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Messages - sigma one

#1
Thanks for the clarification. Whew.
#2
This may signal the increasing challenge of finding multiple OOC opponents within a reasonable distance.  Particularly true for the better teams as other schools don't want to schedule them either to take a beating or reduce their chances of an at-large bid to the playoffs Travel budgets factor in for many schools as well.  If this arrangement continues, it would be interesting if Randolph-Macon draws its rival Hampden-Sydney to play twice!
#3
Knowing both Jake and Don, I believe they will tag team and feed off one another.  I don't see any problems with their chemistry.  And I'm reasonably sure the conversations leading to Jake's hiring included how they will work together. 
     I mentioned in an earlier post that most of the Wabash D will return.  I recently learned that two D-linemen who were seniors last year will come back.  Both have received all-NCAC recognition. If my count is correct, as many as 10 D starters will then return, as well a solid number of reserves who were in last year's rotation.
     This will be last COVID year.  I'm eager to see who will return for a "5th" year among the other NCAC teams.
#4
If this scheduling is correct:  desperation!
#5
Jake--great coach and better man.  He will immediately improve the Wabash D.  He comes with a bonus:  his son was the first-team 6A (Indiana's highest class) all-state QB last year at Westfield and has committed to Wabash.  I'm assuming Jake will be there this spring to begin installing his defensive scheme. He will immediately make the D more aggressive. They have almost everyone returning from last year's team that was significantly improved from the previous year (hard not to be!).     
#6
If Wabash were in the HCAC, they could still pick up a couple of OOC games against NCAC schools or vs. Hope, Albion (both on the schedule years ago), or others in Michigan (even Trine from that conference).  Going west there is a chance to play a CCIW team. There would still be several opportunities yearly to meet up with schools academically more like the LGs.  And in a few years I'm counting on the Gentlemens' Classic to resume.
    Conversely,  as conferences pull in new members there are fewer OOC games, thus making scheduling more challenging.  (I know several eastern conference have traded schools, and that a couple have manipulated the system to allow them easier access to the playoffs.)  I like D3FB's  thinking about going to a 40 team post season, even if that extends the season by one game.   Many high schools have to play 15/16 games to win a state championship.  And it's becoming increasingly common for conferences to match up a number of their teams for an 11th game.
     Now, would the NCAA fund such expansion?  Would D3 vote for expansion?  After all, another playoff game would only affect several schools each year.   


   
   
#7
Despite my hope that Wabash would benefit in multiple ways by coming back closer to home, I hold  little hope that the powers that be on campus agree with me.  From my side of it, what we did a quarter of a century ago when we joined the NCAC was beneficial to the College.  Now, finances, travel (related to finances), and other factors should be thought carefully about--and trump (in my view again) what I'm going to call "academic snobbery."  As Whitecarrera points out, Mt St Joseph is a force to be reckoned with in football; so is Rose-Hulman.  Hanover, Franklin, and others have been frequent opponents in the past in multiple sports.  Even if DePauw chooses to remain in the NCAC, the conference would benefit from having Wabash as a member.  With the departure of Defiance this year, the HCAC will have only 7 football-playing members:  Anderson, Bluffton, Franklin, Hanover, Manchester,  Mt St Joseph, and Rose-Hulman.  (There are more HCAC teams in other sports.)  This means they will be searching for 4 OOC games.  OOC schedules are increasingly hard to fill.  So . . .
    Do I think Wabash is interested enough to consider a move?  As I said above--doubtful to not at all.  Too bad.  Wishful thinking on my part, and I don't have a voice in the matter.   
#8
First, even if they were inclined, it takes two sides to make a deal.  Oberlin and Hiram would have to be invited to join the HCAC.  That's impossible to fathom, if for no other reason the distances involved.
The only reason that Wabash, and later DPU, were invited to join the NCAC is their common mission and academic similarity to the other schools in the conference.  The NCAC has always taken great pride in the fact that all the members have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, signifying their common commitments.  I understand why John Carroll would want to join a group that from their point of view is an affiliation that puts them in good academic company.  Like Whitecarrera, I believe that we will never know all the motivations, but it seems apparent that easier access to the playoffs is a major factor for a school that has lived in Mt Union's football shadow for decades.
     I've looked, and I cannot find any place that says the Blue Streaks have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, so maybe that lofty requirement has been set aside.  (No disrespect to JCU as a fine college.)  JCU will dominate the NCAC in football and many other sports for the immediate future, and probably long term. 
     I see no advantage for the NCAC to admit John Carroll except that they make scheduling easier for the Ohio schools.  When Allegheny jumped to the PAC, life became easier for the travel plans of Wabash and DePauw.  Now they face another long road trip.
     I take a contrary view to most other posters.  I'm not convinced that JCU coming in will raise all boats, Wally; time will tell, and I hope that I am wrong.  With an increasing number of D3 Schools facing budgetary and enrollment difficulties (the two are obviously related), reducing travel expenses (and time away from campus, including some LG and Tiger teams returning in the middle of the night or later), schools would be better served by being closer geographically.  For Wabash and DePauw coming closer to home makes sense--even in the reality of affiliating with schools that do not match their academic profile.  And Rose-Hulman certainly can stake a claim, even with new teams in the HCAC, to continuing academic superiority. 
    As I noted earlier, this is a contrary view.  The geographic angle alone makes an argument for coming back closer to home.  All this being said, there is no certainty that the HCAC would want them back after being snubbed in the distant past. 
     I welcome debate on this because I could be talked out of this view--maybe.
#9
First, I love it that the top D3 teams have been scheduling other top teams, both in region and across regions.  Makes for good football.  I'm just spitballing here, but could it be that JCU scheduling competitive OOC opponents is a strategy that, assuming they win the OOC game against a quality team, will raise their SOS, thus giving them a better chance of being chosen for one of the very limited  playoff spots if (as is usual) they lose to UMU?   Right now, losing to Mount is an elimination game for them if they schedule a weak OOC team.
#10
I read that post on JCU and their clever reasoning for leaving the OAC.  Which colleges in the OAC are in close danger of collapsing?  Frankly, this sounds like a defensible excuse for ducking UMU in football.  And I don't think I blame them, particularly because of the shrinking at-large invitations into the playoffs.  I really liked the D3 post about expansion to 40 teams, but I think it's a long shot that the NCAA will move very quickly in that direction.  I hope I am wrong! 
#11
Yes, DC.  Thanks for the correction.  Any view on the change of conferences for JCU?
#12
Congratulations to Pat and all the others who worked hard to get us up and running again.
I have some strong opinions on the vote to invite John Carroll into the NCAC, but I will save them for another day to see if my emotions on that settle down.
    Wabash is searching for a new DC.  Ridings has departed for Campbell. He improved the defense last year and almost all the starters and many of the contributors return.  He was also helped by a new OL coach, who improved production last year and will now, in his second year, make them even better.
    Let's be real.  JCU will almost certainly dominate football in the conference, with little chance for anyone else to represent the NCAC in the playoffs for the near term (maybe long
term) future.  Wabash will struggle to win 7/8 games a year--and that's assuming they recruit better than they have lately.  That being said, I'll repeat what I have written here several times:  Morel will be the HC as long as he wants to stay.  So we can lament the drop off over the last several years, but we are whistling in the dark.  Key to '24 will be replacing Liam at
QB; obviously there's not another one remotely like him out there. 
     Anyway, good to be able to share again. 
#13
It's obvious to everyone that the key to Wabash's prospects next year is finding a quarterback.  Duh.  That and finding suitable replacements for the WRs and TE.  The RB position should be solid.  By my count the Offense returns only four starters--and also RB Tyler, who was their best back at the end of the season.  The Defense, improved this year, should return as many as nine starters, and several others who were in the regular rotation.  The OOC teams next fall might be St Norbert and UW Platteville, if my information is correct.
#14
     Although Stoller is shown as a junior on the All- Region team, pretty sure he is a senior.  I've heard that he has entered the transfer portal, hoping for a place to play next year.  He is scheduled to graduate in the spring, and then will be looking for graduate program to continue his studies.  Wabash offers no graduate degrees.    Too bad, great player and another year as an LG would have been nice.
     Also, Luke Barrett is the Wooster kicker (not from Denison).
     Congratulations to all from the NCAC selected as All-Region.
#15
TigerKing, et al.  Denison still has a Greek system; the chapters do not, however, have dedicated housing.  For a long time fraternities had "privileged" housing, living in their own chapter houses.  Sorority members lived in the dorms and had chapter meetings in lodges (maybe other functions in them too?).  I'm sure others with more knowledge of what happened in the early 1990s can get into the weeds far more than I.  But, as I understand it,  the Trustees and administration decided to remove the fraternities from their dedicated houses.  When the decision was announced, the fraternities took furniture from the buildings and burned it.  When the fire department responded, they were rudely greeted.
      Today, about a third of Denison students join Greek organizations; way down from the time when at Denison the Greek system dominated the campus.  Of course, over the past 20/25 years membership is down nationally, but at Denison the drop seems beyond the average. 
      I know some of this because at the time I was fortunate to read some of the communication that was being sent to students and alumni.  Anyway, it wasn't pretty.