FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[RollConts18]

Welcome! Great thing about the NESCAC (as a former player here) is that in most situations, any team can beat any team. There are obviously some exceptions, but take a look at Hamilton vs. Amherst in 2019; great example of the "any given Saturday" attitude.
Recruiting is interesting. I definitely played with a lot of "Big fish small pond" guys. They're usually more raw (for a variety of reasons, including reliance on pure size in high school and crappy coaching). Guys out of more well-known programs are usually more equipt to play immediately.

[The Mole]

Interesting points here with respect to geographical recruiting. Tufts 2021 roster listed 104 (I could be off a few) players from 19 different states and DC. The breakdown: MA 25, CA 11, CT & FL 10 each, NJ 8, GA 7, NY & IL 6 each, PA & TX 4 each, WY 3 (looks like 3 triplets from HI but HS in Wyo), VA 2, DC/ID/MD/OH/LA/RI/TN/WA 1 each

Truly diverse geographically. As long as they are the right players, it works. Civetti is 37-47 overall. Started out 0-24, so 37-23 since is pretty good. The 34 total players from CA FL GA and IL is a big number, clearly emphasis being placed in those states. 43 from MA CT NJ still largest part of the roster, worth pondering if the sprawl of recruiting will continue if the rosters sizes are squeezed again. Heard may be 90 but still only dress 76 for game day.

My point is that Tufts has always landed a number of E Mass and greater Boston kids by default--- just on location. However, Civetti has now put together a great recruiting strategy that appeals to kids nationwide. They have more to offer than any other NESCAC school. The light bulb went on in Medford a few years after Civ took over.

Instead of relying on dominance in Eastern Mass and Ct/NJ he's expanded his recruiting radius beyond the traditional Tufts recruiting comfort zone. Thats why the Emass recruiting numbers have declined at Tufts. Tufts will win on the national D3 recruiting venue now that they have figured out how to get into the game.

Civetti will continue to get his share of the the top Eastern Mass recruits but he will take less local kids because he's got so many more prospects from other parts of the country.  Tufts admissions loves that so its a win-win for Tufts football.

Used to think Civetti was destined for the Ivies or Patriot league but the next few years will tell. Gotta get some W's in his stacked situation in Medford which other NESCAC coaches would die for.

[The Mole]

Trinity also shows 104 on 2021 roster. 14 states but 88 of them are from MA (37) CT (33) NY (11) and NJ (7). 3 each to PA & MD, 2 each to FL and ME and singles for CA MI NH RI TX and VA.

They don't need to recruit nationally, and I am not trying to stir the pot. They are taking full advantage of their advantages and do not need to apologize for it.....

[LochNescac]

As far as '26 class, looks like every school's Twitter account has incoming athlete profiles up.  (Two exceptions; Williams & Amherst.)

Nice little glimpse into each new class, for what it's worth.

Pretty easy to see who's coming & from where...almost every kid has stats in MaxPreps, but probably most important aspect is who best filled their "positional needs"??

Looking forward to following the teams!

[Jonny Utah]

Trinity also shows 104 on 2021 roster. 14 states but 88 of them are from MA (37) CT (33) NY (11) and NJ (7). 3 each to PA & MD, 2 each to FL and ME and singles for CA MI NH RI TX and VA.

They don't need to recruit nationally, and I am not trying to stir the pot. They are taking full advantage of their advantages and do not need to apologize for it.....

Not sure if I told this story here before but about 8 years ago in Boston I see this kid with a football jacket from a New England prep school.  I start talking with him about HS football and ask him if he wants to play in college.  Straight up he tells me Bates is his dream school and he wants to go there and play football.  4 years later I check his name online and he is a 3 year starter and all NESCAC at Trinity.  Always made me chuckle for some reason.

[lumbercat]

Trinity also shows 104 on 2021 roster. 14 states but 88 of them are from MA (37) CT (33) NY (11) and NJ (7). 3 each to PA & MD, 2 each to FL and ME and singles for CA MI NH RI TX and VA.

They don't need to recruit nationally, and I am not trying to stir the pot. They are taking full advantage of their advantages and do not need to apologize for it.....

Couldn't agree more on Trinity Mole.

[The Mole]

What is most interesting is that there does not appear to be any correlation of geographic diversification of rosters with success on the field.

I have numbers that go into the weeds a little, but directionally it does not appear to matter. Teams below with number of states on the 2021 roster (Bowdoin is 2022):

Bates--12
Williams --13 & DC
Trinity--14
Hamilton--15 & DC
Wesleyan--19
Colby--19 + Canada
Tufts--19 + DC
Amherst--20 + DC
Middlebury--20 + DC
Bowdoin--22 + DC + Sweden

[lumbercat]

Interesting Mole, great info.

Maybe I'm too simplistic on this but my contention is that nationwide diversity makes for more admissions flexibility.

Back in the day going back many years Tufts recruited a large number of eastern Ma and greater Boston prospects.

Today, I think Tufts admissions, and NESCAC admissions in general, value geographic diversity so they are much more flexible on a kid from Georgia or Texas or Oklahoma. If the Tufts staff presents another kid from Eastern Mass where they already have already accepted 8 recruits it can wear thin with admissions. They don't want 15 football players from Eastern Mass. I say Tufts admissions flexes downward a bit on academic credentials of prospects in other areas of the country to diversify the geographics of the incoming class.

It's a primary focus in all NESCAC admissions offices to bring in a diverse class from all areas of the country and I think Civetti and others are recognizing that and working in unison with Admissions toward this goal.

[The Mole]

You are probably right, lumber. The top 5 states overall for the NESCAC in order (no surprises): MA, CT, NY, NJ and PA. It is really top 4 and PA is a decent drop from NJ as the 5th. So teams are still filling 2/3 to 3/4 of their rosters, on average from those states. However, to your point, it is all over the place after that.

CA, FL, IL, NH, TX, GA, ME, TN and VA are next. With 10 teams in the league, the average is 1 to 4 players from those states on each squad. Then a bunch of states that average less than one player per team. NC, OH, RI, DC, CO are some worth noting.

Some are doing it because of admissions leeway as you bring up, some may have to to do it to draw players and some do not have to...

There is talent everywhere, but this gives some clues on where the focus lies. Certainly specific leagues and programs within those states as well.

Interesting Mole, great info.

Maybe I'm too simplistic on this but my contention is that nationwide diversity makes for more admissions flexibility.

Back in the day going back many years Tufts recruited a large number of eastern Ma and greater Boston prospects.

Today, I think Tufts admissions, and NESCAC admissions in general, value geographic diversity so they are much more flexible on a kid from Georgia or Texas or Oklahoma. If the Tufts staff presents another kid from Eastern Mass where they already have already accepted 8 recruits it can wear thin with admissions. They don't want 15 football players from Eastern Mass. I say Tufts admissions flexes downward a bit on academic credentials of prospects in other areas of the country to diversify the geographics of the incoming class.

It's a primary focus in all NESCAC admissions offices to bring in a diverse class from all areas of the country and I think Civetti and others are recognizing that and working in unison with Admissions toward this goal.