FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Col. Partridge]

Still potential for three-way tie for first...

I guess anything is still possible, but for some reason I was thinking Amherst was undefeated.  There cannot be a three-way tie for first where each team has one loss.

[pleasedontflex]

andrus was always a pretty cool field to play on.  i thought midd and wlms had the best in terms of scenery.  hamilton was the worst place to play because they stuck the visitors in the shade on the home side of the field.  had to be a 10 degree difference in temp. 

Williams was aweful....and the stands seem to be miles from the field....hamilton has a great field...i don't really care about the fans....how many people other than family is gonna make that trip anyway.....Midd is nice too but many forget about Bowdoin....thats a cool field especially with the old stands..i think the more confining a field felt the more i liked it.

[LinemenRathletes2]

Bowdoin?? did you forget the 1/2 mile nature hike over rocks and tree roots it took for the visiting team to get to the field?? By the time you make it to the wooded enclave, you have lost 2 players to sprained ankles and another one to a pack of wild wolves.

[bant551]

Haha, it is quite a hike at Bowdoin.  I thought it looked kind of cool at least, but the walk was a little much.

[Ephmen1991]

I'll admit Williams doesn't have great views to watch a game from the tailgate area since it is almost like looking uphill from part of it.  I haven't been to Amherst since 2000 but it's a great place to watch a game if you like to get near the field.

[Trin9-0]

I think Middlebury is by far the most scenic place to play. Not crazy about the one-sided staduim but the view was gorgeous. Bowdoin was also a great place to play (the hike aside). The stands were great and I always liked the barber shop quartet playing during the pre-game.

I personally hated playing at Williams (admittedly so because I was 0-2 there). But it's even worse as a fan. The tailgate offers a terrible view of the field and what's the deal with no beer in the "stadium?!" The stands are very far away from the field (though I don't mind the awning when it's raining).

How I would rank my favorite places to play/watch a NESCAC game.

Middlebury (gorgeous scenery)
Wesleyan (older buildings make Andrus feel cozy)
Trinity (plenty of good seating and right in the heart of a beautiful campus)
Amherst (great tailgate set-up and the stands get you close to the action)
Bowdoin (attractive setting and the grandstands are a beautiful)
Bates (great view of some beautiful buildings and decent tailgate)
Tufts (not a great tailgate set-up and the visitor stands are lacking)
Hamilton (the enclosed feeling is nice but limited seating and tailgate)
Williams (stands too far the from field and need to revise the tailgate policy)
Colby (very limited visitor seating and tailgate is far from field)

[bocephus]

hamilton has a great field...i don't really care about the fans....how many people other than family is gonna make that trip anyway.....

not talking about the fans.  they stuck the visiting team on the home side.  and speaking about bowdoin, they pumped the heat up in the locker room.  that might be fine for a game in november, but not cool for the first game of the year.  any other teams do that to the visitors?

[Ephmen1991]

Trinity guys, Did you put visiting teams in the smallest locker room possible on purpose?

[dirtybirds30-0]

Can't say for sure, but I thought visiting teams were stuck in the field house?  That has plenty of room.

Middlbury likes to cram you in a small locker room.

I did not like Williams field either

[Ephs]

Middlebury is by far the best. Of course, I'm partial to Williams, but I can see why other teams don't find it spectacular.

Trinity loses points for be surrounded by hartford, rather than nature....

I remember Hamilton doing that with the shade, and it stunk for us since it was towards the end of the season and getting cold.

[fells]

So far, and there isn't any bias here, Middlebury has the best field in the league, and possibly in New England. You have the Green Mountains in the background that are now snow capped, along with the trees that line the area. Williams is second because of the scenery, Colby is third, and Trinity is a distant last.

No offense to those at Trinity, but when a field is in the middle of the city, it doesn't rank well as far as NESCAC schools. I am looking forward to the Hamilton game as it looks like a very nice field.

[Trin9-0]

Trinity guys, Did you put visiting teams in the smallest locker room possible on purpose?

I believe visiting teams at Trin now dress in a intramural basketball court affectionately knows to Bants as "Unit D".

Though I do know the locker rooms you're talking about and it's creepy how small they are. I can imagine it would be very uncomfortable to get ready in them.


As for Jesse/Miller Field, a.k.a. The Coop, the home of the mighty Bantams; I think it's one of the more beautiful settings in the league. Hartford itself may be no jewel but the campus is gorgeous. From the field, the city is very difficult to view and the portion that is visable is the brand new Learning Corridor which Trinity helped to build. The tailgating is accessible and the athletic fields, chapel and new admissions building make the view from the homestands quite attractive. Also, the recently installed Field Turf makes it by far the best playing surface in the league.

Fells: any opinion on the different press boxes?

[fells]

Trinity guys, Did you put visiting teams in the smallest locker room possible on purpose?

I believe visiting teams at Trin now dress in a intramural basketball court affectionately knows to Bants as "Unit D".

Though I do know the locker rooms you're talking about and it's creepy how small they are. I can imagine it would be very uncomfortable to get ready in them.


As for Jesse/Miller Field, a.k.a. The Coop, the home of the mighty Bantams; I think it's one of the more beautiful settings in the league. Hartford itself may be no jewel but the campus is gorgeous. From the field, the city is very difficult to view and the portion that is visable is the brand new Learning Corridor which Trinity helped to build. The tailgating is accessible and the athletic fields, chapel and new admissions building make the view from the homestands quite attractive. Also, the recently installed Field Turf makes it by far the best playing surface in the league.

Fells: any opinion on the different press boxes?

Middlebury's is top notch. It is easy to get into, (I have a blown knee, so a lack of stairs is a beautiful thing) is heated, plenty of hot food and coffee, and the stats are delivered every quarter and before my station break is even done. Game updates are delivered like clockwork, and Brad Nadeau's staff is the best around.

Williams has a very nice one as well. I had my own box that was HUGE, plenty of food, and Dick was great with stats and scores from other games in the NESCAC and the soccer and field hockey games that were going on.

I wasn't impressed with Trinity's, and Colby's rates above average on the scale, but not as good as Middlebury's or Williams'. I have to say this about Colby in that they have some of the world's nicest fans. I had done a high school game in Burlington the night before, and then had to leave at 5:00 am to get to Maine on time. I asked one of the Colby tailgaters where I could get some food and one of them said to me, "Don't even think about going somewhere for food; we have plenty here!! Dig in!!" They then got me some grilled taters off the grill, some eggs, loaded me up with coffee, and then loaded me up with snacks for the game. These guys and gals were just world class in the hospitality department and if any of the Colby parents read this, you have my belated thanks.

Hey, does anyone from Hamilton know about the Old Rocking Chair? Brad at Middlebury told me about it but of course I was on my cell and couldn't jot down notes.

[bant551]

Call me crazy, but as rough of a city as Hartford can be, I was kind of happy with the location.

Rough cities are cities, and it is close to big malls, a really big and nice movie theatre, a few big to medium-sized concert venues, more bars (though the quality of the bars isn't near New York or Boston, its better than two small bars accross the street from each other), a bunch of restaurants (every NESCAC school is close to some great restaurants, but being a city, there were just a lot more in Hartford), etc. 

I definitely appreciate open spaces and green... but I found that its something I like to get away to, whether its visiting my brother or friends at a place like Williams, or going out East on Long Island.

Aside from having the benefits of a small city in terms of more going on (and yes, the baggage too, because it can be a tough city), as a Poli Sci major, we were able to have access to all the important politicians who would come upon invitation to our classes, the education majors were able to teach at the Montessori schools, there were opportunities to work with kids from the inner city at Boys and Girls Club and do something good... and as much as Trinity is in Hartford, you'd be amazed at how isolated student life can be if you don't want anything to do with the city of Hartford.

Plus, its close to New York City, so its not a trip to go see an Islanders-Rangers game, a Knicks game (ha), concerts or to see friends in the big city.

I loved my time at Trinity and despite the popular perception (some of it being justified), I liked being in Hartford too.

[met_fan]

The only thing I seem to remember hearing about the rocking chair for Hamilton/Middlebury was that it had something to do with Bristol-Myers.  There are what seem to be an endless amount of Bristols who went to Hamilton, including, apparently, the one instrumental in the founding of the large company.  Myers was a Middlebury alum, I believe, and the rocking chair came out of that somehow.  At least that's what I heard when I was there.