Quote from: nescac1 on October 06, 2025, 04:05:39 PMGreek, is Overway (especially coming off a year's injury absence) > than Egekeze + Varnado?  I'm not sure, probably about a wash.  He's certainly enough for Calvin to be a top 25 team, no doubt! 

Given the probable lack of a consensus number two, I imagine Trinity will have one of the highest-ever margins over whoever number two is (Emory, UChicago, Redlands, Lacrosse all will likely get some votes, at least, along with maybe some others). 

Agree with NESCAC on Calvin. Overway is very good, but they were down close to 15 against Trinity before he was injured and I think he had 1 field goal. He will need help and players to replace Egekeze and Varnado for Calvin to be elite.

Agree with most of these posts. I break down the league into 3 tiers. Don't really know any of the freshman coming in for anyone, so can't say how that will help any teams. Top 2 teams not sure Freshman will play much.
First tier - 2 Teams
1) Trinity - 8 of their top 10, 80% of minutes, 85% of scoring all coming back. (Vetter, Lazarre, Okorougo no need to discuss all will be in running for POY), While the NESCAC doesn't have a ton of height this year as NESCAC stated, Trinity's 2 bigs both play way taller than they are. Davis so athletic and strong. McDonald smart and just as strong, both tough to score on down low on a consistent basis and both can guard on the perimeter. Will be interesting to see who ends up as the 3rd. They lose Macarchuk, can Norris or some freshman fill those minutes. Everyone will be after them as said above, but this group has not won a NESCAC regular season, has not beaten Williams in the regular season. Their out of conference schedule not great, yet again. But they do play Babson (who beat them last year) and St Joes. They have goals to keep them motivated, like winning a 3rd straight NESCA championship and go to a 3rd straight final 4. They have 4 seniors that could go down as one of the best NESCAC classes ever. Watch out for Berry.
2) Tufts a lot of returners, but they seem to lose some of their big depth. Gyimesi as good as anyone in the league, except when he plays Trinity. Not sure any of their bigs really bother Trinity that much. Tufts as I said this past year will come down to their guard/wing play. Can they score consistently from the outside and can guards/wings defend. Can Bernstein be more consistent especially in NESCAC play. Can Morakis step up against Trinity. They should have all the motivation or more than anyone in the league to beat Trinity. They play Trinity at home, probably will decide the league. Reilly may end up being the best player on this team. I say they beat Trinity at least once this season.

2nd Tier - 5 teams not in any order
3-7) Colby - they can score, can the new coach get them to defend. Civello should be a force with Poulton and watch out for Hinman, can light it up.
3-7) Wesleyan - They still have a lot of talent in Cormier, Hauser, Lyttle, Cameron and Polman and Edleman. They will be very well coached and will have motivation to prove it wasn't just a Johnson/Regan team, similar to Trinity when they lost Gold and Smith. Can they close out games without Johnson and Regan. Watch out for Edelman, if he can find a low post game, will be difficult to defend.
3-7) Williams - a ton of talent, will they play to that level, will they stay healthy. Like Wesleyan lots to prove after a down year for that program. Some of their games were just ugly last year. Hanson as NESCAC stated, will have some advantages playing the 5 handling the ball and playing out in the perimeter, but he won't have the same advantage down low on either end. They weren't a great rebounding team even with Roughley. They do have talented guards and wings and they always seem to bring in Freshman that play right away.
3-7) Bates - just like the make up of this team. They bring back 7 of their top 8 scorers. They have some depth, need to have everyone healthy. They played well down the stretch, they are my sleeper pick to get in top 5. Coyne, Psyhogeos, and Pouye are all very good and Pouye is my sleeper for player of the year.
3-7) Conn - Might be a bubble team for this tier. They lose a lot in Schainfeld, toughness smarts, always played hard, was their glue. Tough to replace a player like this. They do have Espinosa, but he can't do it alone and not a great defender. Look for Watson and Clar to pick it up if they are to stay in this tier.

3rd Tier
4 teams fighting for 1 spot, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Hamilton, Amherst. Not in any order
Bowdoin, best Freshman last year, can he get some help, they need height and strength up front.
Middlebury - New coach, can they stay healthy. Can McKersie stay healthy and impact the game on both ends down low. Lose a lot in Brennan, not scoring, but a lot of intangibles. They will need someone to step up and help Joseph and Cwalina with scoring.
Hamilton - Huge loss in Morgan, now a very much unproven roster. Morgan was the only player on the team that scored more than 10 points a game in conference play and teams were throwing doubles at him a lot, so there were lots of opportunities for others and none could step up consistently. Who is going to step up this year, when teams won't have to play off these players. Keyhani, Rideout, will lead but just too many question marks.
Amherst - played well down the stretch and had a shot to take the lead against Wesleyan with 1 minute to play in first round of playoffs. But they lost 5 seniors who played and lose 5 out of their top 8 scorers. Coach plays around with lineups and minutes way too much to breed consistent play.

Trinity from the 3rd quarter on should have run the ball almost on every down. Their QB's and passing game is terrible. Colby defense played great.

I would want to know how much FLO or the schools estimates, what each school is going to get. Let say 500 subscriptions per month at $15.00 per month fee. That is 7,500 per month. Even double that to $30.00 per month, you are talking $15,000 per month. So in revenue $90,000 to $180,000 per year. I think  500 subscriptions is probably on the very high side and then you have people that are going to opt out when the season is over. My guess is more like 100 to 200 per month. How much is flo giving to the schools. I am told between 80-90%. High side gives schools a decent amount on low side, it's not great. Don't see how this has much value to the sports budget of most of these school while pissing off the alumni.
I talked to one NESCAC AD about this when I found out the Newmac went this route and I could no longer watch basketball games this year. They said they were approached, not sure it was Flo, and they said it wasn't really worth it as the school still had to supply play by play and other aspects of the production. In NESCAC you watch live games for free but have to pay for on demand.
Most D3 schools don't charge for attendance there is a reason why!
Would love to see Newmacs revenue numbers from this past school year.

Quote from: stlawus on June 22, 2025, 01:24:20 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on June 22, 2025, 10:03:16 AM

Quote from: Kuiper on June 21, 2025, 07:36:51 PMI'm not saying that's worth it, but I can tell you that getting a 5-year commitment is highly valued compared to funding something with an annual fund where contributions often fluctuate with the economy and personal feelings about the coaches or the program or a one-year sponsorship that you have to hustle each year to get them to re-up

But that's the entire purpose of your philanthropy department. That is how you establish relationships that sustain your institution long-term!

What drives me nuts about this entire Flo Sports discourse is how in couched in larger concerns about the long-term viability of D3 institutions and yet:

1. Paywalling your athletic contests decreases your school's exposure, and decreases points of contact between your school and its constituents, which is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing.

2. You're investing in a relationship with an entity that has no vested interest in your school's long-term survival instead of with the people who care the most.

You need to chase upside. Alumni are the ones who may significantly increase their giving later, through climbing the ranks of their respective industries or starting and selling companies. They're the ones you need to invest your time into.

For crying out loud, the very existence of a Flo Sports paywall tells you that there are people out there willing to give money to watch your school's athletics competitions! Why are you letting Flo Sports take the money rather than getting it for yourself and trying to set up long term success?

100% dead on.  I recently gave to SLU in strong part due to this reason. They are adroit enough to say in fundraising emails/texts that giving helps fund these efforts so I feel like my giving (even if paltry compared to most) still feels meaningful and directly impactful. This is just human nature.  And I ask again, where are these schools seeing the money?  30k does absolutely nothing for almost all of these institutions.

Great points and 100% agree to the last 2 points. It does almost nothing to help these institutions.

It's a disgrace this conference along with a few others has chosen this route.
In the long term will hurt their viewership. I watched a ton of UAA games in the past, won't be doing that going forward.
Will piss off parents that are paying for their kids to go to a school and now have to pay to watch.
The conference leaders just don't get it. Small money grab.

Babson is pretty loaded at the guard position for the next 3-4 years. If they find replacement bigs, might just be team to beat in the conference.

On Amherst, I agree have watched them a ton, they have/had talent and shouldn't be close to the bottom of the league.
Coaching is their biggest issue. The substitution patterns and changing starters doesn't make a lot of sense. Keeping a 6'10 center, who is not quick and not a shooter 25 feet from the basket never made any sense.
This being said they did beat Middlebury, Williams and had the ball  with 25 seconds left down by 2 against Wesleyan in the quarterfinals. My guess he is on short lease, as many alums are not happy.

Congrats to him on 30 years, he had a nice run.
Not sure his style would have been a good fit in the NESCAC. Was not big on defense, I think he makes Coach Strahorn look like Tom Thibodeau on defense, lol!

Agree not sure how much he cracks the top 10, but they lack depth after losing 2 bigs during this past season, so he will at least give them depth.

I believe it is Nate Freisthler from Rutgers. He was walk on and did not play this year. Will certainly give them depth at the center position.

Agree Trinity should be number 1. Lose 2 players from their top 10 and still have the 4 core now senior players.

Nescac1 you provide great lists of the players in the portal. From last year and this years list, seems that lots of players don't find new homes.  Do you know if most just go back to original school.

Shane Regan to university of Chicago, great pickup for them. Great school academically for him.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on May 16, 2025, 01:21:46 PMYou're also going to see increased pressure to justify athletic spending at schools far more concerned with academics.  The NESCAC might be wealthy, but the money's not unlimited.  I think you're going to see more questions about whether robust intercollegiate athletics is as much an asset to the institution as it used to be.  Media coverage of D1 is certainly not helping any.

As well as the political environment, some alums are just not giving the way the used to due to how the schools are handling politics.

Quote from: cantdothat on May 16, 2025, 02:07:12 PMStrahorn hasn't resigned yet. Keep an eye on a current Ivy League HC who is a Colby alum.

Maybe this is due to reaching a financial settlement. But he is gone.

Quote from: nescac1 on May 16, 2025, 10:27:58 AMWe have yet to see who Colby will hire, of course, but this is now two NESCAC schools who have likely alienated generations of former players and fan bases by passing on / parting ways with solid coaches with longstanding ties to the program, each of which had decades of stability at the top.  Of course, Colby never came close to Amherst's level of success in the NCAA tournament era, so at least they aren't tossing away decades of national contention, but looking at how that decision has worked out for Amherst .... let's just say Colby has a lot of pressure to absolutely nail this hire. 

If you look at the program Strahorn inherited, in the prior 11 years, Colby had five sub-.500 records, zero NCAA tournament appearances, and zero appearances in the NESCAC title game.  And he frankly inherited a very limited roster.  His first few years were rough as a young coach with limited talent on hand, but the trajectory of the program has been steadily improving and he's right now in what should be his coaching prime - as I said in a prior post, in the last five seasons, during a time that NESCAC has been absolutely loaded with talented teams: two NESCAC title games, the first NCAA appearance of this century, and the only two 20-win teams of this century for Colby. 

Will King, Sam Jefferson, Noah Tyson, Max Poulton, Matt Hannah, Jack Lawson, Dan Civiello, Marcos Montiel, Alex Dorion are all guys any NESCAC team would have gladly had during that five-year stretch.  And in 2020 Colby was a badly-timed Sam Jefferson injury away from a likely NESCAC title and maybe a deep NCAA run (as deep as COVID would have allowed at least).  And looking ahead, he had team pretty well set up for the next few years - only one senior and one junior in the top seven guys and a very strong FY class this year. 

Now, as SpringSt7 spoke of, there is likely no coaching staff in place during much of the summer recruiting season, and you have to worry a bit about attrition from current players, plus it's not clear returning players will be as good a fit for a new system, so it's likely that Colby will sacrifice a window to compete with a solid core of talent coming up. 

You would think football might be a cautionary tale for Colby.  By all accounts a ton was put into the program including a splashy, big name hire and a big focus on recruiting, and after a lot of hype, the team while decent hasn't been able to crack .500 under the new coach.  In basketball, is Colby really going to surpass as a program a Trinity team coming off a national title, a Wesleyan team coming off a final four, Tufts and Williams teams each with multiple Sweet 16 appearances in recent seasons, not to mention Middlebury, Amherst and Hamilton, all of whom have strong hoops traditions and the ability to recruit high-level players?  Barring some crazy change in how basketball players are evaluated by admissions (something any coach including Strahorn can benefit from), it's hard to see Colby jumping into consistent NESCAC let alone national contention.  So, what is the point of changing coaches then?   

Agree 100%, great points