We get letters over the course of a week, some of which are worth sharing. This recent sampling is pretty indicative of the usual e-mail.
Submitted by Xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxxxxxx@adephia.net) on Saturday, October 07, 2006 at 08:18:45 PM
I could not believe what I saw at Hampton-Sydney Va.today.I and 75 other Emory & Henery parents and fans witnessed the home officials throw the game for
HSC. I have witnessed this happening at the high school level but never in my wildest thoughts would this happen at the college level.
All be it we are only talking about the D-3 level, If this would of happened D-1 on national TV. with 30 million watching and fifty camaras on the game there would of been White House investigation. It’s a sad day when our sons find out that college football is corrupt. Book score HSC 24 Emory 21, real score Emory at least 21 HSC 10!!! Thanks for allowing me to vent.
I’ve heard lots of negative things and witnessed some by officials in this conference, but to suggest that they were corrupt is pretty silly. But venting is healthy, I’m sure.
Submitted by xxxxxx (xxxxxx@hotmail.com) on Monday, October 09, 2006 at 10:57:24 AM
Why is Rowan ranked so high? They just barely beat New Jersey and play nobody in the NJAC that is worth anything. Union came very close to beating them in the playoffs last year, and play a tougher schedule than Rowan, but are not in the top 25. I think D3 football.com is the best thing to happen to small college football, but you guys seem to be so in love with certain leagues, while ignoring others.
Rowan is presenting a bit of a problem for us right now, to be sure. I keep sliding them down on my own ballot and others are doing the same — as you can see, they keep falling even though they are winning. But is Bridgewater better than Rowan? Is Occidental? Who have either of those teams played? Is Central better? They haven’t put anyone away and keep getting taken to overtime.
Rowan moved up in the coaches’ poll the last two weeks despite its unimpressive win at home against Western Connecticut and the New Jersey game. At least in our poll they’re moving in the right direction. But they haven’t lost a game they weren’t supposed to — their only loss is on the road at a scholarship school.
Curious to know who he thinks we’re ignoring.
Submitted by xxxxx (xxxxxxxxxxxxx@sbcglobal.net) on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 01:15:09 AM
Subject: Who’s That Guy
Notes: YES I HAVE HEARD ABOUT A DOMINIQUE TAYLOR WHO PLAYS FOR LA. COLLEGE WHO IS THIS GUY ANF WHERE HE COME FROM. HE’S REALLY GOOD.
I see he has a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, but my gut tells me you know a lot more about this kid than I do and are just fishing for a compliment.
Submitted by Xxxxx Xxxxxxx (Xxxx_Xxxxxxx_23@yahoo.com) on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 at 05:45:20 PM
I was just wondering if you could send me a listing of all the top colleges that are heavenly recruiting
Many religious schools in Division III but I think most are recruiting living players. No, seriously, spelling aside, we get this question a lot and we are not a recruiting service.
I sometimes feel bad sharing some of the stuff I get, but it can be anywhere from comical to sad.
And of course there are the very sane, helpful, truly inquisitive and people you actually might want to meet along the way who write in too, but a lot of the correspondence is downright strange.
Keep it coming though! It’s great to know you’re out there.
Yep — just wanted to share a sampling of what people were thinking. I’m OK with people venting.
“Heavenly recruiting”? That’s just gotta be St. John’s and the Benedictines. No wonder they win so many games. The Lutherans try, but so far the Ninety-Five Theses can’t hold a candle [!] to St. Gags. 😉
Regarding recruiting though, there is a thread on Post Patterns called Parents with Children Looking to Play in D3 (http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4015.0) which may or may not be of service to those who are just discovering this level for the first time.
We can tell you what playing D3 football is like. What we don’t do is tell you where you or your son should go. The message board is full of brains to pick and links around the site should take you anywhere you want to go though.
I suppose one could make an argument as to Rowan’s ranking, but comparng them to Union (who has been nothing but unimpressive) isn’t where I’d start.
Rowan does seem to struggle during the regular season most years, but they usually around come playoff time. They are good for a win or two in the post-season many times. Their conference is not very good once you get past Rowan and Cortland and that might be their problem in the post-season.
Union has had several close games, but the much maligned Liberty League is tough this year. It is not just Hobart, Union and RPI in 2006.
I don’t know who the guy thinks is being ignored, but I think that this site has consistently overlooked and under rated NY football. The Empire 8 (7 plus Springfield) and the Liberty League do very well in non-league match-ups and usually win a couple of NCAA games. A New York team has not gotten beyond the 1/4 finals in years, but the explanation for the lack of a strong showing by Wisconsin schools by this site in the past has been that they play tough non-league schedules and beat each other up in the league.
We really don’t know if the Wisconsin schools play tough non-league schedules, because most of their games are against NAIA and Divsion IAA teams. Many Division IAA teams are not very good, and the NAIA teams are an unknown, because they don’t play many NCAA teams.
The rankings by this site consistently place the NY schools lower than in the AFCA rankings. This week is a good example of that. St. John Fisher, Ithaca, Union, RPI, Hobart and others have had strong programs for years. They play each other in some of the best games in the east each year and they deserve more respect than they get.
Besides traditional games like Coast Guard-Kings Point, Cortland-Ithaca and RPI-Union, some of the oldest and most intense rivalries in the region, other great match-ups include Alfred-Hobart, Hobart-Ithaca, Brockport-Buffalo State, Springfield-Ithaca and others. These are the two best leagues in the east and should be rated above the NJAC and others.
“The rankings by this site consistently place the NY schools lower than in the AFCA rankings.”
November and December seem to bear that out most years. Not only has NY not gotten out of the quarterfinals in three years (I think you’re slighting RPI 2003 with your assessment), it hasn’t even gotten into the quarterfinals the past two years. Food for thought.
“Their conference is not very good once you get past Rowan and Cortland and that might be their problem in the post-season.”
Tell me what their postseason problem is? Being better than everyone else in the East? Why is it that a weak bottom of the NJAC hurts national semifinalist Rowan but an allegedly stronger LL and E8 can’t get teams past Rowan or Del Val the past two seasons?
You’re not really making any sense. Plus, we’ve covered NY more the past two years than ever before. I think you’re living in the past a bit here.
Pat & Co.,
I’m sure you realize, but there are definitely more silent fans of the site than there are vocal complainers. It’s unfortunate, but true in a lot of settings.
Keep up the good work!!
kid,
You’re right. I’m tremendously impressed by the committment of Pat, Keith, Gordon, et al to sate our D3 appetites. I’ve always believed their opinions are based on analysis as objective as any human can be. And I don’t have to agree with them to cheer on my favorite. Even more important, their opinion has absolutely no influence on the performance of my favorite or anyone else’s favorite.
The purpose of this site, of any similar site for that matter, is to allow individuals like us to opine, pound our chests in typical macho fashion, and otherwise tout the merits of our viewpoint. Perhaps most importantly, it’s a great opportunity to vent our emotions which are undoubtedly wound tight with all that is going on in our crazy world.
responding to emolian: well spoken…add one more New York State game to your rivalry list…and a non-leaguer…SUNY Brockport and SUNY Cortland…that has become a great early season game to get the juices flowin’ for both teams.
I’m sorry to go back a few weeks, but I’ve been out of town.
In response to Pat’s explanation of the coverage of NY Football, it has improved and increased a bit in the past couple of years. I think that is a tribute to the knowledge and commitment of the D3.com organization. My point is that it is still not commensurate with the level of play and the quality of teams in upstate New York.
As to Rowan’s “post-season problem” as I put it; that was a mistake on my part. They have consistently played deeper into the post-season than any other team in the east. They have not been able to get over the hump and win a national championship, but that does not diminish their accomplishements; five Stagg Bowl appearances and three semi-final appearances in the last five seasons. I stand by my original point that the NJAC lacks depth.
The E8 (Ithaca, St John fisher) and the Liberty League (Hobart, Union, RPI) have sent five different NY teams to the NCAA Tournament the past five years. Add nationally-ranked Cortland and you have a total of six teams from Upstate NY that have played in the NCAA’s recently. The E8 (3-3) and Liberty (7-9) have records that compare very favorably to the WIAC, the conference that started this discussion a couple of years ago.
Whitewater’s 4-1 record and Stagg Bowl appearance last fall improved the WIAC record to 7-8 in the NCAA’s.
If you also consider Alfred, Brockport and Buff State, this region can hold its own with any in the country. Division III football is strong and competitive in Upstate New York. I still believe that it deserves more coverage. That is not a slight to your site or your staff. Just an opinion from a Division III football fan.
http://campus.hws.edu/upstate/