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Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

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Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

ticapnews said:
I think that money was set aside back in the 80's when (Mahaney?) made a huge donation with the stipulation that the baseball team makes the trip South every year. I have no idea for how long that is supposed to last, but it can't be cheap to send the baseball team on the road for a month. However, compared to the gaping black hole that is football, it's all small potatoes. Maine will never drop football, will never (can never) trim the budget for football, so the program will continue to Hoover all the funds in the department. The difference is the money generated by hockey (thanks Uncle Harold) used to be more than enough to offset the money lost in football. Not only has that revenue decreased, there is now not a single sport on campus that consistently makes any money at all. This isn't new. We've known this for years and we've discussed it ad nauseam every summer for ages. We can talk all we want. Until the university determines a change has to be made (which is highly unlikely) then it's all a lot of hot air and wasted keystrokes.
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Hence my previous point about football ("Either go BIG TIME (BCS) or drop it or go Division 3"). It definitely has merit, because as you point out, you can't afford football without a huge revenue stream. So how do you get it? You create a big time program like Alabama where the star athletes and constant winning spawn MILLIONS of dollars. Short of that, it's unaffordable. UConn is finding that out. Think it's easy to go big time? Guess again. Of course, they probably have the money in the short term, but eventually if they keep losing you might see them back in the Yankee Conference (or whatever they call it now). :)
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

chickod said:
This is one of the reasons BU dropped football. Hockey is their "primary" sport in the sense it is what they are best known for and their biggest revenue generator. The feeling was, as a I-AA school (now known as FCS), the revenue was not there (TV, etc). The only realistic way for them to continue was either drop to Division 3 or go big-time. My understanding is that John Silber (former President) was not exactly enamored with football. I'm sure there were academic reasons as well (same reason they joined the Patriot League), as they were/are trying to "enhance" their academic reputation as they transition more to a research-oriented and "international" university. It was likely the "drain" of expenses pertaining to football was affecting the entire athletic department.

We have seen this much more frequently than in the past. Schools are in multiple leagues (and even multiple levels) depending upon the sport. Look at BC: ACC but Hockey East. UConn: AAC but Hockey East. Even Maine: America East but Hockey East. Frequently a school will join a "dedicated" league when they want to emphasize one sport that isn't inclusive of others.

So to answer your question, I don't find it curious at all because we live in a boutique society now where everything is specialized.
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Schools are required to be a conference member of their main conference IF that conference sponsors their sport. For example, if there was an America East for hockey or football, Maine would have to be in it for those sports. Because AE doesn't sponsor hockey or football, Maine can be in Hockey East and CAA.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

Are we really spending any money “barn storming across the south” or are the big programs covering our travel like when football plays FBS teams?
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

AMC said:
Correct, but it isn't 1985.
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That was a blast, seeing Miami baseball in Orono. Regionals in Orono, actual Maine citizens beating nationally ranked teams. Friggin' awesome.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

walrus said:
That was a blast, seeing Miami baseball in Orono. Regionals in Orono, actual Maine citizens beating nationally ranked teams. Friggin' awesome.
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And when Billy Swift almost beat (who was it, Oklahoma State) at the College World Series in Omaha (until they unloaded with a bunch of home runs later in the game).
 
amkirby10 said:
The way people here talk about Maine, you'd think they were a sub-10 win team playing a weak schedule, instead of a .500 team playing a top third schedule in terms of difficulty.

The losses sustained today and possibly going forward are a huge blow, though, and none of the incoming freshmen really impress me like Schmitty, Dawe, or Tralmaks did when I monitored them prior to their Orono arrival. A step back is most likely in the cards, and while I will still maintain the prior season was not awful, a step back is not at all what they need.
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They've been a 500 team since Red's been here. But, there's always a reason. "Give him a couple years, you can't turn things around all at once" "Wait til he gets all of his recruits in" "Ok, this year wasn't great, but I expect big improvements next year"

Next year comes: "Ok, this year wasn't great, but I expect big improvements next year" "You can't get rid of him, incoming recruits want stability"

When's enough gonna be enough? Are the only players willing to come to Maine the ones who can't stay out of the penalty box? Six friggin years now, and they still must be near the top in penalty minutes. That's coaching. Or lack of it.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

chickod said:
And when Billy Swift almost beat (who was it, Oklahoma State) at the College World Series in Omaha (until they unloaded with a bunch of home runs later in the game).
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(I'm thinking Arizona State, but I've tried to purge the memory of that epic meltdown... I think Maine was up 8-1 in the bottom of the 9th in that game. ****.)

The issue with college baseball in the NE is that NCAA stopped letting Regions be Regions in a geographical sense. Used to be, if you won the NE Regional, you were going to Omaha, which kept the top players close to home. (And most of the talented NE players went to Maine for years, because that's where you went in those days if you were good at baseball.)

For a bunch of years now, though -if you get out of the NE- you then get to go to Florida State, Mississippi State, etc., for a Super-Regional, based on a National seeding process. No longer is a NE team guaranteed a berth in Omaha. In fact, none of them ever get there anymore.

This of course is certainly a more merit-based approach to the selections, but yeah, it kind of obviates playing baseball as far north as Orono anymore.

(I'm thinking "biathlon" these days. Every Maine kid knows how to shoot!)
 
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Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

umhockey91 said:
Does anyone else find it curious that 3 of the Top 4 and 4 of the Top 10 teams in the country are non D1 schools? While I understand that that non D1 institutions have always been members of D1 college hockey.....I've noticed that this trend has picked up over the past few seasons. Is it a coincidence? Are programs like Maine, UNH, Vermont, etc at a disadvantage due to spreading resources too thin while these other schools can go "all in" on their only D1 sports program? Something to consider.......
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That certainly is something to consider, but IIRC, only St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Union and RPI were grandfathered as completely-otherwise D-3 schools playing-up. I'm guessing that the other schools referenced here have a toe-hold elsewhere in the rules.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

Slight change of topic - So Blasi is out at Miami!!
Sounds like a good replacement to RED.;)
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

NorthMike said:
Slight change of topic - So Blasi is out at Miami!!
Sounds like a good replacement to RED.;)
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Let's pay him 99.999 thousand for his remaining agreement. ;)

Save the extra for a big bonus if he consistently gets Maine to hockey east semis and ncaa playoff births. :)

That is a Bellicheck move. Gotta be shrude. ;)
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

I was thinking of the 1984 1st round game vs Oklahoma State...9-5 <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_NCAA_Division_I_Baseball_Tournament#College_World_Series' target='_blank' style="color:blue">Bracket</a> (scroll down to near the bottom)
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

BlackI said:
Seriously. Let those memories die. Man. Unbelievable the memory of Maine fans. :)
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We have a worse problem to solve. He is on an island by himself now. And he is continously coming up short. And the general feeling is he should be gone. Yet we owe two years on his contract. New AD sees stands are ok.

This is where the question lies.... ????

Does he understand Maine spirit? My guess is No.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

chickod said:
I was thinking of the 1984 1st round game vs Oklahoma State...9-5 <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_NCAA_Division_I_Baseball_Tournament#College_World_Series' target='_blank' style="color:blue">Bracket</a> (scroll down to near the bottom)
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Yeah, I remember that one too.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears 2019: Offseason Approaching

chickod said:
And when Billy Swift almost beat (who was it, Oklahoma State) at the College World Series in Omaha (until they unloaded with a bunch of home runs later in the game).
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Billy Swift could hit and play centerfield also. Wink started him in Center against Rider or maybe Navy??? at a regional in Orono. Man on 2nd, hard hit ball to center, fielded on one bounce by Swifty, 3rd base coach sent him, Too Funny, Swifty threw a strike from centerfield. Catcher had ball by the time runner was around 3rd, easy out. Swifty then came in to pitch in 9th.

Orono boys who played at Maine, Gonyar, Butterfield, Levielle, Hackett, 2 Paul brothers, Carville and I'm probably forgetting some.

Winkin never had a bullpen worth diddly squat
 
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