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!