Shenandoah, TX 2018-19 NCAA d3fb championships

[GillCJ1]

Some areas of Texas are neat - San Antonio / Austin are fantastic. I myself want to see the Big Bend area, and I liked the desert around El Paso (I needed some solace when I was there).

I'm sorry that it doesn't match up with the high quality entertainment found in Alliance, Canton / Akron, or even Kent. I'm sure there's some exciting sights along US 62.

(I'm originally from BFE Indiana, so....I get it.)

Austin is great and if I were single and/or without kids, I'd probably be looking to move there.  As it stands, I'm only 45 minutes or so away, so still close enough to visit.  San Antonio is my favorite city in the state, currently.  My in-laws live there and it has LOADS of family-friendly things to do.  Plus the food is excellent (but really, it's good everywhere around here).

I went to Big Bend over Spring Break 2016.  My wife had the week off (she works at UMHB) so I took some vacation and we all made the trek.  It's not a short drive, even when you live in the same state.  But boy was it worth it.  Beautiful landscapes.  Canoeing down the Rio Grande was a highlight.

Sorry for further derailing the topic.  I'll be attending the Shenandoah Stagg the next 2 years - with or without the Cru on the field.  Hoping for a surprisingly good event and looking forward to meeting other d3 posters.

[Toby Taff]

if anyone attending the Stagg Bowl is interested in historical sites, Shenandoah isn't very far (80 miles) from the original site of Baylor College, the school that became UMHB and Baylor University. It's also near Washington on the Brazos, Goliad and San Jacinto, Important Republic of Texas sites. It's just a few hours from the Alamo, and a few hours from Cajun Country in deep southern Louisiana. If you're coming for the Stagg no matter the teams, plan for an extra day and explore. It's totally worth it.

[hsbsballcoach7]

I've driven to 4 of the last 6 Stagg Bowls UMU was involved with in Salem. I have no problem taking a day off from work and driving up to 8 hours away. Now if we make it again...Texas is a long drive for me and my gang. If I get a raise, I'd fly in, watch and fly out next day. It's what most Mount fans have done forever. Unless there's something in the immediate area or on the way you go home. I hope Texas does well with next years experience, but I'm pumped for 3 years in canton. I have a feeling that even if Mount isn't in the final, there will be Mount fans there among other OAC, PAC, CCIW fans/coaches bc of proximity and the HOF directly next door to the stadium for a visit. I used to attend the State High School Finals in Canton and lots of neutral fans showed up to watch. If UMU makes that game, let's just say those casual UMU supporters will be coming out in full force.

Is there any facility near Indianapolis that would house the Stagg Bowl in the future? That seems like a perfect location geographically speaking.

[Ron Boerger]

Austin is great and if I were single and/or without kids, I'd probably be looking to move there.  As it stands, I'm only 45 minutes or so away, so still close enough to visit.  San Antonio is my favorite city in the state, currently.  My in-laws live there and it has LOADS of family-friendly things to do.  Plus the food is excellent (but really, it's good everywhere around here).

I went to Big Bend over Spring Break 2016.  My wife had the week off (she works at UMHB) so I took some vacation and we all made the trek.  It's not a short drive, even when you live in the same state.  But boy was it worth it.  Beautiful landscapes.  Canoeing down the Rio Grande was a highlight.

Sorry for further derailing the topic.  I'll be attending the Shenandoah Stagg the next 2 years - with or without the Cru on the field.  Hoping for a surprisingly good event and looking forward to meeting other d3 posters.

Austin is great if you are relatively well-off (housing, property taxes are obscene for Texas) and don't mind dealing with some of the worst traffic in the country (a 2017 Forbes ranking places it 4th worst).   San Antonio can't offer the tech world or hipster quotient Austin does but it's certainly more affordable and has LOADS of history Austin can't touch.   The vibe between the two is totally different. 

I'll probably go to Shenandoah too but it'll be a day trip.   Been to Houston enough in my life in a previous job. 

PS - Big Bend is awesome

[phil]

Well, here's my two cents from somebody who lives in The Woodlands and whose high school's home stadium is next year's host. Frankly, I'm a bit ambivalent about the whole deal. I grew tired of MUC vs. the world long before I moved from New Jersey over a decade ago. But that's not to say I don't want the event to do well here in Texas. In fact, I was planning to have Pat and his entourage over for a good old fashioned, New Jersey style, Italian dinner. We'll fire up the hot tub and light a few cigars and sit poolside (yes we'll probably be outside. It was 81° in The Woodlands yesterday). We'll talk about the old days when TCNJ had a serviceable football team, Rowan was the evil empire (fyi, KC Keeler, Rowan's former coach followed me and is at Sam Houston, just up the road in Huntsville), and neither of us had children – much less children in college.

Everyone's welcome except Merle. I can give him directions to a Taco Bell in El Paso out of the kindness of my heart.

Look, I have no idea how the Stagg Bowl will be embraced locally. If the folks from Shenandoah do their job, I don't see why this wouldn't work. The demographics of the schools which use Woodforest Bank Stadium as their home field is ridiculous. The Woodlands High School alone has 3,000 students in grades 10-12. The first Texas high school football game I ever attended (see photo), drew 10,000 for a Friday night game. The school district has 61 Campuses which includes:
30 Elementary Schools
3 K-6 Schools
9 Intermediate Schools
7 Junior High Schools
3 Ninth Grade Schools
6 High Schools
The district has 61,000 students – and that's increasing at 1,500 students per year. This is ONLY one district – Conroe ISD. If Shenandoah has any success tying into the high school and junior high school coaches and teams in the area, they should do very well. My daughter's junior high school has six football teams. In my mind, the demographics and the infrastructure should make this a huge success – if it's properly promoted (that's a big "if"). Shenandoah is a city on a tiny 1.3 sq. mile spit of land with about 2,000 residents. Better know locally as a speed trap on either side of Rt. 45. In contrast, The Woodlands has 110,000 residents in 44 sq. miles. I have no idea whether or not anybody on the board in Shenandoah has a clue what to do with this event. They've successfully hosted DIII swimming and diving several times, but as Pat pointed out, swimming and diving on that level is not a spectator sport. Should they market and promote this, reach out to the coaches locally and in Houston/Harris County, get the ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates involved (which they shouldn't have a problem with considering the amount of filler they stick in their broadcasts every day), the sheer number of people to draw upon in the greater Houston area is unbelievable.

The field is about 20-25 minutes from Bush International Airport. What to do once you're here? Play golf where they play the Shell Houston Open. The Woodlands alone has 135 holes of golf. Catch a Rockets game. Take a tour at NASA. Check out Galveston. Some of the best food in the country is in Houston. The Woodlands is like a resort community. Of course, you can't beat Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame ... and then you can go and ... er ... ahhhh ... ummm ... Akron's Hale Farm and Village offers a glimpse of life in the 19th century! Unless it snows...

Merle, all kidding aside, you can come too. Bring wine.

[edward de vere]

My daughter's junior high school has six football teams.

Wait, what?

[Ralph Turner]

My thought for the Stagg Bowl would be to hold a D-3 College recruitment festival in conjunction with the Stagg. The demographics of Conroe ISD are excellent for D3 students.

The extra 1,500 students in the school district mean that most of them are coming from some place other than southeast Texas.  If the NCAA wants to focus on student-athletes in a "target rich" area, then this is one way to do it.

[phil]

My daughter's junior high school has six football teams.

Wait, what?

Edward, I checked with my seventh grade daughter and she said "six". I went to the Jr. high website and I was wrong. There are 12 teams. This from the website:
•This year McCullough has 12 teams —
Six in 7th grade and six in 8th grade. Teams have been split to optimize student playing time and make our teams competitive.
•Since there are 12 teams, please know what team your child is on and who is their coach. •McCullough's teams are named after their coach. This should cut down on confusion.

Welcome to Texas!

[Jack Parkman]

My thought for the Stagg Bowl would be to hold a D-3 College recruitment festival in conjunction with the Stagg. The demographics of Conroe ISD are excellent for D3 students.

The extra 1,500 students in the school district mean that most of them are coming from some place other than southeast Texas.  If the NCAA wants to focus on student-athletes in a "target rich" area, then this is one way to do it.

I thought the same thing.  With the recruiting limitations in D3, playing in TX could give some players a chance to check out the schools playing in the Stage Bowl and it might open some schools up to recruiting more in TX.

Texas loves it's football, a state championship game last night had 25k fans in attendance and it was one of the best games I have ever seen (on tv) at any level.

[Ralph Turner]

A friend's daughter, who lives in the Houston area and who is a swimmer, is going to Allegheny.  Was she exposed to Allegheny through the National Championships?

I am specifically talking about a college night for any student.

This is a premier D-3 intercollegiate activity. I recommend that Conroe ISD (Independent School District) turn this into a Texas-size college fair!

[hsbsballcoach7]

My thought for the Stagg Bowl would be to hold a D-3 College recruitment festival in conjunction with the Stagg. The demographics of Conroe ISD are excellent for D3 students.

The extra 1,500 students in the school district mean that most of them are coming from some place other than southeast Texas.  If the NCAA wants to focus on student-athletes in a "target rich" area, then this is one way to do it.

That is a great idea! Mount Union used to send coaches to Florida to recruitment festivals and greatly increased their presence there 2-3 years ago. How many D1 and D2 programs are there in Texas?

[Ralph Turner]

My thought for the Stagg Bowl would be to hold a D-3 College recruitment festival in conjunction with the Stagg. The demographics of Conroe ISD are excellent for D3 students.

The extra 1,500 students in the school district mean that most of them are coming from some place other than southeast Texas.  If the NCAA wants to focus on student-athletes in a "target rich" area, then this is one way to do it.

That is a great idea! Mount Union used to send coaches to Florida to recruitment festivals and greatly increased their presence there 2-3 years ago. How many D1 and D2 programs are there in Texas?

hsbsballcoach7,

My thoughts for the College Fair is to focus on D3 entirely and not just football.

I posted elsewhere that 4QBs  of the Top 6 teams in the country played HS football in Texas, OU, OSU, Auburn and Alabama. Everyone recruits Texas football.

To re-iterate the thought, Conroe and The Woodlands are a prime demographic location for "D3" college students. Why not get D3 recruiters/admissions personnel from across all of D3 to the Stagg event?

[Ralph Turner]

I count 12 FBS, 8 FCS and 7 D-2.

[merlecanlas]

Well, here's my two cents from somebody who lives in The Woodlands and whose high school's home stadium is next year's host. Frankly, I'm a bit ambivalent about the whole deal. I grew tired of MUC vs. the world long before I moved from New Jersey over a decade ago. But that's not to say I don't want the event to do well here in Texas. In fact, I was planning to have Pat and his entourage over for a good old fashioned, New Jersey style, Italian dinner. We'll fire up the hot tub and light a few cigars and sit poolside (yes we'll probably be outside. It was 81° in The Woodlands yesterday). We'll talk about the old days when TCNJ had a serviceable football team, Rowan was the evil empire (fyi, KC Keeler, Rowan's former coach followed me and is at Sam Houston, just up the road in Huntsville), and neither of us had children – much less children in college.

Everyone's welcome except Merle. I can give him directions to a Taco Bell in El Paso out of the kindness of my heart.

Look, I have no idea how the Stagg Bowl will be embraced locally. If the folks from Shenandoah do their job, I don't see why this wouldn't work. The demographics of the schools which use Woodforest Bank Stadium as their home field is ridiculous. The Woodlands High School alone has 3,000 students in grades 10-12. The first Texas high school football game I ever attended (see photo), drew 10,000 for a Friday night game. The school district has 61 Campuses which includes:
30 Elementary Schools
3 K-6 Schools
9 Intermediate Schools
7 Junior High Schools
3 Ninth Grade Schools
6 High Schools
The district has 61,000 students – and that's increasing at 1,500 students per year. This is ONLY one district – Conroe ISD. If Shenandoah has any success tying into the high school and junior high school coaches and teams in the area, they should do very well. My daughter's junior high school has six football teams. In my mind, the demographics and the infrastructure should make this a huge success – if it's properly promoted (that's a big "if"). Shenandoah is a city on a tiny 1.3 sq. mile spit of land with about 2,000 residents. Better know locally as a speed trap on either side of Rt. 45. In contrast, The Woodlands has 110,000 residents in 44 sq. miles. I have no idea whether or not anybody on the board in Shenandoah has a clue what to do with this event. They've successfully hosted DIII swimming and diving several times, but as Pat pointed out, swimming and diving on that level is not a spectator sport. Should they market and promote this, reach out to the coaches locally and in Houston/Harris County, get the ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates involved (which they shouldn't have a problem with considering the amount of filler they stick in their broadcasts every day), the sheer number of people to draw upon in the greater Houston area is unbelievable.

The field is about 20-25 minutes from Bush International Airport. What to do once you're here? Play golf where they play the Shell Houston Open. The Woodlands alone has 135 holes of golf. Catch a Rockets game. Take a tour at NASA. Check out Galveston. Some of the best food in the country is in Houston. The Woodlands is like a resort community. Of course, you can't beat Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame ... and then you can go and ... er ... ahhhh ... ummm ... Akron's Hale Farm and Village offers a glimpse of life in the 19th century! Unless it snows...

Merle, all kidding aside, you can come too. Bring wine.

wow...so many students! give them the Stagg Bowl forever


I'm sure thousands and thousands of people will be coming down to golf and see NASA and then watch the Stagg Bowl in a 90% empty stadium. 

Maybe, most D3fb fans are more interested in the actual game and might check out the HOF and everything that Canton offers.  There's a "village" being built around the HOF, but I'm sure the Woodlands can compete.  The Woodland wont pay for busing for both teams but they will be a good host...ok.

I'm sure the suburbs of Houston are great, but I'm not moving there.  Most fans are there for 1-2 days, and there won't even be that many of them.   Enjoy your two years, it's not coming back

[smedindy]

Wow, this is getting old. Besides the HOF, there's...um....

You can always check out the William McKinley Presidential Library in Canton and the National First Ladies Library.

Maybe you could drive up to Kent to the Cuyahoga river and set it on fire!

(This is where we walked / this is where we swam / take a picture here / take a souvenir)