'17-18 PATRIOT LEAGUE SCHEDULE

It isn't HC making the schedule, it's the league office, and they have 10 masters to serve with the same parameters to apply to each. As such, what everybody gets in the end is a compromise they'll have to accept.

Tell your dad I'm looking forward to sitting with him at the Lafayette game.

I'll be sure to brief him on your comments. Since I was there, does that make me one? I'm very proud to have worked there, and they're still my colleagues through other projects. Even if you don't agree with some of the things they do, they're professionals and deserve respect.

From what I recall, it was senior staff who worked on the schedules based on certain parameters set forth by administrators with feedback from coaches. Your best bet is to reach out to ADNP or one of the senior level staffers at HC and ask your questions - I doubt you'd hear anything from the league if you reached out. It's not state secrets they're protecting, but it's not their place to share specific discussions or reasoning unless they're told to.

I was not a scheduler when I was there, I worked in communications. Where I am now, I do more with creating schedules. 

Generally speaking from the conference perspective, schedules are created via parameters set mainly by people from campus - typically coaches and administrators. Once created, the schedules have to go through levels of administrator approval with representatives from all of the campuses having the opportunity to weigh in. If a coach, AD or other admin from a campus has a question or issue with a schedule, there are plenty of opportunities to provide feedback. In the end, as with just about everything from a conference perspective, it isn't the conference saying unilaterally "here it is, deal with it," it's the schools themselves coming to an agreement on a way in which to execute an initiative - schedules, policies, how to conduct championships, whatever. Afterwards, the schools hand it to the conference and essentially say, "Help us make this happen."

Typically, schedules are built several years in advance. You have to look at the big picture with conference schedules and not as each year in its own individual bubble. And while this isn't always the case, there's typically some rotations built in over the course of several years, which is why I can think back to seeing HC/Lafayette games in Easton on both Saturdays and Wednesdays in years past.

Happy to answer questions as best I can. I feel there are many assumptions made about how business is conducted and if there times when I can provide some level of clarity, I'm happy to make the attempt.

To answer your last question, it depends entirely on what you're trying to achieve. From a strictly travel standpoint, it would make sense IMO for HC and BU to play during the week to limit the incursion on the class schedule. However, it appears HC and BU are putting forth a concerted effort to make the Turnpike Trophy mean something between the institutions, to build awareness and generate some interest and attendance, and that might be why the games are on weekends now. It's not uncommon for schools to make requests to play certain opponents on specific days/dates. But that's another example or a request/parameter that comes into play when creating a schedule. And the more parameters you put in place, the numbers of available workable combinations decreases and it becomes a harder puzzle to crack.

Try building a schedule with an odd number of teams where everybody gets a bye and you have to keep a final exam schedule in mind. Welcome to spring scheduling.

How pathetic is it that Boston University has no football team and no baseball team.......

How is that working out for the hockey and basketball teams?