FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[formerbant10]

As for Trin not being in the top 25....check out the records of the teams in the top 25, they're all very very solid teams.  Most of the teams play in more competitive leagues and are winning in those leagues.  Trin might slide in towards the end of the year if some of those teams get knocked off, but don't count on it.  Don't worry about it either, as long as those kids get their 4th ring in a row, what does it matter?

Trincant, sorry for taking the personal shot, but don't go after an entire school like that.  Bantams are a proud species and don't like to be pushed around.  I'm all for your post congratulating Leclerc, keep up that stuff, but don't put yourself at the same level as "Saul" and compare academics and endowments on a football board. 

[dirtybirds8-0]

hmmm interesting stuff...thank you former.

[dirtybirds8-0]

By the way PICKS FOR THE WEEK

Bowdoin @ Bates  21-13

Trin @ Amherst 14-7

Tufts @ Colby 10-17

Hamilton @ Midd 10-35

Williams @ Wesleyan 38-10

[dirtybirds8-0]

by the way 25-5 on the year...not to shabby.

[Trin9-0]

Trincant: Are you seriously going to start pointing out grammatical errors in people's posts? I wasn't aware that we were being graded. But as long as we are going to nit-pick, shouldn't it be "TrinCan'tReedGood"? (p.s. that little curvy mark is called an apostrophe... "Aren't they wild?")

As far as your posts are concerned, I'm afraid that you have fallen into the same category as our friend Saul. Opinions are welcome, but if you say something as fact, it must be supported by evidence. You've mentioned several times the low academic record of Trinity transfer students, yet you offer no proof.

All anyone has been able to regurgitate are the same US News & World Report rankings that I posted over a month ago. In terms of academics, they ranked Trinity College as the lowest NESCAC school that participates in football (let's leave Conn College out; after all... this IS a football board). However, these rankings say nothing about the academic rankings of the football teams at these schools. My point is that, the data regarding the students performances in those rankings are based on the ENTIRE student body of each school, not necessarily the football teams. In relation to the Trinity student body:

The football team comprises less than 4%
Football players who received "tips" less than 3%
Transfer football players less than 1%

These small percentages are not the reason for Trinity's ranking, nor can you provide any evidence that the football players at Trinity are any less intelligent than those at any other NESCAC school. If you can, I would love to see the data.

So please don't make assumptions that the football players at Trinity are stupid. It is condescending, elitist an unsubstantiated. Let's talk about football instead. Otherwise, please find a www.d3academics.com message board and boast about the rankings.

But if you do, remember that anytime there is a poll or ranking it is subjective and will inherently carry some bias... where as in athletics the measurement of who is best is often much more obvious (an undefeated season could be used an example).

[First6Ws]

This board is reflecting a great deal of underrating of the talent and coaching in non-NESCAC DIII.

Frank, I think you are right, but I also think that the challenge of going more than 3 calendar years without a loss, albeit against a NESCAC-only schedule, may be underrated by those outside the conference.  As I'm sure most posters have played on great football teams whether in college or high school, we can all appreciate the difficulty of being at your best week in and week out with a target on your back.  Granted, the 2002 Bants didn't deal much with that target but the 2003, 2004 and 2005 undefeated teams have taken the best shot from every team.

[WESTECH25]

Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to join the board.  I've enjoyed reading your posts and hearing your thoughts on the status of the league for a few years now.  I've never really been motivated enough to post until reading some of the recent threads. 

Trincan't-  feel free to correct my grammar. I'm at work and don't have time to check it.   

As a wesleyan grad I'm obviously an easy target this year.  It is embarassing that my program has fallen to this level.  We just don't have the players that we have had in the past.  I will blame admissions for it.  Hauser's hands are basically tied in terms of who can be admitted these days.  Maybe if we hadn't had some players arrested for armed robbery and a cheating scandal hadn't occured, then we would be able to admit some more "borderline" students.  Thanks young douglas.

The real reason i've posted isn't to complain about Wesleyan even though it would be real easy to continue to do just that.  I would like to congratulate Trinity, both current and former players, for the great streak they are riding.  Do i hate that trinity is so good?  of course.  Am I going to make stupid usernames bashing trinity?  no.  It is impossible to field a football team with 75 players that all scored 1400 on their SATS.  Even if you could, who would want to watch?  Every school in the Nescac admits reach students.  Has trinity admitted more than their share?  Probably, but I don't hold it against them.  Just because a kid gets 1200 on his SATS doesn't mean he can't contribute to the university on more than just a football level.  When your all bashing trinity for their admissions methods I challenge you to think outside of the box.  I bet if you actually cared to look that you would see these kids have contributed to campus life in positive ways. 

Keep up the good work Trinity, i would rather have a cold beer with you guys any day than with these whining guys that come up with excuses of why they can't beat you. 

take mercy on the Tech this year as well

[speedy]

Nice try, "Westech," but even cooler heads at Trinity are concerned about the direction of the Trinity football program as is reflected in this letter to the Oct. 25 issue of the Trinity student newspaper calling for the release of the GPAs and SAT scores of football players admitted by Trinity:

To the Editor:

I used to look forward to opening the Sunday Boston Globe to see how our football team fared against our traditional foes. We won some and lost some, but the games were usually tight, competitive affairs, suggestive of evenly matched student-athletes. Now, it is with trepidation and embarrassment that I check the scores: what rival did we crush by three, four or even five touchdowns this time?

Last fall, the Boston Globe ran a story on Trinity football, in which our coach made what can be charitably called egregious public relations missteps. High school athletes considering the Ivy League, but uncertain if they could compete at the Division I level, he opined, will consider some of the other NESCAC schools, but not Trinity. We know our recruiting niche, he went on, which sounded to this reader a lot like, "We know our place; we may not be able to compete with the other members of our league academically, but, by golly, we're thrashing them on the gridiron."

Respectfully, I call upon President Jones to release the SAT scores and high school GPAs and class rankings of admitted football players. Let those of us who dearly love our alma mater have the facts, so that we can determine whether being the Alabama of the NESCAC is worth it.

I also pose this query to the Trinity community: What effect would the abolition of football have on our applicant pool, student body qualifications and campus life?

Sincerely,

Gregory Barison '74

[patfan]

Trincantreadgood...I can't even believe you are putting Bowdoin in the same class as Trinity, and Amherst. I also can't believe you think Bowdoin is somehow comparable to Colby and Williams. I fully support Colby and I would never even think of putting them in the same class as an Amherst or Trinity simply because the Mules haven't beaten them in quite some time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Bowdoin won four games in the last four years, but now they're an elite team in the league?

[speedy]

Trincantreadgood...I can't even believe you are putting Bowdoin in the same class as Trinity, and Amherst. I also can't believe you think Bowdoin is somehow comparable to Colby and Williams. I fully support Colby and I would never even think of putting them in the same class as an Amherst or Trinity simply because the Mules haven't beaten them in quite some time.  . .

Bowdoin did beat Amherst this year so it certainly is in the same class as Amherst this year regardless of what happened in past seasons . . .

[dirtybirds8-0]

Mr. Barisons' opinion is one of....well.....ONE!  I'am happy he wrote that letter, because it probably did something for him...but it is a cheap shot at a solid program, the admissions department, and his "beloved" alma mater.  You know the saying..."opinions are like ***holes, everyone has one", well that just about sums up your post Speedy.

[speedy]

. .  You know the saying..."opinions are like ***holes, everyone has one", well that just about sums up your post Speedy.

And shall we hold Trinity responsible for the way in which you express yourself??

[First6Ws]

Speedy & TrinCant, the attempts to bash Trinity football via academics are pathetic.  There are always going to be uninformed outsiders who jump to unreasonable conclusions such as the aforementioned alum and yourselves.  You can tell Mr. Barison that I posted a HS GPA of 4.0 (3.8 at Trinity) and scored perfect on the Math SAT (with a disappointing 630 on the verbal) and, believe it or not, was even a 3-year starter on the football team.  WesTech, thanks for giving credit where credit is due.

As for the Polar Bears, an elite team typically demonstrates some semblance of consistency year to year.  The last winning season they saw in Brunswick was 1998, when Mo Vaughn led the Red Sox in batting average and HRs.  

[dirtybirds8-0]

Speedy: Please do not hold Trinity responsible for the way I present myself...I was introduced to that phrase by a wealthy business man over a couple of drinks at our restaurant who told me never to forget it...he did not finish college (net worth..100 million).  I am assuming he was preparing me for individuals like yourself.

[Trin9-0]

I am all for a full investigation into the Trinity Admissions department. I have complete confidence that everything is as it should be. However, to publicly announce the academic records of students because they are winning football games by too many points is utterly ridiculous. NO rules have been broken at Trinity. Players are graduating, and making positive contributions to society.

WHAT IS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM? Why can't we just play football? Investigate all you want, but all you'll find is that Priore has done a fantastic job of running his program within the rules of the NCAA, the NESCAC and Trinity College. Let's try rewarding Trinity for doing an excellent job instead of creating allegations and accusations about one of the best run programs in the history of the NESCAC.