What Division III sport should we add a board for next?

[mybleedinghands]

ive never been to a collegaite tennis event, but is it true that college tennis doesnt ahve referees or officials?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Well I went to school in the mighty Commonwealth Coast Conference, so this may not apply across the board, but indeed there were no officials or referees at any of the tennis matches I took in during my tenure.  They worked on the honor system, which some teams abused to no end, while others upheald with admirable zeal.  Any major disputes were discussed between the head coaches for final say.


Although I'm pretty sure D1 tennis has officials.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I played tennis for IWU, and things wer just as Hoops Fan reported.

Of course, I played 37 years ago, so no guarantee things haven't changed!

[mybleedinghands]

no offense to tennis, difficult sport, but how can you take it seriously if you could literally make your own calls?? its bad enough at D3 with refs, lord knows some players are going to be even worse!

[Mr. Ypsi]

no offense to tennis, difficult sport, but how can you take it seriously if you could literally make your own calls?? its bad enough at D3 with refs, lord knows some players are going to be even worse!

You fairly quickly learned which players would not honor the code, and called over your coach - since I never encountered an opposing coach who wanted to acquire a reputation as a cheater, the opponent's coach would pretty quickly set him straight.

I'm sure there would still be abuses sometimes, but it actually worked quite well.  (In fact, players would usually give their opponent the benefit of the doubt on close calls; calling it your own way on 'iffy' line calls quickly got you a bad rep!)

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

You also have to remember that most d3 tennis matches that I saw were not close.  I mean there were a few that would go neck and neck, but both players generally knew who was going to win shortly after the match started.  Close calls become less important when there are so many obvious ones going one way or another.

Also, even though it was a small conference.  There were usually enough fans hanging around to keep people sort of honest.

[bisonpride]

Volleyball got my vote. It's interesting game and popular among colleges, and universities for women other than soccer. The game's still growing become more popular and recognize now than ever.

[K-Mack]

When you get your ice hockey board, this is news:

Detnews.com
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Eric Lacy: State Colleges

Adrian overhaul

Fundraising and fan support have been so strong at Adrian College that school officials announced last week plans to build a $5.5 million on-campus hockey arena.

The announcement comes a month after the school opened a $6.5 million football stadium, which includes about 1,500 seats for season-ticket holders. The season tickets are nearly sold out.

Nearly $4 million has been raised by the school for construction of the hockey arena, despite the fact a hockey program hasn't been established on campus.

Besides men's and women's hockey, the facility will be host for synchronized skating and men's club hockey. All sports are scheduled to begin at the arena in late 2007 or early 2008.

Adrian will be a pioneer of sorts when it gets a hockey program. The closest Division III hockey program to Adrian is Lake Forest College, outside Chicago.

The only other Division III hockey program in Michigan is Finlandia University in Hancock -- about a 12-hour drive north of Adrian.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Is Finlandia really 12 hours from Adrian?  That seems like a long distance for any two locations in Michigan.  Is it on the UP?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Oh, nevermind.  It is on the UP.

[Mr. Ypsi]

From southern Michigan to the western UP IS a Texas-type drive!

Being flat and (for most part, at most times) uncongested, it may be less hassle than, say, Bowdoin to Wooster or Bridgewater (neither of which I think ever occurs!) but it is longer!

[Ralph Turner]

Is Finlandia really 12 hours from Adrian?  That seems like a long distance for any two locations in Michigan.  Is it on the UP?

Adrian to Hancock MI is almost 580 miles.  Mr Ypsi is right!  That is as good as Texas.

Finlandia seems to be more isolated than Sul Ross State! 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Man I didn't even know they had enough people to run a college that far up there.

[BVHawk]

I don't think there's enough to discuss about tennis.  The ball is either in or out.  Not enough to debate over for pages and pages.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

There's not that much to talk about in basketball either, but we manage to do just fine.