Homecoming Weekend

This weekend marks the annual HWS Homecoming tradition, but it'll be a different one this year. The NCAA and effectively all of D3 shutting down fall sports makes this Homecoming one without any teams returning from the road and playing in front of their fans, friends and families.

Still, HWS is moving on and still hosting a number of events, in person and virtual, this week and into the weekend to celebrate Statesmen, Herons and HWS school spirit. I can't believe it's been a decade since I last attended Homecoming weekend - reuniting with some old friends to play music before the football game (and crashing a make shift easy chair on wheels in the Fall Nationals race).

I had moved from Geneva in the spring of 1998 to take a job with a firm out in Chicago. After being a kid from a rural area and attending a college in a similar setting, this would be my first big city experience. Given that move and then a subsequent one to Los Angeles, it took me over 12 years to make it back to Upstate NY.

The Homecoming (and rock band reunion) weekend made it the perfect excuse to do so and I really enjoyed it (in spite of the 34-14 loss to then #21 Saint John Fisher and the scrapes and contusions from the rally car crash).

In other news, today is the 12-year anniversary / birthday of In the (D3FB) Huddle. We released our Season 13 premiere last Monday. ICYMI you can see it here.

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy Homecoming weekend. I'll be appearing on WHWS 105.7 FM Friday, 9/25 at 3:25 PM ET to talk a little football with the "Broadstreet Boyz". Tune in if you can. A replay of the interview can be viewed / heard here. 

As always, thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

#NeverForget

 On this 19th anniversary of the attacks of 9-11, I wanted to recognize former Hobart College football player and alumnus Andy Glokin '93 as well as fellow grads Scott Rohner '01 and Michael Simon '83, P '11 who lost their lives that unfortunate day.

I'd also like to recognize the Toyen family, who lost their daughter and sister Amy in the attacks. She was the younger sister of my Avon High School classmate, Heather.

Never Forget.

Forde Earns More Honors, HWS Managing COVID-19 Cases

Although the season was wiped away by the NCAA's rulings on COVID-related precautions/restrictions, D3Football.com went ahead and published a 2020 preseason All-America team. HWSAthletics.com put out a press release on SR OLB Emmett Forde earning yet another first team defensive award late last week.

The D3football.com All American honors completes an impressive preseason trifecta for Forde who was also named to the Street & Smith and Lindy's AA teams

(photo courtesy of HWSAthletics.com & Kevin Colton)

Meanwhile, classes have resumed up in Geneva and so far the Colleges have only had a handful of COVID positive tests with no other issues (e.g., hospitalizations) reported. A very detailed and thorough account of the measures being taken was sent to the broader HWS community by still relatively new Provost and Dean of the Faculty Mary Coffey and Robb Flowers, VP for Campus Life.

What I found to be the best part of this communication was the statement that, "While we know no one wants to hear that we have positive cases, we have anticipated that this would happen and prepared for their management."

Of course cases were bound to happen, albeit these are almost all, if not 100%. likely to be asymptomatic in nature, it's reassuring that the administration's plan is working and mitigating any potential risk to the broader community. 

Hopefully the fall semester will continue without any disruption, and as other states / regions show football can be done relatively safely, the NCAA and D3 can revisit a possible spring season. While I am optimistic by nature, there are still a couple of serious hurdles the NCAA will need to update / address for D3 schools to try and recoup a lost fall season. Time will tell with that. 

In the meantime, thanks for reading and as always, go 'Bart!

 

Where'd the Time Go? CA Celebrates Its 11th Anniversary

 Today, "Comin' Atcha" celebrates it's "official" 11th year / 12th season anniversary, albeit sadly, with no fall season to look forward to covering.

In the next couple of days I'll plan on putting together a "what if" 2020 preseason preview, like I have from past seasons - like this one, from all the way back in 2009. We'll also break down the Class of 2024, which has been added to the roster, along with what appears to be a few new transfers / adds to the team, in general.

Thanks to you Hobart College Football fans, friends and alums for the 280K views to date! While we probably won't hit 300K any time soon without a fall season, it's been a fun ride so far and better days are ahead.

Thanks again as always for reading it - more stuff will be "Comin' Atcha" soon.

Go 'Bart!

Liability Concerns Officially End the Fall (and probably Spring) Season, per the NCAA

As many of you already know, the D3 (and D2) fall championships were cancelled last week after a number of new (D1-focused) requirements were released by the NCAA. These requirements are hitting even harder now, as FBS conferences like the PAC-12 and Big 10 have also postponed fall sports.

Based on the liability waiver and medical / insurance related costs associated with the NCAA's requirements, which places an inordinate amount of financial and legal risk on small (and large) colleges, I know have a hard time believing there will be a spring football season.

Maybe padded practices or a scrimmage here and there will be able to be held, but anything else seems like a long shot given the updated NCAA stance. Unless there's a vaccine or a 180 by the folks in Indy, you can probably kiss the 20-21 sports season(s) goodbye, sadly.

Frank and I went into this in detail in our last In the D3FB Huddle episode, which included an interview with Brockport AD Erick Hart. He was tempered in his answer over spring football happening, indicating that they may play one scrimmage against a neighboring school like St. John Fisher.

In the meantime, all we can do is wait and see what, if anything, happens in the coming weeks / months. School is starting back up soon - don't forget your masks - so that's the first step.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

So Now What?

With the official cancellation of the 2020 fall season by the Liberty League back on July 22nd, the Hobart College Statesmen will have its first break from football since 1945.

While it's possible a spring season could be in the offing, I have a number of concerns which were outlined in our last In the D3FB Huddle show. We have another one coming out today (I think), were we cover off why the American Rivers Conference (ARC) is trying to still have a season and what teams are still holding out hope they can do the same.

Time will tell what colleges and universities are able (or not) to do once everyone returns to campus in the coming weeks. For now we can only wonder "what if" and live with the heartbreak that for now, D3FB will have to wait.

It's Over

The NCAA guidance released this week recommending schools test 72 hours in advance of games, among other protocols, was the tipping point that effectively ended the fall 2020 sports season. Today basically all of New England, conferences and schools alike, cancelled on the 2020 season.

Starting this Monday we'll see a large number of similar announcements in schools outside the East, which will eventually lead to the NCAA effectively saying fall sports championships will not be held, save for the low impact / risk sports listed in their last memo.

For Hobart, this means a possible spring football season, along with the rest of D3FB. The issue there is what does that actually look like? There are numerous risks, even worse and more likely than contracting the virus in my opinion, to playing two full contact football seasons within an 7-8 month time period.

The complications of moving fall sports to spring raises a lot of other questions, not limited to what sports get priority scheduling wise? How are locker rooms going to be shared? Are there enough athletic training and equipment staff?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll have more on In the D3FB Huddle early next week on this topic.

I'm just very disappointed we couldn't do better for our student athletes and coaches.

Go 'Bart....