Yoder and Hornets Creating a Buzz for 2017

Yesterday marked the 191st commencement ceremony for Hobart College (the 105th for our WS sisters) and a great class of Statesmen (and Herons) earned their degrees and head out into the "real world." Given the conclusion of the 2015-16 academic (and athletic) calendar, it's time to officially close the books on this offseason and start looking to the fall and the upcoming preseason.

Now although I did review the 2016 schedule earlier in the offseason, a look ahead pointed out an interesting development. According to HWSAthletics.com it would appear as though for alum and former DC Scott Yoder '01 will be returning to Geneva with his Shenandoah Hornets to take on Hobart in 2017 (note to HWSSID - it's Doah, not Dowa). The game is slated to be on Saturday night, September 16th or Week 3 of the 2017 season.

Statesmen fans will recall that Yoder punched his ticket to the HC job at SU after leading one of the best defensive units in all of D3FB to the Elite 8 as part of the 2012 team's historic 12-1 season. Since moving himself and his family down to Winchester, VA in 2013, Coach Yoder has earned an 12-18 record as he rebuilds the Hornets' program. He's taken his lumps in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), but has successfully upset some of the traditional power teams like Bridgewater and Washington & Lee in prior seasons.

Now while this is a great add to the 2017 schedule, it doesn't absolve the issue facing the Statesmen and fellow Liberty League teams after this fall. As previously reported here and elsewhere, programs like WPI, Springfield and the USMMA are leaving the LL after this season. Although Ithaca will help the LL once they join officially in 2017, the league will still need at least one new member to hang onto the NCAA AQ after the 2018 season.

Although one program was supposedly ready to join earlier this year, no announcement was ever made, either because the "deal fell through" or it's simply premature given the extended time table. Either way, Hobart and all the LL teams will lose three games in 2017 so it's good to see that friends like Coach Yoder have been able to help Hobart keep schedules closer to 10 games (I hope we never see a repeat of 2011 / the 8 game season) in future seasons.

Overall this is a positive development for both squads in that it allows a favorite Statesman to come home and it'll provide Hobart a long, playoff style road trip into relatively new territory down into Southern Northern VA in 2018.

That's all the news I have for now. Congratulations to the Classes of 2016 and go 'Bart!