MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Will FnM name AD or new HC first?

Apparently they will be hiring the MBB coach soon from what I have been told.

And CCHoopster, the other two finalists who were DIII assistants come from pretty good programs with plenty of experience.

Remember, Robinson didn't exactly have a wealth of experience when he was hired.

[CCHoopster]

I’m sure they were from great programs (JHU ie). I just assumed there would be more D1 assistant finalists, Ivy/Patriot type and some D3 head coaches. Certainly not taking anything away from anyone involved regardless of current position. That’s great to hear three DIII assistants had a shot at it.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

From what I'm hearing, F&M should be announcing their hire today (Thursday) ... though, with COVID-19 a delay wouldn't be the most surprising thing.

I do know who the choice is, but for several reasons I will keep it to myself.

[Swat Fan #1]

https://godiplomats.com/sports/m-baskbl/2020-21/releases/20200514lqagvn

Nichay Named Head Coach of the F&M Men’s Basketball Program

[saratoga]

Meh......

Kind of like the ending of Seinfeld.

Good for him though.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

With the number of significant retirements on the men's side of Division III basketball, there is plenty to talk about in the month of May. Thus, we needed a "Part 2" this month.

On this "Hoopsville Podcast: May Edition (Part 2)", we talk about what is arguably one of the most significant retirement classes of coaches in the history of Division III - especially on the men's side of things.

Pat Coleman, Ryan Scott, and Bob Quillman join Dave McHugh to chat about those who retired, the number of wins and the high-level of success they had, and even if trying to have a Mt. Rushmore of DIII coaching who might be considered (some coaches you may have forgotten about are mentioned).

Plus - if not for the number of significant retirements, the biggest news in Division III off-season so far would likely be Eric Bridgeland picking up and moving to Southern California. Bridgeland joins Dave to talk about his Whitman program, the success, and the decision to start anew at Redlands and the SCIAC.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://bit.ly/2zGESua

Hoopsville broadcasts from the WBCA/NABC Studio. All guests are featured on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline. The offseason plan is to do a podcast each month. The shows will be audio-only leading up to the start of the 2020-21 when we will restart the video shows.

If you have questions, ideas, or want to interact with the show, feel free to send them to hoopsville@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options in the right-hand panel.

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville


We also have the podcast now on Tune-In and others coming. We will update them once we have better abilities to do so.

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
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Email: hoopsville@d3sports.com
Hoopsville Season Archive: www.team1sports.com/Hoopsville
YouTube: www.youtube.com/d3hoopsville

[Pat Coleman]

Meh......

Kind of like the ending of Seinfeld.

Good for him though.

That made me chuckle.

[CCHoopster]

Great for Nick. That's a national job and one of the better ones in the country... I think he has 3 years to show he can take them where I believe alumni/admin/fans think they should be- top of league and national contenders (call it top 20-30. Great financial aid packages, history and program legacy, academics, full time assistant coach at 46-52k with second assistant around 10k... recruiting resources endless. Ability to get international kids at a fraction of the cost vs other Centennials. They need to show success sooner than later!

[ronk]

Great for Nick. That's a national job and one of the better ones in the country... I think he has 3 years to show he can take them where I believe alumni/admin/fans think they should be- top of league and national contenders (call it top 20-30. Great financial aid packages, history and program legacy, academics, full time assistant coach at 46-52k with second assistant around 10k... recruiting resources endless. Ability to get international kids at a fraction of the cost vs other Centennials. They need to show success sooner than later!

 With most of the same advantages, one wonders why the F&M women's basketball program hasn't been similarly successful over the years.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I think some of these "advantages" are alumni-based programs. A lot of schools (RMC comes to mind) have assistant coaching positions that are basically paid for by alumni donations and such. Some schools have them, some teams have them, many do not.

[wvcfan1]

Interesting hire....and without an AD.  I understand the times we are living in....however, it took a while before this was announced.  Also, why wouldn't they wait for a new AD to be in place before the hire?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Interesting hire....and without an AD.  I understand the times we are living in....however, it took a while before this was announced.  Also, why wouldn't they wait for a new AD to be in place before the hire?

So in one comment you mention "it took awhile before this was announced" and in another question you ask "why wouldn't they wait for a new AD to be in place before the hire?"

I don't think you can have it both ways. I also don't think it took awhile. Seemed to be about the average time I've seen especially considering the beginning of the search was likely slowed by priorities being focused on the coronavirus and its impact on all athletics.

As for not waiting for an AD, that is a long wait. Athletic Director positions tend to be the longest in terms of time taken to make a hire in the athletic department. The only reason to wait would be if the search is nearing an end OR the coach search was botched and starting over under new leadership would make sense (look at Scranton women's basketball when they eventually hired Trevor Woodroof).

A number of coaches are hired under interim ADs ... they are in those positions for reasons like these.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First, we apologize for the "June Podcast" showing up in early July. Computer problems caused havoc this month. Sadly, it delayed our production plans for several weeks, but we are calling this our June edition all the same.

When the season came to a sudden close, it left a lot of unfinished business on our end. We didn't have national champions to talk to, but we also had a lot of news to cover. This podcast we take some time to do some catching-up with the season's number one men's team and the Jostens Trophy winners - with Gordon Mann and Ryan Scott picking up the interviewing responsibilities.

And we all know the coronavirus has changed everything this year, but how close to home has it hit you? We talk to one coach who experienced it himself first hand while also having his wife be diagnosed with COVID-19 days after giving birth to their first child.

Guests include:
- Matt Airy, Aurora men's coach
- Sydney Kopp, No. 11 DePauw's Jostens Trophy winner (interviewed by Gordon Mann)
- Kena Gilmour, Hamilton's Jostens Trophy winner (interviewed by Ryan Scott)
- Landry Kosmolski, No. 1 Swarthmore men's coach

Oh, did we mention the Hoopsville Notebook? It is a jam-packed notebook this edition. Plenty of notes regarding coaching hires and changes, athletic decisions per COVID-19, Regional Ranking updates, and much more.

Dave also takes the time to say goodbye to Chris Wenzler, Sports Information Director at John Carroll University, who lost his 26-month battle with cancer. This month's show is dedicated in his honor.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://bit.ly/38i86Nc

Hoopsville broadcasts from the WBCA/NABC Studio. All guests are featured on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline. The offseason plan is to do a podcast each month. The shows will be audio-only leading up to the start of the 2020-21 when we will restart the video shows.

If you have questions, ideas, or want to interact with the show, feel free to send them to hoopsville@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options available.

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville


We also have the podcast now on Tune-In and others coming. We will update them once we have better abilities to do so.

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3sports.com
Hoopsville Season Archive: www.team1sports.com/Hoopsville
YouTube: www.youtube.com/d3hoopsville

[Swat Fan #1]

Not sure if you were all aware of this, but the following is the update to athletics at Swarthmore College. All Fall and First Semester Sports are cancelled. That means at least 8-10 basketball games will either be moved to second semester or not played even if there is a season.

"What we know is that there will be no athletic competition until after the fall semester. We will work continuously with the Swarthmore COVID-19 team, our own COVID-19 team, the Centennial Conference COVID-19 team, and the NCAA to consider any options for competition for fall/winter sports in the winter and/or spring."

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Here is a complete list of the schools, so far, that have made fall/first semester decisions on sports. They total 13.

There will be more, but I am not sure how many more. I know even in the NESCAC I'm told not every school agrees with the idea of shutting down sports competitively. And I know that in the Centennial while Swarthmore will likely be joined by Haverford and Bryn Mawr, the rest of the conference may not be on board with the idea either.

It seems those with healthy endowments who could weather the financial hit this kind of decision could cause (there is more to these decisions than just sports; entire campus is affected with these overall decisions) are the ones pulling the triggers on these. Those who need enrollment and tuition dollars to remain in good shape are the ones doing everything they can to keep fall/first semester sports in place.

And of course ... this could all change in a matter of weeks. This pandemic is hard to figure out from the virus to the management to the response and anything else you can think about. We could be in a very different situation in a month that changes everything.

I said to colleagues that I hope those who have shut down sports for the fall/first semester look crazy or even foolish in a few months time. That is NOT to say I think their decisions are wrong or an overreaction. I simply hope that we have gotten a better handle of the virus and maybe even ways of finally fighting it off have come along that these decisions in a few months time will look premature. That said, if these decisions look incredible smart and forward thinking ... then it likely means we are in no better a place and things are not well.