My hopes for 2007

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The year 2006 was absolutely fantastic for D3football.com. We were able to do a lot of things, such as send Keith McMillan on the Run to the Playoffs, literally around the nation. I got to see a handful of different programs and places this season thanks to my new geography. We were able to participate in the NCAA’s live videocast of the semifinals. And Kickoff 2006 followed in the successful footsteps of Kickoff 2005.

With a great 2006 behind us, here’s some hopes and wishes for 2007:

More video: We’re at the mercy of some larger organizations on this one, hoping the NCAA will add Division III to the program it put together for Division II football, streaming some 40 games on the Net through CSTV. There are also still streaming companies who are trying to get D-III conferences interested. Conferences — look at this offer and get your schools on board. It benefits the entire division.

More teams: The 2007 season welcomes Birmingham-Southern, St. Vincent and Gallaudet. Gallaudet is attempting to return to the intercollegiate fold … again … from club status. Gallaudet hasn’t won a varsity game since 1991. Birmingham-Southern is moving up to Division III from Division I, in a decision that caused a great deal of rancor on campus and from the scholarship athletes. We hope for a peaceful transition and some football success. St. Vincent is joining Division III from the NAIA and will be in the second year of provisional status next season. And St. Scholastica has announced it will add football for 2008. The more the merrier.

More participation: We hear from more and more readers every year, and we would hope 2007 continues the trend. But the trend in recent years, too, has been not just more posters and blog comments but more sites run by fans dedicated to specific teams. Wabash started team blogs this year, including football. A Gettysburg fan blogs about their team, though it’s mostly a collection of the writings of others. Of course, there are several fan sites, including ones for Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, Cortland State, Bridgewater and others. But anyone can start a blog — perhaps it might be interesting for you to start one as a fan of a team you might think is underrepresented. Citizen journalism is a big buzzword in the media these days and you fans out there can join the group. Get video of your team and put it on YouTube.

More Martel: OK, well, this isn’t very likely — I’m sitting here late night/early morning listening to D3football.com audio director emeritus Ray Martel hosting an overnight talk show shift on WFAN. He and I started doing football games together in 1994. Been a while now.

More aggressive scheduling: Mary Hardin-Baylor/UW-Whitewater and Linfield/Hardin-Simmons were great games this year. Wouldn’t it be great to see more of this? The automatic bid is coaches’ safety net. Take more chances.

More willingness to follow own rules: Yeah, it’s OK to have Millsaps and Mary Hardin-Baylor be within 500 miles by your own definition but ignore it? Uh uh. The NCAA should live by its own handbook.

What would you like to see more of in 2007? (This is not promising we’ll be able to deliver, of course.) 🙂

Memo to the other 233: Better step it up!

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I’ve been asked this question more this year than any other, and it usually takes one of a couple of forms:
Isn’t it boring if the same team wins all the time?
Don’t you hate that Mount Union wins every year?

Is it boring? Ehh, probably a little bit.

Do I hate it? Nah, not at all. We’re watching one of the greatest dynasties of our day. It’s not like Mount Union 2002 and Mount Union 2005 have anything in common. Each year is a little different.

However, what I don’t like in Division III football is when we enter the season with Mount Union’s championship being a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, it looks like 2007 is shaping up to be one of those years. Mount Union loses a key piece in Justen Stickley, but the Purple Raiders have proven that offensive linemen are replaceable and Greg Micheli returns, as does Nate Kmic and Pierre Garcon.

Everywhere else you look, teams are losing key pieces. UW-Whitewater loses its coach, its quarterback, three of its four starting defensive linemen, its No. 1 receiver. Capital loses the only quarterback they’ve had during this run of impressive seasons. St. John Fisher loses the best running back in school history and its top tackler. And those are just a few of the key names on the list.

So this is the challenge I throw out to the other 233 Division III teams. Show us something, please. Give us something to be excited about. Move your game to the next level. Otherwise fans outside of Alliance will be hitting the snooze button and waiting for 2008.

Or 2009.

Final thoughts on Salem

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Bob Berezowitz came up to me after the game and asked when our All-American team came out. When I told him it came out just before the game, he asked, “Did Kleppe make it?”

Hmm, yes, Ryan Kleppe was first team All-American and our Defensive Player of the Year. The Whitewater program had taken the AFCA All-American snub pretty hard, all things considered. Three state school players in the starting 22 for the AFCA (they only name a first team), six in ours.

Thos who talk about coaches reviewing film (by the way, does anyone still use film and a projector these days?) and make superior choices should use this as a guide. Kleppe’s value was far more evident on video or in person than on a stat sheet.

In the end, no All-American team is superior to any of the others. Some are more prestigious. Some involve less politics. Some are so large they aren’t worth the shirt they’re printed on for you to buy.

But in the end, it only seems fitting that Berezowitz was looking out for the best interests of his players.

THE GAME: You may have been to Salem once or twice. Maybe you haven’t been there in a few years. But if you haven’t, and you’re downplaying the experience based on your one or two trips in, you’re missing the boat.

Here’s what Salem has done for the game that you don’t know about:
Some things were done a long time ago, such as adding more lights and press box space. Most people have seen those in action.
However, if you haven’t been to Salem in the past two seasons, you might not realize that the stadium has a new scoreboard and there is now a large video screen stationed behind one of the end zones for the Stagg Bowl.

An elevator was installed last year to expand access to seating for wheelchairs and those who need help getting around.

This year, the locker rooms were completely overhauled with individual lockers installed for players.

Next year, there will be field turf. In fact, the grass may be coming out as we speak — while most wouldn’t commit to it happening, one person close to the field said the process could start as soon as Monday, today.

Here’s what the NCAA has done for the game that you don’t know about:
The home office’s liaison for Division III football, who has taken the moniker “Idiots of the First Magnitude” that was applied by a person posting a comment to the blog, was behind Division III getting the later time slot and the game on ESPN.

Fans realize that there was a video broadcast of the national semifinals last week. Since we promoted it heavily and our voices were involved, we’ve been getting a lot of credit, but in fact, that’s the NCAA’s doing. They paid for the video and got it done. We just did the talking.

There is probably more I don’t know about or have forgotten to mention.

THE LEGACY: With all apologies to Kenyon, it’s time we started talking about Mount Union football in John Wooden-like terms. This dominance of a major sport is approaching UCLA men’s basketball proportions. We should be talking about Larry Kehres in epic terms that transcend the sport of football, and he should be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible.