MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Sager - your analysis of th MIAA board is dead on.  Through the season there are roughly 12 or so regular Hope fans who post, 12 or so regular Calvin fans, a single poster from Kalamazoo, one from Adrian, and a rare appearance by one from Albion.  Absolutely zero posters for Alma, Olivet, Tri-State.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Did anyone do these stats with and without Sager's posts ?

OK.  That one was pretty funny.

[John Gleich]

I think the large number of posts on the highest count boards has to do as much with the diversity in posters as the ability for the board to stay active in the off-season.  In-season, the WIAC board is more active than most boards, but in the off-season (read as "when the weather gets nicer) WIAC fans tend to not be nearly as active.

I know during the late spring, summer, and early fall, I tend to lurk but not post as much... and I figure lots of others do this as well.

[markerickson]

Lawrence's Tharp is off to Hillsdale where he can award scholarships.  However, Hillsdale does not permit its students to receive federal student loans.  I have to believe this hampers recruiting, but the team did go 15-11 last year. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Lawrence's Tharp is off to Hillsdale where he can award scholarships.  However, Hillsdale does not permit its students to receive federal student loans.  I have to believe this hampers recruiting, but the team did go 15-11 last year. 

D2 is allowed the equivalent of ten scholarships for basketball.  I have to believe that they can come up with a mix of academic and athletic aid to get the better part of the team paid for without government loans.

[dansand]

As was foreshadowed by Greg and Q a couple of pages ago, Drew Wessels' brother Brett is transferring from Iowa to Augie:

http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070329/HAWKS0102/703290326/1053/HAWKS

He's bigger than Drew, 6-3, 190 and probably more of a wing-type player than a point guard...supposed to be, like Drew, a very good defender...should be in the mix, along with their other transfer, Keaton Frye, for Nate Swetalla's and Pat Brusveen's minutes.

[sac]

Lawrence's Tharp is off to Hillsdale where he can award scholarships.  However, Hillsdale does not permit its students to receive federal student loans.  I have to believe this hampers recruiting, but the team did go 15-11 last year. 

Hillsdale is much more like a D3 than a D2 in many ways, except the athletic scholarships.   They left the MIAA 45+ years ago and have only 1300 students, and are located in a relatively small and off the beaten path city of Hillsdale.  The previous coach seemed to believe the academic standards were the biggest stumbling block to recruiting success.  Most of the other GLIAC schools are state funded public institutions.

Tharp's biggest problem coming in is that he has only 7 returning scholarship players for next years team.

From Wikipedia:

Hillsdale College's commitment to non-discrimination again came under fire in the 1970s following the enactment of affirmative action legislation. Because some of its students were receiving federal loans, the federal government declared it could require Hillsdale College to submit Assurance of Compliance forms mandated by Title IX as a condition of the continued receipt of federal financial assistance by two hundred Hillsdale students. Hillsdale refused compliance on the grounds that its own policies were less discriminatory than those the federal government would impose. Hillsdale also contended that it was not required to comply because it was a private school not receiving federal aid. However, the federal government argued that although the school was not funded directly, some students were receiving federal aid.

In 1979, this continuing battle with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) began to intensify. The College filed a petition for judicial review in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, asking the court to overturn a previous decision by the Reviewing Authority, Office of Civil Rights of HEW.

In December 1982, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Hillsdale's refusal to sign the compliance forms, but it also ruled that government aid to individual students could be terminated without a finding that a college actually discriminated.

In February 1984, in a related case, Grove City College v. T.H. Bell, Secretary U.S. Department of Education, the U. S. Supreme Court made a decision regarding arguments first made by Hillsdale College. It required every college or university to fulfill federal requirements because its students received federal aid.

As a result of the court's decision, students at Hillsdale can no longer receive federal student aid. Also as a result of this decision, parents of Hillsdale students are ineligible to take any federal education tax credits or deductions for expenses they incur to send their children there. Thus the entire operating budget (estimated at $46 million per year) of the college, including scholarships ($10,117,047 for 2005), must come from private funding sources.

Due in no small part to its refusal to accept funds in return for government mandates, the College raises enough extra revenue to pay the equivalent of the federal loans that it refuses.

As the Detroit Free Press stated on January 25, 1981:

Hillsdale after all, is famous as the little college that fights for rightness and independence. From the unlikely location of south central Michigan, it gained its national recognition by drawing its sword against the federal government. No trespassing, it told HEW; we'll hire, promote, subsidize, educate and influence with no interference from you.



The whole Wikipedia entry is a petty interesting read and an interesting history of the school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsdale_College

[robertgoulet]

Well hellooooooooooo everybody. It's been a loooooooong time since I've been on this rollercoaster ride we call CCIW Chat, what's new? What have I missed? Any recruiting news?


more specific, any North Central recruiting news?

[LU_nut]

sac

Wow....that school had one heck of a sex/suicide scandal.  I did not know the history.   

Interesting conference with schools like Wayne State......quite a lot of diversity in schools unlike the CCIW and MWC.

[Gregory Sager]

Well hellooooooooooo everybody. It's been a loooooooong time since I've been on this rollercoaster ride we call CCIW Chat, what's new? What have I missed? Any recruiting news?


more specific, any North Central recruiting news?

I have quite a bit of recruiting news, but I'm a little reluctant to share it while it's still March on the calendar. Commitments are never set in cement in D3, of course, but even those commitments that appear to be so certain that the school in question announces them to the media don't tend to be confirmed this early. Most of what I'm hearing and reading falls into the "I'm almost sure he's going there" or "it looks like he's going to choose that school" or "he's narrowed it down to This College, That College, and The Other University" categories, and I'm somewhat gun-shy about prematurely sharing that sort of stuff publicly and having it spook my sources into silence. I'd rather stay on good terms with my sources than break recruiting scoops at the drop of a hat just to engage in oneupsmanship. The reason why I broke the story last week about Brett Wessels transferring was because my source used the magic words, "It's a done deal."

I can say, though, that North Central is one school of which I'm in the dark in terms of prospects. That doesn't mean that Raridon & Co. aren't close to landing any new players; it's more than likely just a weak link in my grapevine access. That's a little odd, since NCC's usually one of the schools with whom I'm most familiar in terms of who they're pursuing.

[matblake]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsdale_College

Sac, very interesting link.  Thanks.  Living in Michigan I was familiar with most of the other GLIAC schools, but always wondered about Hillsdale.  Very interesting stuff.

Here is the link about Tharps hiring from the College website: http://www.hillsdale.edu/Chargers/mens/basketball/2006-07/releases/Tharp_hired.htm

[sac]

Wow....that school had one heck of a sex/suicide scandal.  I did not know the history.   

Interesting conference with schools like Wayne State......quite a lot of diversity in schools unlike the CCIW and MWC

Sac, very interesting link.  Thanks.  Living in Michigan I was familiar with most of the other GLIAC schools, but always wondered about Hillsdale.  Very interesting stuff.

Despite growing up only about an hour North of Hillsdale I can't say I know alot about the place other that what I've been told second hand and have only been through Hillsdale once that I can remember.  So yeah I enjoyed the wikipedia history lesson as well.

Out of my own curiosity I checked a few other colleges, and learned alot of things I didn't know.  I find it a bit odd that Hillsdale, Albion and Spring Arbor all have roots in Spring Arbor, Michigan.......combine all that with the development of the Republican Party in nearby Jackson, MI and you can only conclude it was a pretty restless lot that settled the area. 

[markerickson]

Hillsdale students could receive federal loans and grants if the school chose to abide by certain federal requirements.  I'm not sure if any other school sits in the pod with Hillsdale.  Maybe Bob Jones University.

If Hillsdale has only 1,300 students, I wonder what percent attend games - the team averaged 418 fans last year.

Which CCIW school has its students comprise the highest percent of mens bball game attendees? 

[Pat Coleman]

Grove City, a D-III school, has a similar stance towards (or against, as it were) federal aid.

[markerickson]

Grove City argued that the government's jurisdiction didn't extend to the athletics department (or some other deparment?) because it didn't directly receive federal funds.