Tag Archives: WIAC

Game Day: An early look at purple

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The state of Division III football is that Mount Union is forever December-relevant. But in September? Usually we can just presume that the Purple Raiders will get through the regular season unbeaten. (They’ve only lost one regular-season game in the history of D3football.com, after all.)

Now UW-Whitewater has joined Mount Union in that echelon, we’re going to devote a little extra time to covering the two purple powerhouses. When our new site launches, you’ll see that on game day. But in the interim, heck, Mount Union is playing a game just five hours from one of our gurus. Shouldn’t we be there?

So when Neil Seaman makes his first start for the Purple Raiders on Saturday, and they debut a former Kent State regular at defensive tackle and another transfer at corner, sure, we want to be there to see what it looks like.

Great games in the Keystone State (that’s Pennsylvania, for those of you who haven’t seen the license plates) and out West, plus many places in between. Pat Coleman is at the Mount Union/UW-Oshkosh game. Keith McMillan is at Coast Guard/Merchant Marine (after taking in the Western Connecticut/SUNY-Maritime game Friday night), Gordon Mann is at Delaware Valley/Washington and Jefferson and Ryan Tipps is at North Carolina Wesleyan/Hampden-Sydney.

Join the conversation!

ATN podcast: Welcome to 2010

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There’s one question that’s on pretty much everyone’s mind when it comes to the Division III football season: Can Mount Union and UW-Whitewater do it again, after meeting in the Stagg Bowl for each of the past five seasons?

The bad news? Sure, they can. But will they? That’s what we should really be asking. And in the first podcast of the 2010 season, Around the Nation columnist Keith McMillan and D3football.com executive editor Pat Coleman ask that question, and talk over the possible answers. Plus, get a preview of where you can find our gurus on the road this season and more.

Click the play button below to listen.

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Conference cost cutters

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Economic problems have not spared Division III member institutions. Financial struggles have claimed Colorado College and Blackburn football, are close to claiming UW-La Crosse baseball and are threatening Greensboro College entirely.

Note: Principia also discontinued football but has publicly stated finances were not the reason.

Against that backdrop, some conferences are taking measures to cut costs. The WIAC announced a Cost Reduction Plan especially targeted at cutting travel costs. Elements of the Plan include:

• Later start times to minimize hotel stays
• Conference playoffs limited to six teams
• Restricting teams to no more than one trip during the regular-season outside of an established regional perimeter.
• Exploring the feasibility of scheduling one additional WIAC football team as a nonconference game beginning with the 2011 season.

The Conference’s release cites $250,000 in direct budget savings associated with these moves, but it’s hard to spot exactly how it impacts football or basketball in 2009-2010. The men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were already at six teams last year. Conference Commissioner Gary Karner clarified that the regional perimeter is not defined by the administrative regions (west for football and men’s basketball; central for women’s basketball) so games against the CCIW, MIAC and MWC aren’t effected. The regional perimeter is also not defined by the very broad geographic region that stretches from Texas to California anyway. Of course, the WIAC is much more than three sports, so these actions may very well have a stronger impact elsewhere.

Nevertheless, this is a good move that seeks a conference-wide solution instead of leaving individual institutions to fend for themselves with whatever level of resources they have. Since all these public institutions have the same resource base (Wisconsin tax payers), equity is particularly important.

Members of the Centennial Conference are also working together to reduce costs. Executive Director Steve Ulrich reports that the Conference will limit the size of travel squads to the NCAA championship max plus 20 percent and change starting times to avoid overnight trips. Other measures will impact Conference championships in indoor track and field and golf. Two conference members also had a unique swim meet in which both teams were the home teams.