WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[she_scores51]

With no SMU rep on these boards, I'll throw this out there myself. The new Cards coach has very little talent to work with down bout. However, he sent out an email to the entire faculty laying out a bunch of guidelines in class for his student-athletes. The only one I specifically heard mentioned was that his players were required to sit in the first or second row of class, but the list was apparently double-digit in length.

Does any other coach in the MIAC mandate such a thing, especially for all to hear? Is this a good or a bad thing? Anyone care to speculate on what other rules he's invoked?

Wonka,

How do you know this? You must have a friend who teaches at SMU?? I don't think its out of line for Coach Stimmel to demand that his players be good students. After all, they are students before they are athletes. My guess is that it didn't get much attention from most of the faculty. They have bigger fish to fry than trying to remember which students are also women's basketball players, etc. etc.

However, I think its a good thought on Coach Stimmel's part. He's trying to get it through to these girls that class is important. Must've fallen on deaf ears to some of them though, as one of their leading scorers is ineligible this semester. When I was there, my coach required the professors to fill out a progress report 3 or 4 times per semester on each student-athlete. She wanted to catch any sort of "falling-out" in a class long before it actually happened. I don't remember ever having a teammate ineligible because of grades.

[Cager]

Wonka, She Scores:

Interesting comments. If we were talking about D-1, or D-2 scholarship athletes, i might support the discipline associated with such a rule. However, at a D-3 level and especially in the MIAC where academics are strong up and down the conference, this rule seems kind of silly.

One would rather expect a program to create a culture of accountability whereby the player decided to commit to class.

Thoughts?

[Korn Lover]

Just back from the Cobbers/Royals game. Talk about scoring, over 150 points!

As expected, a physical game by both teams. Neither side wanted to give up the paint. Unfortunate injusy to Sarah Krabbenhoft, who went down with a knee after a collision. She tried to return but couldn't go. Word is it is not too serious, though.

Hightlight of the night was the match-up of freshamn guards Sarah Sorbo and Kirsten Hansen. These two will be delighting ther coaches for the next four years. Their head-to-head games should be fun to watch.

Inconsistent officiating led to a very physical game (Fouls were 10-3 at one point) that resulted in a poorly called intentional foul on the Royals. I was less the 20 feet from the foul and the defender clearly had her should in front of the player. Worse yet, the Royal coach received a T from the same ref for commenting on the poor call. Ref should have walked away rather than goad the coach. Too bad and I told the Bethel coach that afterwards.

Tommies in the frozen north on Saturday....Brrrr.

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

Cager, are you saying that DI and DII athletes need to be babysat, but since DIII athletes are not on scholarship, they should be self motivated to go to class?

I think athletes are the same no matter what level you are talking about.  All teams need a certain amount of discipline in their lives, and what better place to start for an athlete is than in the classroom.  In case you haven't noticed, very few athletes of any level on the women's side are playing sports competitively past college.  All should be motivated to do well in the classroom, but as is the case, some are not no matter what level you are talking about.  For a team that has been lacking discipline in the past few years, the classroom is a great place to start.  It also shows the faculty and staff that athletics is not acting above them, they are trying to work with them.

[hoopscoopsmiac]

I for one see nothing wrong with making sure athletes are doing well in the classroom. And if it comes to having to set a few standard rules then so be it. Especially if you have an athlete that needs a little more motivation as far as academics lie. I think props goes to coaches for caring enough about their athletes to make sure that they not only succeed on the court, but in the classroom.

[hoopscoopsmiac]

WHY DIII?

""It's not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted, or making SportsCenter. It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart. We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, and to sweat.  We do it all for our teammates and for the student in our calculus class that we don't even know.  We don't practice with future major league first basemen; we practice with a future sports agent.  We don't swim with gold medalists; we train with future teachers. We don't lift with a future Olympic wrestler; we lift with a future doctor. We don't run with a future Wimbledon champion; we run with a future CEO. It's a bigger part of us that our friends and family can understand.

Sometimes we play for 2,000 fans, sometimes 25. But we still play hard.  You cheer for us because you know us.  You know more than just our names.  Like all of you, we are students first.  We don't sign autographs. But we do sign graduate school applications, MCAT exams and student body petitions.  When we miss a shot or foul out we don't let down an entire state. We only let down our teammates, coaches, and fans.  But the hurt is still the same.

We train hard, lift, throw, run, kick, tackle, shoot, dribble, and lift some more, and in the morning we go to class. And in that class we are nothing more than students.  It's about PRIDE-inourselves and our school. It's about love and passion for the game.

And when it's over, when we walk off this court for the last time, our hearts crumbles.  Those tears are real. But deep down inside we are very proud of ourselves. We will forever be what few can claim...college athletes."

[scorekeeper]

After playing sluggish in the first half (and still holding Augsburg to 18 points) CSB responded to the "constructive criticism" provided by Durbin at the break and cruised in the second half outscoring the Auggies 49-21.  Darby Noreen knocked down 3-3 from behind the arc in the first half and Falvey hit 3 triples in the second half.  Tauer, Boone and Goehner were strong under the basket and it looks like Nikki Carter is getting more comfortable with contributing in the scoring column. 

Of course, defense remains the key for CSB.  They gave up 60 points in their very first game of the year and since then they have not given up more than 56 I think.  They have held the last 4 teams they played to 49 or fewer points. 

[holbi1]

As a long time coach, eduator, and as a father who has had two daughters participate in Division III sports, I take polite exception to "East Coast MIAC Fan" that "Athletes are the same no matter what level you are talking about."

Divison III is totally about scholastic achievemnet first and sports as a compliment to the academics.
The proof is in the extremely high graduation rate experienced by D-III participants. It is truly an exception when a woman athlete does NOT graduate from an MIAC school, or for that matter, any D-III school.

I have the ultimate respect for the College of St. Benedict as both of my daughters had science majors which involved heavy lab obligations which conflicted with practice time for track or basketball. Never did any coach ever insist that practice take precedent over the scholastic responsibilities associated with their majors. This would NEVER be the case in a D-II or D-I setting.

My final comment: As a result of an outstanding D-III eduaction at CSB, my oldest daughter has a PhD and a MD degree. The youngest daughter will soon finish her PhD next year. Thank you D-III schools for the superb example of what is most important at college and may some day the D-II and D-I schools follow suit.

[Collegeville Magic]

Korn- is the foul count the only way to judge an officiating crew?  That's a dangerous assertion to make.  I'd rather have refs calling what they see on both ends (consistently) without trying to "even the count".  I'd feel safe in saying that Bethel commits more fouls than most other teams, and if the refs were concerned about keeping foul count even, that's an advantage to the Christians in every game, whether that means BU has fewer fouls called, or the opponents have extras in their tally.

Since we all like to complain about officiating from time to time (myself included), here's a question:  What criteria do each of you use to judge an officiating crew?

Sounds like the SMU coach is certainly trying something different.  Seems to me that the better approach would be telling the players that they have guidelines to follow in order to stay on the team.  Trying to give faculty silly rules to enforce isn't the right approach, but kudos for trying, I guess...

[Korn Lover]

Collegeville- Foul count is no real measure of the quality of a crew. I agree with you the a consistent application at both ends of the floor is a better measure. What I find frustrating is the evenng process. Case in point, last night at Bethel the count was 10-3. Over the balance of the game, Concordia was called for only 2-3 more fouls and Bethel picked-up 6. Coincidence?

I have seen this all to often over many years of watching and coaching. I'd prefer a lopsided final count if appropriate.

My criteria for a good official is one who applies the calls consitently at both ends fo the floor and does not get "Involved" in the game as happended last night at the end with an intentional foul called when a shooting foul call was in order.

[Cager]

Wow! Lots of reactions.

A couple thougths; I wasn't making any statement positive or negative about D-1/D-2 athletes, they have people who make sure the athletes go to class and maintain eligibility to retain scholarships. No issues there.

I was trying to pay a compliment to the D-3 athlete for all the reasons mentioned by holbi1 and hoopscoopsmiac. The commitment and discipline required to attend demanding academic schools AND play sports creates the character the makes these young people accountable to themselves for attendance and scholarly performance. By and large, they do not need to be told to do that which they already know is required.

If a coach wants to create requirements and expectations for class attendance, etc. so be it. No issues here. 

[Willy Wonka]

she_scores51 — It's my job to cultivate sources If the Strib ever decides to give more than passing mention to MN D3 athletics, I'd like to think I could do a decent job manning the post. Assuming people don't mind my anti-SJU/CSB bias anyway

I didn't imply that it was a bad thing, thus my question. It seems to have sparked a debate, with no one really disagreeing with the coach's decision. E-mailing the faculty seems a little excessive, but the premise seems sound.

Anyway...

GAC's little Bri had a coming out party last night against a physical Tommie team. She bounced back from a sub-par performance up north to put up 18-6-6, including a pair of 3s that put the Gusties in the driver's seat. Radtke and Julia Schulz helped make up for the 3-for-15 struggles of Vadnais and foul trouble of Monahan (she sat for most of the first half with 2).

The offense remains an ugly thing to watch — spacing is absolutely horrendous — and the transition defense left plenty to be desired to start the game, but a win against a solid team is nothing to dismiss. The refs helped change the flow of the game when they began calling the clutching and grabbing of UST at about the midway point of the second half. UST has size and bulk whereas GAC seems to just have size, so those calls were much-needed in getting the road victory.

As an aside, GAC's Vicky Peterson is out for the season with a torn ACL. While not as crucial a cog as CSB's loss, a definite hit for the Gusties. On the plus side, Nelson may soon be ready to step in and assume her minutes.

[she_scores51]

One would rather expect a program to create a culture of accountability whereby the player decided to commit to class.

Thoughts?

I agree 100%. But as a new coach, I think Stimmel has yet to create this "culture of accountability". He is probably trying to do so right off the bat.

I think no matter what level you're at — DI, DII or DIII — the motivation to go to class and do well in the classroom has to ultimately come from within the individual student-athlete. If they simply have no desire to go to class, no amount of prodding or rule-making will change that.

Wonka--I was just curious how you'd heard about the email. It was the first I'd heard anything about it...

[Pat Coleman]

He's trying to get it through to these girls that class is important.

May also be trying to get through to the professors that he knows it's important. Not a bad thing either.

[Cager]

Pat- Point well made, hadn't thought of that possibility.