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!
Curious, how does one develop karma on this board? I think I might still have more to learn. ….
I was all set to provide you with Mount Union’s 2006 schedule, but as you so appropriately noted, all times are TBA. In fact, I see Mount’s schedule through 2009… but alas, no times.
Amen to getting at LEAST the D-III semi-final aired. ESPNU and ESPN Classic show some “intersting” material, why not a solid match-up in D-III that sometimes COULD be the championship game.
I also think the officiating crew did a commendable job at the Stagg Bowl. There were a few “phantom” calls, but no one gets them all right.
To add to your wish list for ’06, I’d like to see instant replay used, even in non-crucial games, for important calls.
As for hoping for 10-0 in ’06, with the Raiders, it would be surprising if they weren’t!
Have a wonderful holiday and props to you for another great year of covering D-III football.
Here’s hoping for #9 for good ol’ LK and bigger years from Nate and Pierre. Also I hope our young defense learned from the ’05 D and that tutoring carries over to the field next year.
I posted the 2006 Bridgewater (Va.) schedule a couple weeks ago;
http://bridgewaterfootball.com/schedule.html
For 2006, let’s see Mount Union and Linfield. I would like to see Mount Union play the strongest out of conference teams early in the season. This would help build those teams, generate fan interest, and promote DIII football.
Since Mount Union is the team of the decade(s) and standard for all football programs to follow, then let it stand for a higher football cause by being a mentor for other teams through on field play, along with the transfer of training techniques and game day strategies. An idea would be to have two of the great coaching brains of all time, Coach Kehres and Coach Gagliardi, put on an Annual Coaches Seminar for the rest of the DIII coaches and staff. Bring in other top coaching staffs as well to provide a lunch-n-learn or tips-n-tricks, etc. I think this would generate good will throughout and help develop all DIII schools as a whole. Besides coaches and staff work hard and should have an opportunity for a fun get together.
Top Dog,
MTU already has a home and home scheduled with Averett the next two years. Prior to that it was Washington U and before that it was UW-WW. I think that they try to schedule a local (non flight) opponent. I would like to see an OAC-NCAC challenge the first week of the season.
As far as your second wish, Coach K does put on a coaching clinic each spring. Keep an eye out on http://www.muc.edu. Although, I think it is more geared for local HS Coaches.
Thanks for the details.
Point 1 – Recruiting – Develop local HS coaches/programs, and in turn increase your local talent pool.
I am sure the coach would be very successful if he authored a book, maybe something like “Rise of the Purple Empire”. Pass the knowledge to a greater audience.
I think he would draw even more national attention. Remember to send some of the proceeds to local and national charities, because he would definitely generate the revenue.
Think big, think outside the box.
I was just going to wish for peace on earth and a pony, but I guess these things would be nice, too.
My wish for 2006 is that Augustana College wins the CCIW again, and beats Mount Union in the playoffs on their way to the title game.
However, after seeing Mount Union play, and realizing the youth of the team – that will be a very tall order.
I honestly now think that Mount Union will be playing for yet another title next year. I also think the WIAC will be tough as nails again next year, along with the CCIW.
I wish that everyone could come to understand just what a blessing the Salem venue is for the Stagg Bowl. Walking away from the ticket window after paying $20 for tickets for my son and I and realizing I had paid almost 8 times that for our tickets to the Motor City bowl, I cringed at the thought of some big city taking this away. The low key, small town atmosphere provided by Salem, it’s civic groups, the ODAC and last but not least the Bridgewater faithful make this a perfect reflection of what Division 3 is all about. A dollar cup of coffee and a free parking lot full of happy tailgaters who are there for the same reason as the players, the love of the game and pride in their favorite institution.
Admittedly it is not convenient for everyone and that we can’t fix. I’ve never been to the Rose Bowl, but that’s no reason to move it. As I look ahead to the Motor City Bowl I am not excited about the cold, impersonal and very expensive site and wish we were going somewhere like Salem.
Perhaps NESCAC will entertain in 2006 its football teams enjoying the same post season possibilities that their other teams do. We are certain that a certain team in Hartford would like to strut its stuff.
For me, the biggest thing to help promote the division as a whole would be to get more of the big intersectional match-ups.
I love the fact that one of my conference’s (the ASC) top dogs (Hardin-Simmons) has scheduled Linfield. Kudos to them for scheduling WIAC’s Stephen’s Point (there) this year. Howard Payne played UW-Lacrosse this year. UMHB has played Willamette for 4 years now. My TLU squad plays Trinity every year. ETBU played Southern Arkansas (a DII school).
Our teams are branching out and playing a better OOC schedule. It’s only made our conference that much better. As a whole the conference has risen quite a bit. Sure, we’ve got our bottom dwellers but so does every conference.
I love the ASC/WIAC games. Two GREAT conferences battling it out. I’d love to see Trinity come into the ASC, but I doubt they’d ever do it … I mean giving up their automatic bid and all *wink* …. seriously though, I’d love to see it.
All in all I love the way DIII does things, but we all know that the play-off match-ups will continue to be based on cost with the NCAA. The only other thing I’d like to see, is the DIII title game being more central. Living in Corpus Christi, Texas … Salem isn’t exactly a hop/skip/jump away. Maybe rotate the game between sites in the different regions. Give ALL DIII fans a “chance” at catching a title game.
I agree with most of the Editors remarks. They would all be welcome. I have been to Salem for two D3 Basketball championships. It is a great environment. I want to come in the future for Football. It would be a shame to lose this location. At UWP, we cannot even get Loras to play us, they are 20 minutes away. We instead play Augustana IL and Drake University. No proble playing Augie, and we hve beaten Drake 2 out of three. However, we get beat up a lot for the Regular Season. God bless you guys and Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays to you all.
Here’s to all the great coverage that you give to the DIII.
And here’s to all you fans and parents who make DIII a great place to play.
As an Occidental College student, I perfectly understand pcole’s argument for a 10th game. It would make the season more exciting, and we wouldn’t be screwed over with only 4 home games every other year. I’d also wish our school would play tougher non-conference opponents, like Redlands does (Lewis and Clark and Colorado College aren’t exactly the best teams in DIII). Nevertheless, we did have an awesome season, and I hope our success continues into next season. Best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season to everyone.
I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE PLAYOFF PICTURE THIS PAST YEAR. WITHOUT A DOUBT, A NO BRAINER THAT HAMPDEN-SYDNEY SHOULD HAVE HAD A PLAYOFF BERTH.
I POSTED THAT THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF BLOWOUTS WITH SOME OF THE TEAMS THAT WENT TO THE PLAYOFFS. HAMPDEN SYDNEY WOULD HAVE WENT DEEP INTO THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR.
TEAMS LIKE FERRUM ? COME ON………THEY PLAY IN A CUPCAKE CONFERENCE…AND IT SHOWED WHEN THEY GOT SPANKED IN THE FIRST ROUND. YES, I AGREE THAT WE CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY AND WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO BEAT AN ALWAYS TUFF BRIDGEWATER TEAM. AS FAR AS WASHINGTON AND LEE GOES…….WELL, ” EVERY CROW FINDS A KERNAL OF CORN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
WE WERE ON FIRE THE LAST PART OF THE SEASON AND NOBODY WANTED US IN……WE WERE HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS.
SO PLEASE…………….PUT THE BEST TEAMS IN NEXT YEAR !!
JOHN HOPKINS WENT TO PLAYOFFS AND WE BEAT THEM 49-20 ” WHATS UP WITH THAT ?????
WHOEVER VOTES THE TEAMS IN, YOU NEED TO GET A CLUE ON WHATS GOING ON……WAKE UP !!!!
For 2006 I would like to see D3 teams get the respect they deserve. It’s entertaining and quality football. On any given Sunday you might see 2 or 3 lines in the back section of the area newspaper about the previous day’s MUC game while there might be a quarter of a page devoted to some division 1 school clear across the country. Typically the young men playing at the D3 schools are local kids who ought to receive a little recognition but go unheard of after playing their last high school game. You’ll never here a word spoken regarding the MUC teams on the news stations in this area until they get to the Stagg Bowl and then it’s few and far between. I don’t know if this is typical across the country or just in a certain part of Ohio. Keep up the good work “D3 Football” – the young men deserve the recognition you provide!
My wish for 2006 is purely selfish. I hope for a repeat of the 2005 Stagg Bowl (with the same result if possible). I live in Madison, Wisconsin, my son is a ’92 graduate of UW-Whitewater, and my wife and I are ’64 and ’63 graduates of Mount Union. This year my son and I flew from Madison to Wahington D.C. on Friday, rented a car, drove the 240 miles to Salem on Saturday morning, and had one of the best father-son times you could imagine. My wife made us large signs, and we paraded around holding them up: “Son-Rich: UW-Whitewater ’92: Go Warhawks” and “Dad-Don: Mount Union ’64: Go Purple Raiders.” We think we’re a unique family for many reasons, but one is this Whitewater/Mount Union connection. Anyway, thanks to DivIII and Salem for putting on such a great game. I’ve been to 3 Rose Bowls, and the cab ride from the airport to the hotel in LA cost twice as much as 2 Stagg Bowl tickets/2 hot dogs/2 large cokes. If Mount an UW-WW return next year we’ll be there. If they aren’t, we might just go anyway. It is football and fans as they were meant to be. Plus all that purple!! Our favorite family color.
Johns Hopkins won its league. Hampden-Sydney was never in competition with Johns Hopkins for a bid — in fact, “WHOEVER VOTES THE TEAMS IN” had no choice but to put Johns Hopkins in. The league gets an automatic bid.
hscfootball,
Pat has covered plenty of the facts about the playoffs on the FAQs.
The selection process for the NCAA is listed in the Championship Handbook.
Here is the URL. Everything that you need to know about the playoffs can be found or deduced from this site or the NCAA Championship Handbook.
http://www.ncaa.org/library/handbooks/football/2005/2005_d3_football_handbook.pdf
mucron1
The Canton Repository and Alliance Review do a great job of covering Mount Union’s Football program throughout the season and off-season. If you don’t subscribe to either paper you can read the Repository online for free via the Net.