MBB: Midwest Conference

[The Roop]

That crazy Dr. Chandra. What will he think of next...........

[Gregory Sager]

The University of Chicago is exactly where it belongs. It's in a league that consists of high-powered, national-level research institutions that are each richer than Croesus. As Bill points out, flying the volleyball team to Rochester or the men's soccer team to Emory isn't even a blip on the U of C's budgetary radar. It's a school that has no peers in the MWC in terms of mission or institutional structure, and it has very little in common with any of the MWC's schools aside from geography. Its previous MWC membership was not really indicative of a good institutional fit for it; it was more a matter of expediency than anything else. The lure of a Pool A bid in the sports in which the UAA is underrepresented (e.g., football) matters not one whit in the bigger scheme of things, save for the fact that the U of C can seek associate membership in other conferences for those particular sports -- and I strongly doubt that the MWC would ever add anybody as an associate member unless it needed that school to reach the autobid minimum.

[Just Bill]

Perhaps U of C can build a team of football playing robots to join the MWC! I'll pick them above Knox right now.

[Gregory Sager]

Perhaps U of C can build a team of football playing robots to join the MWC!

Just like on The Jetsons!

[pgkevin]

I'll end the month long hiatus by posting that Lake Forest will play UIC in an exhibition game this season

http://www.goforesters.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/schedule

[The Roop]

Do they still have an open date to fill or is the MWC counting exhibitions towards the 23 game schedule ??

[AndOne]

I'll end the month long hiatus by posting that Lake Forest will play UIC in an exhibition game this season

http://www.goforesters.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/schedule

Do they still have an open date to fill or is the MWC counting exhibitions towards the 23 game schedule ??

I did a little research on Midwest Conference scheduling as I've always wondered why MWC basketball teams are limited to 23 games when the NCAA permits 25.

According to Commissioner Chris Graham, the MWC limits all sports, with the exception of football, to approximately 90% of the NCAA contest limit. The primary reasons are missed class time, budgets, and student-athlete involvement on campus.
In basketball, one exhibition game is a permissible exception under NCAA rules, and does not count against the max limit for MWC institutions.

[The Roop]

Interesting interpretation. The one I previously heard a few years ago, with regards to basketball, came via a D3Hoops.com interview with the then Carroll head coach. His take was that the conference considered the conference tournament games as regular season. Which I always thought was kinda silly when only 2 teams would play 25 games. The individual schools should be able to determine what is practical and what isn't. Oh well, it is what it is.

[pgkevin]

I'll end the month long hiatus by posting that Lake Forest will play UIC in an exhibition game this season

http://www.goforesters.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/schedule

Do they still have an open date to fill or is the MWC counting exhibitions towards the 23 game schedule ??

I did a little research on Midwest Conference scheduling as I've always wondered why MWC basketball teams are limited to 23 games when the NCAA permits 25.

According to Commissioner Chris Graham, the MWC limits all sports, with the exception of football, to approximately 90% of the NCAA contest limit. The primary reasons are missed class time, budgets, and student-athlete involvement on campus.
In basketball, one exhibition game is a permissible exception under NCAA rules, and does not count against the max limit for MWC institutions.

Again, very nice research done.  Thanks for the info

[bballer1280]

http://www.grinnell.edu/athletics/mbasketball/mbk12dna

Young Dave Arseneault will be the interim coach at Grinnell College beginning in January as his father takes a sabbatical leave from Grinnell College.  The link above discusses that situation.  This could be a great opportunity for Young Dave to show his head coaching skills.  Could this be an audition for Young Dave regarding the future of GC men's basketball once his father retires or could this be an audition for Young Dave to coach somewhere else?  Any thoughts?

[Gregory Sager]

http://www.grinnell.edu/athletics/mbasketball/mbk12dna

Young Dave Arseneault will be the interim coach at Grinnell College beginning in January as his father takes a sabbatical leave from Grinnell College.  The link above discusses that situation.  This could be a great opportunity for Young Dave to show his head coaching skills.  Could this be an audition for Young Dave regarding the future of GC men's basketball once his father retires or could this be an audition for Young Dave to coach somewhere else?  Any thoughts?

I don't claim to have any inside info, but I'd be surprised if this leads to a head coaching job for Arseneault fils ... unless a coaching spot opens up at some high school that runs the System.

[RogK]

I'm not sure if Houston (TX) Yates HS uses the System; maybe just the full-court pressing part of it.
They have gotten criticized for doing it far too successfully. Check these scores:
http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/YIJrJZvRrE6N2PhGmfcPjw/yates-lions/basketball-winter-09-10/schedule.htm
Anyway, young Arseneault would probably have trouble finding a college AD willing to try anything unconventional. If I recall, Grinnell's men's team was subpar for a long time before the elder Arseneault tried something radical and turned the program around. The Grinnell AD at the time must have had an open mind.

[hickory_cornhusker]

I'm not sure if Houston (TX) Yates HS uses the System; maybe just the full-court pressing part of it.
They have gotten criticized for doing it far too successfully. Check these scores:
http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/YIJrJZvRrE6N2PhGmfcPjw/yates-lions/basketball-winter-09-10/schedule.htm
Anyway, young Arseneault would probably have trouble finding a college AD willing to try anything unconventional. If I recall, Grinnell's men's team was subpar for a long time before the elder Arseneault tried something radical and turned the program around. The Grinnell AD at the time must have had an open mind.

An advantage to The System that college president's and possibly by extension AD's would be open to is the number of students you can bring in to place on your basketball. I don't recall every seeing a roster as large as theirs year in and year out. Also, if run properly the team can also help bring in revenue (OK, slighlty offset their costs) by bringing in more fans. Grinnell is routinely near the top in attendance for the MWC and is usually a huge jump in attendance for hosts when the circus pulls into town.

In my honest opinion though I think this is an audtion for a second Arseneault to take over the reins at Grinnell.

[sac]

I wonder if the University of Chicago could be courted (basketball humor) back into the MWC. It would save them lots on travel and give them access to a Pool A in football.

Saving money has never been a high priority for the University of Chicago. If they just built a new library that uses robots to retreive your books, then how much do they really need to avoid a flight to Rochester?

Seriously, ROBOTS!

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/05/robot-powered-mansueto-library/

This is awesome

[larry_u]

Lawrence's schedule is out:

Nov. 15    at UW-Stevens Point    7:00 pm    
Nov. 18    Wisconsin Lutheran    7:00 pm    
Nov. 23    at Marian    7:00 pm    
Dec. 2    at Illinois College    7:00 pm
Dec. 3    at Lake Forest    5:00 pm
Dec. 13    Knox    7:00 pm    
Dec. 16    at Monmouth    7:00 pm    
Dec. 19    at Southeastern (Fla.)    2:00 pm
Dec. 20    at Webber International    2:00 pm    
Jan. 7    at Beloit    4:00 pm    
Jan. 10    Carroll    7:30 pm    
Jan. 13    Grinnell    7:00 pm    
Jan. 14    Monmouth    3:00 pm    
Jan. 20    at Knox    7:00 pm    
Jan. 21    at Grinnell    4:00 pm    
Jan. 25    at St. Norbert    7:30 pm    
Jan. 28    at Carroll    4:00 pm    
Jan. 31    Ripon    7:30 pm    
Feb. 3    Lake Forest    7:00 pm
Feb. 4    Illinois College    4:00 pm
Feb. 11    Beloit    4:00 pm    
Feb. 15    at Ripon    7:30 pm    
Feb. 18    St. Norbert    2:00 pm