FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Nescacman]

Any team that wears purple is no friend of ours...

Friends don't let friends wear purple

Amen to that brother...

Are you partial to Vinny or Joannie?!?

[Nescacman]

Although not a football story, may have implications for the entire LM sports program, including football....from the Boston Globe this AM:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/13/sports/amherst-college-mens-lacrosse-program-crisis-former-coach-files-discrimination-suit/

[nescac1]

While certainly not something any school wants to deal with, this suit sounds pretty darn thin to me, especially in light of Amherst's overwhelming emphasis on institutional diversity (moreso than any other Nescac school or maybe tied with Wesleyan).  But, it's a predictable end result of Amherst's disastrous handling of the lacrosse job from start to finish.  At least until the recent hire, who seems very strong.  It could have some marginal consequences for football considering that there are a fair number of football / lacrosse players in Nescac and Amherst was at a severe disadvantage in lacrosse recruiting for essentially two years. 

[JEFFFAN]

While certainly not something any school wants to deal with, this suit sounds pretty darn thin to me, especially in light of Amherst's overwhelming emphasis on institutional diversity (moreso than any other Nescac school or maybe tied with Wesleyan).  But, it's a predictable end result of Amherst's disastrous handling of the lacrosse job from start to finish.  At least until the recent hire, who seems very strong.  It could have some marginal consequences for football considering that there are a fair number of football / lacrosse players in Nescac and Amherst was at a severe disadvantage in lacrosse recruiting for essentially two years.

As someone who has been more than keep deep into the absolute fiasco that my alma mater foisted upon itself with this lacrosse debacle, I wholeheartedly agree with NESCAC1's assessment of the situation.   A number of very good people - including Jon Thompson, the original lacrosse coach - were sacrificed at the altar of Biddy Martin's self-righteous racial view of the world.   I can say that they ran the recently completed process in a way that was 180 degrees different from last year's laughable affirmative action exercise, with four highly qualified candidates in the final running this time around.   I hope that Coach Woods can make something out of the mess that Biddy and the Athletic Director left him with.

Interestingly about the linkage to football ... I am not sure how much of the "play two sports at D3 rather than one at D1" narrative holds water anymore.   It certainly used to, of course, but with increased specialization it is not clear whether it does anymore.  Maybe an interesting thread to ask the question of readers:   how many true two sport NESCAC athletes exist out there anymore?   Not ten years, not 20 years ago - now.   Defined as playing meaningful, starting minutes for two sports.

[nescac1]

As for lacrosse, at least two recent all-conference football players for the Ephs (Kyle Horihan and Ben Anthony) played lacrosse, and I think Maimaron was planning to play during his Spring senior year before COVID hit.  But I have no idea if lacrosse was anything but a bonus sport for them, or in any way impacted their decision to attend Williams.  It would probably only have a marginal impact, if any, but I could imagine it swaying one or two two-sport recruits away from Amherst if they wanted nothing to do with a lacrosse program before things got sorted out (as they now, seemingly, have with the new hire ...).

And Nescacman, yes, I will take Bates -180. 

[SpringSt7]

A couple I can think of off the top of my head:

Frank Cosolito, Middlebury Football and Lacrosse and two years of Hockey (!!!!! Holy cow)

Luke Mallette, Amherst Football and Lacrosse (doing a 5th year at Northern Illinois if anyone was curious)

Jon Lindgren, Bates Football and Baseball

CJ Hassan, Colby Football and Lacrosse

Adam Regensburg, Frank Stola, Edward Manzella, Williams Football and Baseball

I'm sure there are more and obviously most of those are recent graduates but it definitely still seems to exist, and it is certainly more prevalent in women's sports in the NESCAC. I think most kids would rather play 1 sport at the D1 level instead of 2 at the D3 level unless they had a clear and overwhelming favorite sport to play---I think that's what happened with Maimaron and football.

[Nescacman]

As for lacrosse, at least two recent all-conference football players for the Ephs (Kyle Horihan and Ben Anthony) played lacrosse, and I think Maimaron was planning to play during his Spring senior year before COVID hit.  But I have no idea if lacrosse was anything but a bonus sport for them, or in any way impacted their decision to attend Williams.  It would probably only have a marginal impact, if any, but I could imagine it swaying one or two two-sport recruits away from Amherst if they wanted nothing to do with a lacrosse program before things got sorted out (as they now, seemingly, have with the new hire ...).

And Nescacman, yes, I will take Bates -180.

We are on at UBates -180 nescac1...NESCACMAN has the over...we will determine via message what the wager is...good luck!!!

[Nescacman]

While certainly not something any school wants to deal with, this suit sounds pretty darn thin to me, especially in light of Amherst's overwhelming emphasis on institutional diversity (moreso than any other Nescac school or maybe tied with Wesleyan).  But, it's a predictable end result of Amherst's disastrous handling of the lacrosse job from start to finish.  At least until the recent hire, who seems very strong.  It could have some marginal consequences for football considering that there are a fair number of football / lacrosse players in Nescac and Amherst was at a severe disadvantage in lacrosse recruiting for essentially two years.

As someone who has been more than keep deep into the absolute fiasco that my alma mater foisted upon itself with this lacrosse debacle, I wholeheartedly agree with NESCAC1's assessment of the situation.   A number of very good people - including Jon Thompson, the original lacrosse coach - were sacrificed at the altar of Biddy Martin's self-righteous racial view of the world.   I can say that they ran the recently completed process in a way that was 180 degrees different from last year's laughable affirmative action exercise, with four highly qualified candidates in the final running this time around.   I hope that Coach Woods can make something out of the mess that Biddy and the Athletic Director left him with.

Interestingly about the linkage to football ... I am not sure how much of the "play two sports at D3 rather than one at D1" narrative holds water anymore.   It certainly used to, of course, but with increased specialization it is not clear whether it does anymore.  Maybe an interesting thread to ask the question of readers:   how many true two sport NESCAC athletes exist out there anymore?   Not ten years, not 20 years ago - now.   Defined as playing meaningful, starting minutes for two sports.

We should have been more clear on the Lord Mammoth situation...

Certainly there will be an impact on the MLax team directly as well as any footballers that dual sport with MLax...however, the bigger question in our mind is a bit more nuanced...given this situation as well as what appears to be a negative athletic bias at the highest levels of the LM administration (the College President), what impact will that have on athletic recruiting/admissions and the quality of student-athletes that LM is able to attract generally and for FB, specifically?

We would love to hear our fellow boardsters opinion on this topic...

We have seen this scenario play out (negatively) at other NESCAC schools in the past...

[The Mole]

Jeff, unfortunately, sounds like an "institutional" decision to de-emphasize athletics. Actions speak louder than words in terms of two sport athletes. I think Wesleyan has 4 of the 28 recruits coming in as dual athletes--football and lacrosse and football and baseball. I think without Spring practice, it makes it easier for football players to play multiple sports. Other conferences, it becomes tougher with all the year round workouts, practices, etc. 

While certainly not something any school wants to deal with, this suit sounds pretty darn thin to me, especially in light of Amherst's overwhelming emphasis on institutional diversity (moreso than any other Nescac school or maybe tied with Wesleyan).  But, it's a predictable end result of Amherst's disastrous handling of the lacrosse job from start to finish.  At least until the recent hire, who seems very strong.  It could have some marginal consequences for football considering that there are a fair number of football / lacrosse players in Nescac and Amherst was at a severe disadvantage in lacrosse recruiting for essentially two years.

As someone who has been more than keep deep into the absolute fiasco that my alma mater foisted upon itself with this lacrosse debacle, I wholeheartedly agree with NESCAC1's assessment of the situation.   A number of very good people - including Jon Thompson, the original lacrosse coach - were sacrificed at the altar of Biddy Martin's self-righteous racial view of the world.   I can say that they ran the recently completed process in a way that was 180 degrees different from last year's laughable affirmative action exercise, with four highly qualified candidates in the final running this time around.   I hope that Coach Woods can make something out of the mess that Biddy and the Athletic Director left him with.

Interestingly about the linkage to football ... I am not sure how much of the "play two sports at D3 rather than one at D1" narrative holds water anymore.   It certainly used to, of course, but with increased specialization it is not clear whether it does anymore.  Maybe an interesting thread to ask the question of readers:   how many true two sport NESCAC athletes exist out there anymore?   Not ten years, not 20 years ago - now.   Defined as playing meaningful, starting minutes for two sports.

We should have been more clear on the Lord Mammoth situation...

Certainly there will be an impact on the MLax team directly as well as any footballers that dual sport with MLax...however, the bigger question in our mind is a bit more nuanced...given this situation as well as what appears to be a negative athletic bias at the highest levels of the LM administration (the College President), what impact will that have on athletic recruiting/admissions and the quality of student-athletes that LM is able to attract generally and for FB, specifically.

We would love to hear our fellow boardsters opinion on this topic...

We have seen this scenario play out (negatively) at other NESCAC schools in the past...

[JEFFFAN]

The Mole ...

It is a great question that you pose.  Many of us were leery of Biddy from the outset, but to her credit - and more important to the credit of the former AD, Katherine Epstein, who made some great hires - the school's athletic performance has been superior compared to prior regimes.   Some terrific coaching hires and generally just a very strong won/loss record.   Higher standings in that D3 athletic ranking cup - forget the name - than ever before.   So as much as I (like others) am very troubled by a lot of what she has done, up until now we have been good with the athletic side of things. 

The bigger question is "what next?" considering that Biddy is in her 70s now and past the ten-year mark in terms of tenure.   Endowment is doing well (great actually), academic standing remains good, so not sure what the impetus would be for her to leave ... other than generally that its time.   So when she does go, who comes next and what will his/her athletic priorities be?    I - again, like many others - am more than ready for a change in leadership and with that comes risk and opportunity on the athletics front.

[amh63]

JEFFFAN...many of your comments wrt Biddy agrees with mine. Biddy was at Un. Of Wisconsin-Madison, and at odds with the "higher authority" there.  She was asked to be on the Amherst Pres. selection committee and decided she would take the job. When talk of a new Pratt Field/Complex came up....Biddy would not use school funds. When a Md. private school football player got the "run around" by Penn State, he and a local football player friend arrived at Amherst. His father put up the majority of the funds for the new stadium complex.  His father, a D.C. resident, is associated with Giant Foods,Inc. in the D.C.-Md. area....father's name is on the Stadium part.  Biddy, an alum of William-Mary, was the no.2 person at Ivy League Cornell.  My son-in-law, a builder in the Ithaca, NY area, did some remodeling on her home.  My daughter, an Amherst grad, brought Biddy a bottle of Ithaca area wine when she came to Homecoming.  The wine, bottled by an Amherst alum in the Ithaca area.  Lots of Amherst alums reside/work in that part of NY.  Hoping Biddy will go soon..maybe after this celebration year!

[Nescacman]

JEFFFAN...many of your comments wrt Biddy agrees with mine. Biddy was at Un. Of Wisconsin-Madison, and at odds with the "higher authority" there.  She was asked to be on the Amherst Pres. selection committee and decided she would take the job. When talk of a new Pratt Field/Complex came up....Biddy would not use school funds. When a Md. private school football player got the "run around" by Penn State, he and a local football player friend arrived at Amherst. His father put up the majority of the funds for the new stadium complex.  His father, a D.C. resident, is associated with Giant Foods,Inc. in the D.C.-Md. area....father's name is on the Stadium part.  Biddy, an alum of William-Mary, was the no.2 person at Ivy League Cornell.  My son-in-law, a builder in the Ithaca, NY area, did some remodeling on her home.  My daughter, an Amherst grad, brought Biddy a bottle of Ithaca area wine when she came to Homecoming.  The wine, bottled by an Amherst alum in the Ithaca area.  Lots of Amherst alums reside/work in that part of NY.  Hoping Biddy will go soon..maybe after this celebration year!

Wow, try following that board post sports fans.  ....who's on first Lm63???

[amh63]

Nescacman...yes, I get ahead of myself...often.  Tried to respond earlier...but got told to do my chores.  In short...Biddy is a southern born, southern educated individual with an unique approach to running Amherst...her way.  Will be more specific and definitive later.  Bear with me all.

[Nescacman]

Are you ready for some football?!?

With the players back practicing and getting ready for opening kick-off at most, if not all NESCAC schools next week, it's time for our pre-pre-season rankings:

NESCACMAN Pre-Pre-Season Rankings
1. (Tie) Wes (8-1): Tons of talent back at the skill positions plus key seniors who would have graduated in 2020. They will benefit as well from no roster limit in '21. Best special teams in the league (K, P, returners) plus 2 very good recruiting classes.
1. (Tie) TTUN (8-1): Loaded at the skill positions including arguably the best D3 QB in New England. Need to break the 7-game losing streak against Wes to win the league. Game one match-up v. MID will tell a lot about both teams. Mark 11/6 on your calendar when they host Wes which may be for all the marbles in the 'CAC and Little 3. HCOF has done a good job of bringing program back from the basement.
3. MID (6-3): Key loses in the line and TE, however, QB is back as is one of the best RBs in the league. HCOF and Staff will have them ready to go but can they live up to dream season in 2019 when everything bounced right for them (e.g. versus Colby). 
4. Hartford State (6-3): Need to figure out the QB spot. They also had 2 good recruiting classes and will also benefit from larger roster. They will be good, just not sure if they can beat the Top 2. D will be improved. Looking forward to see who poops first in the new Coop.
5. Original Elephants (5-4): Another team that will have some 2020's back. Very active recruiting. Can compete at highest level in the league, just not sure they can win.
6. Lord Mammoths (5-4): We think they will be improved, but so will every team ahead of them, plus they have to replace Ollie at QB.
7. Colby (4-5): Will be improved and have a decent QB. however, need to develop a running game to take the pressure off Hersch. Legit shot to break into the second tier of the league.
8. Hamilton (2-7): Lost a lot of their talent on O. Lucky that Bowdoin and UBates are in the league.
9. Bowdoin (1-8): We're from Missouri...how many of their "500 recruits" actually matriculated in Brunswick?
10. UBates-Lewiston Campus (0-9): Will be a long year in Lewiston.

[SpringSt7]

Good list---agree with a lot of it. Who's winning the league though nescacman??? Wes?