform set (which looks awful, but more on them in a bit). Amherst did bring wear their old black jerseys for one game last year, but for some reason they paired it with the grey pants for a truly terrible look. Also, the Nike jersey and Under Armor pants just look odd together. The all white set is a great uniform.

BATES
Grade D:

I don't understand the insistence on wearing maroon pants for every game. The monochromatic look is way overdone, and while they look better with the road white uniform an all white look would be even better. I'm not a fan of the unnecessary shoulder piping, but the real reason they rank so low are the inexplicable tiger(?) stripes on the helmet. Bobcats don't even have stripes... they have spots. Bates was much better off with the solid maroon lids.

BOWDOIN
Grade: C-

So much wasted potential here. They have a cool mascot and a strong (albeit bland) color scheme, but the whole set just looks incomplete; like practice uniforms for a state penitentiary squad. Their worst look is easily the black jersey with grey pants, though the grey tops aren't much better. Woof! I love the bear print on the helmet and shoulders but they need "Polar Bears" or "Bowdoin" across the chest and they should ditch the grey all together.

COLBY
Grade: D

No NESCAC team has fallen as drastically in the uniform department in recent years as the Mules. Colby had a classic look for ages but downgraded significantly when they switched out the wishbone C on the helmet for the Mule logo and then got rid of the grey pants with traditional stripes for the curved pointed stipes. The white pants just don't look right with the grey helmets and the overall uniform is reminiscent of a high school team.

HAMILTON
Grade: B+

A nice traditional look for the Continentals. Based on a tweet sent last September, it looks like they'll be adding some much needed jersey stripes to match their pants which will help tie the whole look together. I wouldn't mind seeing some more buff on the uniforms of the Buff & Blue, but overall it's a decent uniform set.

MIDDLEBURY
Grade A

Sure the winged helmet is more synonymous with bigger programs (Michigan, Delaware, Princeton) but it's still a great classic look and the Panthers have rightly stuck with the tradition. Like Wes, Midd doesn't utilize their white pants enough and the monochromatic blue is overused. I think they lose points for the grey shoulder numbers on the white jersey and I don't understand why they have different shoulder stripes on the home away jersey. But overall this is a top tier NESCAC football uniform set.

TRINITY
Grade A

Calle me biased, but I love Trinity's white helmet with the Bantam head. They do a good job of mixing and matching a solid color scheme (the all white is superb). The number font and shoulder striping aren't my favorite, as I prefer a more traditional look. Also, the NESCAC patch and Bantam logo make the jerseys borderline too busy. Also, I'll be just fine if I never again see the gold jersey paired with the gold pants. But overall Trinity does a very good job with their uniform set and it's among the very best in the league.

TUFTS
Grade: A-

I may be in the minority, but I've actually always liked the uniqueness of the Jumbos' brown and powder blue color scheme. I'm glad they moved away from the heavy use of gray (and those helmets with the elephant facing backwards also drove me nuts). The current powder blue uniform is a beauty, but I believe Tufts should embrace the traditional brown home uniform. Regardless, they mix and match several different sets and always seem to pull it off. The white road uniform is very nice and I like the script "Jumbos" on the helmets (though I'm not a big fan of the number on one side).

WESLEYAN
Grade: B+

The Wes uniforms feel just a little too reliant on black and I like their away look much better due to the contrast in colors. Introducing a red jersey seems like a no-brainer for a team named the Cardinals. The white pants are also seriously underutilized. Wes could also stand to tone down the piping on the jerseys, but that's not a major gripe. I'm assuming the new Cardinal logo will be added to the helmets for this year.

WILLIAMS
Grade: D

Almost nothing works here. The shade of purple on the helmet doesn't match the shade of purple on the jersey. The black (black??) sleeves are way out of place. The truncated pant striping doesn't match anything else on the uniform. The thin script Ephs outline on the helmet is basically illegible, and the helmet stripes that narrow to a point are outdated and mismatched. Sure, the white uniforms are better but it's still not a great look. As you can probably tell by now, I don't love the monochromatic look, but for a school that's as obsessed with purple as Williams, they need some purple pants to throw into the mix.

[MUC57]

Trin8-0

Love your grading of the uniforms in the NESCAC! Never seen anything like it. Good stuff.
Wonder how you'd rate some of the teams in the OAC? There are several that are really ugly! Of course, Mount Union has "designer uniforms".
OK, I just made up that last part.
Really enjoyed your comments on the individual teams. Will you have to go into hiding? You might want to skip the Williams game, wherever it is.
Anyway, good job. Have a +k on me. GO NESCAC!

[The Mole]

This was mentioned last week, but I guess it is official now. No details provided. Horrific timing. Saw an article in the Bates Student below. Strange quote by the interim coach: Argast said he "doesn't plan on changing much from what Coach Hall was doing," though did not know whether or not the previous coach had been planning for this coming preseason.



https://thebatesstudent.com/22089/sports/head-football-coach-malik-hall-will-not-return-to-program/

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/07/27/head-football-coach-malik-hall-leaves-bates-college/

[amh63]

The Mole....good stuff, but somewhat sad to hear.  Bates has been hiring head coaches in two women sports recently.  Bates has also been improving a lot of buildings....like a new science building!  Bates is getting towards the end of their General Fund Raising Campaign.  The school is getting a great new physical look and now wants to be more competitive in Nescac overall...not just in Maine.  Heck...they have won 4 straight NCAA rowing titles recently.  Meanwhile...Amherst has been loosing a few Head coaches recently. 

[The Mole]

Totally agree, feel bad for the players. He left after just 2 (3 with Covid) seasons. Left for greener pastures? Or did something occur to have him dismissed? Bad either way. I applaud them trying to turn things around. However, since 1992 the Bobcats are 50-177 (.220 win pct.) One winning season at 5-3 in 2012. Indicative of a lack of commitment. I guess we will have to wait and see...

The Mole....good stuff, but somewhat sad to hear.  Bates has been hiring head coaches in two women sports recently.  Bates has also been improving a lot of buildings....like a new science building!  Bates is getting towards the end of their General Fund Raising Campaign.  The school is getting a great new physical look and now wants to be more competitive in Nescac overall...not just in Maine.  Heck...they have won 4 straight NCAA rowing titles recently.  Meanwhile...Amherst has been loosing a few Head coaches recently.

[SpringSt7]

Something had to have gone wrong for Coach Hall to be leaving Bates 6 weeks before Week 1, after nearly two years of no competition. If he left for greener pastures I would imagine that would've been the headline.