Monthly Archives: December 2005

Scheduled downtime

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Just a heads-up, D3hoops.com and D3football.com will be moving to a new server tonight. The plan is to get started around 9 p.m. ET. If successful, the sites would be down for about a half-hour. After the move, some items might not function correctly, but we will do our best to track those things down and fix them.

If you see anything out of the ordinary, e-mail pat@d3football.com.

The message board will not be affected.

My wishes for 2006

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In an attempt to keep the Division III football season going, I looked around for a couple of 2006 schedules. I know they’re out there, but I didn’t stumble across any. (For those eager to get their 2006 schedule posted, I need game times, not just all TBAs.)

Instead, here’s my hopes for the new year and the next football season:

  • More fans of neutral schools make the pilgrimage to Salem next December for Stagg Bowl XXXIV. The Bridgewater folks are showing how it’s done, folks. We need more of the local schools like Ferrum, Hampden-Sydney, Shenandoah, and the like. Anyone within a four-hour drive should come down. This is Division III’s showcase event and it needs to look like it. Heck, the game ticket is cheaper than some Division III schools’ regular-season tickets (which is another story entirely).
  • I hope everyone who wants to play a 10-game schedule can find 10 Division III opponents willing to play them.
  • I hope those who play nine-game schedules will figure out a way to play 10. It used to be there were a good number of nine-game conferences (CCIW, MIAA, NWC, SCIAC) but now it’s basically just the SCIAC who’s prohibted from playing 10. Why would you want to short-change your hard-working student-athletes?
  • I hope the high school coaches that degrade Division III as glorified intramurals (and there are those out there who do) come out and watch a game, or better yet, I wish they would be forced to coach one of these games for a week.
  • Nobody is forced to play a specific first-round matchup solely because of travel. Well, I can dream, right?
  • We don’t get stuck with the 2003 Stagg Bowl crew for the 2006 game. And the D-III football committee finds a way to get the semifinals aired.
  • Big interconference matchups like next year’s Hardin-Simmons/Linfield game become more common as schools realize that they don’t affect any of the 21 automatic bids.
  • Additional fan sites should be developed by fans of prominent programs, along the lines of sites already in play for Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, Rowan, Bridgewater, Union and others. Schools that jump immediately to mind include Linfield, St. John’s and Ithaca.
  • More interest in some of the other conferences aside from the big names. It would be nice to see more discussion from fans of the SCIAC, Centennial, Illini-Badger, New England Football Conference, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and the like. And in a similar vein, fans should go venture out and see games outside of their own conference. Don’t want to drive five hours to see your alma mater beat down a bottom-feeder? Check out a game elsewhere. But wear your own team’s gear. That’ll get you some attention.
  • More officiating crews like the MIAA group at the Stagg Bowl and the IIAC group we ran across in the playoffs.
  • Responsible use of the karma function on the message board. I see someone who has a minus-182 karma who hasn’t posted in over two months. Yet someone has apparently been smiting this person basically once a day since. Get a grip, people. Some grudges need to be let go.

    • May everyone have a happy holiday season and a prosperous 2006. And here’s hoping everyone goes 10-0. OK, maybe 5-5!

    Immediate thoughts on Week 16

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    Congrats to Mount Union. Nice to have a different champion for once. 🙂 But seriously, I don’t mind if the same team wins a couple titles in a row, as long as the season is competitive and the title isn’t a forgone conclusion.

    We’ve had years like that.

    First thought goes out to the johnny-come-lately Whitewater posters on this blog. Welcome to Division III reality. It takes more than one hand to count the number of schools’ posters who have come in, talked a big game, then had to either slink away or eat crow. But don’t worry, there’s a long list: Wheaton, Wabash, Widener, Rowan, St. John’s (though that one goes both ways).

    Second to those who insisted the national title game was played two weeks ago. ‘Nuff said. Don’t count your chickens before the eggs are laid. This is exactly why covering Division III and ranking teams is so difficult.

    Third: Can you imagine this team with two more years of Pierre Garcon and three more of Nate Kmic? In our pregame interview I asked coach Larry Kehres if we were seeing the emergence of the next Chuck Moore or Dan Pugh and he pointed out, of course, that those guys did it for four years. In retrospect, however, I think we’ll be able to look back in a couple years and agree about the breakout.

    Fourth: Still thinking about the chicken, Stone Station! Yum!

    Also, I enjoyed covering sideline reports for the broadcast today (archive links on the front for those who want to listen in). Good perspective on the game. Thanks to Matt Barnhart of Bridgewaterfootball.com for covering the opposite sideline for me so we could get the latest on both sides.

    Good to see the NCAA’s chief executive, Dr. Myles Brand, watching the game from the sidelines. We were able to interview him early in the third quarter for those who want to check it out.

    As always, play in the Stagg Bowl would have changed our All-American team. But like everyone else, we lock them in and release them beforehand.

    Our broadcasters upstairs correctly noted the downfield blocking by the offensive line on Kmic’s 15-yard touchdown run But I feel I should point out that Garcon was down there as well paving the way.

    It was great to see officiating not be an issue. The officials clearly got the three calls right that resulted in the game being stopped for review. But it was fun from the field to see the video board and how the replays shown affected the fans, especially on the non-touchdown catch by Garcon — the play was called out of bounds. First replay comes up and is not particularly conclusive to the layman, Mount Union fans roar. Play is stopped. I call upstairs to Gordon Mann, our producer, and let him know it is absolutely out of bounds. Second replay comes up and shows us nothing new. Finally, the definitive replay shows Garcon indeed got his foot down out of bounds and the Whitewater side roars. I enjoyed the element added to the game and hope fans did too.

    Now, on to the Aztec Bowl. Thanks to Wes Hostetler for making us look good with his performance as both a defensive back and a return man, echoing our naming him an All-American at both spots earlier in the day. Elsewhere, lots of good performances came from our picks … just not from the quarterbacks. Ouch.

    We throw it open, but don’t forget to come back for more coverage this week and in future weeks as we continue to wrap up the Stagg Bowl and the 2005 Division III football season with Keith McMillan’s year in review column.