D3 football

[Sparty Jones]

I can’t say enough about D3 football, and D3 sports in general. The kids are out there for the love of the game, obviously. No scandals, no pulling scholarships, etc. Academics first. Seeing my son get to ring the Monon Bell this Saturday as DePauw beat Wabash was second to none. It’s great to read about all these kids we talk about getting D1 rides and all the accolades, but man D3 is a great option for many kids. If you haven’t been out to a D3 game you’re really missing out.

 

[gebronco]

Agreed Sparty. And if looking for a non high-school game this weekend both North Central and Wheaton college host first round D3 playoff games this weekend.

 

[redmen85]

Also, a pretty good level of football played.
If you like playing football, why not go somewhere that you can actually play football!

 

[superac777]

Judson University in Elgin is/has started football

 

[mmca]

I can’t say enough about D3 football, and D3 sports in general. The kids are out there for the love of the game, obviously. No scandals, no pulling scholarships, etc. Academics first. Seeing my son get to ring the Monon Bell this Saturday as DePauw beat Wabash was second to none. It’s great to read about all these kids we talk about getting D1 rides and all the accolades, but man D3 is a great option for many kids. If you haven’t been out to a D3 game you’re really missing out.

Great win for Depauw!!! Exciting finish with a TD in the last 40 seconds. Congratulations to your son! I was fortunate to ring the bell two years in a row!! It's hard to beat the Monon Bell Rivalry!

 

[HRCJR]

Here is a great DIII Football site: https://www.d3football.com/landing/index

 

[USD24]

BIg fan of D3 football. Had the opportunity to get to a couple games this fall. Great experience. Congrats to your son. I drove through the DePauw campus this summer. Absolutely beautiful. One of the nicest small campuses you will find.

 

[missingwalter]

I've been enjoying following D3 this season, been to a couple games, plan on going to NCC this weekend.

 

[superac777]

I miss the 80’s with the Juco Football.Moraine Valley,Joliet.Jr College,Rock Valley,Illinois Valley & so many others.I also remember NE Illinois College having football pulling the plug as it was getting going

 

[ClownBaby]

Agreed Sparty. And if looking for a non high-school game this weekend both North Central and Wheaton college host first round D3 playoff games this weekend.

Wheaton is outstanding this year and have legitimate shot of making the championship game. NC offense is wrecking teams this year unfortunately they draw Mt Union in the 2nd round but last time they played them they came within 45 seconds of pulling the upset so you never know.

 

[missingwalter]

Wheaton is outstanding this year and have legitimate shot of making the championship game. NC offense is wrecking teams this year unfortunately they draw Mt Union in the 2nd round but last time they played them they came within 45 seconds of pulling the upset so you never know.

When we were at NCC earlier this season, Thorne specifically mentioned Mount Union and their program as elite. I was kind of disappointed to see them match up in round 2 (potentially).

 

[ClownBaby]

When we were at NCC earlier this season, Thorne specifically mentioned Mount Union and their program as elite. I was kind of disappointed to see them match up in round 2 (potentially).

MU is amazing there are probably only 5-7 teams in any given year that have a shot at beating them but I think this year NCC is one of those teams, NC’s problem has been since Jeff took over they haven’t been able to beat Wheaton.

 

[missingwalter]

MU is amazing there are probably only 5-7 teams in any given year that have a shot at beating them but I think this year NCC is one of those teams, NC’s problem has been since Jeff took over they haven’t been able to beat Wheaton.

yeah, I was there the week after that. I liked Thorne a lot, so did my son. I loved his speech on running towards adversity, stuck with us.

 

[USD24]

MU is amazing there are probably only 5-7 teams in any given year that have a shot at beating them but I think this year NCC is one of those teams, NC’s problem has been since Jeff took over they haven’t been able to beat Wheaton.

I think that 5-7 teams might even be a stretch. Once again this year, MU has been dominant, outscoring their opponents by a margin of 54.5/7.5 points per game while playing in a decent conference.

 

[eagles2k3]

I love D3 football and have always followed it.

I follow the CCIW most closely, as they are one of the premier conferences in division III, along with the WIAC.

My only qualm is that there are 3 schools, an usually the exact same 3 schools that can win a championship. Wheaton and North Central are usually just on the outside looking in at those schools.

Some people have commented that there is pretty good football in division III. I agree there is pretty good football but at the upper echelon it is outstanding football. NCC and Wheaton are there, but if you watch the rest of the CCIW you will see some great teams as well.

 

[ClownBaby]

I think that 5-7 teams might even be a stretch. Once again this year, MU has been dominant, outscoring their opponents by a margin of 54.5/7.5 points per game while playing in a decent conference.

I don't think 5-7 is stretch since I define it as being competitive against them with shot to win even though its slim. If I was going have to pick a winner in those games I'm picking MU every time.

 

[ClownBaby]

I love D3 football and have always followed it.

I follow the CCIW most closely, as they are one of the premier conferences in division III, along with the WIAC.

My only qualm is that there are 3 schools, an usually the exact same 3 schools that can win a championship. Wheaton and North Central are usually just on the outside looking in at those schools.

Some people have commented that there is pretty good football in division III. I agree there is pretty good football but at the upper echelon it is outstanding football. NCC and Wheaton are there, but if you watch the rest of the CCIW you will see some great teams as well.

CCIW Tiers

1) NCC and Wheaton
2) Wash U and IWU
3) Carthage
4) Augie,Millikan
5) Carroll, Elmhurst, North Park

* Augie had a good year but they have really been in the dumps.

I'm a Carroll Alum and I'm interested in seeing how the next few years go since they have spent a substantial amount on athletic facilities over the last 5-7 years to go along with the switch back to the CCIW. They have also been soliciting donors for the football program for the last 2 years and just fired the coach with the hopes of upgrading the program. I guess we will see if you can buy success since they are trying to.

 

[eagles2k3]

CCIW Tiers

1) NCC and Wheaton
2) Wash U and IWU
3) Carthage
4) Augie,Millikan
5) Carroll, Elmhurst, North Park

* Augie had a good year but they have really been in the dumps.

I'm a Carroll Alum and I'm interested in seeing how the next few years go since they have spent a substantial amount on athletic facilities over the last 5-7 years to go along with the switch back to the CCIW. They have also been soliciting donors for the football program for the last 2 years and just fired the coach with the hopes of upgrading the program. I guess we will see if you can buy success since they are trying to.

I was just at Carroll as I have a family member that plays for WashU. They have a very nice atmosphere. The stadium has a great view. I think the bleachers might need an upgrade but the VIP section in the endzone and the hill on the other side makes for a great game day location.

The team... Ouch. Unfortunately they have a ways to go before getting out of that bottom tier. They have to find a recruiting niche. You're not going to get the best of the state of Wisconsin having to compete with the low tuition public schools of Wisconsin, who are all very very good teams.

 

[wm4]

St Thomas up in Minneapolis, looking to leave D3 and classify straight to D1. That'll be interesting to watch as no school has ever done that before. Summit Conference has already extended St Thomas an invite for all sports but football. St Thomas has been in the Stagg Bowl a couple times over the last 8 years, both losses to Mount Union.

The top 15-30 teams in D3 play really good football and these kids are outstanding players. Mount is in a league of their own. Their speed and size, in person, is a notch up than the rest of D3.

Congrats to your son and their win last weekend!

 

[ClownBaby]

I was just at Carroll as I have a family member that plays for WashU. They have a very nice atmosphere. The stadium has a great view. I think the bleachers might need an upgrade but the VIP section in the endzone and the hill on the other side makes for a great game day location.

The team... Ouch. Unfortunately they have a ways to go before getting out of that bottom tier. They have to find a recruiting niche. You're not going to get the best of the state of Wisconsin having to compete with the low tuition public schools of Wisconsin, who are all very very good teams.

The bleachers and going to be replaced in the near future. They really need to recruit Chicago/ Minneapolis/ Milwaukee much harder since they naturally draw most of their students from those areas currently. The WIAC schools are tough to recruit against especially when you suck, they switched conferences but kept a hands off recruiting style and that is why the coach is gone. The campus is nice and there are selling points to the school they just need someone that can get out and do it if the want to move up the tiers.

 

[Iluvftbl1]

St Thomas will most likely end up like Drake, Valparaiso, Butler etc... D1 non-scholarship Pioneer League. Virtually impossible to jump from D3 to D1 scholarship ball.

 

[eagles2k3]

St Thomas will most likely end up like Drake, Valparaiso, Butler etc... D1 non-scholarship Pioneer League. Virtually impossible to jump from D3 to D1 scholarship ball.

Interesting. I think they would easily beat most of those Pioneer league schools.

 

[USD24]

Interesting. I think they would easily beat most of those Pioneer league schools.

Not my Toreros from USD!

 

[eagles2k3]

Not my Toreros from USD!

That is the one school they would not! I should've clarified that before I hit post.

 

[wm4]

St Thomas will most likely end up like Drake, Valparaiso, Butler etc... D1 non-scholarship Pioneer League. Virtually impossible to jump from D3 to D1 scholarship ball.

Pioneer is looking like the first stop, yes. Missouri Valley is their ultimate goal, but that may be well down the road.

 

[Oddy]

I was involved in D3 for a very short time. I was surprised how good they were.

 

[USD24]

That is the one school they would not! I should've clarified that before I hit post.

I have heard some rumors that USD may look to leave the Pioneer league. They have currently won six straight conference titles and 36 consecutive conference games.

 

[ramblinman]

St Thomas will most likely end up like Drake, Valparaiso, Butler etc... D1 non-scholarship Pioneer League. Virtually impossible to jump from D3 to D1 scholarship ball.

That's the craziest conference. All private except Morehead State. A bunch of schools from the southeast (Davidson, Jacksonville, and Stetson). A few from the Midwest (Dayton, Drake, Valpo, Butler, and Morehead State). And then some outliers like USD and Marist in NY.

 

[redmen85]

I recall back in the 80's when the CCIW had Don "Swede" Larson at Wesleyan, Art Keller at Carthage and Bob Reade at Augie. All three legends in D3 football.
Augie's success in winning four straight Stagg Bowl championships was the gold standard for quite awhile. Since then, Whitewater won 5 in 6 years.

 

[au6890]

Played at Aurora the year that it came back in 86. Had a great experience. Met guys from all over the state and got to see parts of the midwest I otherwise would not have seen. Liked it so much stayed and coached for a couple of years before moving on to high school level.
Have encouraged many athletes, that if they wanted to continue to play, D3 was the way to go.
Go Spartans this weekend against the Johnnies!

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

St Thomas will most likely end up like Drake, Valparaiso, Butler etc... D1 non-scholarship Pioneer League. Virtually impossible to jump from D3 to D1 scholarship ball.

The Summit football schools are all in the Missouri Valley, by far the best conference in FCS since the Dakota schools joined a decade ago. And there really is no logical other conference geographically...Drake in the Pioneer is the likely closest FCS school other than the Valley schools. Unless the Valley is looking to add a punching bag...I'm not sure their stadium, which looks like a nice D3 facility, could be expanded to Valley quality.

 

[ramblinman]

Interesting. I think they would easily beat most of those Pioneer league schools.

Who, specifically, would they easily beat? The Tommies lost to UW EC this year, and the Blugolds are pretty darn mediocre.

 

[wm4]

The Tommies 21-19 loss to Eau Claire was that "once every 5 years" fluke of a game, where UST dominated in every statistical category, but lost. Eau Claire got off to a quick lead on UST turnovers and one big run, then hung on for dear life to win. It happens.

UST could beat Valpo/Jacksonville right out of the gate, and probably go 3-4 or 4-3 in conference right now, in my view.

UST has an incredibly strong financial backing from alums and donors for this move to D1. Facilities will need to be built. I'm not sure about a whole new football stadium just yet, but they did play a game at Allianz Field, the new purpose built soccer stadium in St Paul this year (by the way, incredible sight lines for football in one of these new soccer stadiums).

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

Played at Aurora the year that it came back in 86. Had a great experience. Met guys from all over the state and got to see parts of the midwest I otherwise would not have seen. Liked it so much stayed and coached for a couple of years before moving on to high school level.
Have encouraged many athletes, that if they wanted to continue to play, D3 was the way to go.
Go Spartans this weekend against the Johnnies!

Didn't really follow D3 much until this year when Beebe took over at Aurora. My Manteno hs classmate's son just started shattering records left and right at QB for the Spartans. And Manteno's AD's daughter just started playing volleyball there this fall. My facebook is being flooded with AU sports news as a result...It's cool reading about my friends' kids tearing it up in college.

And the Spartans open the playoffs at one of the historically most successful D3 programs in St. Johns Minnesota....

 

[wm4]

Fantastic to see Aurora break out under Beebe, they really should be a program on the rise. Know they have a QB who's been setting records, thanks for the local info.

Speaking of St John's, their QB in super good. Jackson Erdman is from the Twin Cities, was a walk on at Penn State his freshman year, but transferred to St John's and has started nearly 4 years (similar deal to Rutter at NCC). Erdman is a big kid for D3, and has a solid arm. Wouldn't not be surprised to see him show up in an NFL camp somewhere.

St Johns offensive line is nearly FCS caliber in my view. Their stud lineman will play in the Senior Bowl in January. Aurora will have their work cut out for them, but what a great test for them and their program.

 

[MS4EVER]

Pulling for Wheaton!!!!

 

[Golden Warrior]

Played at Aurora the year that it came back in 86.

...under former Sterling HS head coach Jim Scott, I assume.

 

[eagles2k3]

Who, specifically, would they easily beat? The Tommies lost to UW EC this year, and the Blugolds are pretty darn mediocre.

Valpo, Butler, Stetson, Jacksonville off the top of my head. Butler has struggled with middle of the road D3 programs in past years, as has Valpo. The Pioneer league, other than San Diego is not that good.

 

[missingwalter]

What’s funny about the AU QB is Beebe originally thought he was too small. He’s going to build a yearly power there, with plenty of talent to pick from. He’s also got those Bills connections to impress the parents. My son had no idea who Levy was, but I thought it was pretty cool to hear him give the pregame speech.

 

[missingwalter]

Packer connections too