FB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Started by Adam Sayer, December 24, 2006, 10:01:33 PM

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jamtod

Quote from: wally_wabash on November 15, 2018, 10:08:58 AM
Back when Earlham made the move to the HCAC, their president at the time was quoted as saying that Earlham's goal was to win half of their games.  I'm sure he was talking about all sports and not just football, but certainly football would be lumped in with that 50/50 strategy.  How do you recruit good players when the stated goal is to lose half of the time?  At best!  Moving out of the NCAC and into the HCAC was supposed to help achieve that goal, according to the president. 

The sad irony is that Earlham went 5-5 in their final season in the NCAC.  They are 3-87 since.  I don't think the NCAC was the problem.

It's a bummer. Kenyon could use a win these days.

GrizFan

Earlham's athletic facilities (including football) have drastically improved since joining the HCAC.  The campus is beautiful and the academics have a great reputation.  However, coaching staff turnover seems very high and the granola student body has NO campus spirit and does not support athletics in general.  Difficult to recruit athletes when they visit for a football game and 200 people (hardly any students) show up.

AndOne

Quote from: GrizFan on November 15, 2018, 09:48:28 AM
A few years back, Earlham's President was lobbying hard for NCAA to add Division 4 for football.  The writing was on the wall back then.  Earlham has always been a very strange place.  I grew up near Earlham and several friends attended there.  Great academically but a very strange student body.  We used to know them as the "granola" campus.  Similar to Grinnell in many ways.  Very difficult to recruit athletes, especially in the Midwest.  Never emphasized football, soccer (and ultimate frisbee) would easily draw much larger crowds.  It is also an easier time to make such a decision since Earlham is in some disarray.  The President resigned, enrollment is down, there is a financial crunch, and the coach resigned.               

Last year Forbes did a financial analysis of all private, not for profit schools with enrollments over 500 students. The reviews were done based on 9 different components of positive financial health. Earlham earned a grade of A. So, unless things have changed drastically in the last year, it seems odd that there should be any type of financial "crunch." 💵 🤔

sigma one

The most ominous part of the announcement about Earlham football is the following:  One result of the examination of how football can resume at Earlham is to "determine the appropriate funding levels and resources to support football outside the College's current operating budget."  What exactly does this mean?  Does it mean that ALL funding for the program must come from outside the operating budget?  That's the way I read it,  If so, I'm thinking that the program has very little chance of being reinstated.  If that's not what it means, what does it mean?   At a place like Earlham, where there is very little student (and I assume alumni) support, where is this money to come from?
And this would presumably have to happen year after year.  It seems like a fool's errand. 
     Additionally, there are many other factors.  How many of the current team members will transfer.  Some, of course, will graduate.  Others will leave or lose interest.  Can a new coach be hired in time to do the recruiting required to put a team on the field in 2020?
There's always someone willing to try, but of what quality?  Would recruits want to come to the campus if the program's future is so up in the air.  Other considerations . . .
     I appreciate Earlham's putting together a committee to try to find a way to make football happen again.  But the odds are extremely long.  A college can run a successful athletics program without football.  If Earlham is willing to fund its other sports competitively, then that's probably the way to proceed.  For the sake of all student-athletes caught up in this predicament, I hope Earlham makes a quick and wise decision.   

GrizFan

Quote from: AndOne on November 15, 2018, 02:15:44 PM
Quote from: GrizFan on November 15, 2018, 09:48:28 AM
A few years back, Earlham's President was lobbying hard for NCAA to add Division 4 for football.  The writing was on the wall back then.  Earlham has always been a very strange place.  I grew up near Earlham and several friends attended there.  Great academically but a very strange student body.  We used to know them as the "granola" campus.  Similar to Grinnell in many ways.  Very difficult to recruit athletes, especially in the Midwest.  Never emphasized football, soccer (and ultimate frisbee) would easily draw much larger crowds.  It is also an easier time to make such a decision since Earlham is in some disarray.  The President resigned, enrollment is down, there is a financial crunch, and the coach resigned.               

Last year Forbes did a financial analysis of all private, not for profit schools with enrollments over 500 students. The reviews were done based on 9 different components of positive financial health. Earlham earned a grade of A. So, unless things have changed drastically in the last year, it seems odd that there should be any type of financial "crunch." 💵 🤔

Sure their endowment is high but it is, quite possibly, tied up and earmarked for specific projects and programs.  I have heard from several in the know who state that the college is struggling financially with a drop in alumni support, a drop in applications, a drop in enrollment and an increase in financial aid expenditures.  The President recently resigned and there has been a large turnover on campus.       

Teamski

#7160
Wesley College Football.... A Winning Tradition! A Coach Mike Drass Legacy.

FCGrizzliesGrad

Time to wake this board from it's usual hibernation

With Earlham not playing, that opened up a scheduling slot for the 8 remaining teams.
6 of the 8 will play each other in a non-conference battle in week 3 and then have the conference matchup in week 10: Manchester @ Defiance, Anderson @ Mount St Joseph, Franklin @ Bluffton. Interestingly only the Anderson-MSJ game is at the opposite location as the conference matchup later in the season. On the plus side, that should guarantee at least 3 non-conference wins for the HCAC  :-\
Hanover has filled week 3 with a game at Maryville while Rose-Hulman has a bye that week and filled their traditional season finale against the Quakers slot with a nearly 700 mile trip to St John's. Tough bookends to their season after starting with Mount Union.
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FCGrizzliesGrad

Rose-Hulman is putting in turf for this season. That combined with Earlham not playing I believe leaves Manchester as the last grass field in the conference and one of the very few in the region.
Football picker extraordinaire
5 titles: CCIW, NJAC
4x: ODAC:S
3x: ASC, IIAC, MIAA:S, NACC:S, NCAC, OAC:P, Nat'l
2x: HCAC, MIAC, ODAC:P, WIAC
1x: Bracket, OAC:S

Basketball
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2015 Nat'l Pickem
2017: LEC and MIAA Pickem
2019: MIAA and WIAC Pickem

Soccer
2023: Mens Pickem

formerd3db

Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on July 21, 2019, 06:40:19 PM
Rose-Hulman is putting in turf for this season. That combined with Earlham not playing I believe leaves Manchester as the last grass field in the conference and one of the very few in the region.

So when is (if you or anyone know if have heard anything possibly about this) Manchester going to cave and put in turf to keep up with it's competitors? IMO, they don't need to completely renovate the stadium to do so and that should lower the cost of putting just the turf on.
"When the Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He'll write not 'won' or 'lost', But how you played the game." - Grantland Rice

GRIZ_BACKER

Quote from: formerd3db on July 21, 2019, 07:00:19 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on July 21, 2019, 06:40:19 PM
Rose-Hulman is putting in turf for this season. That combined with Earlham not playing I believe leaves Manchester as the last grass field in the conference and one of the very few in the region.

So when is (if you or anyone know if have heard anything possibly about this) Manchester going to cave and put in turf to keep up with it's competitors? IMO, they don't need to completely renovate the stadium to do so and that should lower the cost of putting just the turf on.

Their entire football set-up not good.  Most HS fields and stands are nicer.
HCAC Champions 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

formerd3db

Quote from: GRIZ_BACKER on August 09, 2019, 07:18:58 AM
Quote from: formerd3db on July 21, 2019, 07:00:19 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on July 21, 2019, 06:40:19 PM
Rose-Hulman is putting in turf for this season. That combined with Earlham not playing I believe leaves Manchester as the last grass field in the conference and one of the very few in the region.

So when is (if you or anyone know if have heard anything possibly about this) Manchester going to cave and put in turf to keep up with it's competitors? IMO, they don't need to completely renovate the stadium to do so and that should lower the cost of putting just the turf on.

Their entire football set-up not good.  Most HS fields and stands are nicer.

Nonetheless, if $ is the determining factor (and it almost always is), at least putting in the turf would be a positive move.  For sure, there are some great high school stadiums that some small colleges would love to have, yet the financial situation is what prevents the latter from attaining even that level.   It also depends on the specific college in the sense that we know there are some who will never attain that type of stadium simply due to the football following at those schools just isn't what it is at other schools. Yet in those situations, some schools, who have stadium stands that are "high school style," if I may use that description, they have made rather nice and decent stadiums by adding turf and some nice amenities such as brick entrance and/or walls, iron fencing, brick concessions stands designed to coincide with the entrance, etc. which make a nice upgrade.  These types of schools with such seating and stadiums take into consideration the usual numbers which attend there games.

All the above, is better than doing nothing and I think we would all agree that some of those schools have do it that way to "keep up with the Jones" at least partially, for the recruiting, even at this DIII level.  I could name several small colleges that have done the above, although I will leave it at that.  IMO, I think that at least putting in the turf would be a good initial Phase I for Manchester and, as I mentioned, would be reasonable costs for just doing the turf. Manchester, although a smaller campus, has a nice atmosphere, with some neat historic portions.  Just my thoughts.   
"When the Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He'll write not 'won' or 'lost', But how you played the game." - Grantland Rice

Adam Sayer

Quote from: formerd3db on August 09, 2019, 06:16:22 PM
Quote from: GRIZ_BACKER on August 09, 2019, 07:18:58 AM
Quote from: formerd3db on July 21, 2019, 07:00:19 PM
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on July 21, 2019, 06:40:19 PM
Rose-Hulman is putting in turf for this season. That combined with Earlham not playing I believe leaves Manchester as the last grass field in the conference and one of the very few in the region.

So when is (if you or anyone know if have heard anything possibly about this) Manchester going to cave and put in turf to keep up with it's competitors? IMO, they don't need to completely renovate the stadium to do so and that should lower the cost of putting just the turf on.

Their entire football set-up not good.  Most HS fields and stands are nicer.

Nonetheless, if $ is the determining factor (and it almost always is), at least putting in the turf would be a positive move.  For sure, there are some great high school stadiums that some small colleges would love to have, yet the financial situation is what prevents the latter from attaining even that level.   It also depends on the specific college in the sense that we know there are some who will never attain that type of stadium simply due to the football following at those schools just isn't what it is at other schools. Yet in those situations, some schools, who have stadium stands that are "high school style," if I may use that description, they have made rather nice and decent stadiums by adding turf and some nice amenities such as brick entrance and/or walls, iron fencing, brick concessions stands designed to coincide with the entrance, etc. which make a nice upgrade.  These types of schools with such seating and stadiums take into consideration the usual numbers which attend there games.

All the above, is better than doing nothing and I think we would all agree that some of those schools have do it that way to "keep up with the Jones" at least partially, for the recruiting, even at this DIII level.  I could name several small colleges that have done the above, although I will leave it at that.  IMO, I think that at least putting in the turf would be a good initial Phase I for Manchester and, as I mentioned, would be reasonable costs for just doing the turf. Manchester, although a smaller campus, has a nice atmosphere, with some neat historic portions.  Just my thoughts.

Manchester's stadium setting is one of my favorite. Sitting along the creek and woods is a beautiful backdrop in the fall. The entire stadium, including field, is an eye sore. I think redoing the stands/bleachers/pressbox would be a better first option for recruiting for any sport that uses the facility. As far as costs, I've been told installing turf is actually cheaper over the long term because you don't have the constant maintenance and upkeep costs.
I'm a man, but sometimes I want to smell like a different smelling man!

Spartan27

Manchester is beginning construction, any day now, of a new stadium with artificial turf and new track.  A ceremonial ground-breaking will occur a little later, at homecoming.  Completion is expected for the '20 season.  It will be located a little to the south of the current site, still by the tree-lined Eel River.   

formerd3db

Quote from: Spartan27 on August 14, 2019, 08:07:30 PM
Manchester is beginning construction, any day now, of a new stadium with artificial turf and new track.  A ceremonial ground-breaking will occur a little later, at homecoming.  Completion is expected for the '20 season.  It will be located a little to the south of the current site, still by the tree-lined Eel River.   

Thanks for the update. I figured they would want to/have to do that at some point on the near future. Sounds like it will cpntinue to be a neat setting for college football.
"When the Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He'll write not 'won' or 'lost', But how you played the game." - Grantland Rice

FCGrizzliesGrad

#7169
Coaches poll is out and for the first time in a while Franklin wasn't picked to finish 1st. Looks like it's pretty much just the order from last season. Last year's records included.

1) Hanover (7)               60 pts   7-4 (7-1)
2) Franklin                     52 pts   8-2 (7-1)
3) Mount St. Joseph (1) 51 pts   8-2 (7-1)
4) Rose-Hulman            39 pts   5-5 (5-3)
5) Manchester               28 pts   4-6 (4-4)
6) Bluffton                    26 pts   3-7 (3-5)
7) Anderson                  17 pts   2-8 (2-6)
8) Defiance                   15 pts   1-9 (1-7)

Earlham and Transylvania will combine to go 0-0 this season.
Football picker extraordinaire
5 titles: CCIW, NJAC
4x: ODAC:S
3x: ASC, IIAC, MIAA:S, NACC:S, NCAC, OAC:P, Nat'l
2x: HCAC, MIAC, ODAC:P, WIAC
1x: Bracket, OAC:S

Basketball
2013 WIAC Pickem Co-champ
2015 Nat'l Pickem
2017: LEC and MIAA Pickem
2019: MIAA and WIAC Pickem

Soccer
2023: Mens Pickem