My hopes for 2007

The year 2006 was absolutely fantastic for D3football.com. We were able to do a lot of things, such as send Keith McMillan on the Run to the Playoffs, literally around the nation. I got to see a handful of different programs and places this season thanks to my new geography. We were able to participate in the NCAA’s live videocast of the semifinals. And Kickoff 2006 followed in the successful footsteps of Kickoff 2005.

With a great 2006 behind us, here’s some hopes and wishes for 2007:

More video: We’re at the mercy of some larger organizations on this one, hoping the NCAA will add Division III to the program it put together for Division II football, streaming some 40 games on the Net through CSTV. There are also still streaming companies who are trying to get D-III conferences interested. Conferences — look at this offer and get your schools on board. It benefits the entire division.

More teams: The 2007 season welcomes Birmingham-Southern, St. Vincent and Gallaudet. Gallaudet is attempting to return to the intercollegiate fold … again … from club status. Gallaudet hasn’t won a varsity game since 1991. Birmingham-Southern is moving up to Division III from Division I, in a decision that caused a great deal of rancor on campus and from the scholarship athletes. We hope for a peaceful transition and some football success. St. Vincent is joining Division III from the NAIA and will be in the second year of provisional status next season. And St. Scholastica has announced it will add football for 2008. The more the merrier.

More participation: We hear from more and more readers every year, and we would hope 2007 continues the trend. But the trend in recent years, too, has been not just more posters and blog comments but more sites run by fans dedicated to specific teams. Wabash started team blogs this year, including football. A Gettysburg fan blogs about their team, though it’s mostly a collection of the writings of others. Of course, there are several fan sites, including ones for Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, Cortland State, Bridgewater and others. But anyone can start a blog — perhaps it might be interesting for you to start one as a fan of a team you might think is underrepresented. Citizen journalism is a big buzzword in the media these days and you fans out there can join the group. Get video of your team and put it on YouTube.

More Martel: OK, well, this isn’t very likely — I’m sitting here late night/early morning listening to D3football.com audio director emeritus Ray Martel hosting an overnight talk show shift on WFAN. He and I started doing football games together in 1994. Been a while now.

More aggressive scheduling: Mary Hardin-Baylor/UW-Whitewater and Linfield/Hardin-Simmons were great games this year. Wouldn’t it be great to see more of this? The automatic bid is coaches’ safety net. Take more chances.

More willingness to follow own rules: Yeah, it’s OK to have Millsaps and Mary Hardin-Baylor be within 500 miles by your own definition but ignore it? Uh uh. The NCAA should live by its own handbook.

What would you like to see more of in 2007? (This is not promising we’ll be able to deliver, of course.) 🙂