ATN Podcast 304: Mules in Spain; Meeting Peter Jennings

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Pat Coleman

We are under 100 days until the kickoff of the 2022 season and as the offseason continues, so does our series of conversations with new Division III coaches at nationally prominent schools. This month, we chat with Peter Jennings, who moved this spring from UW-Whitewater, where he was offensive coordinator, to become head coach at UW-Oshkosh. He talks about competing in the toughest league in Division III — and in the WIAC, that isn’t just coachspeak, it’s verifiable.

Before we get to him, though, we have a guest calling in from Barcelona, Spain. That’s where Muhlenberg was this week, playing a local club team and generally soaking up the atmosphere oceanside, seeing the sights, and learning some history. Nate Milne, the Mules head coach, sounds like a history teacher when he talks about the importance of taking his team on a foreign tour, and that’s for good reason.

Plus, Pat and Greg have some advice for someone who might go to Spain and not bring their spouse, Peter Jennings discusses the proper pronunciation of WIAC, and we answer listener questions: Which conference is most likely to suffer because of fewer at-large bids? Will a one-dimensional team ever win the national title again?

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.

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Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photo: Muhlenberg football

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ATN Podcast 303: New UMHB coach; scheduling big; SOS

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Pat Coleman

We’re continuing our offseason series diving into interviews with new coaches at Division III football powers, as we check in with Larry Harmon, the new head coach of the defending national champion, Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Much like last month’s guest, new North Central coach Brad Spencer, Harmon had been an assistant coach at his school for years, including defensive coordinator for the past 17. Harmon talks about what the expectations are for the Cru’s title defense, the transition into taking over the UMHB program, and what the team learned from spring ball. Plus, UMHB made some of the biggest news of the Division III offseason in April, announcing an ambitious non-conference schedule of Muhlenberg and UW-Whitewater.

Plus, three words: ASC-WIAC Challenge?! Sounds like it could happen.

That leads us into the other podcast conversation, where we dive into exactly what strength of schedule means, why it’s broken, and what it would take to fix it. We have that conversation with Logan Hansen, @LogHanRatings, the former Wartburg player whose ratings have been refined over the past decade to provide a quality ranking of Division III football programs.

The current SOS metric could take a couple of minor tweaks to fix obvious flaws, and we talk about those, but it needs a wholesale replacement which involves measuring home-field advantage, and yes, margin of victory. Logan talks about how that works, why running up the score won’t work, and much more in our conversation.

Plus, Pat and Greg talk about the various big games on the schedules that have been announced so far.

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Photo: North Central athletics

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ATN Podcast 302: Are the Purple Powers still at the top, plus, North Central’s new coach

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Pat Coleman

The podcast is back, as we start our 16th season here at the D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast, and we’re doing it this time around by going a little more in-depth and doing a deeper dive with one coach, in one conversation.

With that in mind, Pat Coleman stopped by in Naperville, Illinois, on a recent Division III basketball road trip and checked in on new North Central coach Brad Spencer. Spencer had been in the job for six weeks, but had only just moved into the head coach office a day and a half earlier. He and Pat talk about Spencer’s long relationship with North Central — not just as an assistant coach, not just as a player, but … as a bat boy? Plus, they talk about what makes the head coaching job different, what keeps him from getting his lunch eaten on a daily basis, getting to know the guys on the other side of the ball, etc.

Also, Pat and Greg borrowed a couple of “big picture” type questions which come from D3boards.com message board posters MUC57. Are the Purple Powers still on top in Division III? Why is the WIAC so good? You know, that sort of thing. Great offseason conversation and fodder. Plus, there’s just a small amount of basketball talk, as Pat and Greg recorded this episode while looking at each other during, as each was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the Division III men’s basketball Final Four.

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