Category Archives: Around the Nation

Our Around the Nation column takes on the world of podcasting.

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ATN Podcast 327: How do we fix the playoffs?

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We’ve been talking about it for a year now: This upcoming 2023 football season will have just four at-large bids. It’s getting harder and harder to make the NCAA Division III football playoffs as an at-large team, there’s no denying it.

Before it gets even worse, this is the time that Division III administrators need to recognize the issues and act on them. Is the answer to expand the playoffs beyond 32 teams, into a sixth week? Where does this week come from? Or is the answer to raise the bar, so that a conference needs seven or eight teams to get a football automatic bid instead of the current ludicrous six?

We surveyed Division III football head coaches for their opinions. And we convened a roundtable of Division III experts to talk through the issues and tell us what needs to be done next. That’s why this edition of the podcast is a little longer — here’s who we hear from:

  • Michelle Morgan, athletic director, John Carroll, former co-chair of the Division III Management Council
  • Brad Bankston, commissioner, Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and former chair of the Division III Championships Committee as well as the Division III Football Championships Committee
  • Jim Catanzaro, head football coach, Lake Forest, and former chair of the Division III Football Championships Committee
  • Jerheme Urban, head football coach, Trinity (Texas)
  • Sherm Wood, head football coach, Salisbury

Plus, Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas give you their assessment, Greg puts Pat on the spot, and we attempt to answer the question of where does the American Southwest Conference go to find more football teams?

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast [ 1:27:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Links mentioned in this podcast:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos by Dan Hunter, Steve Frommell, Caleb Williams, d3photography.com

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ATN Podcast 326: Stagg Bowl, players of the year, our wish list

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And just like that, the 2022 season, arguably the greatest season in NCAA Division III football history, is in the books. But before the podcast goes into offseason mode and becomes a monthly show, we do what we always do at the end of the season — discuss, debate if necessary, and determine the D3football.com final awards: D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year, D3football.com Defensive Player of the Year, D3football.com Coach of the Year. Some of these debates were quick, while others took some time, but listen and find out why we landed on who we did.

Plus, of course, you get our team’s reaction to results of Stagg Bowl XLIX: a game in which North Central scored the first 21 points and then had to hold on as Mount Union came charging back. And you get to find out what Keith McMillan wants to be known as going forward, and what our holiday wish list is for next season and beyond/

Pat Coleman, Greg Thomas, former co-host Keith McMillan and guest Frank Rossi of In the D3FB Huddle talk through it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast [ 46:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Links mentioned in this podcast:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos by Larry Radloff, Jeffrey Levy, Dean Reid, Tom Nettleton, d3photography.com

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ATN Podcast 325: Most wonderful time of the year

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The Stagg Bowl comes around holiday time and really is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time when you can’t duck questions any longer, and we talk with both head coaches and offensive and defensive players on both teams in this Stagg Bowl preview podcast.

On the air with us: Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt, wide receiver Wayne Ruby and linebacker Mason McMillen; plus North Central coach Brad Spencer, running back Ethan Greenfield, quarterback Luke Lehnen and cornerback Antwain Walker.

This edition of the podcast is sponsored by the hosts of Stagg Bowl XLIX, and we look forward to seeing all of you in Annapolis, Maryland, for the Division III football championship game on Dec. 16.

Pat Coleman, Greg Thomas and guest Frank Rossi of In the D3FB Huddle talk through it all, give their predictions on not just who will win, but a couple of key stats as well.

Plus, Pat breaks some news in the first 90 seconds of the podcast, plus he takes a few minutes to tell exactly why Stagg Bowl season is the most wonderful time of the year. You won’t want to miss it!

This is the second of three podcasts to come this week. The following one will drop on Saturday morning and give our breakdown of the game, plus our rationale as to why we chose whomever we end up choosing as our Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast [ 56:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Links mentioned in this podcast:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photo by Pat Coleman, D3sports.com