Eastern Collegiate Football Conference

Started by ccd494, August 24, 2009, 09:37:04 PM

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NED3Guy

I think all my ECFC friends left with Husson....1 post on this board since June.

Not much to talk about though. The conference has gotten much worse since Norwich and Husson have left in the past few years. Dare we say, it's officially the worst league in D3 Football? After two weeks the league is a combined 1-10, with a couple of losses that were wins last year (CU v Fitchburg and SUNY v Mass Maritime)...not a good look for the ECFC.

That said, somebody has to win the league and that somebody will get an AQ.

Without much to go off of, here's how we see things thus far-

1) SUNY
2) DEAN
3) CASTLETON
4) ALFRED STATE**
5) AMCAT U
6) GALLAUDET

Best showing from an ECFC team so far is Alfred State being up on Hartwick at the half. They were up 20-6 in the second quarter before getting shutout 24-0 the rest of the way and finishing up with a 30-20 loss. Although every year is different; last year they were down 35-3 at the half. In a week where we saw two teams drop games that they had won in the previous season (CU and SUNY); it appears that the Blue Buffaloes are trending upwards in a league that is trending downward. We haven't followed this team very closely but they earned our attention for the next few weeks. A game at a rebuilding Rochester team this weekend followed by a game at Brockport the next...

Credit to Alfred State (UMass Dartmouth, Hartwick, Rochester, Brockport) and AMCAT U (Becker, Union, Nichols and RPI) for playing BY FAR the most difficult out of conference schedules of anybody in the league.

ITH radio

Quote from: NED3Guy on September 16, 2019, 11:14:39 AM
Dare we say, it's officially the worst league in D3 Football? After two weeks the league is a combined 1-10, with a couple of losses that were wins last year (CU v Fitchburg and SUNY v Mass Maritime)...not a good look for the ECFC.

Yep. Like Frank said in our show last week, this conf's day's could be numbered. Not a sustainable model as currently set up.
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RowanPhan

Maybe an opportunity for 1 or 2 teams to join the NJAC
Go Rowan!

Pat Coleman

I know the NJAC has space, but I don't see any of these teams having any interest  in trying to compete on that level.
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Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

Caz Bombers

Quote from: ITH radio on September 16, 2019, 10:26:35 PM
Quote from: NED3Guy on September 16, 2019, 11:14:39 AM
Dare we say, it's officially the worst league in D3 Football? After two weeks the league is a combined 1-10, with a couple of losses that were wins last year (CU v Fitchburg and SUNY v Mass Maritime)...not a good look for the ECFC.

Yep. Like Frank said in our show last week, this conf's day's could be numbered. Not a sustainable model as currently set up.

I didn't get to listen to the show, but why might that be? Keystone is joining next year which will restore the ECFC to 7 teams.

Jonny Utah

Quote from: Caz Bombers on September 17, 2019, 08:50:12 AM
Quote from: ITH radio on September 16, 2019, 10:26:35 PM
Quote from: NED3Guy on September 16, 2019, 11:14:39 AM
Dare we say, it's officially the worst league in D3 Football? After two weeks the league is a combined 1-10, with a couple of losses that were wins last year (CU v Fitchburg and SUNY v Mass Maritime)...not a good look for the ECFC.

Yep. Like Frank said in our show last week, this conf's day's could be numbered. Not a sustainable model as currently set up.

I didn't get to listen to the show, but why might that be? Keystone is joining next year which will restore the ECFC to 7 teams.

I'm guessing a lot of travel for schools that probably don't want to spend that much money on football/travel to begin with.

NED3Guy

Way too large of a footprint for travel purposes. Conference stretches as far west as Alfred NY, South to DC, and east to the Boston area with Dean. Couple that with the addition of a PA team, and trips to VT or NYC and almost every away game (besides Dean v Anna Maria) becomes an overnight trip.

Wonder where teams could end up.

Castleton would fall right into the MASCAC (formerly the NEFC public schools). Castleton's other sports are already in the same conference as Western CT, Plymouth and UMass Dartmouth...it would make total sense for the Spartans to get into the MASCAC for football from a location / budget standpoint. From a competitive standpoint....not sure how they'd do there.

Dean / Anna Maria would likely need to find a spot in the CCC (formerly NEFC). There are only a few New England based private school conferences. The NESCAC, the NEWMAC and the CCC. From a branding standpoint the NEWMAC will not be in a hurry to add the likes of AMC and Dean...they bring nothing to the table, and are a far cry from the reputation MIT, WPI and the others want the NEWMAC to carry. The CCC is already at 8 teams with two affiliate members in Becker and Husson. Both of those schools fit the profile of AMC and Dean. Question is if the CCC wants to become a 10 team conference?

Alfred State is a bit of a wild card, as their primary conference for non-football sports does not sponsor football. The E8 would be the logical geographic fit for them. The E8 has gone through a lot of changes over the years and is currently at 7 teams. Since the Empire 7 sounds silly, maybe they look to add an 8th team?

SUNY Maritime is the one that is really interesting. Some say that the E8 would love to have an NYC area team. Good for recruiting the section 1, 9 and Long Island areas to be able to play a game down that way every other year. The other SUNY football schools are in the E8 (brockport, cortland, morrisville) so maybe there is an easy segway for Maritime? There were some serious rumors about SUNY trying to get into the NEWMAC, with fellow military schools, Norwich, Kings Point, Coast Guard and Maine Maritime. One rumor was that Kings Point has always looked down on their SUNY school neighbors, and would not join the NEWMAC if SUNY was there with them. The desire of Coast Guard to keep their annual game with Kings Point, and Norwich desperately wanting the traditional game with Coast Guard back on the schedule meant that Kings Point got their way and SUNY was left in the ECFC.  THIS IS 100% hearsay rumor mill stuff, and I do not want to be spreading false rumors. That said, I heard it from people at two different NEWMAC schools so I trust it enough to post it here.

As for Keyston and Gallaudet...I honestly don't know enough about the conference makeup in those areas to say anything at all.

Caz Bombers

I don't believe the Kings Point looking down on Maritime talk because USMMA just moved back into the Skyline Conference with them in all sports last summer.

Otherwise, good and interesting analysis.

Oline89

Geographically, Keystone is more of a natural fit for the MAC.  Unfortunately, MAC already has 10 teams.  The LL could certainly use an 8th team, and Keystone is not too far from the rest of the league

MRMIKESMITH

Quote from: Oline89 on September 17, 2019, 03:06:57 PM
Geographically, Keystone is more of a natural fit for the MAC.  Unfortunately, MAC already has 10 teams.  The LL could certainly use an 8th team, and Keystone is not too far from the rest of the league

Maybe Keystone and Gallaudet can join the NJAC, these teams would replace SoVA and Frostburg that left this past year. Or the MAC can give us Stevenson and we'll take Gallaudet. However, for Gallaudet and maybe Keystone, from a competitive standpoint it is definitely not a great option, but for budget purposes, it's a great option.

Pat Coleman

Quote from: Oline89 on September 17, 2019, 03:06:57 PM
Geographically, Keystone is more of a natural fit for the MAC.  Unfortunately, MAC already has 10 teams.  The LL could certainly use an 8th team, and Keystone is not too far from the rest of the league

Even worse/better -- the MAC has 11. Keystone would give them the ability to do 12 and have a title game if they so chose.

As a recent former two-year school (20 years ago), I don't think Keystone fits with how Liberty League presidents view their conference, even as a single-sport affiliate.

The ECFC has a place in D-III football for now. But if schools follow Husson and use it as a stepping stone before "graduating" out of it, then it will have issues staying intact. I feel like we are seeing that with the NECC as an all-sports conference as well, with some of the same schools.
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Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

Caz Bombers

I think in our hearts we probably all want to dig the ECFC's grave because its members don't live up to our competitive standards, but it ain't really about us, is it? Maybe things aren't supposed to fit nice and neat into the cooking pan with the trimmings thrown in the trash.

Whether it's the ECFC or the A-Sun or the SWAC or the NECC or what have you, across all three levels of the NCAA in all its sports, there always seems to be an island for each misfit toy. Maybe in the end that's a good thing.

MRMIKESMITH

Quote from: Caz Bombers on September 17, 2019, 08:03:28 PM
I think in our hearts we probably all want to dig the ECFC's grave because its members don't live up to our competitive standards, but it ain't really about us, is it? Maybe things aren't supposed to fit nice and neat into the cooking pan with the trimmings thrown in the trash.

Whether it's the ECFC or the A-Sun or the SWAC or the NECC or what have you, across all three levels of the NCAA in all its sports, there always seems to be an island for each misfit toy. Maybe in the end that's a good thing.

I think for some of the other conferences mentioned, at the least the conference has a Top team that is respectable and can hold their own against other conferences...However, I'm all for equity.

NED3Guy

I appreciate Pat and Caz's statements about the ECFC having a place in today's D3 football landscape. Thinking about that the past few days, I guess the ECFC has really played a part in D3 football's growth in the past decade or so....Castleton, Anna Maria, Alfred State (Juco to D3), Keystone, Dean (Juco to D3), and Gallaudet (return to D3) all started programs (or moved to D3) as members of the ECFC.

On top of that, the conference has sent 5 different teams to the NCAA tournament in the 9 years they've had AQ status (SUNY, Norwich, Husson, Mt Ida, Gallaudet)....sadly two of those schools have left the conference and one of those schools no longer exists.

So I guess as much as I have bashed the league for being noncompetitive against the rest of D3, and as much as I speculate about the ultimate demise of the ECFC; the league really has served D3 football well over the years.

ccd494

Quote from: NED3Guy on September 19, 2019, 11:27:08 AM
I appreciate Pat and Caz's statements about the ECFC having a place in today's D3 football landscape. Thinking about that the past few days, I guess the ECFC has really played a part in D3 football's growth in the past decade or so....Castleton, Anna Maria, Alfred State (Juco to D3), Keystone, Dean (Juco to D3), and Gallaudet (return to D3) all started programs (or moved to D3) as members of the ECFC.

On top of that, the conference has sent 5 different teams to the NCAA tournament in the 9 years they've had AQ status (SUNY, Norwich, Husson, Mt Ida, Gallaudet)....sadly two of those schools have left the conference and one of those schools no longer exists.

So I guess as much as I have bashed the league for being noncompetitive against the rest of D3, and as much as I speculate about the ultimate demise of the ECFC; the league really has served D3 football well over the years.

Which is the whole point of the conference- if the ECFC doesn't exist, not only does D3 football not grow, it shrinks.  Some of these schools will fold up their teams without a conference to play in.  The ECFC was fantastic for Husson.  If a school wants to start football and has upward ambition, the ECFC is a great place to start.  If a school wants to start football and give students that option without a whole lot of pressure, the ECFC is a great place to stay.