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Nescacman

Quote from: Hawk196 on November 07, 2019, 11:11:37 AM
I recently went through the recruiting process with my son and the goal was Ivy or Patriot league, but the NESCAC schools (Maine schools, Hamilton & Williams) were interested at the camps. But the locations...OMG, then we dug deeper into the NESCAC schools and we started to focus on Ivy & NESCAC (PL was looking for 300lb lineman). Its always been about the education and if some school with a 60% acceptance rate was interested, we weren't, so we targeted schools with sub 25%(preferred in the teens). Being in Northern NJ, 6 hours to a Maine school was too far away(they should really focus on kids from the Boston area). We went to a camp at Brown(one of the interested Ivys) and met coach Civetti. Because of location and student population (he wasn't thrilled with 1800 students in God's country) we pursued Tufts. Location was great (15 min. to downtown Boston) and safe(some great schools are really in crappy areas), 5000 students and a pretty successful program.  We headed out for our official visit at Tufts and on the drive up the Brown Oline coach called and was talking about an offer. Now with one son at Yale, I knew about Brown's non winning program(facilities were great, etc...), so we had a decision to make. Tufts offered him that weekend and we were thrilled but wanted to see how things turned out with other schools.
Then the axe fell at Brown(timing is everything  ::) ) and we weren't waiting for the new regime and their position needs, he really liked the location & student population, so he committed to Tufts and it was a great decision (and only 3 hours away  ;D)

Great stuff and good luck to your son (and you) with the Jumbo's...hopefully, HCOF Civetti sticks around for all 4 years...he's very passionate, is a terrific "player's" coach and has done a nice job resurrecting that program...

We recruit a lot in the NYC area, NJ and PA and hear the same thing over and over...we think Wes, Hartford State, Amhurst and Tufts have an advantage in the location department, although, as has been noted there are many other factors to consider..

Thanks for your valuable input!!!

SpringSt7

I wonder if the Maine schools might draw inspiration from their basketball coaching colleagues. Colby has built a potential NCAA tournament team this year on a foundation primarily of Massachusetts recruits who have been passed up by Amherst and Williams because they recruit more nationally. Bates, despite having less success of late, has also shown itself capable of recruiting players from the lower ranks of the MA prep circuit that have shown themselves to be formidable players.

While NESCAC football programs do not have the same national pull as the basketball programs do, they are still able to cast a wide net and have shown on numerous occasions they can get recruits from anywhere (even Honolulu!). All 3 Maine schools are much closer to the Boston area than people realize, and there are several programs in that area, mainly the ISL and a good portion of the MIAA that have kids seeking a great education that are capable of playing in the NESCAC that might easily get overlooked by the traditional powers in the league.

nescac1

Also notable about the Colby hoops analogy -- I think the Colby coach realized pretty early on that he isn't going to beat out the top half of NESCAC squads for guys who are over 6'5, skilled, and athletic.  So he has focused on getting small, tenacious guys who can shoot the ball, and has given his players free reign to launch 3's.  Recruiting to a system that is significantly different from the competition can give you a chance both to find hidden, overlooked gems and also to challenge teams in game-planning.  Granted, that strategy is harder in football than in basketball, but Mike Leach showed how it could be done at Texas Tech. 

Mark Harriman ran a pretty successful program by recent CBB standards especially by using a triple option, which no one else in NESCAC used.  It took him awhile to figure it out, but 2012 through 2017 was Bates' greatest run of success in several decades  (winning or tying for every CBB title and even managing three non-losing seasons in that stretch).  The odds of Bates landing an elite pocket QB who Williams, Trinity, Amherst, Midd, Tufts or Wesleyan want?  Almost nil, considering the QB would be (unless he's from Maine, but almost no chance of that) be going much further from home, to a school with little successful football tradition.  But the odds of Bates landing an elite triple-option QB when no other school is running that system?  A heck of a lot higher.  You can also recruit different styles of linemen, etc. 

In the end, hyped coaching change after hyped coaching change hasn't really helped the CBB schools compete with the rest of the league, which have (collectively) a natural recruiting advantage.  I'd say the best approach is to try to do something really different, rather than trying to compete with, say, Trinity and Tufts on their own terms, for the same pool of high-academic players. 

Hawk196

Quote from: Nescacman on November 07, 2019, 11:21:14 AM
Quote from: Hawk196 on November 07, 2019, 11:11:37 AM
I recently went through the recruiting process with my son and the goal was Ivy or Patriot league, but the NESCAC schools (Maine schools, Hamilton & Williams) were interested at the camps. But the locations...OMG, then we dug deeper into the NESCAC schools and we started to focus on Ivy & NESCAC (PL was looking for 300lb lineman). Its always been about the education and if some school with a 60% acceptance rate was interested, we weren't, so we targeted schools with sub 25%(preferred in the teens). Being in Northern NJ, 6 hours to a Maine school was too far away(they should really focus on kids from the Boston area). We went to a camp at Brown(one of the interested Ivys) and met coach Civetti. Because of location and student population (he wasn't thrilled with 1800 students in God's country) we pursued Tufts. Location was great (15 min. to downtown Boston) and safe(some great schools are really in crappy areas), 5000 students and a pretty successful program.  We headed out for our official visit at Tufts and on the drive up the Brown Oline coach called and was talking about an offer. Now with one son at Yale, I knew about Brown's non winning program(facilities were great, etc...), so we had a decision to make. Tufts offered him that weekend and we were thrilled but wanted to see how things turned out with other schools.
Then the axe fell at Brown(timing is everything  ::) ) and we weren't waiting for the new regime and their position needs, he really liked the location & student population, so he committed to Tufts and it was a great decision (and only 3 hours away  ;D)

Great stuff and good luck to your son (and you) with the Jumbo's...hopefully, HCOF Civetti sticks around for all 4 years...he's very passionate, is a terrific "player's" coach and has done a nice job resurrecting that program...

We recruit a lot in the NYC area, NJ and PA and hear the same thing over and over...we think Wes, Hartford State, Amhurst and Tufts have an advantage in the location department, although, as has been noted there are many other factors to consider..

Thanks for your valuable input!!!

Thanks NESCACMAN

Trin9-0

Quote from: PBPOP20 on November 07, 2019, 09:46:18 AM
I never understood/agreed with the often cited Location is an issue for the Main schools....  Tufts is the only one with a real advantage location-wise.   Willy Town, Amherst, Clinton got nothing on Brunswick...  the CT schools may have a "closer to home" advantage, but alot of the players are far from home anyway.... 

This was just my personal experience and certainly others are more willing to go to school further from home, but I vividly remember driving up to Colby from south-central Connecticut for my recruiting trip and I turned to my father about halfway through the nearly 5 hour drive and said "Dad, I'm not going here."

Colby was actually a top level NESCAC program at the time while Trinity was in the midst of a 5-3 season and the previous year had finished an astonishingly bad 2-6. Again, for many recruits the distance may not be an issue, but knowing that I'd need to make that drive multiple times a year and that my parents would need to make the trip at minimum four times each fall was enough to drop the Maine schools off my list. Tufts, Trinity and to a slightly lesser extent Wesleyan all have an advantage in that regard because of how accessible they are to the rest of the country. Of course, all NESCAC schools get kids from all over the country but I do think location is a factor in the CBB's struggles.

Also, about 60%-70% of Trinity and Wesleyan's rosters are from either CT or MA. They shop locally and it's been paying off.


Quote from: nescac1 on November 07, 2019, 12:38:01 PM
Also notable about the Colby hoops analogy -- I think the Colby coach realized pretty early on that he isn't going to beat out the top half of NESCAC squads for guys who are over 6'5, skilled, and athletic.  So he has focused on getting small, tenacious guys who can shoot the ball, and has given his players free reign to launch 3's.  Recruiting to a system that is significantly different from the competition can give you a chance both to find hidden, overlooked gems and also to challenge teams in game-planning.  Granted, that strategy is harder in football than in basketball, but Mike Leach showed how it could be done at Texas Tech. 

Mark Harriman ran a pretty successful program by recent CBB standards especially by using a triple option, which no one else in NESCAC used.  It took him awhile to figure it out, but 2012 through 2017 was Bates' greatest run of success in several decades  (winning or tying for every CBB title and even managing three non-losing seasons in that stretch).  The odds of Bates landing an elite pocket QB who Williams, Trinity, Amherst, Midd, Tufts or Wesleyan want?  Almost nil, considering the QB would be (unless he's from Maine, but almost no chance of that) be going much further from home, to a school with little successful football tradition.  But the odds of Bates landing an elite triple-option QB when no other school is running that system?  A heck of a lot higher.  You can also recruit different styles of linemen, etc. 

In the end, hyped coaching change after hyped coaching change hasn't really helped the CBB schools compete with the rest of the league, which have (collectively) a natural recruiting advantage.  I'd say the best approach is to try to do something really different, rather than trying to compete with, say, Trinity and Tufts on their own terms, for the same pool of high-academic players. 

I fully agree with this point. The CBB isn't going to compete with the top tier teams by trying to emulate what they do with inferior talent. For a time Georgia Tech, and Navy and now more recently Army have all been relatively successful against Top 25 teams with an option attack. I don't know if a Maine school will ever again compete for a NESCAC title but a creative approach like this could at least lead them back to respectability.
NESCAC CHAMPIONS: 1974, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023
UNDEFEATED SEASONS: 1911, 1915, 1934, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1993, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2022

NBC93

Last year the Amherst-Williams game was available through NSN. I know it will be broadcast on NESN in the New England region. Will it still be available on NSN? NESN is not available on any of the providers near me. Making a trip to a watch party isn't an option either with my current health issues.

Nescacman

Quote from: Trin8-0 on November 07, 2019, 04:06:23 PM
Quote from: PBPOP20 on November 07, 2019, 09:46:18 AM
I never understood/agreed with the often cited Location is an issue for the Main schools....  Tufts is the only one with a real advantage location-wise.   Willy Town, Amherst, Clinton got nothing on Brunswick...  the CT schools may have a "closer to home" advantage, but alot of the players are far from home anyway.... 

This was just my personal experience and certainly others are more willing to go to school further from home, but I vividly remember driving up to Colby from south-central Connecticut for my recruiting trip and I turned to my father about halfway through the nearly 5 hour drive and said "Dad, I'm not going here."

Colby was actually a top level NESCAC program at the time while Trinity was in the midst of a 5-3 season and the previous year had finished an astonishingly bad 2-6. Again, for many recruits the distance may not be an issue, but knowing that I'd need to make that drive multiple times a year and that my parents would need to make the trip at minimum four times each fall was enough to drop the Maine schools off my list. Tufts, Trinity and to a slightly lesser extent Wesleyan all have an advantage in that regard because of how accessible they are to the rest of the country. Of course, all NESCAC schools get kids from all over the country but I do think location is a factor in the CBB's struggles.

Also, about 60%-70% of Trinity and Wesleyan's rosters are from either CT or MA. They shop locally and it's been paying off.


Quote from: nescac1 on November 07, 2019, 12:38:01 PM
Also notable about the Colby hoops analogy -- I think the Colby coach realized pretty early on that he isn't going to beat out the top half of NESCAC squads for guys who are over 6'5, skilled, and athletic.  So he has focused on getting small, tenacious guys who can shoot the ball, and has given his players free reign to launch 3's.  Recruiting to a system that is significantly different from the competition can give you a chance both to find hidden, overlooked gems and also to challenge teams in game-planning.  Granted, that strategy is harder in football than in basketball, but Mike Leach showed how it could be done at Texas Tech. 

Mark Harriman ran a pretty successful program by recent CBB standards especially by using a triple option, which no one else in NESCAC used.  It took him awhile to figure it out, but 2012 through 2017 was Bates' greatest run of success in several decades  (winning or tying for every CBB title and even managing three non-losing seasons in that stretch).  The odds of Bates landing an elite pocket QB who Williams, Trinity, Amherst, Midd, Tufts or Wesleyan want?  Almost nil, considering the QB would be (unless he's from Maine, but almost no chance of that) be going much further from home, to a school with little successful football tradition.  But the odds of Bates landing an elite triple-option QB when no other school is running that system?  A heck of a lot higher.  You can also recruit different styles of linemen, etc. 

In the end, hyped coaching change after hyped coaching change hasn't really helped the CBB schools compete with the rest of the league, which have (collectively) a natural recruiting advantage.  I'd say the best approach is to try to do something really different, rather than trying to compete with, say, Trinity and Tufts on their own terms, for the same pool of high-academic players. 

I fully agree with this point. The CBB isn't going to compete with the top tier teams by trying to emulate what they do with inferior talent. For a time Georgia Tech, and Navy and now more recently Army have all been relatively successful against Top 25 teams with an option attack. I don't know if a Maine school will ever again compete for a NESCAC title but a creative approach like this could at least lead them back to respectability.

Well, well, well....the week of the "Battle of the Birds" and Hs5-3 and NESCACMAN agree.... ;D

We agree 100% that the CBB teams need to think out of the box....doing what everyone else does is not going to get it done in the CBB...the Triple Option is clearly a way to go but we have a better idea....run the Wing T!!! Anyone that would know how to defend that offense is either retired from coaching or dead...in that offense you can get away with smaller, quicker players and take advantage of angles, mismatches and misdirections...forget the "Air Raid Offense"...bring Tubby Raymond's offense back to the NESCAC!!!

One other point on on the Colby basketball analogy...keep in mind, in hoops you only need 2 or 3 good players to be competitive....in football, other than at the QB position, you need a lot more than 2 or 3 good players to compete with the rest of the NESCAC...all of the CBB schools have at least 2 or 3 good football players, and we would argue that both UBates and Colby's current QB's are at a minimum more than serviceable in the NESCAC, but you need 7/8 good players on offense and defense to win in this league for a total of 14-16....not an easy task...

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Nescacman on November 07, 2019, 10:15:09 PM
Quote from: Trin8-0 on November 07, 2019, 04:06:23 PM
Quote from: PBPOP20 on November 07, 2019, 09:46:18 AM
I never understood/agreed with the often cited Location is an issue for the Main schools....  Tufts is the only one with a real advantage location-wise.   Willy Town, Amherst, Clinton got nothing on Brunswick...  the CT schools may have a "closer to home" advantage, but alot of the players are far from home anyway.... 

This was just my personal experience and certainly others are more willing to go to school further from home, but I vividly remember driving up to Colby from south-central Connecticut for my recruiting trip and I turned to my father about halfway through the nearly 5 hour drive and said "Dad, I'm not going here."

Colby was actually a top level NESCAC program at the time while Trinity was in the midst of a 5-3 season and the previous year had finished an astonishingly bad 2-6. Again, for many recruits the distance may not be an issue, but knowing that I'd need to make that drive multiple times a year and that my parents would need to make the trip at minimum four times each fall was enough to drop the Maine schools off my list. Tufts, Trinity and to a slightly lesser extent Wesleyan all have an advantage in that regard because of how accessible they are to the rest of the country. Of course, all NESCAC schools get kids from all over the country but I do think location is a factor in the CBB's struggles.

Also, about 60%-70% of Trinity and Wesleyan's rosters are from either CT or MA. They shop locally and it's been paying off.


Quote from: nescac1 on November 07, 2019, 12:38:01 PM
Also notable about the Colby hoops analogy -- I think the Colby coach realized pretty early on that he isn't going to beat out the top half of NESCAC squads for guys who are over 6'5, skilled, and athletic.  So he has focused on getting small, tenacious guys who can shoot the ball, and has given his players free reign to launch 3's.  Recruiting to a system that is significantly different from the competition can give you a chance both to find hidden, overlooked gems and also to challenge teams in game-planning.  Granted, that strategy is harder in football than in basketball, but Mike Leach showed how it could be done at Texas Tech. 

Mark Harriman ran a pretty successful program by recent CBB standards especially by using a triple option, which no one else in NESCAC used.  It took him awhile to figure it out, but 2012 through 2017 was Bates' greatest run of success in several decades  (winning or tying for every CBB title and even managing three non-losing seasons in that stretch).  The odds of Bates landing an elite pocket QB who Williams, Trinity, Amherst, Midd, Tufts or Wesleyan want?  Almost nil, considering the QB would be (unless he's from Maine, but almost no chance of that) be going much further from home, to a school with little successful football tradition.  But the odds of Bates landing an elite triple-option QB when no other school is running that system?  A heck of a lot higher.  You can also recruit different styles of linemen, etc. 

In the end, hyped coaching change after hyped coaching change hasn't really helped the CBB schools compete with the rest of the league, which have (collectively) a natural recruiting advantage.  I'd say the best approach is to try to do something really different, rather than trying to compete with, say, Trinity and Tufts on their own terms, for the same pool of high-academic players. 

I fully agree with this point. The CBB isn't going to compete with the top tier teams by trying to emulate what they do with inferior talent. For a time Georgia Tech, and Navy and now more recently Army have all been relatively successful against Top 25 teams with an option attack. I don't know if a Maine school will ever again compete for a NESCAC title but a creative approach like this could at least lead them back to respectability.

Well, well, well....the week of the "Battle of the Birds" and Hs5-3 and NESCACMAN agree.... ;D

We agree 100% that the CBB teams need to think out of the box....doing what everyone else does is not going to get it done in the CBB...the Triple Option is clearly a way to go but we have a better idea....run the Wing T!!! Anyone that would know how to defend that offense is either retired from coaching or dead...in that offense you can get away with smaller, quicker players and take advantage of angles, mismatches and misdirections...forget the "Air Raid Offense"...bring Tubby Raymond's offense back to the NESCAC!!!

One other point on on the Colby basketball analogy...keep in mind, in hoops you only need 2 or 3 good players to be competitive....in football, other than at the QB position, you need a lot more than 2 or 3 good players to compete with the rest of the NESCAC...all of the CBB schools have at least 2 or 3 good football players, and we would argue that both UBates and Colby's current QB's are at a minimum more than serviceable in the NESCAC, but you need 7/8 good players on offense and defense to win in this league for a total of 14-16....not an easy task...

The bolded phrase IS the solution!  The only team to win four straight D3 national titles was Augustana (1983-86), running the Wing T!  (Now, forget coaches who remember how to defend it, can you find anyone still alive who remembers HOW to run it?! ;D)

amh63

Been absence  here for awhile.   Let me catch up.
First....congrats to Wes for the win at Amherst and Winning the "Little Three" in a thriller!
Second....chatted with some Wes fans at breakfest in the hotel...parents of a big WR that caught a TD in the game.  Kidded with them about having their son transfer to Amherst.  Really down when I saw Amherst's big WR, number 5...and a OL  on crutches after halftime. 
Third...small world story.  Other Wes fans asked if I knew an Amherst alum...their son played MBB with his son at Trinity.  Yes I did...a class behind me and a fine Basketball player at Amherst and from Georgetown Prep in Md.  A big Amherst supporter...money, etc.  Saw him at MBB games at Amherst and in Salem, Va.  The Nescac sports families are really interlocked in many ways, imho.
Fourth....my daughter and her husband sat on the sunny side stands.  She wore a Wash Nats hat...Red hat with a big W on the front. Her husband wore a red shirt.  Glad she wasn't mobbed :).
Believe the Amherst vs Williams game will be broadcasted online...see the Amherst website.  The NESN broadcast party in DC will be across from the National Stadium.  Had planned to go, but due to the passing of a family friend, I will be elsewhere on Sat. 
A win over the Ephs in Willytown will make this season a good one ;D.

Nescacman

Quote from: amh63 on November 08, 2019, 07:46:16 AM
Been absence  here for awhile.   Let me catch up.
First....congrats to Wes for the win at Amherst and Winning the "Little Three" in a thriller!
Second....chatted with some Wes fans at breakfest in the hotel...parents of a big WR that caught a TD in the game.  Kidded with them about having their son transfer to Amherst.  Really down when I saw Amherst's big WR, number 5...and a OL  on crutches after halftime. 
Third...small world story.  Other Wes fans asked if I knew an Amherst alum...their son played MBB with his son at Trinity.  Yes I did...a class behind me and a fine Basketball player at Amherst and from Georgetown Prep in Md.  A big Amherst supporter...money, etc.  Saw him at MBB games at Amherst and in Salem, Va.  The Nescac sports families are really interlocked in many ways, imho.
Fourth....my daughter and her husband sat on the sunny side stands.  She wore a Wash Nats hat...Red hat with a big W on the front. Her husband wore a red shirt.  Glad she wasn't mobbed :).
Believe the Amherst vs Williams game will be broadcasted online...see the Amherst website.  The NESN broadcast party in DC will be across from the National Stadium.  Had planned to go, but due to the passing of a family friend, I will be elsewhere on Sat. 
A win over the Ephs in Willytown will make this season a good one ;D.

Amh....welcome back....hope all is well...

amh63

Nescacman...thanks for the thought.  Family friend..more on wife's side was a Civil War bluff like myself and a relative of Stonewall Jackson. 
All this talk wrt football formation, etc. is amusing to me.  My HS football rival used the "single wing"  formation!
The "DARP" at Amherst hired a young QB from the Un of Delaware as his assistant.  That assistant, Miller became the legendary coach at Trinity...his name is on the Trinity field.  Anyway, believe QB Miller executed the "wing T" formation at Delaware.

Nescacman

Quote from: amh63 on November 08, 2019, 10:23:06 AM
Nescacman...thanks for the thought.  Family friend..more on wife's side was a Civil War bluff like myself and a relative of Stonewall Jackson. 
All this talk wrt football formation, etc. is amusing to me.  My HS football rival used the "single wing"  formation!
The "DARP" at Amherst hired a young QB from the Un of Delaware as his assistant.  That assistant, Miller became the legendary coach at Trinity...his name is on the Trinity field.  Anyway, believe QB Miller executed the "wing T" formation at Delaware.

Bring "Jon" Miller out of retirement!!!! (The "Jon" part is a story for another day!!!)...

HCOF Miller recruited us and we got to see his famous depth chart "behind the curtain" in the football office at ole Hartford State we think in the old field house/gym...pretty funny when he pulled the curtain back and we saw our name up on the HS depth chart....for a HS senior trying to figure out where we were going to spend our next 4 years, that was pretty cool back in the day....we're pretty sure that was his 'schtick" and he did that for all of his recruits...love going down memory lane....at least what we can remember these days...way too many hit to the head wearing a suspension helmet (another trip down memory lane!!!)...

Good luck this weekend against the Ephs, Amh63....they are a very good football team...excellent defense and #2 is a great leader and threat on the ground....if you can force him to throw, you have a shot to salvage a winning season...

Just one random thought for you and the rest of our friends on the Board...we are of the opinion that the rebirth of the Ephs is a possible reason that AMH is down a bit...historically, the LMs and the Ephs have gone after a lot of the same players....our theory is with the demise of the Ephs during the HCOF Kelton-era, the LMs were getting more than their fair share of those student-athletes....now that the Ephs have a competent HCOF in Coach Raymond, order in the universe has been restored and the Ephs are getting back their fair share reducing the LM talent pool and having an impact on their record...curious to hear your thoughts on that theory...

ColbyDad

Colby doesn't run an "Air Raid Offense". They have an Air Raid Package. BIG difference.

Canvas Hightops

nescacman
"Just one random thought for you and the rest of our friends on the Board...we are of the opinion that the rebirth of the Ephs is a possible reason that AMH is down a bit...historically, the LMs and the Ephs have gone after a lot of the same players....our theory is with the demise of the Ephs during the HCOF Kelton-era, the LMs were getting more than their fair share of those student-athletes....now that the Ephs have a competent HCOF in Coach Raymond, order in the universe has been restored and the Ephs are getting back their fair share reducing the LM talent pool and having an impact on their record...curious to hear your thoughts on that theory..."

...
Seems plausible but doesn't every high academic school go after those same players?

I heard a NESCAC basketball coach say (years ago) that he never got a player that was also recruited by Amherst and Williams.  To your point.

Trin9-0

Quote from: Nescacman on November 07, 2019, 10:15:09 PM
Well, well, well....the week of the "Battle of the Birds" and Hs5-3 and NESCACMAN agree.... ;D

In this spirit of agreement Nescacman, I hope we can agree to share a beer and a handshake tomorrow in The Coop. Not sure I'll have enough supplies to provide your entire "amalgamation of contributors" ::)... but a meeting is long overdue. I'll be in the lot past the north end zone hoping that none of my Wesleyan colleagues spot me wearing blue and gold.



One final note on the "Battle of the Birds"; over the past decade it has been fairly competitive when played in Middletown. Trinity's margin of victory is just 9 points, and Wesleyan even managed to win a game in 2014. When played in Hartford, Trinity has been mostly dominant; winning all five contests by an average of 17 points.

With that said, I expect tomorrow to be close game.

Quote from: Nescacman on November 08, 2019, 10:46:10 AM
Just one random thought for you and the rest of our friends on the Board...we are of the opinion that the rebirth of the Ephs is a possible reason that AMH is down a bit...historically, the LMs and the Ephs have gone after a lot of the same players....our theory is with the demise of the Ephs during the HCOF Kelton-era, the LMs were getting more than their fair share of those student-athletes....now that the Ephs have a competent HCOF in Coach Raymond, order in the universe has been restored and the Ephs are getting back their fair share reducing the LM talent pool and having an impact on their record...curious to hear your thoughts on that theory...

I fully agree that Amherst's rise as the top program in the NESCAC from 2013-'15 had a direct correlation to the downfall of the Williams program under Kelton (the Ephs were 6-18 in those three years and winless in 2016). Similarly, Williams' climb back to the top is almost certainly a contributing factor to Amherst declining a bit.
NESCAC CHAMPIONS: 1974, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023
UNDEFEATED SEASONS: 1911, 1915, 1934, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1993, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2022