FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

Guilford's published their 2009 outlook:

http://www.guilford.edu/athletics/football/outlook.html

As I suspected, probably junior Billy Watkins at QB.  Some BC fans may remember Billy's three TD passes versus the Eagles on the road two years ago when Vogelbach was having a terrible game and sat most of the second-half.

[TooForRaider]

I don't get over to this board much, but I like to keep tabs on the ODAC because of Coach Monty at EHC.  Hasanova, great post.  I wish I could award karma.  A lot of people do not realize that the Wisconsin schools' tuition is ridiculously low compared to the private schools.  Their enrollments are almost 5 times that of the OAC schools and probably moreso with other institutions.

Thanks, TooForRaider.  MUC has certainly set the standard for the rest of DIII - and they have definitely proven a private school can win the title!

Wisconsin football in general and WIAC football in particular are special cases.  As far as I know, there is only one DI football-playing school in the state (U. of Wisconsin in Madison).   Sprinkle in a few non-WIAC DIII's (Beloit, Wisconsin Lutheran, et al) and the truth is - the WIAC has no real competition for quality athletes who can't quite make the Badgers!

Compare this to NC.  First, there are over 30 college football programs in the state.  Second, there are five DI programs (UNC, NCSU, Duke, Wake Forest and ECU).   Third, our "second-tier" equivalent to the WIAC's UW-Whitewater is a little program you may have heard of, but instead of being called UNC-Boone, it's called Appalachian State.   Ask the Michigan Wolverines if they've ever heard of them.  

Being an alumn of UWW and a fan of the WIAC, i can't argue with you there. you're absolulety right. WIAC has a lot of talent to chose from if its student athletes want to stay in state and play football. Hence D3football.com naming the WIAC the best conference in DIII.

No question about it. Top to bottom, no other conference compares.

[TheEHC52]

To add something to the newest discussion about recruiting outside of the ODAC states, here is the latest roster posted on the EHC website.  Very good representation from several states:

http://gowasps.com/men/football/athletes

[roocru]

To help this discussion along, I want to ressurect the Division III football map that made an appearance a year (or more?) ago.

Hasa, I think you're mostly right with the states that have the top high school football programs, but even there, you're looking at a lot of competition for the best athletes.

We've already seen the long list of schools in Va. that play football. But what about Pennsylvania, which has 20+ D3 schools, at least 15 D2 schools on top of the 10 or more D1 (FBS & FCS) schools.

Then there's Ohio, which also has nearly two dozen D3 programs, five D2 programs and several D1s.

While a handful of states such as Wisconsin and Texas have great high school athletes and only a few in-state college to pick from, I think most Division III schools across the country face pretty stiff competition to get the athletes they want. And, I guess the optimistic side of me thinks that there's more to it than football as to why some of these kids go to the college that they do. 

Au contraire!  See list of Texas Colleges playing football that follows; (all scholarship except D3 schools in red)
4 year schools (30)

Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University–Commerce
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Prairie View A&M University
Tarleton State University
West Texas A&M University 
Sam Houston State University
Sul Ross State University
Texas State University
Angelo State University
University of Houston 
University of North Texas
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at San Antonio
Midwestern State University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Texas Southern University
Abilene Christian University
Baylor University
East Texas Baptist University
Hardin-Simmons University
Howard Payne University
Rice University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern Assemblies of God University
Texas Christian University
Texas Lutheran University 
Trinity University
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Austin College

Junior Colleges (6)

Blinn College Buccaneers Brenham, Texas
Cisco Junior College Wranglers Cisco, Texas
Kilgore College Rangers Kilgore, Texas
Navarro College Bulldogs Corsicana, Texas
Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals Athens, Texas
Tyler Junior College


This list is done from memory, there may be a few others.

[Ryan Tipps]

Fair enough, roocru. Your list is long, too

By my count, Texas has 15 Division I schools, six Division II and eight Division III. (Total of 29.)

But for a state that has double the population of Ohio or Pennsylvania, and triple the population of Virginia or North Carolina, the ratio certainly plays out in your favor! That's kind of the way I was looking at it.

And again, I'm not knocking that at all; just trying to show that on the East Coast, Virginia-centric conferences have just as much opportunity as Pennsylvania-centric or New Jersey-centric ones to boost their overall level of play.

[roocru]

Fair enough, roocru. Your list is long, too

By my count, Texas has 15 Division I schools, six Division II and eight Division III. (Total of 29.)

But for a state that has double the population of Ohio or Pennsylvania, and triple the population of Virginia or North Carolina, the ratio certainly plays out in your favor! That's kind of the way I was looking at it.

And again, I'm not knocking that at all; just trying to show that on the East Coast, Virginia-centric conferences have just as much opportunity as Pennsylvania-centric or New Jersey-centric ones to boost their overall level of play.

Ryan, I agree with all your points!  The Texan in me could just not let that go by unanswered.   

If it is important enough to the powers-that-be, any D3 school can raise their level of competition

[Ralph Turner]

roocru,

Here are a few more...

D-II University of the Incarnate Word (new in 2009).
NAIA Texas College (NAIA in Tyler).
D-1 Lamar University (starting a program to be going in 2010 for exhibition and 2011 full-time)

UTSA is starting football, too.
http://www.utsa.edu/today/2009/03/coker.cfm

The critical factor for Texas high school players and D-III is how many D-1 players leave the state to play elsewhere.

[tigerfanalso]

Ryan

Great feed back and responses from all. I to think the ODAC has potential to become a much better conference, all ready has from top to bottom.
On a national level E&H, Bridgewater & CU have had their day in the sun.
I think it is only a matter of time before another ODAC school makes a run.
Timing will be decided by several factors, including an economic recovery, but I do see it coming.

Enjoy the season, I'm ready for it to begin !!!!!!
 

[allsky7]

........allsky7 awakens from his D3 slumber. 

Hey folks....hope everyone has had a good summer. Football seasons just keep coming and going, huh? Don't have a lot of scientific data like all you smart people, but I just don't see the ODAC moving up the "food chain" very much any time soon. Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong though. I have said it before and will say again...a W in the first round of the playoffs, can be considered a banner year for an ODAC school. Will there be exceptions.....certainly, but in the 30+ years of the ODAC, only two schools on a couple occasions each have advanced past the first round. So, unless ODAC schools slash tuition in half and start letting athletes in with SAT scores like mine  , I think we will see more of the same in the near future. Some might argue that ODAC basketball has been able to elevate...why not football? That's certainly a valid question, but my gut is football will have a tougher roe to hoe.

[allsky7]

........allsky7 awakens from his D3 slumber. 

Hey folks....hope everyone has had a good summer. Football seasons just keep coming and going, huh? Don't have a lot of scientific data like all you smart people, but I just don't see the ODAC moving up the "food chain" very much any time soon. Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong though. I have said it before and will say again...a W in the first round of the playoffs, can be considered a banner year for an ODAC school. Will there be exceptions.....certainly, but in the 30+ years of the ODAC, only two schools on a couple occasions each have advanced past the first round. So, unless ODAC schools slash tuition in half and start letting athletes in with SAT scores like mine  , I think we will see more of the same in the near future. Some might argue that ODAC basketball has been able to elevate...why not football? That's certainly a valid question, but my gut is football will have a tougher roe to hoe.

They might have a tougher row to hoe too!!!  WHEW.....glad I caught that before Hasa got to it. 

[hasanova]

........allsky7 awakens from his D3 slumber.  

Hey folks....hope everyone has had a good summer. Football seasons just keep coming and going, huh? Don't have a lot of scientific data like all you smart people, but I just don't see the ODAC moving up the "food chain" very much any time soon. Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong though. I have said it before and will say again...a W in the first round of the playoffs, can be considered a banner year for an ODAC school. Will there be exceptions.....certainly, but in the 30+ years of the ODAC, only two schools on a couple occasions each have advanced past the first round. So, unless ODAC schools slash tuition in half and start letting athletes in with SAT scores like mine  , I think we will see more of the same in the near future. Some might argue that ODAC basketball has been able to elevate...why not football? That's certainly a valid question, but my gut is football will have a tougher roe to hoe.

They might have a tougher row to hoe too!!!   WHEW.....glad I caught that before Hasa got to it.  

I'm glad you caught if first as well.  lol  The best I could have mustered would have been something along the lines of "Hey, there's something fishy about this idiom unless, of course, you have a catfish farm!"

Good to see you online, allsky7!    

[HSCTiger74]

........allsky7 awakens from his D3 slumber. 

Good to have you back, allsky. Should be a very interesting season in the ODAC.

[hasanova]

Wake up from a pigskin-free summer!
No kickoffs, no fumbles - a bummer!
Bocephus, it's time - make the call!
Are we ready? Hell, yes - let's play ball!
Tee it up - way too much Dumb and Dumber!

Admit it - you'll watch a stupid movie for the 3rd time during the summer when there's no football.  "Nice hooters!"

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

I know I have posted this before somewhere on the OAC board, but I could not find it.

Ohio Colleges that play football:
DI-FBS
1.  Ohio State University
2.  Akron
3.  Bowling Green
4.  Kent State
5.  Miami
6.  Ohio U.
7.  Toledo
8.  Cincinnatti

DI-FCS
9.  Dayton
10.  Youngstown State

DII
11.  Ashland
12.  Findlay
13.  Tiffin
14.  Central State U.


DIII
15.  Baldwin Wallace
16.  Bluffton
17.  Capital
18.  Case Westeren
19.  Defiance
20.  Dennison
21.  Heidelberg
22.  Hiram
23.  John Carroll
24.  Kenyon
25.  Marietta
26.  Mt. St. Joseph
27.  Mount Union
28.  Muskingham
29.  Oberlin
30.  Ohio Northern
31.  Ohio Wesleyan
32.  Otterbein
33.  Wilmington
34.  Wittenberg
35.  Wooster

NAIA
36.  Ohio Domincan
37.  Malone
38.  Walsh

[Ryan Tipps]

DII
11.  Ashland
12.  Findlay
13.  Tiffin
14.  Central State U.

Is Lake Erie College still D2 as well?