MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Kovo]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

This is the "national championship game" in track. I have to say that takes precedence.

And, if NC gets by Whitewater, and hosts the next round, this conflict will be quickly forgotten.

[markerickson]

Aren't track and cc more important at NCC?

[cciwrabblerouser]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

perhaps the north central basketball fans would be happier if the ncaa had presented a different bracket at the beginning of the tournament ...  what say that north central and wheaton switch bracket positions.  that way, north central would have had, without a doubt, the pleasure of traveling all the way to st. thomas while wheaton could host whitewater.  problem solved ... no track concerns at all since north central would indeed be on the road -- and in minnesota.

be happy with what you got, north central.  a game at nearby benedictine doesn't seem all that bad to me.

lest anyone wonder, please know thata this bracket suggestion is, of course, made in jest.  but it is no less silly than some of the comments the ncc track-haters have made.  end this ridiculous discussion ... and be happy for your team instead.  thank you.

[kiko]

Aren't track and cc more important at NCC?

I would say they are equally important.  There has been more success, and more sustained success, in track and cross country, but that doesn't make them more important.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

to quote the immortal University of Texas SID Jones Ramsey - "The only thing worse than track is field".

That being said - I do hope the Cardinals win another national championship in men's indoor track this weekend.

Ramsey was also famous for his declaration "At the University of Texas we have two sports: football and spring football".

[Rafi]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

Let's keep something in mind... it isn't like these student-athletes don't know what is going on. I am sure their coaches and others have kept them informed of the possibilities especially since the track and field championships were booked for NCC's campus. These students are informed the same way that if NCC's men and women happened to be in the NCAA tournament together and both eligible to host a pod of games like in traditional years - one of them is hitting the road. Be thankful NCC is hosting, even if it is a Benedictine, because if they were to host a pod of games (Sectionals), then they wouldn't be hosting at all I suspect. The basketball games at home are a big deal to be sure... but hosting the national championships of a sports is far bigger for the school and such. It sucks they can't be in their own gym, but at least they are sleeping in their own beds.

That's all I'm saying......it sucks that they don't get to play at home.....I was just addressing a poster that indicated they had "no sympathy" for the basketball team......seemed harsh IMHO.

[Rafi]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

This is the "national championship game" in track. I have to say that takes precedence.

Pat - You're missing my point.....I wasn't trying to say one is more important than the other......I was just reacting to someone implying that it doesn't matter, and that they don't care, the basketball team is being removed from the home venue.

[AO]

Aren't track and cc more important at NCC?

I would say they are equally important.  There has been more success, and more sustained success, in track and cross country, but that doesn't make them more important.

equally important to who?  I must have missed all of their posts on the d3indoortrackandfield.com forum.

[sac]

geez man, it could be worse, they could be playing AT Whitewater.

[Gregory Sager]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

Let's keep something in mind... it isn't like these student-athletes don't know what is going on. I am sure their coaches and others have kept them informed of the possibilities especially since the track and field championships were booked for NCC's campus. These students are informed the same way that if NCC's men and women happened to be in the NCAA tournament together and both eligible to host a pod of games like in traditional years - one of them is hitting the road. Be thankful NCC is hosting, even if it is a Benedictine, because if they were to host a pod of games (Sectionals), then they wouldn't be hosting at all I suspect. The basketball games at home are a big deal to be sure... but hosting the national championships of a sports is far bigger for the school and such. It sucks they can't be in their own gym, but at least they are sleeping in their own beds.

That's all I'm saying......it sucks that they don't get to play at home.....I was just addressing a poster that indicated they had "no sympathy" for the basketball team......seemed harsh IMHO.

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

This is the "national championship game" in track. I have to say that takes precedence.

Pat - You're missing my point.....I wasn't trying to say one is more important than the other......I was just reacting to someone implying that it doesn't matter, and that they don't care, the basketball team is being removed from the home venue.

Rafi, keep in mind that the poster who provoked your reaction is not a North Central supporter. He's an Illinois Wesleyan supporter, and as such he has no skin in the game as far as NCC vs. UWW is concerned. Given that he's the father of an IWU track & field athlete, plus the fact that there doesn't appear to be much love lost between the CCIW's two United Methodist schools as far as basketball is concerned, his lack of sympathy for the plight of the NCC cagers is completely understandable. I'm sure that North Central track & field supporters such as NCF are genuinely unhappy that the Cardinals are being forced to play at Benedictine on Saturday, even as they defend the track & field championship's priority with regard to the use of the hangar.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Some perspective: NCC still has some of the advantages of home court - essentially no travel, probably far larger fan support, and (I think someone reported) has arranged to practice all week on Benedictine's floor.  If it was a pod rather than a single game, they almost certainly would be playing elsewhere (the NCAA apparently is much more flexible for single games than pods).

On the other hand, they are losing what is reputedly the biggest home-court advantage in the conference - the lack of shooting background in the Hangar that they are totally used to but opponents are not.

On balance, they can bemoan not being on their true home court, but should thank their lucky stars the NCAA was flexible enough to not send them on the road.

[Gregory Sager]

Aren't track and cc more important at NCC?

I would say they are equally important.  There has been more success, and more sustained success, in track and cross country, but that doesn't make them more important.

equally important to who?  I must have missed all of their posts on the d3indoortrackandfield.com forum.

What's your point, AO? That the running sports are less important to a particular school just because they don't have a separate intercollegaite Internet site?

There actually are a couple of discussion boards for D3 running sports right here on d3boards.com. And, yes, NCC fans post on them.

North Central has won fifteen men's cross-country national championships, four men's indoor t&f national championships, and six men's outdoor t&f national championships, and who knows how many individual national championships in the running sports. NCC ranks in the top five among all D3 schools in team national championships, largely on the back of its thinclads and the amazing run (pun intended) that they've had since Al Carius took over the running sports at NCC almost a half-century ago. The fact that you dismiss the importance of the running sports at NCC only shows your ignorance of the school's remarkable history in those sports and the important place that they hold in the school's athletic identity.

I'm no North Central fan, but I give respect where respect is due.

If Northwestern had a roomful of Walnut & Bronze trophies in the running sports, you can be darned sure that you'd be touting them on these boards at every opportunity.

[AO]

Aren't track and cc more important at NCC?

I would say they are equally important.  There has been more success, and more sustained success, in track and cross country, but that doesn't make them more important.

equally important to who?  I must have missed all of their posts on the d3indoortrackandfield.com forum.

What's your point, AO? That the running sports are less important to a particular school just because they don't have a separate intercollegaite Internet site?

There actually are a couple of discussion boards for D3 running sports right here on d3boards.com. And, yes, NCC fans post on them.

North Central has won fifteen men's cross-country national championships, four men's indoor t&f national championships, and six men's outdoor t&f national championships, and who knows how many individual national championships in the running sports. NCC ranks in the top five among all D3 schools in team national championships, largely on the back of its thinclads and the amazing run (pun intended) that they've had since Al Carius took over the running sports at NCC almost a half-century ago. The fact that you dismiss the importance of the running sports at NCC only shows your ignorance of the school's remarkable history in those sports and the important place that they hold in the school's athletic identity.

I'm no North Central fan, but I give respect where respect is due.

If Northwestern had a roomful of Walnut & Bronze trophies in the running sports, you can be darned sure that you'd be touting them on these boards at every opportunity.

I'm measuring importance in terms of number of supporters.  Number of fans willing to pay admission.  Number of fans interested enough to visit websites to monitor their favorite teams/argue about matchups with rivals. 

How many fans would show up for a national tournament featuring 895 basketball players?  That would be like putting the entire basketball tourney in one location.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm measuring importance in terms of number of supporters.  Number of fans willing to pay admission.  Number of fans interested enough to visit websites to monitor their favorite teams/argue about matchups with rivals.

And I'm saying that those are not the only yardsticks that measure the importance of a sport or sports to a particular school.

Remember, this isn't just any random D3 institution we're talking about here. This is the school that, along with UW-LaCrosse and now-departed Lincoln (PA), has basically owned the running sports on the men's side from the outset of D3 back in the early '70s. And, as I said, this is the school that has forged a place in the all-time top five in D3 team national championships because of the excellence of its runners.

[Rafi]

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

Let's keep something in mind... it isn't like these student-athletes don't know what is going on. I am sure their coaches and others have kept them informed of the possibilities especially since the track and field championships were booked for NCC's campus. These students are informed the same way that if NCC's men and women happened to be in the NCAA tournament together and both eligible to host a pod of games like in traditional years - one of them is hitting the road. Be thankful NCC is hosting, even if it is a Benedictine, because if they were to host a pod of games (Sectionals), then they wouldn't be hosting at all I suspect. The basketball games at home are a big deal to be sure... but hosting the national championships of a sports is far bigger for the school and such. It sucks they can't be in their own gym, but at least they are sleeping in their own beds.

That's all I'm saying......it sucks that they don't get to play at home.....I was just addressing a poster that indicated they had "no sympathy" for the basketball team......seemed harsh IMHO.

As a parent of one of those track athletes I feel no sympathy for you losing your hoops site. These tracksters have been preparing for this since last summer.

I can appreciate your support for the track athletes competing this weekend.  But saying you have no sympathy for the basketball team losing their home venue is quite cold, to say the least.  The basketball team has been preparing for their championship run as much as the track athletes and the only reason the basketball team is removed from their home is simply because the track venues are planned farther in advance than the basketball venue.  That's a hard pill for those kids to swallow.

This is the "national championship game" in track. I have to say that takes precedence.

Pat - You're missing my point.....I wasn't trying to say one is more important than the other......I was just reacting to someone implying that it doesn't matter, and that they don't care, the basketball team is being removed from the home venue.

Rafi, keep in mind that the poster who provoked your reaction is not a North Central supporter. He's an Illinois Wesleyan supporter, and as such he has no skin in the game as far as NCC vs. UWW is concerned. Given that he's the father of an IWU track & field athlete, plus the fact that there doesn't appear to be much love lost between the CCIW's two United Methodist schools as far as basketball is concerned, his lack of sympathy for the plight of the NCC cagers is completely understandable. I'm sure that North Central track & field supporters such as NCF are genuinely unhappy that the Cardinals are being forced to play at Benedictine on Saturday, even as they defend the track & field championship's priority with regard to the use of the hangar.

What's funny is that if the poster had said they were an IWU supporter (of any sport), and they had no sympathy because of that I probably wouldnt' have reacted.......