NESCAC Recruiting: an update on practices across the conference. Too homogenized?

[petrietodonovan]

Here's an update on NESCAC recruiting. The piece below has links to an excellent three part series from the Bowdoin Orient that looks at the practice of "banding" and how it brings uniformity to recruiting across the conference and, to an extent, across the different sports. Many on this forum have suggested that past national successes like Middlebury's are no longer possible for a NESCAC school. The Orient's series suggest some reasons why that might be so.

http://www.nescachockey.com/2014/04/recruiting-in-nescac-updated-look.html

 

[soccermaniac919]

Re: NESCAC Recruiting: an update on practices across the conference. Too homogenized?

The two most telling quotes from this story:

a system has been put in place to help ensure that institutions are able to develop athletic programs that are competitive within the conference.”

emphasis added

the NESCAC’s target-based athletic admissions model aimed to “reduce the number of recruited athletes admitted…and raise the academic profile of athletes.”

So the demise of the interlock was inevitable!?

 

[petrietodonovan]

Re: NESCAC Recruiting: an update on practices across the conference. Too homogenized?

So the demise of the interlock was inevitable!?

Haven't looked at all the years since the interlock ended but NESCAC was 9-4-3 against ECAC-E this season. The only ECAC-East teams that won against NESCAC were Babson and Norwich at a combined 4-1-1.

And there's definitely parity within NESCAC as a 5th place team can take the conference tourney almost any year.

I'm not sure what this means come NCAA time but it definitely makes for some enjoyable mid-season hockey....not too many 8-2 beat downs.

 

[Golden007]

Re: NESCAC Recruiting: an update on practices across the conference. Too homogenized?

Here's an update on NESCAC recruiting. The piece below has links to an excellent three part series from the Bowdoin Orient that looks at the practice of "banding" and how it brings uniformity to recruiting across the conference and, to an extent, across the different sports. Many on this forum have suggested that past national successes like Middlebury's are no longer possible for a NESCAC school. The Orient's series suggest some reasons why that might be so.

http://www.nescachockey.com/2014/04/recruiting-in-nescac-updated-look.html

This among many reasons are why Middlebury will be far from getting a sniff at a national championship in the near future. There are plenty of smart hockey players out there and most are smart enough to go elsewhere unless they have always wanted to go to Middlebury and can accept being able to make NESCAC playoffs but not get beyond. Bowdoin and others are poised the best to recruit and attract the smartest and best hockey talent. Coaching will make the difference, as Bowdoin and Union demonstrated this season, and those who fail to connect with players will be inconsistent.

 

[NUProf]

Re: NESCAC Recruiting: an update on practices across the conference. Too homogenized?

Haven't looked at all the years since the interlock ended but NESCAC was 9-4-3 against ECAC-E this season. The only ECAC-East teams that won against NESCAC were Babson and Norwich at a combined 4-1-1.

However, most of the games that the NESCAC played against the ECAC-E were against the lower tier tier teams in the ECAC-E.

For example, Bowdoin and Colby played a combined 6 games with with Southern Maine and UNE for a record of 4-0-2.