WBB: Middle Atlantic Conference board archive

[kate]

Bill, for Drew not to schedule the "sister" school right down the street is very, very sad.  They should know that the MAC is probably one of the more competitive leagues in the country.  i feel that we all made & will continue to make each other better (i thought that that was what it's all about actually).  We should just hope that the five MAC schools in that new conference will be totally fascinated with their three out-of-league opponents enough that it lifts their playing potentials  to the highest levels (yeh, right ) - well, i still say, it's their loss

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Yes, Drew hasn't scheduled FDU, nor will they. Drew, apparently thinking themselves "too good" for FDU (except on the field/court, where we now regularly beat them
will no longer schedule FDU in ANY sport. This is a directive straight from Connie the athletic diector...

Bill - classic.

I've heard something similar about Wilkes / Kings on the guy's side, only it went like this:
Scranton AD, or representative thereof:  "Hey, despite our move to the Landmine, you guys still wanna get together for a non-conference game?"
Wilkes - King's representative: "Stick it, Purple.  We'd rather play Baptist Bible.  Twice."

**Disclaimer - I like Baptist Bible, just using them as an example.

[kate]

CJ, lol - that has got to be the new MAC motto - "we'd rather play Baptist Bible - twice!"

[Pat Coleman]

I thought it was Arcadia and Manhattanville.

[saratoga]

CJ: "We'd rather play Baptist Bible twice"...my God, that's been the Wilkes battlecry for years now...so what else is new? I think it really is about time to accept the fact that the MAC Freedom is in a very serious state of disrepair. If you really believe that the loss of Scranton, Susquehanna, Moravian, Juniata & Drew can be offset by the likes of some of your newest bretheren...then you are letting your frustration & resentment cloud any semblence of rational thinking. Coaches shake hands & move on...did you ever notice how many D-I schools change conferences? Time to get over it already. As Emerson stated, "Jealousy is the great predictor of failure".

[kate]

Oh, Sara, Sara, Sara - "the likes of some of your newest (brethren)?"  Yikes, it's you who sounds worried - MAC rules !

[The Observation Deck]

Not sure that the thought of being a part of a league with Alvernia, Arcadia, Misericordia and Manhattanville is what those schools wanted to do anyway. The MAC has lost a lot of great institutions and replaced them with a four-PAC.

Well, a three PAC and a Skyline team. Either way. Skyline is just as "prestigious" as the PAC.

[Warren Thompson]

Not sure that the thought of being a part of a league with Alvernia, Arcadia, Misericordia and Manhattanville is what those schools wanted to do anyway. The MAC has lost a lot of great institutions and replaced them with a four-PAC.

What the MAC is up to these days is a genuine puzzler. 

[kate]

O.K., ten years ago when we started following DVC Women's b'ball, Drew was a great institution, but a subpar b'ball team - Scranton was, of course, Scranton .  As far as the other side goes, Moravian has always tried to comunicate how freakin great they are, & as the college next door for us, Bethlehem & we're in Easton, i can tell ya that they certainly ebb & flow.  Susquehanna, after that disgusting editorial by that guy, Tom Housenick, i believe can find sport's nirvana elsewhere.  God bless Junita.  i also notice that Merchant Marine belongs to more conferences than i   could count, so may they all find happiness in the Landmine.   Warren, please have a little faith in the league!  Over the years they been tons of fun to watch!

[midatl]

O.K., ten years ago when we started following DVC Women's b'ball, Drew was a great institution, but a subpar b'ball team

Don't think that second part matters -- only the part about Drew being a great institution. Schools want to associate with like-minded institutions.

Not sure what editorial you're referring to but if it's the one where it was suggested that Del Val football drove all this MAC breakup, you might need to look in the mirror. GA Mangus got questionable students into Widener when he was there, questionable students at Ursinus (I forget which of the schools had the kid do time for stealing shoes -- I think he transferred from one to the other) and did it again at Del Val. True Florida Gator, through and through. And Susquehanna, Moravian and Juniata decided they could not be associated with that kind of a program and want to be held to a higher standard.

Kate, a league is more than a collection of schools playing women's basketball. It's a group of schools that are supposed to share common ideals and goals. Perhaps the MAC at 16 schools was too big for that -- I don't know. But right now it appears the MAC's common ideal is having two automatic bids. Nothing more, nothing less.

If I were Etown or Leb Val or Messiah I would be trying to find a way out of this conference. It's a far less prestigious group than the one those schools were in two years ago.

[kate]

Midatl, Please don't tell me that Moravian is any higher or better than anyone else - yes, i certainly know that it's a heck of a lot more than women b'ball, & i would venture to say that schools were annoyed as hell when DVC started winning football games - i do not have the statistics, but i know that Adam Knoblach would be annoyed at having had people calling him & his team mates, questionable.  That term "like minded" gauls me to no end - especially when it comes to athletics - these "like minded" people it seems to me, wanted to keep the status quo - keep em down - well, i still say the grass isn't always greener.  By the way - GO DEL VAL!!!

[ColonelJohn4Life]

What the F did I just start?  [smacks head]  Eh, mostly, I guess I'm just impressed that there were this many people reading the MAC women's board on a weekend in May.

I thought it was Arcadia and Manhattanville.

Pat - yup, those are the new Freedom teams.  I was just offering a commentary on the likelihood of a Wilkes / King's vs Scranton non-conference game.  And hey, if the format of the recently-renamed and recently-reconfigured Wilkes-Barre January Event changes... and Wilkes or King's schedule BBC on their own... they might play BBC, twice.

Warren, as usual, I'm with ya.  Is it dysfunction within the MAC that caused the spur Landmine... or vice versa?  Regardless, and it pains me to say it, the MAC is weaker now.

Sara - D1 schools change conferences all the time because, quite literally, there are millions of dollars riding on it, often having to do with football.  Clearly, THAT'S not why Scranton moved.    Unless there is some vast academic logic, yet unexplained, Scranton's move is beyond comprehension.  Does investing extra money in travel for athletics bring about a greater student body??  We shall see...

[kate]

And, pray tell (no pun intended) what about Albright, Lycoming, & Widener - don't they have to "jump ship" too?  CJ, we don't know that much about Manhattanville & Arcadia/Beaver is a great school - it shouldn't make any league "weaker".  Anyway, Happy Mother's Day - Mighty MAC!!!

[kate]

May 19 has dawned here in the northeast, & it's a magnificent Saturday - Congratulations to DelVal's Rachel Joyce as she graduates this morning as part of the class of 2007! 

[kate]

Oh boy, now the drought starts in earnest - the Phoenix Suns lost in the west, who reallly gives a crap about the Jazz & Spurs, & the Nets are out in the east.  The WNBA started with a thud with Detroit rolling over Sacramento - ugh .  Doesn't anyone miss their D-3 squads as much as i do?  Do we have any posters from Manhattanville or Arcadia???  Let's alert everyone when schedules start coming up - miss ya, Aggies - GO DEL VAL!!!