Empire 8

hoopandtheharm · March 14, 2006, 10:08:44 AM

FisherAlum -

Once again you got me. I thought holy crap 7.5 hrs, then I looked on Mapquest and you are clearly smoking crack! This ain't the 90's anymore and Fisher is not an independent as they were when you played there. Utica to Hoboken is not 6 hours nor is it 7.5 from Rochester! Rochester to Hoboken 5:38 and Utica to Hoboken 4:01, Hartwick to Hoboken 3:39 which is about the same as a trip to Rochester.

We're all entitled to our opinions but at least get your facts right.

The fact is the best institutions play the best institutions. I would bet the top E8 members are very excited about it becuase of the competition. Stevens is in a weak conference right now and E8 is a tremendous upgrade for them and offer great competition for the empire. Plus, there are tons and tons of alumni donors in the NYC/Metro area and you better believe the presidents and AD's thought of that! As a former coach, this would be a great opportunity for an expanded recruiting base too.

Just my opnion but I do not think it is uncreasonable they way you feel but I respect that.

fisheralum91 · March 14, 2006, 10:18:25 AM

Hoop,
My drive times are clearly off-
Was guessing.
Even still, being the stubborn man that I am-change doesn't come easy for this old alum especially on conference structure.
Sorry 'bout the drive times-I admit those are whacked, but still I think I am making a somewhat reasonable point.
Arent I?

hoopandtheharm · March 14, 2006, 10:30:26 AM

I can understand your point at first glance but when you look at it closer it makes a ton of sense, in my opinion. What years did you play?

fisheralum91 · March 14, 2006, 11:08:43 AM

Didn't play hoops-Soccer.
87-91

tigerfan2 · March 14, 2006, 11:10:56 AM

I think it will be interesting to see how this effects the scheduling. Right now it really is pretty well set up with the partner system, but with an odd number of teams in the league, that will really throw things off. Will the Rochester teams do a Fri/Sat in Utica/Hartwick then a Tuesday in Hoboken?

Another question is what games will the existing teams need to drop to fit the 2 additional conference games in the schedule. Obviously the Rochester schools are not going to give up the Chase but I liked the fact that RIT went out and played some other NY schools from out of conference as well. Typcially they would play one Liberty school (usually Hobart), a SUNYAC school (Cortland for the last couple years) and UR. I'm guessing the UR game isn't going anywhere but it would be a shame if they had to drop those games vs the likes of Cortland to fit these games in.

Furthermore, in terms of the level of play for Stevens, how have they been doing the last couple of years? Will this be similar to bringing in a team like Hilbert or Caz, or will they be able to step in immediately and compete?

fisheralum91 · March 14, 2006, 11:20:32 AM

There is a case in point-
What games do you give up?
Man - after taking on B-W and R-M, I don't want to lose those types of measurestick games!

bamm · March 14, 2006, 11:23:22 AM

Tigerfan2,

The conference is looking to add another team in addition to Stevens, presumably in the same neck of the woods.

fisheralum91 · March 14, 2006, 11:37:50 AM

Bamm-
Who would be a good fit?
When will it be the Empire 10?
Logical expansion I have no problem with.

bamm · March 14, 2006, 11:43:48 AM

http://www.d3hoops.com/school_info.php?school=Stevens&team=m

There's the Stevens Ducks profile.

If they do add another school there is speculation it could be Kings Point (the US Merchant Marine Academy). The interesting thing about that school is their football program, which currently participates in Liberty League play. Would they move to the E8 for football as well? We'll have to wait and see.

gobombers15 · March 14, 2006, 12:18:56 PM

I definitely think this is a good move. It's nice to see a conference make a move like this that isn't football-motivated (see ACC) or men's basketball-motivated (see Big East). This move makes sense on a lot of different levels:

1) For Stevens, there aren't a lot of quality D3 private schools in northern Jersey. Hell, there isn't a lot of quality anything in northern Jersey. Good criminals, that's about all. This puts them in a conference where they can compete against schools that have close to the same credentials as they do.

2) I think the E8 was getting tired of being screwed in other sports. Granted, the conference brought some of it upon themselves with the advent of conference tourneys in such sports as lacrosse and soccer. However, the competition just wasn't strong enough to warrant taking a second team from the league in those sports. For example, Ithaca has won the regular season championship in men's soccer for the last four years. However, the Bombers have only won the tournament once and in each of the years they didn't win the tournament they were left home despite being one of the hottest teams in the country heading into the E8 tourney. Same can be said for Ithaca's lacrosse team who has to wait for Naz to have their one down year every decade to get into the tourney. This will help the conference get more teams into the various NCAA tournaments and boost its profiles.

3) As far as football is concerned, this maintains the status quo. From here on out, it'll be Ithaca and Fisher's league with the occasional challenge from Alfred and maybe Utica in the coming years. This move doesn't affect anything.

4) For basketball, I'm intrigued what this does. I have a feeling when teams visit Stevens they'll just throw a non-conference game on the schedule. For instance, Ithaca may schedule a game against at team like TCNJ or something to that effect. I think all the E8 teams have some cupcakes they could drop off their schedule. Green Mountain comes to mind. Instead of doing a home-and-home with Cortland and SUNYIT, Ithaca and Utica could just play those teams once a year. I'm sure it won't be a problem.

Overall, a good move. This enhances the conference's academic profile and really helps some of the "ancillary" sports in this conference. I agree with it.

fisheralum91 · March 14, 2006, 01:07:02 PM

GB-
You used the word ancillary.
For that you get a karma point!

rjcarter8 · March 14, 2006, 05:20:57 PM

A word on Green Mountain. No doubt they were a cupcake for Ithaca this year, but the connection is more than just a cupcake. I listened to the game on the internet and they stated that the Green Mountain coach is an Ithaca grad who was a student assistant for Mullins a few years back. Both teams also needed a game, so that's how that one got scheduled for the Bombers.

lileyes · March 14, 2006, 07:16:55 PM

Ray Bryant made first team all-east region.
Sean O'Brien and Jim Bellis second team.

And Coach Goode is the east region coach of the year.

AUPepBand · March 14, 2006, 08:32:11 PM

Quote from: hoopandtheharm on March 14, 2006, 10:08:44 AM
Plus, there are tons and tons of alumni donors in the NYC/Metro area and you better believe the presidents and AD's thought of that! As a former coach, this would be a great opportunity for an expanded recruiting base too.

I can motor from Alfred to the George Washington Bridge in 4.5 hours, provided, of course, I'm not pulled over by a Joisey trooper. While I'm disappointed Stevens doesn't field a football team because more alumni are attracted to football games, I attended AU's basketball games in NYC at the NYU Tournament and there were many alumni in attendance. AU has always drawn alumni to football games when playing near NYC. Ditto on the recruiting opportunities.

AUPepBand · March 14, 2006, 08:37:05 PM

Quote from: rjcarter8 on March 14, 2006, 05:20:57 PM
A word on Green Mountain. No doubt they were a cupcake for Ithaca this year, but the connection is more than just a cupcake. I listened to the game on the internet and they stated that the Green Mountain coach is an Ithaca grad who was a student assistant for Mullins a few years back. Both teams also needed a game, so that's how that one got scheduled for the Bombers.

Todd Montana (IC '01) is the Green Mountain coach. A sports management major at IC, he indeed was a student assistant for Mullins. He was also assistant at LeMoyne. He's also son of Union head coach Bob Montana and brother of Hartwick senior co-captain John Montana....and son of Linell Soule, phys ed teacher at Alfred-Almond Central School, and grandson of longtime Alfredian Maureen Soule. He was interviewed by ALFRED SUN columnist Doug Lorow in the March 9, 2006 issue.