FB: American Rivers Conference

[hazzben]

"In football, the provisional plan provides for each school to play three conference games with the option to play up to five games if the school so chooses.  the conference decided there will be no conference champion in football this year."

This seems like a bit of a waste of time.  GPAC schools have had some issues but about 75% of games have been played and the rest have been re-scheduled for later in the fall.  Not a D3 vs NAIA issue, but I had my doubts about spring football.  Several D2 conferences announced recently, 'no spring football at all'. 

However, I did get to attend the 48-40 game between Northwestern and Dordt Saturday and saw Noah Clayberg (Pella) for the 2nd time this year.  Great athlete!

The MIAC is having similar discussions. Throwing around a potential 5 game slate. Some schools want to crown a champ, other don't. Some want to just leave it with flexibility and allow teams to schedule up to 5 scrimmages, at their discretion.

The benefit of doing something this Spring is that it's essentially free reps, since no one loses eligibility. I think it's dumb to try to crown a conference champ off of a 5 game schedule where you only play half the league. 

[Outside the Crate]

I drove by Wartburg's campus this afternoon, and football, tennis, soccer and cross country teams were in practice, and a large choral ensemble was practicing outside, too.  It was reassuring.  I noticed later on the College's website that they are down to 4 Covid-19 cases.

[doolittledog]

According to Facebook, 9 years ago Mrs Doolittle and I were at the UD homecoming game. A close loss to Wartburg. We were able to chat with either footballdaddy or NewKnightDad, can’t remember which, during pregame.  And we were texting Warthog during the game. I’m anxious for those days to return.

[doolittledog]

In ARC news...

Luther wins the regular season women's tennis title.  This gives the Norse hosting privilege for the ARC NCAA automatic qualification tournament in the spring. 

Dubuque won the women's golf championship.  Dubuque earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Golf Championship which will be in the spring. 

Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be Nov. 7th in Pella. 

[Outside the Crate]

And, I'm delighted to say, Wartburg finished a strong second place in both women's tennis and women's golf.  Truth be known, they will undoubtedly achieve the championships in both men's and women's cross country.  Unfortunately, there are no regional or national championships in cross country this year; otherwise, the Knights would likely fare very well in those competitions, too.  Wartburg had a webinar involving fans and the coaches of football, women's soccer, cross country and women's basketball yesterday.  It was very well done, I thought.
     They are currently raising funds to complete financing for their new EliteForm system in the new weight room under construction. EliteForm was created with the idea of leveraging patented 3D-camera technology to enhance athlete training and performance. EliteForm allows for collaboration with coaches to provide the tools that bring velocity, power, and work metrics into the weight room, fostering a competitive and informed training environment for every weight room.  I understand that Wartburg will be the first D3 college to have this system.

[d-train]

I drove by Wartburg's campus this afternoon, and football, tennis, soccer and cross country teams were in practice, and a large choral ensemble was practicing outside, too.  It was reassuring.  I noticed later on the College's website that they are down to 4 Covid-19 cases.

Yeah, this is highly regional. The Mountain West is getting hit pretty hard. Montana has had it's highest ever case counts the past few weeks. 4-5 times the counts from a month ago, and hospitals are stretched thin. 

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Coo coo!

[colts183]

What are the best fanbases in the ARC ranked 1-9, by support, loyalty and classiness?

[doolittledog]

What are the best fanbases in the ARC ranked 1-9, by support, loyalty and classiness?

Hmm...

Support...One thing I have noticed from watching quite a few Dubuque games over the past 12+ years is surprisingly the UD away stands are filled about equal among all the teams.  Maybe a tad less for BVU and NWU due to them being further away from Dubuque but not too noticeable.  If Central/Coe/Wartburg are in a title fight they will bring a few more with them.  Loras always travels well to Dubuque 

I'd rank
1 - Wartburg and Central tie
3 - BVU/Coe/Dubuque/Loras/Luther/NWU/Simpson (7 way tie)

Loyalty...Considering UD won 11 conference games from 1990-2005 and we never went away, I might rank UD at the top of the loyalty department 
One of the things I love about the ARC is the loyalty you see among the alumni and also the population of the towns our schools are located in. 
Rank
1- Dubuque
2 - Wartburg (their fans would have you believe they are the best in the world...they are pretty hard core these days)
3 - Central
4 - BVU/Coe/Loras/Luther/NWU/Simpson (6 way tie)  You could argue these schools belong above Wartburg and Central due to the fact they show up for games in decent numbers even though they don't see the success Wartburg and Central typically see.

Classiness...tough call because everyone will have that one story about a fanbase doing them wrong. 
Wartburg fans on here once had a Knights flag stolen at a Luther game.  Definitely not typical of the Luther fans I know.
I've had a few salty words thrown my way at Wartburg games...only to immediately have other Wartburg fans tell the kid off for behaving that way. 

I might rank Central at the top because of "Dutch nice" and the fact all the ones I know are old 
1 - Central
2 - BVU/Coe/Dubuque/Loras/Luther/NWU/Simpson/Wartburg (8 way tie)

As a follow up to ARC fans bases, due to D3Football and this board I have met up at games with posters on here from Central, Cornell, Dubuque, Luther, and Wartburg.  All of them very nice and welcoming into their tailgate parties.

[doolittledog]

Andy Vujnovich was the starting punter at Dubuque.  Transferred to Wisconsin and is now their starting punter.

https://twitter.com/WisconsinOnBTN/status/1319796210836803585

[Old Dutch]

Andy Vujnovich was the starting punter at Dubuque.  Transferred to Wisconsin and is now their starting punter.

https://twitter.com/WisconsinOnBTN/status/1319796210836803585

Talk about the Badgers, looks like they got a newbie QB that's the real thing.  Although the opponent was Illinois.  20/21 248 yds and 5 TDs in an opener is nothing to sneeze at.  Iowa's on the other had looked like he could have used a real pre-season to get ready.  I'm prognosticating a losing season for our Hawks, lost a lot of talent from last year.

[hazzben]

Andy Vujnovich was the starting punter at Dubuque.  Transferred to Wisconsin and is now their starting punter.

https://twitter.com/WisconsinOnBTN/status/1319796210836803585

That's a great boot. Bonus points that they pronounced Dubuque correctly!

Seriously, good for Andy. Gotta think it's actually maybe an easier transition for him with the empty stadiums. Still D1 competition, but now he gets live game experience, without 80k+ fans screaming. Love the excitement on the sideline afterward. With how Wisconsin typically plays, an elite punter is a brutal weapon.

[doolittledog]

Buena Vista names their new president.

https://www.bvu.edu/news/dr-brian-lenzmeier-selected-bvu-president

Dr. Brian Lenzmeier.  Joined BVU as a Professor of Biology in 2003, and was named Interim President last May. 

From the article... After completing due diligence, the Buena Vista University Board of Trustees on October 20 unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Brian Lenzmeier as BVU’s 19th President, effective immediately.

I'm curious if BVU went through an interview process or if that means they felt comfortable with Dr. Lenzmeier and offered him the post.

[Outside the Crate]

BVU's Lenzmeier is a very popular professor -- with students, colleagues and administrators -- and he's had important management roles at the University, too.  Sounds like a good choice.

[doolittledog]

Has anyone heard what the 2021 football schedule will look like?  Will it be played like the 2020 schedule that didn't get played? Or will it be like the 2021 schedule that had been planned?  If it goes like the original 2021 that would mean Dubuque would be playing in Pella for the 4th time in the past 5 games between the 2 schools.  Just curious if anyone out there has heard any news.