FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Yeah Bates, Bowdoin, and Hamilton (Colby to a lesser extent) seem to return the vast majority of their key players (and starting players, period) from what were very young teams. Colby's D is usually very strong and putting up 33 on them won't be easy.  Williams and Tufts both have enough questions on D that Bowdoin and Hamilton could easily exceed those point totals.  And Amherst did lose a fair number of weapons from an offense that was OK but not spectacular, 27 is a lot of points for them against a Bates team that can grind the ball and control and clock, and which should have a tougher D.  I'd take the dogs in every game but Midd-Wesleyan, for sure. 

[Scoops]

Greetings boardsters! It has been quite some time since I poked my head in to see what's going on in the NESCAC football landscape! With my son graduating a few years back, I haven't been as connected to the league. Hearing some interesting things from people still involved the league. Particularly that injuries are piling up around the conference. Excited to see the first year of NESCAC supremacy on the national stage come to the gridiron. Wishing all the teams (maybe less so the birdies from Middletown) a healthy and successful season. From everything I hear, Colby is a team to watch out for. New signal caller Gill is an absolute stud. Surprised no NESCAC schools were on him in the recruiting process out of HS. Makes sense as a TX kid, but a little shocked that Tufts didn't take a swing there. They obviously value their southern kids. Could be a big miss on their part. Either way, should be a great year. Excited for all your kids and alma maters!

[muleshoe]

Greetings boardsters! It has been quite some time since I poked my head in to see what's going on in the NESCAC football landscape! With my son graduating a few years back, I haven't been as connected to the league. Hearing some interesting things from people still involved the league. Particularly that injuries are piling up around the conference. Excited to see the first year of NESCAC supremacy on the national stage come to the gridiron. Wishing all the teams (maybe less so the birdies from Middletown) a healthy and successful season. From everything I hear, Colby is a team to watch out for. New signal caller Gill is an absolute stud. Surprised no NESCAC schools were on him in the recruiting process out of HS. Makes sense as a TX kid, but a little shocked that Tufts didn't take a swing there. They obviously value their southern kids. Could be a big miss on their part. Either way, should be a great year. Excited for all your kids and alma maters!

My understanding is that Colby did recruit him out of high school and he made a visit to Waterville before deciding to stay home in TX. Clearly made the right decision returning to Mayflower Hill. Excited to see him in action this season!

[Nescacman]

Greetings boardsters! It has been quite some time since I poked my head in to see what's going on in the NESCAC football landscape! With my son graduating a few years back, I haven't been as connected to the league. Hearing some interesting things from people still involved the league. Particularly that injuries are piling up around the conference. Excited to see the first year of NESCAC supremacy on the national stage come to the gridiron. Wishing all the teams (maybe less so the birdies from Middletown) a healthy and successful season. From everything I hear, Colby is a team to watch out for. New signal caller Gill is an absolute stud. Surprised no NESCAC schools were on him in the recruiting process out of HS. Makes sense as a TX kid, but a little shocked that Tufts didn't take a swing there. They obviously value their southern kids. Could be a big miss on their part. Either way, should be a great year. Excited for all your kids and alma maters!

My understanding is that Colby did recruit him out of high school and he made a visit to Waterville before deciding to stay home in TX. Clearly made the right decision returning to Mayflower Hill. Excited to see him in action this season!

SMU was his 2nd choice after Hartford State (TX)... (inside NESCAC humor)

[Nescacman]

Enjoy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR7ELIT1wr8

[Nescacman]

Are you ready for some football?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-zRhVMcHM

[Brady12]

Are you ready for some football?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-zRhVMcHM

The answer is YES!  Can't wait for some NESCAC Football!

[Trin9-0]

Absolutely LOVE this from DiCenzo: https://x.com/CoachDiCenzo/status/2100366744040702010

As excited as we all are for the NESCAC season to get underway it's heartbreaking to think of all the kids who just got told by their coaches that they can no longer be a part of their teams. No jersey. No practice. No locker room. No camaraderie. Your career as a football player is over. Why? Because of some arbitrary number. It's archaic. It's unfair. It goes against everything the NESCAC and the member schools purport to embrace.

Similarly to the NCAA playoff ban this whole situation reeks of a Title IX lawsuit and I believe very soon the wrong player of the wrong parent is going to get cut and we'll be chattering on this board about a the NESCAC going to court.

[NESCACFball24/7]

In all honesty the NESCAC has been fighting for so long to keep this image of an Academic first conference and to make the playing field level within the conference that it has hindered the league and probably hurt the schools more than it has helped anything.

There is no reason that schools should have roster limits less than that of any other level of college football. A gameday dress limit is one thing but for schools with less athletic training and strength and conditioning resources it is almost backwards and somewhat asinine to think that having a roster limit would do anything but put players in more danger for injury.

They also fought so long to keep teams out of the playoffs that it has significantly hurt recruiting.  I'm not saying that good kids still don't go but I think we can all honestly say in the past 4-5 years we have seen a drop off in the depth and amount of talent in the league that at that time felt like we were about to turn a corner in who the league could really get. Part of that is being able to recruit talent from outside of New England but with that comes an expectation of facilities and resources that are even equivalent with their high schools or local junior colleges. Many nescac schools don't even have their own varsity weight rooms or provide cleats or basic equipment players. And no that is not a d3 standard because most d3, naia and juco schools do that just like high schools do.

This league has some of the wealthiest donors in the country and it is honestly embarrassing that schools have not gotten to a point where schools not only have facilities but stadiums and campus support. The lack of it from the campus communities is atrocious. It is the easiest way to not only grow campus community but bring back donors and alumni into the fold for homecomings etc and get them to donate to other things as well.

I know there will be some who just say this isn't the mission of these schools to push sports and I am not arguing with that. But the amount of money spent on all types of things around campus that do not bring any funding or donations back to the school it seems like a no brainer to do it for sports if for nothing else to raise the schools profiles nationally.

[Charlie]

Absolutely LOVE this from DiCenzo: https://x.com/CoachDiCenzo/status/2100366744040702010

As excited as we all are for the NESCAC season to get underway it's heartbreaking to think of all the kids who just got told by their coaches that they can no longer be a part of their teams. No jersey. No practice. No locker room. No camaraderie. Your career as a football player is over. Why? Because of some arbitrary number. It's archaic. It's unfair. It goes against everything the NESCAC and the member schools purport to embrace.

Similarly to the NCAA playoff ban this whole situation reeks of a Title IX lawsuit and I believe very soon the wrong player of the wrong parent is going to get cut and we'll be chattering on this board about a the NESCAC going to court.

This was well done by Coach DiCenzo

[lumbercat]

I agree with DiCenzo and hope there will be changes, but It's all about dollars. Cost $1,500+ to outfit a football player. Cost is maybe a few hundred dollars to outfit Track Athletes.
Believe there actually are limits in the conference on Basketball, Hockey and Baseball rosters which are tacitly determined by the individual schools. I've seen kids get cut in these sports in the NESCAC.

Not sure about Lacrosse and other sports.

The only sport that really benefits from high roster numbers is football. Makes no sense to have 25 Basketball players (unless you are Grinnell) or 35 baseball players without formalized JV programs in those sports. It's counter productive to have large numbers in those sports but they tacitly do have roster limits.
 
I think these factors have given the decision makers some wiggle room on the issue for years and we haven't even mentioned the need for larger coaching staffs that comes with expanded rosters.

However, maybe decision makers will consider change as participation in the D3 Football playoff commences.

At the end of the day I see it primarily as a money issue at a time when even the Harvards of the world are whining about rising expenses.

[Trin9-0]

What are the added expenses of having 15 extra kids practice with the team? They're not traveling. They're not even getting a uniform for home games. They've already got the equipment and have been practicing all preseason. I'm not buying that NESCAC schools are too poor to afford a dozen or so kids the opportunity to practice and be a part of a team.

[lumbercat]

Trin 8-1
Although I think you are trivializing the expenses a bit I'm with you 100%. However that's how they think on the Administrative side in Academia.
 
It doesn't matter how big endowments grow, when expenses are going up they get very frugal. Especially in an area where many NESCAC administrative types are not major advocates of growing helmet sports to begin with.

At Trinity, Tufts and Wes it's probably a lesser change beacuse those programs are already further advanced. Maybe 15-20 more players. Those programs already have 10 or 11 coaches while  much of the rest of the conference typically have an 8 man staff. At other schools it might create a need for 2 more coaches and 25 players.

I hope it happens but in my experience I've seen a real reluctance to increase funding for Football traditionally at all the schools.

Let hope the Presidents see that these changes are needed to compete on the national level.

[Nescacman]

2026 NESCACMAN Week 0 Power Rankings

It's that time of year in the league where they "pay to play". To those of you new to the "Boards", welcome! To those returning, welcome back!

Some details on "NESCACMAN"...we share a love for all things NESCAC, but especially football, with our fellow boardsters. We love everything about NESCAC...the history, traditions, rivalries, quirky rituals, passion, student-athletes, coaches, students, parents, alumni, tailgates, fields of play, breakfast spots, post-game meetups et cetera. Each week, we will present our power rankings and then later in the week an overview, prediction and spread on every NESCAC game. There will also be some special reports along the way. And of course, we publish our weekly "9 Weeks: A NESCAC Football Podcast" where we speak with the coaches, interview key student-athlete playmakers in the league, give our weekly power rankings, and of course, pick each game (winners and with the "spread").

We are looking forward to another exciting season of NESCAC Football. This should be one of the more competitive seasons in recent memory with 8/9 of the 10 teams returning some experience at the QB position and lots of firepower returning on the offensive side of the ball. Going into the season, we think there are two teams that will challenge for the coveted NESCAC Championship and the League's first ever spot in the NCAA Division 3 Football Championship Tournament: Hartford State and Wesleyan. Williams leads the next group followed by Tufts and Middlebury. We think UBates, Amherst and Colby will be competitive, but they all have major questions headed into the season. Bowdoin and Hamilton are a notch below the rest but should be improved in 2026.
 
Here are our rankings as we head into Week #1:

1). Wesleyan Cardinals (2025 Record: 7-2; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 6-3; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 7-2): 2025 was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Cardinals. It turned out to be a "reload" as the Cardinals won their second consecutive NESCAC title for the first time in program history. They also won an unprecedented fourth Little 3 title in a row in 2025, something they had never done before. Cards have a lot of talent back in 2026 including NESCAC OPOTY QB Matt Fitzsimons, ROTY Dante Kelly and 1st-Team NESCAC LB and DPOTY candidate Austin Baker. They graduated DPOTY DB Dylan Connors but always seem to reload on defense. We expect the Wes running game to be much improved in 2026 featuring Angelo LaRose and Matt Diaz. In addition, 4 of their 5 starting offensive linemen return, including 2 that garnered All-NESCAC honors in 2025 (Center Jack Bohnsack and Tackle Gerard Garafolo). Obviously, the passing game will be strong with a bevy of returning starters including Kelly and 2025 NESCAC 1st Teamer Blake Newcomb. Strengths: Speed and experience on offense, solid special teams, and a well-coached, hungry defense. Areas of Concern: Reloading on the defensive line and avoiding injury. Summary: Wes has had 13 straight winning seasons, is the 4x defending Little 3 champ, and Coach Dicenzo has the all-time highest percentage among HCOFs at Wes. The Cards are our pick to win the Little 3 title again for the fifth straight year. Wesleyan has high expectations, and we expect them to represent the NESCAC in the NCAA D3 Football Championship Tournament in 2026.

2). Hartford State Bantams (2025 Record: 7-2; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 7-2; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 7-2): Most teams would be happy coming off a 7-2 campaign and playing for the league championship last year for the second consecutive year. The Bants are not. Hartford State seems to reload every year, and this year will be no exception. Last year, they led the NESCAC in total offense and were 2nd in total defense. They return a ton of weapons on offense including QB  Jaxson Carroll and 10th year (sic) WR Nolan O'Brien. Last year's "weakness" was their run defense which was an uncharacteristic fourth in the 'CAC . Strengths: Strong offense, depth, talented student-athletes, and coaching. Areas of Concern: Secondary and offensive line. Summary: Need to figure out a way to beat Wes in Week 9. The Bants are historically one of the best teams in the NESCAC and will be in the mix for the title in 2026.

3). Williams Purple Cows (2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 6-3): Williams had their 2nd straight winning season in 2025 after two back-to-back 3-6 seasons. This team could have easily finished 8-1 in 2025 but were once again struck by the injury bug late in the 2025 season. QB Owen McHugh is back and will back-up starter Owen Johansen. They have run the ball well in recent years and 2026 should not be an exception as they feature RB Matt Bott. They also return OPOTY candidate WR Zach Falls. On defense, they return DB Holden Gering and LB Luke Mangini. The secondary will need to improve (last in the NESCAC in 2025 against the pass) if the Ephs are going to challenge in 2026. Strengths: QB Owen Johansen is a stud when healthy, the running game should be very good, and the defense should be solid. Areas of Concern: The secondary. Williams has had depth issues in recent years, so they need to avoid injuries to have success and finish strong. Summary: We think they will be decent in 2026, but a lot will depend on staying healthy.

4). Tufts Jumbo's (2025 Record: 4-5; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 5-4): Tufts is the largest school in the NESCAC (larger than many FCS schools), has seemingly unlimited resources, is located in one of the best college towns in America, and plays pro lacrosse. Why are they not winning or competing for a NESCAC Football title every year? Big question mark for the 2026 Jumbo's is how will QB Hudson Weidman play over a full 9-game season? They host Bowdoin in week #1 which should be a good test for this team. Strengths: Running game with Christian Shapiro. Areas of Concern: Plugging the holes caused by graduation . Summary: We think 2026 will be a typical year for Tufts. They will win some games they should not win and lose some games they should not lose. They will be dangerous on defense, but we don't think they have the horses to win their first ever NESCAC title.

5). Middlebury (2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 7-2; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 5-4): We expect the 2026 edition of the Panthers to be focused on the run with RB Connor McClellan carrying the load. New QB for MID as Brian Moran graduated. This is another program that works hard at recruiting in the off-season and seems to reload every year. Strengths: Experienced starters. Areas of Concern: Lost a lot of talent in the WR core. Improving their pass defense.  Summary: 2025 was a disappointing season in Vermont. The opening loss at Wesleyan set the stage for the rest of the year. They will look to get out of the blocks faster as they host Wesleyan in this year's home opener in week 1.

6). University of Bates Bobcats (Lewiston Campus)(2025 Record: 2-7; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 4-5): 2025 was a disappointing year for Coach Coyne and the Kitties with only 2 wins. Much of this group has 3 years of experience and this is the first senior class recruited by HCOF Coyne. They return most of their key starters including OPOTY candidate RB Ryan Lynskey and DPOTY candidate LB Ryan Rozich. There are questions at QB (we expect soph Jack Gilmore to start). UBates is looking for their first winning season since 2012. Strengths: Stellar running game. Experienced starters. Areas of Concern: Lack of experience at QB offset by the fact that they have athletes who can play there. Summary: We give UBates a shot at getting above .500. Getting out strong vs. the Lord Mammoths on the road is imperative.

7). Amherst Lord Mammoths (2025 Record: 5-4; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 2-7; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 4-5): A ton of optimism in Mammothland as HCOF Mills returns QB Marek Hill. They lose NESCAC Co-DPOTY Kemit Fisher and  All-NESCAC DB/LB Luke Harmon but return a bunch of starters. Strengths: Many defensive returnees from a solid 2025 unit needs to keep them in games. Areas of Concern: They need to find some receivers and replace starters in the secondary. Amherst's running game, which used to be feared, needs to return to past glory. Summary: Need to show more on offense. Where did all the Amherst playmakers go? We respect HCOF Mills, who is the Dean of NESCAC coaches, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt.

8). Colby Mules (2025 Record: 6-3; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 record: 4-5; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 record: 3-6): 2025 was a big year for the Mules completing their first winning season since 2005. From what we are hearing; they will start transfer Stehen Gill (from Trinity (TX)). They also return WR Jack Nye. On defense, they lose All-NESCAC DL Jack Mullen but return most of a very good secondary. Strengths: Starting secondary and coming off a winning season. Areas of Concern: Improving a passing game that was last in the NESCAC in 2025 and had only 3 passing TDs. Summary: Colby broke threw in 2025 finishing at 6-3. We think they take a step back in 2025 especially given their many long road trips. Ceiling for them is mid-tier at best. As we said last year, having a 5-4 season which would give them two straight winning seasons would be a huge step forward for this program.

9). Bowdoin Polar Bears (2025 Record: 2-7; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 record: 3-6; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 record: 2-7): Another losing year in '25, but they continue to be competitive and make incremental process towards respectability. They have a returning QB in Soren Hummel. Former starting QB Michael Wolfendale is now one of their starting receivers. They return a ton of starters but as they have improved, so has the rest of the league. Strengths: Experienced, yet undersized offensive line. Play their high-pressure defense well. Areas of Concern: Leary is a star at DE for the Polars but who else will step up? Summary: Despite the seeming improvement in quality student-athletes, they were still 10th in total offense and 9th in total defense in 2025. Those rankings will need to improve for them to improve on their win total in 2026.

10). Hamilton Continentals (2025 Record: 2-7; NESCACMAN Predicted 2025 Record: 1-8; NESCACMAN Predicted 2026 Record: 2-7): Hamilton features one of the best QBs in the league in returning QB Luke Kurzum. They also return a strong receiving corps including Jack Hoag, Matt Kearns and Chester Boynton. However, they will need to improve their offensive line play if they are going to be able to run the ball (9th in the NESCAC in rushing in 2025) and protect Kurzum (8th in the league in sacks allowed in 2025). The defense finished last in the NESCAC in 2025 and will need to get better for  Hamilton to record more than 2 wins. Strengths: Good receivers and returning QB means they will be able to throw the ball. Areas of Concern: Many. Defense, running game, and lack of a winning culture. Summary: Our 2026 expectations are not high for this squad but Kurzum will give them a punchers chance in many games in 2026.

2026 NESCAC Pre-season Offensive Player of the Year: QB Matt Fitzsimons, Wesleyan

2026 NESCAC Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year: LB Austin Baker, Wesleyan

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[Brady12]

What are the added expenses of having 15 extra kids practice with the team? They're not traveling. They're not even getting a uniform for home games. They've already got the equipment and have been practicing all preseason. I'm not buying that NESCAC schools are too poor to afford a dozen or so kids the opportunity to practice and be a part of a team.

If they're going to do it they all have to do it and have JV games. Kids needed to be rewarded with a game and not just be used as tackling dummies. Of course with JV games comes the money of travel etc. Maybe break it up to two JV leagues of 5 play 4 games and then winners play.