FB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[reality check]

Mentioned this in the OAC page because one of the kids is attending an OAC school but Dayton Daily News reports that 5 Dunbar HS seniors have signed letters of intent to play D-III ball.  2 are heading to Thomas More and 2 are headed to Bluffton (in addition to 1 on his way to Muskingum).  Dunbar's a city league school that went 5-5 last year and I hope these kids work out well for their respective schools this fall.  I don't know much about their skills or accomplishments but I am happy they're trying to better themselves as D-III student athletes.

[M and L]

I thought in DIII that you didn't have to sign a letter of intent.  Instead you just enrolled to the the school and joined the team and commited yourself to one's program.

[Adam Sayer]

Macke...thats what you get for teaching at Harrison.

The radio didn't say there were other people there who could have stopped her. Regardless, this chick should be drug around by her ankles by a couple of horses through a briar patch and left in the middle of a desert. Or I know something a lot worse...lock her and Dr. Phil together in a rubber room.

[KYGrizzly]

I thought i DIII that you didn't signed letter of intent.  Instead you just enrolled to the the school and joined the team and commited yourself to one's program.

The letter of intent that was signed for our son was a check to the school.

[reality check]

I thought i DIII that you didn't signed letter of intent.  Instead you just enrolled to the the school and joined the team and commited yourself to one's program.

The letter of intent that was signed for our son was a check to the school.

Yes indeed.  My letter of intent is still being paid off.  I think you can still sign letters of intent for Division III but it's more a "feel good" move than a necessary one.  This school had ten kids sign yesterday but they were almost all for Division II, III and NAIA schools.  But it got the program and kids some attention and recognition.

[Pat Coleman]

You can't sign an LOI for D-III, actually. Any such stunt (and that's what it is, a publicity stunt) is solely put on by the high school.

[dc_has_been]

I'm just excited that my letter of intent is almost paid off.  Just 16 more months!!!  Anyways, regardless of the kids signing for publicity it still probably made the kids feel good about their futures to play football & get a great education.

[victorybell_57]

A lot of times, high school coaches do the whole paper signing thing and take pics to put on the wall. They tell people "we had 6 guys get scholarships last year." When you go "You know D3 can't give scholarships right??" Then the coach goes, "well, they worked it out somehow."

Pat is right, it is usually some stunt by some dueche high school coach who is trying to make himself look better. The actual LOI have to be downloaded off of a website with your administrator's password (http://www.national-letter.org) and has to be filled out either via type writer or on the administrator's website. DI, DIAA, D2 give out LOI. You can't say NAIA, because they aren't NCAA. There is actually a NJCAA LOI that covers the particulars because they kids need protected from the JC coaches. Bush league programs that lose kids papers and say "we don't know who you are." All this after a kid played 1 year for him. Make sure you get the copy people!!! One copy for you to save and cherish, and to keep your butt safe against the corrupt coaches looking for an edge.

Has anybody seen that kid on TV pic CAL? He never was even offered a scholarship by either school! I think it is one of the funniest, ballsiest, most classic pranks of all-time. I would give him a full-ride just for having the balls to do that with a straight face. Congrats to him.

[formerd3db]

You can't sign an LOI for D-III, actually. Any such stunt (and that's what it is, a publicity stunt) is solely put on by the high school.

Pat:

To your knowledge, is there a stipulation in the NCAA Manual that states specifically that one "can't sign a LOI for DIII?"  In the purest sense, you are correct.  However, actually, one can (and I'm playing semantics, here, ) - one's so-called "letter of intent" to a DIII school is when one signs the acceptance letter to the school's admissions acceptance letter and including the "down-payment" to hold one's slot for matriculation, in addition to sending the coach a letter and informing him that you are accepting admissions offer (and his offer to be on the team).  The difference is, as we all know, that there is no $ involved for the actual athletics portion (not including the financial aid for need and/or academics) AND the fact that this tentative acceptance is "non-binding" other than one usually loses their deposit if they latter change their mind and decide not to attend that school.

Also, as far as public announcements for "signings", I see no problem with a h.s. coach promoting and announcing publically that he has football players that have been recruited and decided to go to DIII schools and if that is on the other "national signing" days as promoted by the other level schools that do offer grant-in-aids, that in reality doesn't matter, nor should it.  I do, however, agree with you if that involved an actual simulated signing i.e. actually signing a piece of paper for DIII in a public forum, that is being misleading, and a coach who tried to promote that as an actual signing is being disingenuous (and/or perhaps publicity seeking as you and others have said).  IMO, there is a big difference between that and simply announcing that a kid has been recruited and chosen to attend a DIII school and play football.  The latte situation is one that should be recognized and does have merit for all the reasons all of us who believe in and support DIII athletics already know.  Just MO    

[Adam Sayer]

Macke, you didn't miss much up in Dublin. The tournament had a horrible format. We had 3 guys who lost once, but placed 5th due to the way it was set up. Plus, there were only 16 teams and the competition wasn't half as good as Centerville. Wasn't truely an "All State" tournament. We had 8 wrestlers and finished 7th out of 16...not too bad.

[M and L]

what was it, some kind of Rat tail where you follow the leader?

[tricksnaps56]

I've been told that Hanover is getting a long overdue field upgrade.  Finally, field turf at LS Ayres field!  Its supposed to be ready by next season.

[victorybell_57]

so is franklin. leonard wanted to be able to tell recruits that with their playoff team, great tail gating, they'll also have a great surface to play on. i commend franklin's AD, Kerry Prather, for getting on board and helping to finalize the deal.

Grizzly Ball on Field Turf next year.

[Adam Sayer]

They had 4 pools of 4 wrestlers. The winners of each pool wrestled each other in the "Semis." The winners of those wrestled for 1st, the losers wrestled for 3rd. The runner ups in each pool did the same thing, but the best a runner up could do was 5th as they didn't regroup the losers from the "semis" in consolation like they normally do in a tournament.

Our 152 was the number 1 seed, got beat in OT by a kid from Solon and placed 5th below 2 kids he had already dismantled earlier in the year but didn't have a chance to wrestle because they were in different pools and won their pool. Make sense??? Probably not. Anyway, I saw your brother placed 4th at the CHL Tournament. He had some decent wrestlers there in his weigt class.

About the field turf. Once we got ours at MSJ, I predicted within 10 years, every college would have it and probably 90% of all high schools in the country who could afford it would have it. In the long run it saves so much money in maintence and upkeep its almost stupid not to switch.

In Cincinnati, I'm willing to say about 60% of all High Schools have it....but I know once school who will never...Taylor HS...whose one endzone corner goes 5 feet up a hill.

[SaintsFAN]

Thomas More will have it too...at Bank of Kentucky field.

And not a moment too soon if you ask me...now we don't have to worry about having MSJ guys water down our field (hoping for mud) on the weeks of the Bridge Bowl.

When Defiance and Bluffton get it...we will be at the 'saturation' point for field turf.