FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

BTW--have you banned Kid?  He is very quiet lately.

Ha, no.

I am doing most of my talking on my website's message forum, keeping all you non-BC fans from reading post after post on everything and anything BC football. (you're welcome)

So you guys are having super secret discussions on merits of a 4-3 defense?

Nothing is secret over on my boards.  As you did, anyone can register and contribute/read.

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

Where can I find archives on Bridgewater Football?  I need to find a player on the team that lasted one season there.

You can send me a PM with the inquiry.  I'll look into it for you if you like.

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

Academically BC will never compete with W&L but then again I don't think any BC folk have ever let that bother them that much either. I went to BC got my degree as most and have had no problem making a living and contributing to society as a result.

As my father - who graduated from BC in '74 - told me during my college search;

"Besides me, no cares what school is printed on the diploma in my office.  If you're a good person and you work hard, you'll be successful."

I really do think it's that simple.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Academically BC will never compete with W&L but then again I don't think any BC folk have ever let that bother them that much either. I went to BC got my degree as most and have had no problem making a living and contributing to society as a result.

As my father - who graduated from BC in '74 - told me during my college search;

"Besides me, no cares what school is printed on the diploma in my office.  If you're a good person and you work hard, you'll be successful."

I really do think it's that simple.

Its not what you know, it is who you know.  Someone I know once told me that most employers just want to know you have that piece of paper.

[allsky7]

Academically BC will never compete with W&L but then again I don't think any BC folk have ever let that bother them that much either. I went to BC got my degree as most and have had no problem making a living and contributing to society as a result.

As my father - who graduated from BC in '74 - told me during my college search;

"Besides me, no cares what school is printed on the diploma in my office.  If you're a good person and you work hard, you'll be successful."

I really do think it's that simple.

Its not what you know, it is who you know.  Someone I know once told me that most employers just want to know you have that piece of paper.

     It's not who you know...it's who knows you!!  8)

[Jacketlawyer]

When the President recognizes that decent sports programs breed alumni contributions and school support, programs flurish as Bridgewater's has since 2000.

Nice to see someone articulate this (for the most part) irrefutable theorem.  Nothing breeds success like success. 

Look at Hampden-Sydney.  Prior to Martyball, I don't think a refurbishment of Death Valley would've been possible (can't wait to see the finished product, by the way).  But not only are they getting that, they continue to get good players at that school.

It makes me positively green with envy.  But have to give credit where credit is due.

[wrighthall220]

If anyone has any questions about the quality of academic/athletic standards at Bridgewater since 2000 they need to look into how many  players went on to earn post graduate degrees, have great jobs and how productive many of them are within the communities they live. The players from 2000 on have become Doctors, Teachers, Coaches, successful businessmen and U.S. Soldiers.  President Stone, Coach Clark and Co.  have done a fine job not only recruiting great players but great individuals with character.   Academics are great but if you're if you don't have a good heart it is meaningless.   The diversity of individuals at Bridgewater College is one thing I will never forget, no matter how much someone may have struggled to get into a college, to pass a class or graduate I rarely met someone who I would consider a jerk at BC.   There's more to the college experience then grades and SAT scores and it shouldn't be held against BC or any other school for offering the opportunity to earn a college degree to a broader population. 

[wrighthall220]

Academically BC will never compete with W&L but then again I don't think any BC folk have ever let that bother them that much either. I went to BC got my degree as most and have had no problem making a living and contributing to society as a result.

As my father - who graduated from BC in '74 - told me during my college search;

"Besides me, no cares what school is printed on the diploma in my office.  If you're a good person and you work hard, you'll be successful."

I really do think it's that simple.

When I was going through a business buy out my current employer merely asked two questions about my college degree.. if I had one and was it a BS or BA.. they have never asked where it was from or for my degree specifics.   It's funny how hard we all work for a piece of paper that is rarely asked about.

[K-Mack]

Counselor
Being from New Orleans there's a bunch of us Catholics down there and most important there is good football and Catholic U misses out.

abnrgr--will be heading up to DC to watch my Jackets play CUA this year.  One of my best friends here in town is a CUA alumnus, so we're gonna drive up together.  The winner buys the loser drinks, so I expect the experience to be somewhat alcohol-soaked.

That game is always a barnburner. Unlike H-SC, CUA seems to be up or down at exactly the same time R-MC is up or down.

[K-Mack]

I think this article from the Chattanooga Newspaper posted at the Sewanee website about sums up what is going on in regards to the part I bolded:

Newspaper
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Sunday June 10, 2007

Division III dissension

By Darren Epps
Staff Writer

SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Demanding academic standards and an expansive selection of sports programs make the University of the South an ideal NCAA Division III institution, a model of genuine amateur athletics.

But the model is becoming blurred by universities with different interpretations of the Division III mission statement, and the school also known as Sewanee is watching membership and dissension swell.

The fractured membership could result in Sewanee and other traditional schools competing in a new division starting in 2009, possibly under the designation of Division IV or even Division V. Numerous presidents, athletic directors and administrators interviewed said a plan to split Division III, which does not allow athletic scholarships, is imminent when the group meets at January's convention in Nashville.

It's a case of multiplication forcing more dividing.

"It may go to two subdivisions or a fourth division, or potentially even both," NCAA president Myles Brand said. "I think what's happened is that Division III has gotten too big, and there's some philosophical differences within the division that we might do better at treating them separately."

The crux of Division III's civil war is indeed the rising number of universities, now at 450 counting the provisional schools. The influx of schools means a sweeping range of standards concerning admissions, financial aid and the vigor in which Division III programs are pursuing national championships.

Traditional schools like Sewanee want to align with academic peers. Other programs will pursue the athletic spotlight. And even more schools are resistant to change, unwilling to relinquish 80-year-old rivalries or accept a perceived demotion to a potential Division IV.

[deleted remainder to preserve newspaper's copyright]

Link to the article:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/sports.aspx?articleid=16579&zoneid=6

Chattanooga Times Free Press
http://www.timesfreepress.com/

Reposted this on the Future of Division III discussion under General Division III issues, which, if you liked this article and the issues it raised, you would LOVE that thread.

[K-Mack]

Academically BC will never compete with W&L but then again I don't think any BC folk have ever let that bother them that much either. I went to BC got my degree as most and have had no problem making a living and contributing to society as a result.

As my father - who graduated from BC in '74 - told me during my college search;

"Besides me, no cares what school is printed on the diploma in my office.  If you're a good person and you work hard, you'll be successful."

I really do think it's that simple.

When I was going through a business buy out my current employer merely asked two questions about my college degree.. if I had one and was it a BS or BA.. they have never asked where it was from or for my degree specifics.   It's funny how hard we all work for a piece of paper that is rarely asked about.

I couldn't agree more. Was talking to a co-worker from Lynchburg who said the fact that he finished four years of baseball and school concurrently seemed to impress potential employers more than the name of the school he went to.

I think unless you're going to grad school or taking some kind of LSAT MCAT whatever whatever, your GPA is rather meaningless, and your degree is not half as important as your internship/work experience, especially as you get beyond your first college job.

Maybe it varies from professional field to professional field, however, Journalism tends to be a business where people can take something more tangible than your grades (stories you've written or design or editing you've done) and get a lot out of it.

Also, a lot of people go to work in a field unrelated to what they studied.

Finishing college at any accredited four-year institution does tell employers one thing: That you can commit to a task, follow directions and follow through. And you're able to learn.

Those things are the basis of being 'an employee' at any level.

My apologies for parachuting into the middle of this conversation and possibly tangentifying (made up word) it.

[K-Mack]

Speaking of which, I was looking at the sticker price for most of the ODAC schools out there.  It now costs as much to go for one year as it did for four years when I was going through.  Don't know how these parents do it.

My daughter just graduated from Sewanee, and as we packed her stuff to bring home, I paused and asked myself that very question.  I look back and I don't know how we did it.

....and I have three more to go!!!

Jesus Cristo!

Along Jacket Lawyer's line of thought ... my freshman year at macon tuition was $17,900. When I graduated, it was like 21,300.

Recently got some mail from them soliciting donations because tuition is 34,000+ these days. 

That was Gettysburg territory way back when.

It's gotta be 50,000 to go to some places these days.

I have no idea what I'm going tell my children. Maybe I'll just start a business now and teach them how to run it to avoid the 400,000 each it's going to cost me to send them to school.

[K-Mack]

WLU78, thanks for the Sewanee article. +1! 

Here is more on D-IV on the Future of D-III board.

I see Ralph is 27 steps ahead of me as usual.

[K-Mack]

As a recent grad, I find the news of a potential D-IV a reason to stop and look at the current state of D-III.  I picked E&H over W&L, Sewanee, and Grinnell.  Ultimately, for me at least, it came down to money.  I loved W&L on my visit (and to quote one of my baseball-playing classmates at graduation, "I'd rather have suffered through four years without a victory than to win just one game for W&L.") but when the financial aid letters came back and Emory gave a full ride compared to nothing at W&L, it seemed that the choice was made for me in absentia. 

Me too.

Albright: $14,000 in financial aid, mostly grants and Presidential Scholarship
Randolph-Macon: $14,000 in financial aid, mostly grants and Honors Scholarship
Howard: $1,000 in financial aid

Maryland was my fourth final four, but sadly, I might not have even been able to play for a Ron Vanderlinden band of Terps.

[K-Mack]

     I also agree that most of the banter that takes place on here is in good clean fun. (Picking on W&L and in my case, mostly R-MC) It's kinda like picking on your sister when you were a kid. You love her but boy is it ever fun to push her buttons. 

Just to clarify, Allsky, are we using the Hampden-Sydney country definition of "pushing your sister's buttons?"