|
|
Post by hc87 on Sept 5, 2019 22:18:54 GMT -5
I think some of the NESCAC schools are better regarded academically than some of the Ivies actually....undergraduate wise anyway.
We are sort of caught in the Twilight Zone...we're trying to compete at a D1 level but we have had sort of a NESCAC mindset in doing so i.e.participating % ovah success in athletics in general
|
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Sept 6, 2019 0:01:54 GMT -5
I'd like to see the Pope do something clear and decisive for once: declare HC going D-3 Heresy.
I had a business colleague who played football at Tufts. He loved to bring it up but people's eyes glassed over. Nobody followed the Jumbos.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Sept 6, 2019 6:12:15 GMT -5
I think some of the NESCAC schools are better regarded academically than some of the Ivies actually....undergraduate wise anyway. We are sort of caught in the Twilight Zone...we're trying to compete at a D1 level but we have had sort of a NESCAC mindset in doing so i.e.participating % ovah success in athletics in general Its less of a NESCAC mindset than a student enrollment that is in the very bottom tranche of Division I. ____________________________________ True story. Fenwick was not the sharpest knife in the Jesuit drawer. Frustrated that he could not establish a college in Boston (the anti-Papists of that day saw to that) he sought to buy land in northern Aroostook County to establish his college, --as far from Boston as he could get, and closer to the Indians (and the Catholics in Quebec?). Other Jesuits talked him out of it, and he then settled on Father Fitton's school in Worcester. But if he had actually built a campus in northern Aroostook County, that school would have fit the geographic remoteness of most NESCAC institutions. As his college was no longer in Boston, he could not name it Boston College, so he chose Holy Cross after his cathedral in Boston. Fenwick was either oblivious or indifferent to the fact that the Holy Cross church in Boston was originally named by its founder, a French abbe named Claude Bouchard de la Poterie, who was virulently (and that is an understatement) anti-Jesuit. And the supposed relic of the true cross that Abbe Bouchard brought with him as he supposedly deserted from a French naval squadron visiting Boston is a fraud; the relic is still quietly venerated in the cathedral. Abbe Bouchard is an interesting story, but I'll save that for another day. |
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Sept 6, 2019 6:30:34 GMT -5
I don't think it matters to NESCAC athletes, schools and alums that their D-III athletic exploits are not nationally known.
Always thought as a Catholic undergraduate liberal arts college we were not in the same category/grouping of the secular LACs (even today prospective students don't categorize us with that secular group, hence the lack of applicant overlap).
I have heard the same stories over the years that HC (and alums) frequently fall prey to Ivy-envy, BC/VU-envy and NESCAC-envy. We are not in those groups and there should be no expectation that we should/would be.
|
|
|
|
Post by td128 on Sept 6, 2019 7:00:13 GMT -5
As I have told many an HC alum and/or administrators over the years who have clearly been of a mind to want HC as a NESCAC school, "If I wanted to go to a NESCAC school such as Middlebury, Tufts, Williams, or Wesleyan then I would have gone there. Beyond that, if you want to be at a NESCAC school perhaps you should do just that. All the best."
The conversation typically ends at that juncture.
LET'S WIN!!
|
|
|
|
Post by joe on Sept 6, 2019 8:43:24 GMT -5
The kind of football player that gets recruited by HC throws away the letters from NESCAC schools. Clear enough? Sorry that's just how it goes. I'm with TD on this.
|
|
|
|
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Sept 6, 2019 9:40:57 GMT -5
VU surely refers to Villanova University not Virginia Union--guessing your comment must be tongue-in-cheek
|
|
|
|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Sept 7, 2019 18:52:16 GMT -5
Bucknell down two scores against SHU. Monmouth wins their 40th in a row over the PL. Gilmore not looking like a threat against Nova with game entering second half. Georgetown with a bounce back week pounding Marist. Fordham got off to a strobg start but ultimately outclassed at Ball State.
With today's win against UNH, we are now the the early favorite to win the PL. Let that sink in.
Dont be surprised if Lafayette wins 4 league games this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by hc87 on Sept 7, 2019 20:15:51 GMT -5
Baby steps, HC and GTown with Ws, everybody else goes down, mostly badly.
League is still in a bad way this year....good for HC
|
|
|
|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Sept 7, 2019 20:49:53 GMT -5
I think some of the NESCAC schools are better regarded academically than some of the Ivies actually....undergraduate wise anyway. We are sort of caught in the Twilight Zone...we're trying to compete at a D1 level but we have had sort of a NESCAC mindset in doing so i.e.participating % ovah success in athletics in general The top NESCAC schools probably povide the best undergraduate education you can find in the US. Holy Cross is right there IMO. The Ivies and the Dukes, Vanderbilts and Northwesterns of the world are more geared toward the graduate programs. Sure the name prestige is there at the undergraduate level but the top talent at these institutions faculty-wise can be found in the med schools, law schools, Masters and PHD programs. |
|
|
|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Sept 8, 2019 7:27:02 GMT -5
NEC 3-0 against the PL
NEC 2-2 against Division II opponents
|
|
|
|
Post by trimster on Sept 8, 2019 7:45:46 GMT -5
NEC 3-0 against the PL NEC 2-2 against Division II opponents Take a minute and let that one sink in. |
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Sept 8, 2019 7:57:05 GMT -5
The SHU (NEC) 30-10 win over Bucknell was pretty one-sided. Last year Bucknell’s loss (30-14) seemed more competitive. So PL’s Bucknell may be even worse this year. And they were bad last year.
Lehigh’s loss to Nova was not nearly as close as the 38-10 score may indicate as VU called off the dogs early in the 4th. Nova is not a great measuring stick but Lehigh’s not very good either.
|
|
|
|
Post by rgs318 on Sept 8, 2019 8:06:26 GMT -5
I have to believe that TG will make Lehigh better as their new head coach...just not this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by hcpride on Sept 8, 2019 8:09:23 GMT -5
/\ Substantial improvement will depend on recruiting and as much as I personally admire the man, I don’t believe that is a strength. (I do think at some point he’ll make them better than last season’s performance.)
|
|
|
|
Post by purplepig on Sept 8, 2019 9:06:12 GMT -5
Any solutions?
No.
|
|
|
|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Sept 8, 2019 9:14:52 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by gks on Sept 8, 2019 12:03:22 GMT -5
I could care less about the rest of the PL. If I was HC I'd announce we are giving the full 63 scholarships and blow up the 90 player roster limit. The league will do nothing just like they have in the past when a school does what's best for them.
|
|
|
|
Post by realism on Sept 8, 2019 12:27:42 GMT -5
It is up to each school to take the steps to build winning football teams as have Colgate and Lehigh in recent memory. These schools have shown that it can be done within the rules and structure of the league. Observing the "double whammy" of criticism of the league ( every season ) and ignoring all of HC's continuing missteps is what makes Crossports entertaining to informed observers. And John Brooks decisions were merely the opening chapter. There seems to be an on-going unsettled institutional athletic identity crisis and a governing system incapable of doing anything but throwing bandaids on the problems---- hoping to defer addressing the deeper structural needs. This admission that mediocrity is "good enough," where it can be achieved, is the real HC brand. "The PL" is always the easy target, especially for the "low Information" posters who consider Crossposts itself to be a "Participation Sport.".--no prerequisite current knowledge required ....Rinse, Recycle, Repeat. |
|
|
|
Post by gks on Sept 8, 2019 13:32:28 GMT -5
I could care less about the rest of the PL. If I was HC I'd announce we are giving the full 63 scholarships and blow up the 90 player roster limit. The league will do nothing just like they have in the past when a school does what's best for them. I don't think that it is necessary for HC to have an advantage in the # of scholarships for the Crusaders to win the PL. My guess is that some PL schools do not want to expend the $ for the extra schollies for reasons financial, Title 9 (gender equality, 3more schollies for women's teams.) and involving overall emphasis on football. However, I am in total agreement with your wholehearted, admirable enthusiasm for HC success. Go Cross Go. LoveHC My problem with the PL is the way the purposely handcuff themselves...and for no reason. Ask the coaches if three extra scholarships would help. The biggest problem is the 90 player cap though. I firmly believe that the school Presidents in the PL are afraid to win and win consistently. Maybe save for Colgate. |
|
|
|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Sept 8, 2019 14:31:04 GMT -5
90 player cap definitely the problem.
Look at the quality of teams Lehigh out on the field from 1998-2004, Holy Cross 2007-2009 and Colgate in 2003 with ZERO scholarships. The difference between 60 and 63 is nothing.
|
|
|
|
Post by bfoley82 on Sept 8, 2019 16:02:22 GMT -5
NEC 3-0 against the PL NEC 2-2 against Division II opponents Central Conn struggled last night with Merrimack needing a field goal with eight seconds left to win. Central had beaten Fordham last weekend. |
|
|
|
Post by efg72 on Sept 8, 2019 16:26:12 GMT -5
I know we aren’t going to end this thread given the desire to find the best option for HC athletics
With that said once we start winning again, in all sports, the PL plus a robust OOC schedule will be fine, albeit perhaps not the best option. The conference only comes into play because of the past and current history, but I believe winning solves many of the problems faced by the school.
I am not a fan of the decision to join and remain in the Colonial/Patriot League, or rejecting the option of the Big East, but I have worked in companies and government and understand incremental changes can become monumental today and into the future.
I am not sure what 2022-2030 might bring to Crusader athletics, but winning and support offers options. We should focus on what we can do to influence the Administration and Board to fully embrace athletics and our current engagement with our partners in the PL. Taking on other issues won’t move the ball forward. I believe engaging MB, COB and the President is the best path forward, even if it takes a few years. If we don’t do this, I can’t imagine anybody else taking it on-if we reach out to Mark, George, Ralph, Ronnie and others this can happen-and yes I am the glass full guy and willing to call them this week to get moving
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2019 19:01:34 GMT -5
NEC 3-0 against the PL NEC 2-2 against Division II opponents I know it's easy to have a bias towards the "time that you played", but has the talent level severely dropped across the FCS? After watching the UNH game, I was kinda blown away with how inept both offenses were (schematics, offensive weapons, overall talent, speed, execution, competitive spirit, etc). Since it's happening in the PL and in the CAA, is this a byproduct of less kids playing high school football? Is it harder to land the Steve Silva's, Ari Confessor's, Dom Randolph's, etc because those type of players are drawn into Ivy and lower tier FBS since it has expanded greatly in the past 10 years? |
|
|
|
Post by efg72 on Sept 8, 2019 19:08:29 GMT -5
NEC 3-0 against the PL NEC 2-2 against Division II opponents I know it's easy to have a bias towards the "time that you played", but has the talent level severely dropped across the FCS? After watching the UNH game, I was kinda blown away with how inept both offenses were (schematics, offensive weapons, overall talent, speed, execution, competitive spirit, etc). Since it's happening in the PL and in the CAA, is this a byproduct of less kids playing high school football? Is it harder to land the Steve Silva's, Ari Confessor's, Dom Randolph's, etc because those type of players are drawn into Ivy and lower tier FBS since it has expanded greatly in the past 10 years? Hobbs and others are on board don’t think that is our issue-in fact I would argue the opposite. I think the talent brought in for football the past two years at HC, Colgate and yes Georgetown is better than I have seen over the last 10 years |
|
