Quote from: D3fanboy on August 06, 2026, 04:44:56 PMnot to upset Pat, but I highly doubt many 17-18 year olds are listening to the D3FB podcast to make their college decision.

No argument here! We also started posting this content on YouTube in order to extend our reach. The podcast audience is about 4-5% 18 and under.

Quote from: faunch on August 03, 2026, 01:44:16 PM

Quote from: RoyalsFan on August 02, 2026, 06:38:08 PMYou do know that Carlton and St. Olaf are both in Northfield, right? Neither teams fans have to travel and they are huge rivals.

And despite the schools being less than 2 miles apart the game last season had a recorded attendance of 4,319 at Laird Stadium (where there is not charge for admission). Combined the enrollment of the two schools is about 8,000 meaning that it's likely barely 50% of the student bodies of both schools attended the game.

About 5,100 full-time undergraduates combined attend the two schools.

The extended cut of our podcast interview with Brad Spencer and Brayden Garrigan dropped this morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qygyFVzF3NU

For those looking for background video for your lunch break!

The decision applies to athletes who began playing collegiate sports in the 2022–2023 season, competed in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA's prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025–2026 season.

... so basically no effect.

It's a regional championship, but yes. National championship is a week later, hosted by Carleton.

Chatted with Larry Harmon on the new podcast: Top topics are the quarterback situation, recruiting guys to fit what Steven Lee needs on offense, getting nine D-III games and a couple of really prominent non-conference matchups in Rowan and Endicott.

https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2026/07/27/atn-podcast-412-early-look-at-1-vs-2/

Quote from: WUPHF on July 28, 2026, 10:18:42 AM

Quote from: Kuiper on July 28, 2026, 10:07:25 AMI think you would be surprised how many coaches don't have any interest in doing media interviews.  For example, @SimpleCoach has a podcast where he interviews men's and women's soccer coaches and he mentions that it's sometimes difficult to get coaches willing to do the interviews.  They either ignore his requests or decline. 

I have never heard him say that and I might have cited him as evidence of my point.  But I believe you.

We rarely have a coach decline, but it definitely has happened, including as recently as a couple weeks ago.

Quote from: USee on July 27, 2026, 06:09:11 PMThe seemingly new top 10 action between teams can no doubt be attributed to the NPI formula. A loss to a top 10 NPI ranked team is better than a win to a team outside the top 50. That gives coaches all the incentive they need to create these matchups. D3 football fans are the benefactors.

Mathematically, this isn't true. No loss is better than any win, basically.

The incentive for top teams to schedule each other is that mid-range teams are less likely to schedule them. A team which thinks it may go 9-1 may not be able to make the field at 8-2. Wheaton did last year, but Ohio Northern and a bunch of 8-2 teams did not.

I agree that a Week 1 bye seems to be a disadvantage. Add to this the fact that your first game will be against a team that already has a game under its belt, and that if you play 10 games, you'll be playing 10 in a row with no bye week.

Quote from: NEPAFAN on July 14, 2026, 02:24:17 PMMarywood to the MAC!


https://www.marywood.edu/news/marywood-joins-mac-conference

This news is from a year ago:
https://d3sports.com/notables/2025/06/marywood-adds-to-mac-expansion

Quote from: AndrewB on July 12, 2026, 10:32:13 PM

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on July 12, 2026, 10:01:07 PM

Quote from: bleedpurple on July 12, 2026, 09:24:17 PMAhhh. I stand corrected. Thanks Pat. Why would I think the NCAA would have something simple and straightforward? Silly me. 

It's based on practice opportunities, rather than days, and days before class starts are counted differently as a result.

Just did a quick Google search for WIAC 2026 fall semester start dates.  These are the results:

Sep 1 - UWEC
Sep 2- UWP, UWW, UWSP, STOUT, UW-RF
Sep 8 - UW-L
Sep 9 - UW-O

Looks to be a disadvantage for Demir Ashiru to start the season strong.

Everyone has the same 25 practice opportunities before the first game. (Although schools playing on Thursday or Friday might short themselves by one or two in order to do so.)

I would bet the biggest improvements would probably come in sports that are not football and basketball -- I suspect those sports were already getting the best production a department could manage and would have less room to grow than other sports would.

Quote from: Gray Fox on July 13, 2026, 12:10:03 PMYou could have a "Dogs and Cats" Division.  The name of the other division is up for grabs.

If there were two divisions, and one were Dogs and Cats, then the other has to be Mass Hysteria.

I've seen some good content on the biggest stories in D-III Flo conferences, but if you're not NYU women's basketball or Mount Union football, not sure if you're feeling the benefit.

Quote from: bleedpurple on July 12, 2026, 09:24:17 PMAhhh. I stand corrected. Thanks Pat. Why would I think the NCAA would have something simple and straightforward? Silly me. 

It's based on practice opportunities, rather than days, and days before class starts are counted differently as a result.