Should the Stagg Bowl find a better site or stay in Salem, Va.

[Ron Boerger]

I wonder how many people made a big deal about Bridgewater playing in a National Title game in their backyard? 

Had Bridgewater played in the Stagg nine of the the previous ten years, this analogy might have some merit. 

[PurpleSuit]

I wonder how many people made a big deal about Bridgewater playing in a National Title game in their backyard? 

Had Bridgewater played in the Stagg nine of the the previous ten years, this analogy might have some merit.

Point being is that there will always be a handful of colleges that would be "home teams" at any location.  Unless you want to put the game in Alaska or Hawaii.  A location should not be penalized for the success of a football program that is sort of close.

[Pat Coleman]

I don't think the committee feels the same way, for what it's worth.

[PurpleSuit]

I don't think the committee feels the same way, for what it's worth.

I would hope that you are wrong, but I doubt it.  Seems like a lot of "if its not broke" attitude in D3 football.  Regardless, I look forward to hearing from Skunks

[wesleydad]

mr.ypsi, no i do not specialize in e. e. cummngs, just too lazy to hit the shift key when i type.  certainly would do it if i had to.  my brother is a writer and he gets annoyed when i do it on facebook so i do it on purpose now.  i would mark it wrong on my middle school students papers unless they could prove to me that they even knew who e. e. cummings was. 

[K-Mack]

Although Skunks and myself are "Mount guys," I think that Canton should be considered regardless of Mount Union being 30 minutes down the road.  I wonder how many people made a big deal about Bridgewater playing in a National Title game in their backyard?  If the city of Canton decides to make a bid, I would hope that they be viewed on the community's merits alone.

The NCAA probably would view it on its merits. You also have the Pro Football HOF angle, which should they decide to get involved, would be a trump card no one else has.

There's also the slight chance that playing it there would guarantee a full house, and money would come into play as a positive for the Canton bid, though that would be a better argument if Mount could average 6,000 or more of for its home games. Does it average 8,000 in the playoffs?

It's the fans who would probably raise a stink about it. And the bus companies in the Alliance area

[smedindy]

mr.ypsi, no i do not specialize in e. e. cummngs, just too lazy to hit the shift key when i type.  certainly would do it if i had to.  my brother is a writer and he gets annoyed when i do it on facebook so i do it on purpose now.  i would mark it wrong on my middle school students papers unless they could prove to me that they even knew who e. e. cummings was. 

Didn't he eschew punctuation most of the time, though?

[Pat Coleman]

Although Skunks and myself are "Mount guys," I think that Canton should be considered regardless of Mount Union being 30 minutes down the road.  I wonder how many people made a big deal about Bridgewater playing in a National Title game in their backyard?  If the city of Canton decides to make a bid, I would hope that they be viewed on the community's merits alone.

The NCAA probably would view it on its merits. You also have the Pro Football HOF angle, which should they decide to get involved, would be a trump card no one else has.

There's also the slight chance that playing it there would guarantee a full house, and money would come into play as a positive for the Canton bid, though that would be a better argument if Mount could average 6,000 or more of for its home games. Does it average 8,000 in the playoffs?

It's the fans who would probably raise a stink about it. And the bus companies in the Alliance area

Mount doesn't draw well in the playoffs, necessarily, like a lot of teams.

[AO]

Why not the metrodome?  Last year would have been a bad year to host it there, but it seems like they might be able to prevent future collapses.   It can get loud with only 5000, and is easier to fly to than Salem.  It's much closer to whitewater, and the Tommies would need the homefield boost to get past the other purple powers.

[SUADC]

I don't know all the factors that go into arranging championship games at different places, stadiums, or city markets. But, after thinking about this for a bit. I think the Stagg bowl should rotate every year, rotating from region to region each year. This would eliminate the homefield advantage scenario. Also, would bring a lot more attention nationally. It can be similar to the Olympics. Maybe they should have the sports writers and committee vote on where it should be played each year four years in advance based on playoff play.

[Pat Coleman]

I don't think so. I think there's way too much work involved for this to rotate every year. If a new place were to get it, it would need a year just to figure out what needs to be done.

And let's put it this way -- if 20 inches of snow got dumped anywhere else 18 hours before a Stagg Bowl, I don't know if anywhere else could have played that day.

[wesleydad]

and if you were there to witness the cleanup from start to finish as i was you would nothing but respect for the people of salem.  the fact that that game was played at all let alone on a field that if you didnt know it had snowed you would not have thought it did.  i am in favor of the game staying in salem for as long as they want to keep putting it on.  there may be other places that have other attractions, but that is what i like about salem, the game is the attraction.  if you have not been there for a game, make the trip and i am sure you will be impressed.

[SUADC]

I don't think so. I think there's way too much work involved for this to rotate every year. If a new place were to get it, it would need a year just to figure out what needs to be done.

And let's put it this way -- if 20 inches of snow got dumped anywhere else 18 hours before a Stagg Bowl, I don't know if anywhere else could have played that day.

I understand how dedicated the city of Salem is and my appreciation for what they have done for Divison 3 and allowing us to play there, gains my upmost respect. I was thinking that historically since there has been more 'West' regional and 'North' regional teams winning the Stagg bowl. The fans should be awarded for their regions play. Also, you said it takes up to a year to figure it out. I indicated that it should be prepared four years in advance, giving the city and people enough time in advance to prepare. We can even keep Salem as both our "East" and "South" regional spot since it is pretty close in terms of traveling for teams from the South and East.

[jknezek]

I think you are underestimating the work that goes into hosting an event like the Stagg Bowl. You need dedicated volunteers and administrators and the best way to do that is to keep them engaged year over year. If you are moving it around so that you only get it once every four years, you are going to be retraining a lot of new volunteers for each event without as much holdover participation.

While in theory it's a good idea to move it around and give the game exposure, in practice it works very well to have a "home." The fact that the home represents a good trade-off between driving accessibility for much of D3 AND some of the best odds for decent weather that you will find in a driving accessible area and you find Salem is a very good choice.

I'm not opposed to having opposing bids and I think everyone should have their say if they want to host. But its not as simple as just saying spreading it around is good, so make it happen.

[skunks_sidekick]

......AND some of the best odds for decent weather.........

Yah....about that........

I have been to the Stagg Bowl ten times over the past sixteen years.  Out of those ten times, the weather was DECENT four.  The other six times were cold, rainy, windy, fog, snowing, and/or all the above.  Quite honestly, it was one of the driving forces for me to say....."what if"?

I can report that early word is Canton/Stark County, OH, WILL put a bid in to host the Stagg.  They are working through a transition, and are expecting to get busy with the bid in January/February.  The current director is transitioning over to running the Canton Marathon, which will launch for the first time this summer.  His replacement is in place, and she is looking forward to putting together a competitive bid. 

More in the coming months!