FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

Welcome arktraveler!   If your contacts at Hendrix have any insight into the prognosis for the football program there, we'd sure like to hear it. 

[evacuee]

This isn't high school where the players improve by leaps and bounds every year due to physical growth.  What matters at the collegiate level is how many playmakers the team has.  If a lot of juniors are coming back for TU, that just means many of the same guys who made up the team last year are back.  The SCAC is wide open, at least in the top tier.  It would be nice if the Tigers won it, though.  You can never count them out of running the table.   

[Ralph Turner]

Welcome, arktraveler! Glad to have you on the boards!

Excellent analysis of the challenges that face Hendrix.

[Navidad]

Good points again, Ron, and excellent insights based on the Hendrix experience, arktraveler. You've probably summed up the issue as well as can be done here.

On to something else ... at the DIII level, does the less-intensive focus on football (i.e., fewer time demands on players, as compared to the DI or DII levels) allow for many -- or any -- dual-sports athletes? Or does the academic rigor of coursework keep many athletes from even attempting that?

[etg]

(El Tea Gray---re: Trinity Tiger 2010 season potential)

Tex, 2698:
I agree with both of your comments on the returning players for the Tigers this season. However, IMHO the Tigers will "run-the-table." So far, the recruting class has not been accounted for except for my few previous comments. I know Frank does not believe it, but this will be a great bunch of new players. As I have said before, on August 12th Saint Nick will be there (with a bunch more).


                                                                 

[Pat Coleman]

Good points again, Ron, and excellent insights based on the Hendrix experience, arktraveler. You've probably summed up the issue as well as can be done here.

On to something else ... at the DIII level, does the less-intensive focus on football (i.e., fewer time demands on players, as compared to the DI or DII levels) allow for many -- or any -- dual-sports athletes? Or does the academic rigor of coursework keep many athletes from even attempting that?

I would say two-sport athletes are fairly common at the Division III level.

[Ralph Turner]

Good points again, Ron, and excellent insights based on the Hendrix experience, arktraveler. You've probably summed up the issue as well as can be done here.

On to something else ... at the DIII level, does the less-intensive focus on football (i.e., fewer time demands on players, as compared to the DI or DII levels) allow for many -- or any -- dual-sports athletes? Or does the academic rigor of coursework keep many athletes from even attempting that?

I would say two-sport athletes are fairly common at the Division III level.

McMurry QB, and ASC (all around) Athlete of the Year and D3baseball.com HM All-American Outfielder Jake Mullin

http://www.ascsports.org/news/2010/6/18/FB_0618104741.aspx

[frank_ezelle]

(El Tea Gray---re: Trinity Tiger 2010 season potential)

Tex, 2698:
I agree with both of your comments on the returning players for the Tigers this season. However, IMHO the Tigers will "run-the-table." So far, the recruting class has not been accounted for except for my few previous comments. I know Frank does not believe it, but this will be a great bunch of new players. As I have said before, on August 12th Saint Nick will be there (with a bunch more).
                                                                 

I believe that Trinity brings in a quality recruiting class every year and I believe that Trinity is in the hunt for the SCAC crown every year.  I also believe the SCAC has far more depth than in the 1990's and early 2000's and that every year there will be several teams with legitimate hopes for the championship and the NCAA bid.  Scheduling helped DePauw's chances last year.  A key injury really hurt Centre's chances last year.  Millsaps was one play short of winning at DePauw and going to the NCAA Tournament.  The difference between winning and losing is becoming very slight.  A lot can and will happen this year and it appears unlikely that the SCAC Championship will be won in August when the teams report.

[D3_DPUFan]

I believe that Trinity brings in a quality recruiting class every year and I believe that Trinity is in the hunt for the SCAC crown every year.  I also believe the SCAC has far more depth than in the 1990's and early 2000's and that every year there will be several teams with legitimate hopes for the championship and the NCAA bid.  Scheduling helped DePauw's chances last year.  A key injury really hurt Centre's chances last year.  Millsaps was one play short of winning at DePauw and going to the NCAA Tournament.  The difference between winning and losing is becoming very slight.  A lot can and will happen this year and it appears unlikely that the SCAC Championship will be won in August when the teams report.

I think that's very true, Frank. The overall talent in the league combined with the travel make the conference a real challenge IMHO. As a DPU fan going to miss the league.

[Navidad]

Good points again, Ron, and excellent insights based on the Hendrix experience, arktraveler. You've probably summed up the issue as well as can be done here.

On to something else ... at the DIII level, does the less-intensive focus on football (i.e., fewer time demands on players, as compared to the DI or DII levels) allow for many -- or any -- dual-sports athletes? Or does the academic rigor of coursework keep many athletes from even attempting that?

I would say two-sport athletes are fairly common at the Division III level.

When my son was in high school, two factors seemed to be excellent indicators for predicting the success of the football team in district competition: 1) the success of the track team (which included many skill football players) the previous spring and 2) the number of seniors on the football team. So similarly, if dual-sport athletes are common in DIII, I wonder how many DIII football teams' skill players also run track, and if the success of the track team in DIII might also be a precursor to the success of the football team. And I'm wondering if the number of seniors (i.e., not any other level) on a DIII football team is really as good an indicator as it is in high school. Any thoughts and insights?

[Ralph Turner]

Good points again, Ron, and excellent insights based on the Hendrix experience, arktraveler. You've probably summed up the issue as well as can be done here.

On to something else ... at the DIII level, does the less-intensive focus on football (i.e., fewer time demands on players, as compared to the DI or DII levels) allow for many -- or any -- dual-sports athletes? Or does the academic rigor of coursework keep many athletes from even attempting that?

I would say two-sport athletes are fairly common at the Division III level.

When my son was in high school, two factors seemed to be excellent indicators for predicting the success of the football team in district competition: 1) the success of the track team (which included many skill football players) the previous spring and 2) the number of seniors on the football team. So similarly, if dual-sport athletes are common in DIII, I wonder how many DIII football teams' skill players also run track, and if the success of the track team in DIII might also be a precursor to the success of the football team. And I'm wondering if the number of seniors (i.e., not any other level) on a DIII football team is really as good an indicator as it is in high school. Any thoughts and insights?

D-III Track has not specifically impacted D-III football in this part of the country. Perhaps McMurry has had the best record of using track/football to its best Track Advantage.

There was one football player on the 2008 National Championship team, Bert Green, on the relays.

Joint programs include McMurry, Sul Ross, Mississippi College, and HSU.  HPU used to have a good program.

I will appreciate the SCAC fans comments.

[1837Tigers]

History of DePauw Football, produced in 1994, now on YouTube (there are 6 parts-- 5 have posted today):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuQtwGkHR9w

[D3_DPUFan]

History of DePauw Football, produced in 1994, now on YouTube (there are 6 parts-- 5 have posted today):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuQtwGkHR9w

Nice...thank you!

[arktraveler]

Ron, about the prospects for football at Hendrix... I've seen no substantive movement - no starts toward hiring coaches, no planning for the major athletic facility changes football would need. So I don't think it can possibly happen in 2011 (when do schools set their game schedules anyway?), and I'd be very surprised to see it for 2012. It seems the market problems came at exactly the wrong time - just as they got into a position to seek donors to fund the construction costs, it became much harder to find donors.

I'm beginning to suspect that it's a dead issue. One thing I'll be watching: In the coming year, Hendrix will plan and probably start building its new tennis facility, slated for the last bit of space in Hendrix's athletic complex. (All other sports have received completely new facilities in this complex since 2005 - well, except cross-country and golf, which aren't getting on-campus facilities.) In the football discussions, they proposed that this would be the place for a football practice field and the building where they would place football coaches' offices. I'll be watching to see whether there's even a hint that they're trying to maintain that expansion possibility. I'm not holding my breath.

[Pat Coleman]

That's unfortunate, because they made it sound like Hendrix football was a done deal. They would be the only Division III school in the past decade to announce it was starting football and then fail to come through.