FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

[...] Now at Emory & Henry they do the same thing only it's a google earth shot of Southwest Virginia. On a good weekend there are atleast 5 or 6 family reunions in the photo to allow for an extra 500 fans or so! 

Now that was hilarious!

I'm still hurting inside ... thank you.  Phew.

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

[...] Now at Emory & Henry they do the same thing only it's a google earth shot of Southwest Virginia. On a good weekend there are atleast 5 or 6 family reunions in the photo to allow for an extra 500 fans or so! 

What I really enjoyed about traveling to Emory in 2005, was when we were on here talking all this mess about counting how many fans are there, and comparing that to what was put in the box score.

It just so happened that the BC-E&H game had the lowest attendance in 2005...

6,685 - Hampden-Sydney at Emory & Henry
4,217 - Ferrum at Emory & Henry
3,947 - Washington & Jefferson at Emory & Henry
2,987 - Washington & Lee at Emory & Henry
1,734 - Bridgewater at Emory & Henry

And the funny thing was (and we had pictures to back it up), we counted roughly 750 in attendance.  I think to be on the safe side we said that 1,000 to 1,250 were there.  That was accounting for the faculty, staff, and students who were on campus that day.

I look forward to counting and comparing again in 2007.

[CNU85]

Matt,

How did E&H rank nationally in attendance? Those are some big numbers.

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

Matt,

How did E&H rank nationally in attendance? Those are some big numbers.

Top 10 or 15, I forget.  Point is, it's inflated and a joke.  Players know when they come to Jopson Field (home of the Eagles), they'll see 2,000 to 2,500 every Saturday, and that's what we report.  When players go to Emory and play the Wasps, they'll see 1,000 to 2,000, and they report three times as many.

[CNU85]

I figured as much fromt he various comments. It's just with numbers reported like that I knew the "numbers' had to be near the top in the country. The 6600 number......I just can't see that being possible. But I've never been there, soooo...I'll just read your comments....Llama busted me up on the family reunion....

Hey Llama - think they sing O-mazing Grace at the reunions?

[ODACfan1]

       I checked the E&H site and it says that Fullerton Field seats 5500.  I would definitely expect to see the stands filled, as u will for most games these days...take into count prolly 500 who watch the game from around the field, and being homecoming this week the 1500-2000 roaming from the tailgate field to the game and I would guarantee that there will be no less than 8000 people at the game saturday.

Also it should be noted that Emory travels extremely well...At Washington and Lee's senior day last year I would say the stands were 50/50 and there was definitely twice as many fans at the Ferrum game this year in favor of the Wasps.

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

I figured as much fromt he various comments. It's just with numbers reported like that I knew the "numbers' had to be near the top in the country. The 6600 number......I just can't see that being possible. But I've never been there, soooo...I'll just read your comments....Llama busted me up on the family reunion....

Hey Llama - think they sing O-mazing Grace at the reunions?

Hey, don't believe us.  Here are the pictures of the stands from the 2005 BC at E&H game (click on them for a larger view)...

Home bleachers (I count roughly 225):



Away bleachers (I count roughly 125):



So that's roughly 350.  To help out their case, let's say another 100 or so are in their cars watching (since it was raining) and another 50 or so are on the fence (I was one of them, and there weren't many of us).  That's roughly 500 people at the game.  So where are they getting 1,734?

[abnrgr]

Matt
Not to beat a dead horse but you need to be working as an Intel analyst

[Llamaguy]

Hey Llama - think they sing O-mazing Grace at the reunions?

Nope! But they can sure humm... the heck out of it! 

[algernon]

Now for my take on the ODAC:
I said there would be parity in conference and with 2 more out-of-conference wins the ODAC is still looking good for 2 playoff spots. I think it will be a race to see what ODAC teams finish with 1 total loss. One will win the conference with either 0 or 1 loss and anyone else with 1 total loss will be in the mix for a Pool C bid. The ODAC out-of-conference opponents aren't strong but 1 loss at the end of the year will put you in position to go to the playoffs. Everyone keep chugging, your second loss will seal your playoff fate. Stay tuned, it should be a fun ride!

Strikingly unusual stat for ODAC teams almost halfway through the season: ALL OF THEM HAVE ONLY ONE LOSS! 

It's definitely a striking stat ... only 1 loss by each team ... with 3-5 games under each team's belt, and it reflects just how well the ODAC has done in out-of-conference games this season.  Any team that finishes with a 9-1 record certainly has a shot at the playoffs, although (when the field was limited to 3 Pool Cs) the 2003 Tigers were left home from the tourney with only 1 loss .... a 3-point defeat at the hands of #10 Bridgewater.

Now that the number of Pool C bids has increased from 3 to 7, we can be hopeful that a team that finishes 9-1 will get a tournament bid.

[Llamaguy]

Now for my take on the ODAC:
I said there would be parity in conference and with 2 more out-of-conference wins the ODAC is still looking good for 2 playoff spots. I think it will be a race to see what ODAC teams finish with 1 total loss. One will win the conference with either 0 or 1 loss and anyone else with 1 total loss will be in the mix for a Pool C bid. The ODAC out-of-conference opponents aren't strong but 1 loss at the end of the year will put you in position to go to the playoffs. Everyone keep chugging, your second loss will seal your playoff fate. Stay tuned, it should be a fun ride!

Strikingly unusual stat for ODAC teams almost halfway through the season: ALL OF THEM HAVE ONLY ONE LOSS! 

It's definitely a striking stat ... only 1 loss by each team ... with 3-5 games under each team's belt, and it reflects just how well the ODAC has done in out-of-conference games this season.  Any team that finishes with a 9-1 record certainly has a shot at the playoffs, although (when the field was limited to 3 Pool Cs) the 2003 Tigers were left home from the tourney with only 1 loss .... a 3-point defeat at the hands of #10 Bridgewater.

Now that the number of Pool C bids has increased from 3 to 7, we can be hopeful that a team that finishes 9-1 will get a tournament bid.

That and if you take a look at the current nationwide standings, there are quite a few conferences where 75% of their teams already have 2 losses. I haven't delved into how many of those 2-loss teams have both losses as in-region losses though. It won't be long before we can start the playoff watch again, probably after the week six results. 

[algernon]

Franklin stayed home, despite a 9-1 record, with their only loss coming at the hands of their conference champion, Mt. St. Joseph.  They were #20 in the end-of-season Quality of Wins index.  Not good.

[Llamaguy]

Franklin stayed home, despite a 9-1 record, with their only loss coming at the hands of their conference champion, Mt. St. Joseph.  They were #20 in the end-of-season Quality of Wins index.  Not good.

And the mighty HCAC has an all-time playoff record of 1-8 since 2000! A conference that weak in the playoffs will never garner 2 bids. If Bridgewater has done anything for the ODAC in it's run it has put the ODAC on the map as far as playoff wins go. It is not a criteria for getting into the playoffs but you can bet it is in the back of the committee's minds come decision time. 

[algernon]

Actually, finishing without an ODAC championship but still getting into the playoffs as a Pool C is probably only relevant for the 4 ODAC teams who have no out-of-conference losses (Bridgewater, Catholic, Guilford, and Washington & Lee).

If HSC, RMC, or Emory & Henry loses another game now, their 5-1 ODAC record will have to be good enough for the conference championship, because their overall record will not be better than 8-2.

[Llamaguy]

Actually, finishing without an ODAC championship but still getting into the playoffs as a Pool C is probably only relevant for the 4 ODAC teams who have no out-of-conference losses (Bridgewater, Catholic, Guilford, and Washington & Lee).

If HSC, RMC, or Emory & Henry loses another game now, their 5-1 ODAC record will have to be good enough for the conference championship, because their overall record will not be better than 8-2.

Right you are! E&H would have to go undefeated in the ODAC to finish 9-1, which would give them the ODAC title. A 3-way tie at 5-1 would go to the team with the longest playoff drought.