FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[MiacMan]

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: Non-Conference Schedules

Now that most of the schedules are out, There seems to be nothing to write home about. Using the D3.Com rankings, wouldn't it be awesome to see any combo of the top 5 or 6 teams schedule each other? Certainly between UST, UWO, and Mount it would be feasible for bus travel. Now throw in, SJ2, UWW, Wartburg and North Central into the mix there could be some great games. Kudos to UMHB and Linfield for doing this for several years. They treated their fans to a literal D3 showcase. I believe the reason this rarely happens is that the stakes are to high if you your goal is to win the Stagg Bowl. When you get down to the national quarterfinals and semifinals home field is big advantage. One loss and you can practically forget about hosting a quarterfinal let alone a national semifinal. That being said, I believe we would get much more exciting non-conference scheduling if the NCAA went to neutral sites for at least the national semifinals if not the quarterfinals as well. At least make both teams travel. The site could be selected within busing distance of the higher seed. If possible an approximate midway point between the two if both teams could bus to it. Potentially this wouldn't cost the NCAA much if any more. Thoughts?

Completely agree that better scheduling would be great for the game, but there's just zero incentive for teams to schedule like this.  Best path to the playoffs is to win your conference and not risk an OOC loss to fall into the Pool C group.  It's frustrating for sure, as a fan.  Instead, we have to wait essentially until early December to see actual games on the field answer questions that have been brewing for months.

Does anybody think neutral sites for Quarters/Semis would foster better OOC scheduling? Example: National Quarter/Semi: UWO vs. UST, in this case the game could be played at UWEC.

[Pat Coleman]

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: Non-Conference Schedules

Now that most of the schedules are out, There seems to be nothing to write home about. Using the D3.Com rankings, wouldn't it be awesome to see any combo of the top 5 or 6 teams schedule each other? Certainly between UST, UWO, and Mount it would be feasible for bus travel. Now throw in, SJ2, UWW, Wartburg and North Central into the mix there could be some great games. Kudos to UMHB and Linfield for doing this for several years. They treated their fans to a literal D3 showcase. I believe the reason this rarely happens is that the stakes are to high if you your goal is to win the Stagg Bowl. When you get down to the national quarterfinals and semifinals home field is big advantage. One loss and you can practically forget about hosting a quarterfinal let alone a national semifinal. That being said, I believe we would get much more exciting non-conference scheduling if the NCAA went to neutral sites for at least the national semifinals if not the quarterfinals as well. At least make both teams travel. The site could be selected within busing distance of the higher seed. If possible an approximate midway point between the two if both teams could bus to it. Potentially this wouldn't cost the NCAA much if any more. Thoughts?

Completely agree that better scheduling would be great for the game, but there's just zero incentive for teams to schedule like this.  Best path to the playoffs is to win your conference and not risk an OOC loss to fall into the Pool C group.  It's frustrating for sure, as a fan.  Instead, we have to wait essentially until early December to see actual games on the field answer questions that have been brewing for months.

Does anybody think neutral sites for Quarters/Semis would foster better OOC scheduling? Example: National Quarter/Semi: UWO vs. UST, in this case the game could be played at UWEC.

I'm not sure if that really maps back to scheduling. But regardless, every time a question about neutral site games for football, or neutral site Sweet 16/Elite 8 games for basketball comes up, the question is always this: Why would a school want to host this game? What's the incentive for UWEC to staff this game, especially in December when people are in exams, or maybe already off campus? Plus, finding a host on a day's notice is a challenge in and of itself.

On better scheduling in general: The committee could foster this by rewarding tough scheduling even better than it has, and some years it has, but the application of the selection and seeding criteria is so unpredictable from year to year that I would be hard-pressed, were I a coach, to make any guesses as to what the next two years' committees would do when I make a non-conference schedule.

And, as with every scheduling question, there have to be two willing partners to schedule a regular season game.

[OldAuggie]

Here's a picture from the local paper about the MHS kids heading to play college football. All except the Wisconsin recruit that did the early signing day.

The 4 UST guys on the right side and an Augsburg guy (second from left) to boot.

Four Augsburg recruits "signed" on NSD including Dylan Hein  from Menomonie, pictured here. Thanks BDB!!! I watched his hudl and I am always impressed with football over there especially Menonmonie. No competition for athletes playing hockey is my guess.   

[MiacMan]

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: Non-Conference Schedules

Now that most of the schedules are out, There seems to be nothing to write home about. Using the D3.Com rankings, wouldn't it be awesome to see any combo of the top 5 or 6 teams schedule each other? Certainly between UST, UWO, and Mount it would be feasible for bus travel. Now throw in, SJ2, UWW, Wartburg and North Central into the mix there could be some great games. Kudos to UMHB and Linfield for doing this for several years. They treated their fans to a literal D3 showcase. I believe the reason this rarely happens is that the stakes are to high if you your goal is to win the Stagg Bowl. When you get down to the national quarterfinals and semifinals home field is big advantage. One loss and you can practically forget about hosting a quarterfinal let alone a national semifinal. That being said, I believe we would get much more exciting non-conference scheduling if the NCAA went to neutral sites for at least the national semifinals if not the quarterfinals as well. At least make both teams travel. The site could be selected within busing distance of the higher seed. If possible an approximate midway point between the two if both teams could bus to it. Potentially this wouldn't cost the NCAA much if any more. Thoughts?

Completely agree that better scheduling would be great for the game, but there's just zero incentive for teams to schedule like this.  Best path to the playoffs is to win your conference and not risk an OOC loss to fall into the Pool C group.  It's frustrating for sure, as a fan.  Instead, we have to wait essentially until early December to see actual games on the field answer questions that have been brewing for months.

Does anybody think neutral sites for Quarters/Semis would foster better OOC scheduling? Example: National Quarter/Semi: UWO vs. UST, in this case the game could be played at UWEC.

I'm not sure if that really maps back to scheduling. But regardless, every time a question about neutral site games for football, or neutral site Sweet 16/Elite 8 games for basketball comes up, the question is always this: Why would a school want to host this game? What's the incentive for UWEC to staff this game, especially in December when people are in exams, or maybe already off campus? Plus, finding a host on a day's notice is a challenge in and of itself.

On better scheduling in general: The committee could foster this by rewarding tough scheduling even better than it has, and some years it has, but the application of the selection and seeding criteria is so unpredictable from year to year that I would be hard-pressed, were I a coach, to make any guesses as to what the next two years' committees would do when I make a non-conference schedule.

And, as with every scheduling question, there have to be two willing partners to schedule a regular season game.

Yes, that is a slight dilemma. Clearly the host school would need to be compensated as such that it would make it attractive to host. UWEC plays at a municipal stadium so the much of the burden would/could fall upon the city of Eau Claire. Question now would be to find sites where the revenue from say 5000 additional visitors would be attractive enough to host the event.

[wm4]

Yes, that is a slight dilemma. Clearly the host school would need to be compensated as such that it would make it attractive to host. UWEC plays at a municipal stadium so the much of the burden would/could fall upon the city of Eau Claire. Question now would be to find sites where the revenue from say 5000 additional visitors would be attractive enough to host the event.

Tough sell to think neutral site games would make sense. 

Semi final games involving MIAC/WIAC home teams over the last 5-6 years have averaged about 2,600 a game.  And that's with games on campus.  You'd have a notable net loss in attendance by moving them off campus. 

Mt Union's last 4 home semi final games had average attendance of 3,400 or so.   Even in football crazed Texas, UHMB's last two semi final games hosted averaged 3,400 as well. 

[MiacMan]

Yes, that is a slight dilemma. Clearly the host school would need to be compensated as such that it would make it attractive to host. UWEC plays at a municipal stadium so the much of the burden would/could fall upon the city of Eau Claire. Question now would be to find sites where the revenue from say 5000 additional visitors would be attractive enough to host the event.

Tough sell to think neutral site games would make sense. 

Semi final games involving MIAC/WIAC home teams over the last 5-6 years have averaged about 2,600 a game.  And that's with games on campus.  You'd have a notable net loss in attendance by moving them off campus.

Mt Union's last 4 home semi final games had average attendance of 3,400 or so.   Even in football crazed Texas, UHMB's last two semi final games hosted averaged 3,400 as well.

Yeah, if it were a MIAC/WIAC contest you'd probably get more of the "Would be" visiting team and less of the "Should be" home team which would still balance out to the numbers you stated. It would be a tough sell. You need Caruso on his best day selling it for you 

[badgerwarhawk]

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: Non-Conference Schedules

Now that most of the schedules are out, There seems to be nothing to write home about. Using the D3.Com rankings, wouldn't it be awesome to see any combo of the top 5 or 6 teams schedule each other? Certainly between UST, UWO, and Mount it would be feasible for bus travel. Now throw in, SJ2, UWW, Wartburg and North Central into the mix there could be some great games. Kudos to UMHB and Linfield for doing this for several years. They treated their fans to a literal D3 showcase. I believe the reason this rarely happens is that the stakes are to high if you your goal is to win the Stagg Bowl. When you get down to the national quarterfinals and semifinals home field is big advantage. One loss and you can practically forget about hosting a quarterfinal let alone a national semifinal. That being said, I believe we would get much more exciting non-conference scheduling if the NCAA went to neutral sites for at least the national semifinals if not the quarterfinals as well. At least make both teams travel. The site could be selected within busing distance of the higher seed. If possible an approximate midway point between the two if both teams could bus to it. Potentially this wouldn't cost the NCAA much if any more. Thoughts?

Completely agree that better scheduling would be great for the game, but there's just zero incentive for teams to schedule like this.  Best path to the playoffs is to win your conference and not risk an OOC loss to fall into the Pool C group.  It's frustrating for sure, as a fan.  Instead, we have to wait essentially until early December to see actual games on the field answer questions that have been brewing for months.

Does anybody think neutral sites for Quarters/Semis would foster better OOC scheduling? Example: National Quarter/Semi: UWO vs. UST, in this case the game could be played at UWEC.

I'm not sure if that really maps back to scheduling. But regardless, every time a question about neutral site games for football, or neutral site Sweet 16/Elite 8 games for basketball comes up, the question is always this: Why would a school want to host this game? What's the incentive for UWEC to staff this game, especially in December when people are in exams, or maybe already off campus? Plus, finding a host on a day's notice is a challenge in and of itself.

On better scheduling in general: The committee could foster this by rewarding tough scheduling even better than it has, and some years it has, but the application of the selection and seeding criteria is so unpredictable from year to year that I would be hard-pressed, were I a coach, to make any guesses as to what the next two years' committees would do when I make a non-conference schedule.

And, as with every scheduling question, there have to be two willing partners to schedule a regular season game.

Yes, that is a slight dilemma. Clearly the host school would need to be compensated as such that it would make it attractive to host. UWEC plays at a municipal stadium so the much of the burden would/could fall upon the city of Eau Claire. Question now would be to find sites where the revenue from say 5000 additional visitors would be attractive enough to host the event.

I can tell you from experience that nothing is a bigger pain in the backside than hosting a tournament you aren't playing in.  Can't speak for other schools but I'm all but positive you wouldn't see us bidding on something like that.  It isn't like the athletic department necessarily needs the money, it's a lot of extra work and finding workers isn't the easiest thing either. 

[Pat Coleman]

By the way, St. Thomas is playing Trinity International, an NAIA school in Chicagoland, rather than Concordia-Chicago. TIU was 2-8 last year, but beat Wisconsin Lutheran handily, a D-III comparable to Concordia-Chicago. Probably a better test than CUC but like all NAIA opponents, it won't mean much, if anything, for D-III playoff selection purposes.

[OldAuggie]

Here are the 5 Auggie recruits that signed on NSD:

Isaac Momboleo 
https://twitter.com/612football/status/961988834262175744

Gabe Olajonlu 
https://twitter.com/612football/status/962002358384381954

Mitch Lamers
https://twitter.com/612football/status/961989932209274880

Brandon Sjostrand
https://twitter.com/612football/status/961989438380429314

Dylan Hein
https://twitter.com/612football/status/961989313868320768

[sjusection105]

By the way, St. Thomas is playing Trinity International, an NAIA school in Chicagoland, rather than Concordia-Chicago. TIU was 2-8 last year, but beat Wisconsin Lutheran handily, a D-III comparable to Concordia-Chicago.

Trinity International,also known as The Little Monastery in the Windy City, shouldn't be much of a challenge for the Tommies,but I suspect Carouso will use this beat down as he recruits Chicagoland as an example that it doesn't matter, bottom tier of D3 or NAIA there is very little difference.

[jamtod]

Carleton coach Pagel resigned
https://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/varsity_sports/football/?story_id=1679951

[Pat Coleman]

Carleton coach Pagel resigned
https://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/varsity_sports/football/?story_id=1679951

That's pretty late in the offseason to be starting from scratch.

[Tom Thumb]

St. Thomas

Luke Glenna, DB, Edina HS: https://twitter.com/LukeGlenna
Hudl: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3954093/5a0885ad5ca91f11c4b1f6c9
Notes: Played in Minnesota HS All Star Game

[sfury]

Today in ridiculous high school sports stories:
Longtime Faribault B.A. volleyball coach Franz Boelter was relieved of his duties by the school, for emotionally mistreating players. Supposedly. Franz has 7 state volleyball titles and 5 runner-ups. This is basically like if Mike Grant was let go. Except Franz also won over 600 games as a boys basketball coach before retiring in 2014.

http://kdhlradio.com/boelter-issues-statement-regarding-dismissal-as-bethlehem-academy-coach/

Talking to a few B.A. folks, it sounds like some parents were not happy at playing time for their kids, raised a ruckus over made-up complaints and the admin caved.

I competed against Franz's teams on the basketball court and his teams were an absolute pain to play against. Disciplined, tough, physical, extremely well-coached. Over the past 15 years, I got the opportunity to know Franz and it's been an absolute pleasure. Just a great guy, in addition to his coaching abilities. I actually got to know him after my longtime high school hoops coach was unfairly dismissed. He had been longtime rivals with Franz, often heated, but after his firing he and Franz became friends.

There are so many stories about just how insane high school sports is getting and stories like this make you wonder who in the hell would ever want to coach and what the future is for prep athletics. Here's a little tribute I wrote after he retired (voluntarily) as basketball coach.
https://tvfury.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/franz-boelter-retires/

[art76]

Today in ridiculous high school sports stories:
Longtime Faribault B.A. volleyball coach Franz Boelter was relieved of his duties by the school, for emotionally mistreating players. Supposedly. Franz has 7 state volleyball titles and 5 runner-ups. This is basically like if Mike Grant was let go. Except Franz also won over 600 games as a boys basketball coach before retiring in 2014.

http://kdhlradio.com/boelter-issues-statement-regarding-dismissal-as-bethlehem-academy-coach/

Talking to a few B.A. folks, it sounds like some parents were not happy at playing time for their kids, raised a ruckus over made-up complaints and the admin caved.

I competed against Franz's teams on the basketball court and his teams were an absolute pain to play against. Disciplined, tough, physical, extremely well-coached. Over the past 15 years, I got the opportunity to know Franz and it's been an absolute pleasure. Just a great guy, in addition to his coaching abilities. I actually got to know him after my longtime high school hoops coach was unfairly dismissed. He had been longtime rivals with Franz, often heated, but after his firing he and Franz became friends.

There are so many stories about just how insane high school sports is getting and stories like this make you wonder who in the hell would ever want to coach and what the future is for prep athletics. Here's a little tribute I wrote after he retired (voluntarily) as basketball coach.
https://tvfury.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/franz-boelter-retires/

Sad to hear there are still witch hunts around. Having been on the receiving end of one, I suspect that someone on the administration had "issues" with the dismissed coach and the parents complaints were the excuse he or she needed to "exercise dominance". And now the damage is done and there is no going back. Very frustrating for all involved.