https://www.facebook.com/reel/926579399754641/

Looks like Lacrosse has a refurbished locker room.  At least it's not the worst in the WIAC anymore.

Quote from: IC798891 on August 04, 2026, 10:49:26 AMYup. This is why I'm always so annoyed when people just blindly bring up endowment sizes when talking about an institution's financial struggles.

There's an episode of Bluey where the Dad takes the kids to the pool, but he forgets the bag of important, but boring, stuff (sunscreen, towels, water shoes) and it basically ends the day -- until Mom shows up with the right stuff*

*And although this wasn't Dad's best moment, it's not one for the incompetent dad trope. The Dad's actually major parent goals.

I think about that episode a lot when philanthropy gets talked about. Donors are, of course, free to use their money how they see fit, and certainly, colleges are not always the smartest with their money.

But ultimately, there's a lot of "boring" things that need to have money spent on them every year. Campuses are like small cities, and there's a lot of stuff people don't see and don't typically like to spend their money on. (*Coughs in deferred maintenance*)

As an example, it may not be a challenge to get some alum to donate money to buy say, the latest in cameras and lights for your film students, or new instruments for music students. But what about say, the salaries of the people who repair and maintain those musical instruments, or the resources needed to manage all that film equipment?

So while I don't condone taking money that has been restricted for other uses, this is the frustration colleges have when dealing with giving

If a school can't afford to pay maintenance on equipment for the classes they offer, maybe just drop the classes. 
To ask somebody, who has just given money for a specific purpose, to pay for day to day general shortcomings is embarrassing.

Quote from: PauldingLightUP on August 03, 2026, 05:18:28 PMUW-River Falls flips Cedarburg's Aidan McCoy from UW-Oshkosh track to River Falls football.

I see he's a kicker.  Oshkosh had freshman Axel Vera Trejo kick last year.  I would guess he's still on the roster. 

Quote from: Kuiper on July 28, 2026, 10:07:25 AM

Quote from: WUPHF on July 28, 2026, 09:41:45 AM

Quote from: AndrewB on July 28, 2026, 01:50:55 AMBut they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work.

Does any coach ever turn down offers to do an interview?  Rhetorical question.  The answer must be very few.  Flo Sports could do this today, but someone needs to do the work as you say.  And Flo Sports has not demonstrated that they are interested in that.
 

I 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.  To be fair, the average low-paid D3 coach has a lot on their plate - far more than in D1 - and interviews that might theoretically get seen by a prospective recruit or donor, but don't immediately get them any credit with their administration because it's not part of the metric by which they are evaluated, are far down on their list.

This from a coaches perspective makes absolutely no sense to me.  I think of Coach Walker for River Falls.  He constantly did interviews with local networks in the Minneapolis area, Pat Coleman and even Pat McAfee.  Maybe he still gets the job at Drake, but it didn't hurt that he could act like a higher level coach and give good interviews. 

Quote from: jknezek on July 28, 2026, 08:23:02 AM

Quote from: AndrewB on July 28, 2026, 01:50:55 AM

Quote from: y_jack_lok on July 27, 2026, 10:10:49 PMFloCollege on X has posted early predictions of Gagliardi finalists: https://x.com/FloCollegeFB/status/2081843319466827790

D3football.com commented, correcting the school one of them is playing for this season.

That's funny. FloSport really should have demanded more for the money they paid to schools.  I know some might think this is crazy.  And it 100% on them for not knowing of the transfer to John Carroll.  But they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work.  I don't see a better option to grow the game.  Pat and Keith have been busting their ass trying to grow the sport.  There's only so much they can do. (Along with Frank).  At some point, somebody had to come with money, which FloSports has done.  If this doesn't work, nothing will work to grow D3 football.

Nothing is going to grow D3 football past the small audience of alumni, parents, and people close to the schools. It's up to the schools to maximize their athletic teams for alumni connection. The schools that do it really well have outstanding game day atmospheres and more connection, the schools that do it poorly have what they have. But nobody, on a Saturday afternoon, is going to be flipping around the internet with the chance to watch LSU vs Ole Miss grudge match and instead decide on W&L vs Bridgewater without a baked in reason.

No, D3 schools need to learn from the places that do it best in D3 and try and make that a regular thing across the division. Get your own people invested and it will pay dividends. That's the best that will happen.

To compare LSU vs Old Miss to W&L vs Bridgewater is a bad comparison.  Now, if you asked would you rather watch Wheaton vs Mount Union or the LSU game  I personally would pick the D3 game.  There is hope.  Will it ever rival D1, of course not.  But it could be a better product with getting to know the players and institutions.  I think we found that out during the Stagg Bowl this past season.  I know it's Reddit, but people were talking about how they were watching the Steeler game but switched over to ESPN and really enjoyed the quality of the D3 game.  For the top tier programs it could definitely pull more than alumni, parents and people associated with the school.

Quote from: y_jack_lok on July 27, 2026, 10:10:49 PMFloCollege on X has posted early predictions of Gagliardi finalists: https://x.com/FloCollegeFB/status/2081843319466827790

D3football.com commented, correcting the school one of them is playing for this season.

That's funny. FloSport really should have demanded more for the money they paid to schools.  I know some might think this is crazy.  And it 100% on them for not knowing of the transfer to John Carroll.  But they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work.  I don't see a better option to grow the game.  Pat and Keith have been busting their ass trying to grow the sport.  There's only so much they can do. (Along with Frank).  At some point, somebody had to come with money, which FloSports has done.  If this doesn't work, nothing will work to grow D3 football.

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.

When did this happen?  My understanding is that any win is better than any lose. The problem I heard, from Pat's interviews with coaches, is they can't schedule games otherwise. 

I hate to be that guy but only 1 sport will move the needle for FloSports and that's football.  Frank was talking about Flo week 1 games on YouTube that had the highest rankings.  One game I watched was Linfield vs UW Oshkosh.  You look at all the weekly clips of games done by D3.  What conference teams have the most views week in and out, WIAC. FloSports is great for getting schools to a certain standard they otherwise might not care to meet.  But as long as Culver's helps the WIAC Network financial, I can't see it moving to FloSports.

Just reading the position reports on warhawkfootball.com and can't figure out UWW roster construction.  The 3 biggest playmakers are close to the same measurements.
Nigel Cheeks.  5-8 185
Tyler Vasey    5-10 180
Jacques Brooks 5-8 180

Are all 3 going to be on the field at the same time?  Will they rotate so 2 are on the field? 
For a team that couldn't run the ball against DePauw, are they going Air raid now? 
This just seems like a team without an identity. 

Quote from: colinsteinke on July 23, 2026, 04:20:25 PM

Quote from: AndrewB on July 15, 2026, 03:20:39 PM

Quote from: Mitch Hall on July 15, 2026, 02:17:52 PMWow. Why so high on the Eagles ?

First, they have a D2 lineup.

Offensive coordinator Tarek Yaeggi is going into his second season. I expect a improvement with Senior QB Haas and a top 5 nationally wide receiver in Janke.  Transfer RB Marc Coy.  Still have a huge O-line. 
They have taken a huge hit on the kicking game.
Also favorable schedule.  Have Whitewater, River Falls and Platteville all at home.

Doesn't most of the top half of the WIAC have rosters that could compete in D2?

Losing a head coach matters, even if you promote from within your program. That's going to matter at some point this year. But they're not the second best team in the country. Hell, they might not be the second best team in the WIAC this year.

2007 First year head coach of Whitewater Lance Leipold, took UWW to the Stagg Bowl. (and won)
2022 First year head coach of North Central Brad Spencer, took NCC to the Stagg Bowl. (and won)

I have no question that Coach Zweifel will excel in his new position.  Today's players want coaches who are more science based with data than ever before.  Work smarter, not harder.  When he talks of maximizing practices and workouts, he has the science behind his decisions.  When a player meets him, and they realize the accomplishments he has as a D3 receiver, he brings instant credibility. 

What's the acceptance rate for each one of these schools in the Top-20?  Take the University of Chicago for instance.  They have a 4-5% acceptance rate.  Washington University might be 12%.  There's no way to load up on enough players to over run the system.   If the player is that good and that smart, they would be going to Stanford, Duke or an Ivy League. 
Would it take much for UMHB to do this, of course not.  They have the best facilities in D3 and alumni that loves football.  But they really wouldn't have to spend much since they were one of the best teams before NIL.

Quote from: Mitch Hall on July 15, 2026, 02:17:52 PMWow. Why so high on the Eagles ?

First, they have a D2 lineup.

Offensive coordinator Tarek Yaeggi is going into his second season. I expect a improvement with Senior QB Haas and a top 5 nationally wide receiver in Janke.  Transfer RB Marc Coy.  Still have a huge O-line. 
They have taken a huge hit on the kicking game.
Also favorable schedule.  Have Whitewater, River Falls and Platteville all at home.

My preseason top 25 to beat the rush.

1)  Bethel
2)  UW-LaCrosse
3)  North Central
4)  Mary Hardin Baylor
5)  Mount Union
6)  UW-River Falls
7)  John Hopkins
8)  John Carroll
9)  Wheaton (IL)
10) Cortland
11) Berry
12) Wartburg
13) Trinity (TX)
14) DePauw
15) St Johns
16) UW-Platteville
17) Washington & Jefferson
18) Utica
19) Salisbury
20) Springfield
21) Hardin-Simmons
22) Rowan
23) UW-Whitewater
24) Eastern
25) Muhlenberg

Question for any UMHB fans.  Just checking last years roster and you had 108 freshman on the team.  How many are you expecting to still be on the team this year as sophomores?  What do you expect this upcoming freshman class to be for numbers?  Are they usually that high in number for a freshman class?  Thanks

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on July 14, 2026, 12:18:29 PM

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

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on July 12, 2026, 10:01:07 PMIt'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.)

How would this effect UW-EC when classes start on the first.  If the coaches wanted to give the players off Sept 1 and Sept 2 to get acclimated to school.  Could they start fall camp 2 days early?