MBB: University Athletic Association

[Bengalsrule]

Here's 1 vote for an "All Western New York" Elite 8 match-up Saturday. U of R vs Buff State.
Hoping both win Friday!
Good Luck Friday vs. Middlebury!

[deiscanton]

The ECAC New England Championship game between Brandeis and Eastern Connecticut will be underway shortly from Geissler Gym in Willimantic, CT

Tip scheduled for 1 PM Eastern.

First half game updates

Brandeis 6, Eastern Connecticut 2  17:54 left in first half.

Brandeis 13, Eastern Connecticut 11  9:47 left in first half.

Brandeis 22, Eastern Connecticut 14  6:06 left in first half.

Halftime from Geissler Gym-- Brandeis 32,  Eastern Connecticut 22

Second half about to get underway.....  Second half game updates

Brandeis 39,  Eastern Connecticut 28  16:29 left in regulation

Brandeis 43, Eastern Connecticut 32  12:55 left in regulation

Brandeis 46, Eastern Connecticut 32  11:14 left in regulation-- some Eastern Connecticut "fans" got escorted out of Geissler Gym by the state troopers-- apparently for making some derogatory comments at the Brandeis players.  (Unknown what was actually said, however....)

Brandeis 51, Eastern Connecticut 39  8:30 left in regulation

Brandeis 58, Eastern Connecticut 46  5:30 left in regulation

Brandeis 61, Eastern Connecticut 48  3:24 left in regulation

 Final-- Brandeis 65,  Eastern Connecticut 50

 Brandeis is the 2010-2011 ECAC New England Champion-- first ECAC title in men's basketball for Brandeis since 1991-92 when the Judges, as the #6 seed, won at Bates, at Williams, and at Colby to capture that championship.

 Most Outstanding Player of the ECAC New England Tournament-- from Brandeis University, #10 Ben Bartoldus

Brandeis finishes their season with a 19-9 record-- Judges captured their 3rd ECAC New England title in 5 ECAC New England appearances.   In addition to the 1992 ECAC New England title and today's victory, the Judges also won the ECAC New England title in 1974.   Brandeis also appeared in the ECAC New England tournament in 1991 and 1995.

Update:  Brandeis Judges game recap of the title game:

 http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/releases/20110306y1ngbr

[deiscanton]

The Brandeis Justice has come out with their March 8, 2011 edition

In this edition, staff writer Jonathan Steinberg wrote about Brandeis winning the ECAC New England title over the weekend.   The article contains comments from Brandeis head coach Brian Meehan-- I found it interesting that he thought that the ECAC should also have named Brandeis player Youri Dascy as a co-tourney MVP in addition to Ben Bartoldus:

 http://media.www.thejustice.org/media/storage/paper573/news/2011/03/08/Sports/Mens-Basketball.Men.Battle.Back.To.Win.The.Eastern.College.Athletic.Conference.T-3984088.shtml

(Note:  In the other ECAC regions, Stevens won the ECAC Metro men's title, Hobart won the ECAC Upstate men's title, and Lebanon Valley took the ECAC South men's title, just FYI.)

Also in this week's edition of the Brandeis Justice, staff writer Jonathan Epstein wrote a feature on ECAC New England Tournament MVP Ben Bartoldus, who was named Justice Athlete of the Week:

http://media.www.thejustice.org/media/storage/paper573/news/2011/03/08/Sports/Athlete.Of.The.Week.Ben.Bartoldus.14-3984107.shtml

[Wydown Blvd.]

WUSTL announced its incoming class:
http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/Content/Pages/mbk5-18-11.aspx

[BUBeaverFan]

WUSTL announced its incoming class:
http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/Content/Pages/mbk5-18-11.aspx

Can the Lacob Center be far behind?  (Just Kidding)

[Wydown Blvd.]

WUSTL announced its incoming class:
http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/Content/Pages/mbk5-18-11.aspx

Can the Lacob Center be far behind?  (Just NOT Kidding)

We have all seen the WUSTL athletic center...lol

[ADL70]

Speculation from the SCAC FB board with the shakeup:

My contacts (in Cleveland,OH) tell me that the UAA greatly desires to "expand" the conference with 3 "quality institutions" (NOTE: current UAA members play full 9 or 10 game D3 football schedules without requiring that their opponents be mega-graduate institutions).

My take:
I can see the attraction in adding four teams, at least 3 of which sponsor football.  Football and baseball get an AQ, and other sports could schedule division play to lessen travel.  Would UofR return fulltime?


Anyone else heard such speculation?

[Ethelred the Unready]

I really can't imagine UofR leaving the Liberty League to play football in the UAA.  Travel now is pretty much within NY against quality institutions (Hobart, Union, RPI etc) and the UAA travel would be  a killer. 

[gordonmann]

Right.  And keep in mind you have to buy a lot more plane tickets for football.

[martin]

My contacts (in Cleveland,OH) tell me that the UAA greatly desires to "expand" the conference with 3 "quality institutions" (NOTE: current UAA members play full 9 or 10 game D3 football schedules without requiring that their opponents be mega-graduate institutions).

There may be some interest in doing something to make football scheduling easier but there is no interest in expanding the UAA.  Here is the complete list of schools that could join the UAA: MIT, Johns Hopkins and maybe Tufts.  I say maybe Tufts because it is not a member of the AAU. Tufts is a research university but not a comprehensive one - it does a lot in biomedical, little elsewhere.  Emory was not a member of the AAU when the UAA was formed - it joined in 1995.  But I do not think Tufts would meet the criteria for AAU membership. 

CalTech is a member of the AAU but it is too small to be competitive (913 undergrads) and too far away.  The UAA is all about "peer institutions".  The NESCAC schools are not peers - they are elite liberal arts colleges.  The UAA was started by Wash U and Chicago because they did not like being associated with the SLIAC and the Midwest Conference.  This is not just about sports.  It is how the schools brand themselves.  And one way they brand themselves is by the company they keep.  When you think about the UAA, that is what you need to keep in mind.  Sports are secondary.  The money spent on travel is part of the recruiting budget - not for athletes, but for the entire student body.  It is advertising. 

Only 15% of Chicago's students are from Illinois, 32% from the Midwest.  It, like all UAA schools, regards itself as a national (and international) institution.  For people who do not know about a UAA school, an easy way to identify it  is by referencing its peer institutions.  It is also about a far flung alumni network.  Chicago stages alumni events in conjunction with away basketball games.  I think the other schools also do this. 

The AAU requirement is not trivial.  Only two athletic conferences have all their members also AAU members - the Big Ten and the UAA.  And the Big Ten is still tied to Chicago through the CIC. When the Big Ten was looking to add a 12th member (no one said they could count), I laughed when people suggested schools like Louisville or Kentucky.  No way.  The Big Ten is even snobbier on this than the UAA.

Note the Ivy League falls short on this because of Dartmouth - which is more like a big NESCAC school (4,200 undergrads). 

If MIT, Hopkins or Tufts approached the UAA about joining, you would see some action.  But those schools are happy with their current situations.  For the UAA, there are no other prospective members.  The UAA will look at football deals, like with the NCAC.  I don't think having an AQ is all that important.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Agree completely with you martin. Excellent commentary.

(Based on my conversations with staffs of UAA universities, they had always wanted MIT in the conference, but couldnt make it work out.)

Glad this came up, as I mentioned the AAU membership on the SLIAC women's board as a semi-trivia comment/question just a little while back during this off-season http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=765.1440

[David Collinge]

When the Big Ten was looking to add a 12th member (no one said they could count), I laughed when people suggested schools like Louisville or Kentucky.  No way.  The Big Ten is even snobbier on this than the UAA.

I don't see Nebraska on the membership list, somewhat to my surprise.

Several years ago, when Tulane was ostensibly considering a move to Div. III, I thought they'd be an excellent addition to the UAA.  But I don't suppose that they, or any other Div. I AAU school, will ever move.

[martin]

When the Big Ten was looking to add a 12th member (no one said they could count), I laughed when people suggested schools like Louisville or Kentucky.  No way.  The Big Ten is even snobbier on this than the UAA.

I don't see Nebraska on the membership list, somewhat to my surprise.

Nebraska was thrown out of the AAU in April.  This has never been done before.  Some schools have stepped down - including Catholic U.  I think the Big Ten will insist that it correct its shortcomings and get back in.  Maybe the Big Ten should have gone for Missouri - which desperately wanted into the Big Ten.

[Pat Coleman]

Don't remind me.

[Ethelred the Unready]

My contacts (in Cleveland,OH) tell me that the UAA greatly desires to "expand" the conference with 3 "quality institutions" (NOTE: current UAA members play full 9 or 10 game D3 football schedules without requiring that their opponents be mega-graduate institutions).

There may be some interest in doing something to make football scheduling easier but there is no interest in expanding the UAA.  Here is the complete list of schools that could join the UAA: MIT, Johns Hopkins and maybe Tufts.  I say maybe Tufts because it is not a member of the AAU. Tufts is a research university but not a comprehensive one - it does a lot in biomedical, little elsewhere.  Emory was not a member of the AAU when the UAA was formed - it joined in 1995.  But I do not think Tufts would meet the criteria for AAU membership. 

CalTech is a member of the AAU but it is too small to be competitive (913 undergrads) and too far away.  The UAA is all about "peer institutions".  The NESCAC schools are not peers - they are elite liberal arts colleges.  The UAA was started by Wash U and Chicago because they did not like being associated with the SLIAC and the Midwest Conference.  This is not just about sports.  It is how the schools brand themselves.  And one way they brand themselves is by the company they keep.  When you think about the UAA, that is what you need to keep in mind.  Sports are secondary.  The money spent on travel is part of the recruiting budget - not for athletes, but for the entire student body.  It is advertising. 

Only 15% of Chicago's students are from Illinois, 32% from the Midwest.  It, like all UAA schools, regards itself as a national (and international) institution.  For people who do not know about a UAA school, an easy way to identify it  is by referencing its peer institutions.  It is also about a far flung alumni network.  Chicago stages alumni events in conjunction with away basketball games.  I think the other schools also do this. 

The AAU requirement is not trivial.  Only two athletic conferences have all their members also AAU members - the Big Ten and the UAA.  And the Big Ten is still tied to Chicago through the CIC. When the Big Ten was looking to add a 12th member (no one said they could count), I laughed when people suggested schools like Louisville or Kentucky.  No way.  The Big Ten is even snobbier on this than the UAA.

Note the Ivy League falls short on this because of Dartmouth - which is more like a big NESCAC school (4,200 undergrads). 

If MIT, Hopkins or Tufts approached the UAA about joining, you would see some action.  But those schools are happy with their current situations.  For the UAA, there are no other prospective members.  The UAA will look at football deals, like with the NCAC.  I don't think having an AQ is all that important.

Hopkins was a member of the UAA not too long ago.  I remember on my son's official visit to UofR we were told that the UAA used to refer to themselves as the "Nerdy Nine" until Hopkins left.  Then they became the "Egghead Eight".