Quote from: CarollFan on April 26, 2026, 05:27:19 PMFrank has an interesting post on X where he is advocating a 8th round in the NFL draft.

https://x.com/FrankRossi/status/2048482264997298352?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

the International Player Pathway is designed to grow the league internationally, what would forcing the NFL to draft small school players accomplish? Even the dying spring league, whatever it is called, isn't going crazy for D3 players. 

It's time to face the facts, while it might be more evenly distributed, the talent level for D3FB is at its lowest point in decades.  NIL and NCAA free agency is 100% to blame.  The top level D3 talent will be picked off by upper levels...maybe, maybe some top D3FB programs can keep their top talent with NIL.

There will never be another D3FB player drafted, unless they are some sort of unicorn that is a late developer, who loves academics, or has extremely loyalty to a D3 program

Eckerd College?  does that count as "transfer-up"?  current NCAA is a f'ing joke

big alumni spring practice this Saturday for the Purple Raiders.  I anticipate a strong turnout and a lot of questions being answered. 

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on April 10, 2026, 12:39:40 PM

Quote from: purple on April 05, 2026, 11:01:32 AMI'm getting tired of these cheap shots at Coach Dartt. He's won the OAC every year he's been there. Gone undefeated,10-0. He is at the big table. He is highly respected. The Administration of any small college would love, love, love to have a program that brings in 100 freshmen every year. Ask Wittenberg and about twenty other small colleges in Ohio what they'd give for that kind of consistency in their freshmen classes over the past 10 years. Coach Dartt heads up the program. He has held up the standard and enhanced the brand name.

I can get behind the idea of us being overly hard on him, but "Enhanced the brand name?" Mount football has only become less relevant on the national stage since he took over. I'm not saying it's his fault, but there's no way Mount is a bigger brand name now than when we were winning titles.

Mount Union is still the lone "brand" for D3FB.  ESPN putting up "North Central (MN)" during the Stagg Bowl was pretty laughable.  The division needs Mount Union to be a national brand more than anything.  We can disagree on "holding the standard", but I have a really hard time seeing how Dartt "enhanced" the brand.

That being said, I couldn't be more excited for the OC/DC hires to be coupled with the second year of an actual strength coach.  It'd be good for the brand to blow some OAC teams out by 70 this year

"its like speed dating"

thats how everyone would love to describe college sports in 2026..... in the wild west of college $ports, D3 is Single A baseball

Quote from: Dr. Acula on April 06, 2026, 03:10:22 PMOur expectations have always been nearly impossible to meet thanks to LK spoiling us for decades.  And that was before, let alone in the current environment with the portal.  But the fact that Dartt made the coordinator hires he did tells me that he expects to win titles and he's willing to change course to try to get there.  Winning the OAC now isn't even a bar to clear with JCU gone.  We hold his feet to the fire on stuff, but I think universally it's been lauded that he is evolving and made phenomenal hires this offseason.  Those moves strike me as someone who looks at Maloney and sees a chance for a ring with the right talent on his staff.  I think we're basically all in agreement that we see the same thing as Dartt on that.  I'm as excited for Mount football as I've been in years.

Mount spent a half decade or so living on "We're Mount Union, we'll win" as the translation to "The Standard is the Standard".  As stupid as that Steelers' saying is, you have to live it not just say it.  Mount's football program has not been living up to "the standard" or at least "the standard" should be changing.  OAC titles are great, but that's an increasingly lowing bar.  We all know what "the standard" is and so do the new coaches.  Oh yeah, and graduate the kids

having the top two assistant coaches with significant, high level college football experience, while being young and charismatic should tremendously help out Dartt.  Ely and Junior are hall of fame level Raiders, but bringing in a couple of guys with big time, outside of Alliance experience should help bring Mount out of the mud that they are stuck in currently.

2026 is different than 2020, much different than 2015, etc etc. 

I give credit to the Mount administration for noticing that something needed to change, and credit to Dartt for going with the plan (he might not have gotten any lunch money if he said no).  The LK years were something that will never be seen again, the VK years were phenomenal, but college football is incredibly different now and so are the high school (and college transfer) recruits. 

Mount was late to hire an actual strength coach and it bit them, they were likely a little late to hire top notch coordinators, and they were late to really embrace social media/alumni base/etc all the little stuff.  Dartt saying that he didn't even know how to log into the transfer portal is just not something that can happen in today's world.  Being "The Standard" is not sticking hard to the old school ways and banging our head into the wall over and over and over, it's adapting and evolving quicker than our competition and beating them over and over and then doing it again.  Mount's standard should not be BW, Marietta and Heidelberg. 

College football zigged to a certain spot in 2020, and then zagged quickly to a wild, wild place in '22 or so.  Mount's been playing catch-up, it's time for the standard to return....and I think they might finally have the staff in place to facilitate that return.  The top of D3FB has never been more attainable, the door is wide open for Mount to becoming "The Standard" once again.

Quote from: hsbsballcoach7 on March 30, 2026, 05:47:04 PMI feel like since the Kappas and Burke hires, Mount has added some needed online presence with podcast interviews, a spring alumni day, Mount Union coaches clinic, and spring announcements (online clothing store and student intern graphic). Just feels like there's more energy around the program! Seems like some good recruiting momentum with incoming freshmen and guys returning. It'll be interesting to see if there are any bigger impact transfers.

it may or may not work out, but the energy, the juice brought by KB and Kappas is night and day to the past few years.  Love and appreciate Ely and Junior, but there's a different vibe in Alliance this spring

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on March 30, 2026, 03:44:28 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on March 24, 2026, 11:32:23 AMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdgoMhkGBA

KB on the Left Hash Call pod....expect big things from Maloney and the Raiders offense this year

"head coach of the offense"

"aggressive, violent...simple offense"

"Coach Dartt is going to have to reign me in"

Love it. Couldn't ask for anything else. His philosophy sounds like the opposite of a Dartt offense

yep.  KB has an actual pulse.  let's go

Quote from: NCC2010 on March 29, 2026, 06:50:12 PMHere are Marey Roby and JP Sullivan's testing results from the Western Illinois combine.

https://x.com/football_ncc/status/2038078255417167910?s=46&t=2LpDHlmLWW7A7c0oIFbv5Q

Roby earned himself a workout with the Bears

https://x.com/nuicfootball/status/2038000607600992527?s=46&t=2LpDHlmLWW7A7c0oIFbv5Q

4.87 40 and 32 bench makes pretty good sense for how Sullivan was a game wrecker at DT for years at the D3 level.  I'd no doubt give him a shot in my mini camp if I was an NFL team.  Reminds me of Tom Lally from Mount a decade ago, got a tryout with the Panthers. 

It's just never been tougher for D3FB guys to get a shot in the NFL   

Quote from: CarollFan on March 28, 2026, 01:36:10 PMNIL and D3.

https://www.footballscoop.com/2026/03/26/division-iii-programs-are-wading-into-the-nil-waters-with-commitments-as-big-as-250k-to-300k

it's March, I think some speculation on these comments is fully acceptable on the d3boards, right?

I've got my guesses on the six

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdgoMhkGBA

KB on the Left Hash Call pod....expect big things from Maloney and the Raiders offense this year

"head coach of the offense"

"aggressive, violent...simple offense"

"Coach Dartt is going to have to reign me in"

It's all so silly.  If Chase C wants to get paid to play basketball, go for it and good luck

but if I was a sub 6' PG, who tossed up a 3-10, 0-4 3FG, 6 PT 3 A 4 TO in a first round upset loss, I don't know if I would be searching out new opportunities

Chase C has entered the portal.  I'm sure that big time basketball programs will be offering a 5'9" guard left and right.  D3Hoops in '26

Quote from: wally_wabash on March 12, 2026, 07:51:28 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on March 09, 2026, 10:10:38 AM

Quote from: edward de vere on March 08, 2026, 08:07:26 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on March 02, 2026, 02:54:30 PM[NCC coached by a guy scared to take the jump. 

Next time you see Larry Kehres tell him he was too  scared to take the jump.

even LK's final year (2012) is a completely different sport than in today's world.  The upper division money cannons are out of control, as evidenced by the rampant coach and player free agency.  While I'm sure that LK had his fair share of offers to move on, they likely were nowhere near the life-changing money that is being thrown around in today's college football.  Without some sort of reform, I highly doubt that we'll see any D3FB coaching legend lifers any longer.

Mostly I just want to get the quote embeds under control here, but also agree with the bolded above.  It will happen very occasionally, but not often.  The economics are just not going to support the best of the best staying in D3 for entire careers. 

unfortunately, coaches and players both.  Can't fault anyone for getting paid, but the greatest division of college football will never be the same.