FB: Midwest Conference

[gbpuckfan]

Point of information: all bids before 1989 were at-large bids.

I know. I guess my point was the MWC was not a regular playoff participant in those days. Coe in 85 made it. Lawrence in 81. I may have missed one.

[sncsid]

Point of information: all bids before 1999 were at-large bids.

Fixed your post!

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks. Was on my phone. Didn't even notice.

[TwoArmedScot]

Maybe, just maybe, Macalester didn't "PICK AND CHOOSE" a conference based on how "COMPETITIVE IT COULD BE".  Maybe, just maybe, the school made the decision to align itself with more similar, like minded institutions based on things like mission statements, admissions policies, and financial aid policies.

I call BS on this. If that was the case, why are you playing the rest of your sports in a conference that is such an odd fit?! 

You guys went to the MWC for competitive reasons in football. Fine, I think the MIAC should have given the rest of your sports the boot as well. And, FWIW, I don't want MAC to come back in football. Having 10 teams in the MIAC sponsoring football (one of them being MAC) won't help the top teams get at large bids for the playoffs as it will hurt SOS. I'd rather be able to schedule another quality non-con game.

Now I think some on the MIAC boards want to have their cake and eat it too.  They can say what a disgrace it is that Macalester is picking and choosing the sports to play in-conference, yet know that Mac's departure from the conference would result in a severe dropping off for the conference's academic profile.  Here's a question for you though:  would you rather see a healthy Macalester football team in the MIAC, with 70ish members on the team, or do you want the team that left the MIAC with 30ish players that you used as your personal footstool?  In-conference parity is something for which to strive, and having a competitive Macalester football team is in the best interest of the entire MIAC.  Despite this, it doesn't sound like you even want us back as a football member anyway.  The same people who bemoan our "picking and choosing" similarly bemoan the prospects of a nine-game conference schedule. 

I don't think it'd precipitate a 'severe drop off.' Contrary to the high minded attitudes of MAC and Carleton grads, the other MIAC institutions are very highly thought of. If MAC left, there'd be plenty of very good schools in the MIAC and Carleton as an elite school. Contrary to what you might think, some of us went to other MIAC schools despite getting accepted to schools with better academic reps and tougher admissions standards than MAC or Carleton. 

Again, I just don't want MAC to come back in football. 9 conference games each year pulls everyone's SoS back towards .500. SO, unless that school you're adding is a really good team, it doesn't benefit the other schools.

As for parity, I don't want conference parity. I want excellence and parity, we have the former and are increasingly improving the latter. There are plenty of conferences with remarkable parity and little quality. If I have to choose between the two, give me excellence.

Again, my beef isn't MAC leaving, it's that they stayed in the other sports and then guys like TAS are trying to tell us that it wasn't for competitive reasons. I think right now we have the worst possible option: MAC competing in a conference for football that isn't the MIAC. If that's the direction they want to go, then move all your sports. Or fully rejoin the MIAC. But if I'm honest, I'd rather have them leave all together. It'd help the basketball and baseball schedules as well. And we'd still retain Carleton, a better academic institution for our 'profile.'

That said, good luck today against UWW. Having played and coached in the NCAA playoffs, it's a great experience and I'm genuinely happy for the MAC players and coaches, who had nothing to do whatsoever with where MAC is currently playing.

Hey Hazzben,

You want to claim BS?  If Macalester wanted to pick a conference for football based on competitive reasons...why wouldn't they have picked the UMAC?  They could have easily competed in that conference?

Also, have you ever thought of what it would be like for programs like basketball or baseball to compete in a conference other than the MIAC?  Imagine the amount of travel...and expenses accrued for programs like that to play in the MWC? 

In football?  Not that big of a deal as it's 5...maybe 6...games a year to travel overnight and pay for hotel rooms and meals.  In men's/women's basketball, baseball/softball, or men's/women's soccer?  Might be a little different story, no?

Football is a totally different beast.  What does it take to be competitive in football in the MIAC...vs...what does it take to be competitive in basketball in the MIAC, or any other sport?  Football is so very much a numbers game.  In other sports, if you get 3 or 4 really good players, you can compete.  Take the MAC Men's basketball teams for example when I was there...1999-2003.  They had 3 or 4 really good players and they made the MIAC tournament consecutive years.  If you get 3 or 4 really good FOOTBALL players in the MIAC?...that's nothing!  Football in the MIAC?  The top programs are bringing in 40 - 50 freshmen a YEAR!!!  They are bound to have 10+ really good players in those types of programs.  Not to mention, in football, it's not like the other sports when you lose.  It's not like you are swinging and missing at a ball, or missing a jump shot, or not running as fast as the person next to you.  In football, when you lose, you are getting your body physically pounded and driven into the dirt! 

Macalester has had the best 6 year stretch in recruiting in the program's history...yet they've never had a freshmen class of 25+ athletes.  Why do you think that is?  Maybe it's because they have academic standards on par with the Ivy League schools...AND...they only have a student body enrollment of 2,000 students!  Have you ever had to try to recruit football players to Macalester?  Last time I checked...Macalester gets 6,000+ applications/year to fill an incoming class of about 500 students.  Are you kidding me?  6,000+ of the best an brightest...not just from MN...but from all over the entire world!  Do you want to pick the right ones to admit out of 6,000+, and only have room for 500? 

I'm not being elitist and I'm not saying that the other MIAC schools aren't good schools.  THEY ARE GREAT SCHOOLS!  However, the fact of the matter is that they are different.  That's what so many like you don't seem to understand.  Lots of people want to assume the because Macalester is located in MN and is a private school, it's just like all the other private schools in MN.  MAC IS NOT LIKE ALL THE OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN MN!  In my time at MAC I took classes at Hamline and St. Thomas through the ACTC program.  Why did I take those classes?  Bottom line is that I took those classes because of one of two reasons...They were either an easy A in a subject non-related to my major, but fulfilled a requirement, or they were not offered at Macalester.  Were there ever any students from any of the other ACTC school in my other classes at Macalester?  NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They might show up for the first day or two, but would quickly realize how much more work and how much more difficult it was going to be and drop out.  The other MIAC schools, no matter how bad they want to be, struggle to have the same academic rigor as a Macalester...or Carleton!  St. Olaf is trying, but they are not quite there yet.  AND look at what has happened with their football program.

If you want to act like you know everything there is to know about Macalester, why don't you try spending a day on their campus, attending the classes, meeting with the football coaches, talking to people of the Macalester community, and getting to know them and their institution?  Wait...dumb question...you already know everything there is to know about that, right?

Sounds like you worked your way into agreeing with Hazz that the move was for competitive reasons.  I'm glad to see that your time at MAC hasn't left you closed-minded.    The next time you hear someone complaining about the MWC getting a postseason bid ahead of another non-champion from a better league remind them that the tournament is set up like March Madness.  You don't think MAC is one of the best 32 teams in the country but you're excited to have a chance to pull an upset.

AO,
Can't say that I follow.  Care to shed any light?

[AO]

Sounds like you worked your way into agreeing with Hazz that the move was for competitive reasons.  I'm glad to see that your time at MAC hasn't left you closed-minded.    The next time you hear someone complaining about the MWC getting a postseason bid ahead of another non-champion from a better league remind them that the tournament is set up like March Madness.  You don't think MAC is one of the best 32 teams in the country but you're excited to have a chance to pull an upset.

AO,
Can't say that I follow.  Care to shed any light?

You spent the whole post explaining how difficult it was to compete in the MIAC.  If it was for purely academic reasons you could have explained that every great football player with a brain would much rather go to MAC than St. Thomas.  You would say that you would be plenty competitive on the field if you wanted to rejoin the MIAC.

The move is made overall for competitive reasons.  One of the underlying reasons that MAC would struggle to compete is difficulty recruiting.  One of the reasons for the difficulty in recruiting is high admissions standards/smaller enrollment.

[Gaegerlaw75]

Spring ball jumps off next week...

One of the best seasons in Carroll history will be promptly followed by one of the biggest rebuilds in Carroll history.  Looking forward to everyone's analysis regarding how the winter recruiting panned out for your respective squads and how things will be looking in 2015.

Go you CU

[gbpuckfan]

Lawrence to hire full-time athletic director:


Lawrence University is set to begin a new chapter by hiring a full-time director of athletics, university administrators announced today.

Current Director of Athletics and Head Hockey Coach Mike Szkodzinski said he is ready to return his focus solely to leading the hockey program. Despite splitting time between the roles of administrator and coach, Szkodzinski has put together a record of significant achievements during his nearly six years as athletic director.

"It has been a pleasure working with Coach Szkodzinski during my tenure here. Even with Mike's high energy and strategic approach to leading our athletic and hockey programs, it is evident that a full-time director of athletics is something Lawrence needs to reach our aspirations," Lawrence President Mark Burstein said. "Traditionally, the model at the University has been to have one of the coaches also serve as the director of athletics but bearing that sort of workload has become simply too much even for Mike."

Lawrence will conduct a national search for a new director of athletics, said Burstein, who praised the work done by Szkodzinski on a variety of fronts.

"Intercollegiate athletics are an integral component of our liberal arts mission and Mike has been a strong leader for our coaches and student-athletes," Burstein said. "With our growing investment in the athletic program, we want to be certain we continue the positive momentum Mike has started in the department of athletics. Having a full-time director of athletics is a crucial part of that formula for success."

Burstein added that Szkodzinski will remain at the head of the department of athletics, which consists of 20 full-time coaches and staff overseeing hundreds of student-athletes, until a successor is named.

"Mike has done outstanding work in leading our department of athletics, but I know, in his heart, he is first and foremost a hockey coach," Provost Dave Burrows said. "I know he wants the hockey team to have greater success in the best conference in the nation. To do that, he needs to devote all his energies to that team."

Szkodzinski was named the director of athletics in July 2009 and has coached the Lawrence hockey team for nine seasons. He has balanced that workload with family commitments to his wife, Tori, and three young children.
Mike-Szkodzinski_action_newsblogNamed head coach of the Vikings' hockey team in 2006, Mike Szkodzinski has guided the team to the most wins in school history.

"This is something I've been thinking about for some time and the support of President Burstein and Provost Burrows made it possible for me to hand over the reins of the department of athletics with the confidence that we are moving in the right direction," Szkodzinski said.

The department of athletics has seen a number of changes during Szkodzinski's tenure. Szkodzinski worked to increase the number of full-time staff members and was responsible for the hiring of standout coaches like Jason Fast (men's and women's cross country, track), Lisa Sammons (women's soccer), Steve Francour (men's and women's tennis), Ashley Wellman (women's basketball) as well as Rob McCarthy, Lawrence's new football coach.

In addition, Szkodzinski has played a leading role in the renovation of the Banta Bowl, which is underway. Szkodzinski's leadership, in partnership with Lawrence's development office, has spearheaded efforts to raise more than $4 million for the renovation of the venerable stadium. A renovated Banta Bowl will debut in fall 2015 to celebrate its 50th birthday and serve as the home of Lawrence football as well as men's and women's soccer.

Under Szkodzinski's leadership, the Lawrence tennis courts were recently resurfaced and had lights installed. Other facilities upgrades include a new track surface for Whiting Field and improvements to Alexander Gymnasium as well as both the baseball and softball fields.

"I am so proud and pleased with what we have been able to accomplish over the past six years," said Szkodzinski, who has won more hockey games than any coach in Lawrence history. "I believe we are positioned to succeed in the Midwest Conference and the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. I'm excited about the prospect of returning my primary focus to our hockey team, but I'm ready to assist the new director of athletics as well."

[Maverick]

Spring ball jumps off next week...

One of the best seasons in Carroll history will be promptly followed by one of the biggest rebuilds in Carroll history.  Looking forward to everyone's analysis regarding how the winter recruiting panned out for your respective squads and how things will be looking in 2015.

Go you CU

Monmouth got their spring sessions going on Wednesday.  Hoping for a productive and injury-free spring with Coach Braun!

[judgetrainer]

Work at the Banta Bowl has started.

[fulbakdad]

Work in progress in the Forest.  Heard some interesting news on the recruiting front.  But looks like my time here will be limited next year.  Son moving on to coaching.

[Maverick]

Board has been quiet for a month.  Hope everyone got through the spring practice period and kept people in one piece!

[judgetrainer]

I yearn for the day when (if?) Lawrence has spring practice. Too many multiple sport athletes and too small a roster in FB.

[badgerwarhawk]

Lawrence (D-III – WI): Per source, former Willamette (D-III – OR) head coach Mark Speckman has been hired as offensive coordinator.

Here comes the "fly" offense. 

http://www.gregorydoublewing.com/FlyOffense.pdf

[wnc52]

No offense intended, but that's a pretty big name willing to come to Lawrence.  I wonder what the connections are.

[judgetrainer]

No offense taken. And I have not been able to find anything to confirm that report. I attended a reception Sunday about the Banta Bowl renovation and I did not spy anyone that looked like Mr. Speckman. His Wikipedia page still says he is coaching for Montreal.

In other Lawrence news the turf will be ready for practice in August. The front entry building probably will not be. Should be interesting to take tickets.