Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

[KrbFlint]

Never been a big fan of AD; critical of his inability to build more than one consistently successful mainstream sport.

Norwich sports which compete in the GNAC should NEVER be outside the top half of the league. The reputation/facilities/resources, in general, are superior to 99% of that league.

I will say (and this is coming from a huge college hockey fan), that’s it’s a lot “easier” to compete nationally in hockey than other sports. How many D3 men’s ice hockey programs are there? 60? There’s 250 D3 football schools, and far more basketball/soccer/etc. Coach McShane once said the very same thing to me.

20 years ago, Norwich decided to get good at hockey. They hired a stud, PAID him, built the best rink in D3, gave some amazing financial aid, and the rest is history. With success came community support, and the snowball took off.

Norwich is notoriously stingy (outside of hockey) with coaches’ salaries. When you can’t attract coaches financially, sometimes you don’t get your first (or second, or third) choice. I don’t know if it’s fair to blame the AD completely.

 

[KrbFlint]

10-4,I am up there for the Homecoming football game the past few yrs and it's not pretty,but we will be there in Sept. anyway with my old guard dad..

2017 was a rough year for the Cadets for sure, but from 2009-2016 the football program had a conference record of 46-10, won or shared 4 conference championships, and had a 7 year streak of postseason appearances. Based on what I’ve seen on social media (coaching staff shake up, incoming recruits) I anticipate a solid rebound in 2018 and forward.

 

[NU Pastime]

Never been a big fan of AD; critical of his inability to build more than one consistently successful mainstream sport.

I'm going to take this opportunity to point out that the baseball team (which dates back to the 1800s) still doesn't have a fence and only got a full-time coach a couple years ago.

I'm a little salty about that.

With that said, as KRB pointed out, success is relative.

For hockey, I expect the teams to be routine national title contenders. Same with rugby.
For football I expect the team to be routine conference title contenders. Same with soccer and lacrosse (neither have gotten over the hump yet, though both are routinely in the conference title game).
For baseball, the goal should be making it to the conference tournament every year. At this point, double digit wins and a competitive showing in the conference tournament is a good year. Long-term, the goal should be making it past the first round of the tournament and into the double-elimination round.

 

[KrbFlint]

I'm going to take this opportunity to point out that the baseball team (which dates back to the 1800s) still doesn't have a fence and only got a full-time coach a couple years ago.

I'm a little salty about that.

With that said, as KRB pointed out, success is relative.

For hockey, I expect the teams to be routine national title contenders. Same with rugby.
For football I expect the team to be routine conference title contenders. Same with soccer and lacrosse (neither have gotten over the hump yet, though both are routinely in the conference title game).
For baseball, the goal should be making it to the conference tournament every year. At this point, double digit wins and a competitive showing in the conference tournament is a good year. Long-term, the goal should be making it past the first round of the tournament and into the double-elimination round.

Rugby (men) is a fully-funded varsity sport which competes against club teams. The fact that they haven’t won a natty yet is disturbing. The women’s rugby team had their run of TOTAL dominance, and since settled in to being “good” with the addition of other varsity programs.

I have no beef with rugby, per se, but allocating resources to compete against club teams when that money could certainly help elsewhere (baseball, for example) peeves me to no end.

*sorry for getting so far from hockey talk!

 

[KrbFlint]

His role has always been simply a recruiter.

Correct.

 

[NUProf]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

It isn't surprising that somebody his age would choose to retire. At some point, enough is enough. I think we are going to see (and it will take a couple of years) how sustainable the program really is. Take away the force behind the growth of the program from a run of the mill program to a national power and there are two ways things can go. Middlebury illustrates what can happen when a legendary coach loses his grip on the program (even before he retired in that case), and Adrian (controversial as Krug may be) illustrates how someone can come in after a program founder's departure and keep it going. I think it will take a special person to be able to keep all the pieces together at Norwich - it's a complicated place and there are lots of competing constituencies involved.

 

[joecct]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

Baseball will always have trouble competing against those southern schools in Rhode Island.

 

[elbojpb]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

July 7th! That was the original reason for the press conference today and then McShane had to go and steal my thunder...

Congrats! - BTW ... if you're still interested in the So Tier - SID

 

[cetihcra]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

Preemptive congrats Prez, she still has time to smarten up

Congrats to coach too, helluva career. I’m not at all surprised, kinda figured it would happen a couple years ago, then they caught lightning in a bottle. I hope he sticks around the game, it’s his passion.

Pastime, I don’t remember there even being a baseball team when I was at NU (1995-2000). That may be because of lack of exposure, or they didn’t exist. I would never blame any lack of success in “other” sports on TM, it’s a really hard school to recruit for...be it athletes, or coaches, without just throwing money at them....usually not wise, except in the NBA. It’s hard to be competitive in sports that aren’t ingrained in the region, only hockey fits that bill (and skiing, but that went away a long time ago).

I, too, am glad that coach is sticking around for the search. They’ll never find another coach like him, but they can find a coach that can bring the same success, for 4 or 5 years, then do it again. It’s a different world than 1997. Does MB wanna move to the men’s side? It will be an interesting month for sure!

Cheers y’all, have a good summer!

r

 

[KrbFlint]

Preemptive congrats Prez, she still has time to smarten up

Congrats to coach too, helluva career. I’m not at all surprised, kinda figured it would happen a couple years ago, then they caught lightning in a bottle. I hope he sticks around the game, it’s his passion.

Pastime, I don’t remember there even being a baseball team when I was at NU (1995-2000). That may be because of lack of exposure, or they didn’t exist. I would never blame any lack of success in “other” sports on TM, it’s a really hard school to recruit for...be it athletes, or coaches, without just throwing money at them....usually not wise, except in the NBA. It’s hard to be competitive in sports that aren’t ingrained in the region, only hockey fits that bill (and skiing, but that went away a long time ago).

I, too, am glad that coach is sticking around for the search. They’ll never find another coach like him, but they can find a coach that can bring the same success, for 4 or 5 years, then do it again. It’s a different world than 1997. Does MB wanna move to the men’s side? It will be an interesting month for sure!

Cheers y’all, have a good summer!

r

My understanding, furthered by his presence on the search committee (which I forgot about when I said no one was qualified), is that Coach Bolding does not wish to move over to men. Would be nice and tidy to move him over and elevate Fitzpatrick on the women’s side. Alas, I don’t think he’s interested.

 

[bakdraft21]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

2017 was a rough year for the Cadets for sure, but from 2009-2016 the football program had a conference record of 46-10, won or shared 4 conference championships, and had a 7 year streak of postseason appearances. Based on what I’ve seen on social media (coaching staff shake up, incoming recruits) I anticipate a solid rebound in 2018 and forward.

Awesome, and the starting QB is from our hometown..

 

[NU Pastime]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

Is it Erikson who is a transfer from the Air Force Academy?

To me, that should be a template for all Norwich sports. Go to West Point, VMI, the Citadel, the other academies and recruit their kids who got cut. This is speaking for the other sports more than hockey, but Norwich being a DIII Senior Military College has a great recruiting pitch to these kids who just missed being DI players. "Come to Norwich, be a part of a historic and prestigious military legacy that guarantees you an active duty commission, and play the sport you love." Is a formula for national titles? Probably not. Is a formula to compete for conference titles in New England? Absolutely.

Also, while this is a hockey board, I think talking about athletic programs overall is still highly relevant. We shouldn't be squashing conversation by always saying "back to hockey." Hockey is influenced by the overall athletic program, dammit.

And one last thing about Norwich baseball, cetehicra. The history of Norwich baseball can be traced to 1860 with the formation of the "Norwich Base Ball Club". The Civil War and the school almost dying off in the post-war years (enrollment dropped to 9 in the 1870's) put a hold on things, but a varsity schedule has been played since the 1880's.

Actually, my name "NU Pastime" is a play on this. Historically speaking, baseball is a pastime at Norwich. If you read accounts of the late 1800s and early 1900s, baseball was a proud part of student life. And that's why I named myself this, with full knowledge that it also more accurately fits hockey now since hockey is now the premier pastime.

Signed, an unapologetic NU baseball alum and booster.

 

[KrbFlint]

Is it Erikson who is a transfer from the Air Force Academy?

To me, that should be a template for all Norwich sports. Go to West Point, VMI, the Citadel, the other academies and recruit their kids who got cut. This is speaking for the other sports more than hockey, but Norwich being a DIII Senior Military College has a great recruiting pitch to these kids who just missed being DI players. "Come to Norwich, be a part of a historic and prestigious military legacy that guarantees you an active duty commission, and play the sport you love." Is a formula for national titles? Probably not. Is a formula to compete for conference titles in New England? Absolutely.

Also, while this is a hockey board, I think talking about athletic programs overall is still highly relevant. We shouldn't be squashing conversation by always saying "back to hockey." Hockey is influenced by the overall athletic program, dammit.

And one last thing about Norwich baseball, cetehicra. The history of Norwich baseball can be traced to 1860 with the formation of the "Norwich Base Ball Club". The Civil War and the school almost dying off in the post-war years (enrollment dropped to 9 in the 1870's) put a hold on things, but a varsity schedule has been played since the 1880's.

Actually, my name "NU Pastime" is a play on this. Historically speaking, baseball is a pastime at Norwich. If you read accounts of the late 1800s and early 1900s, baseball was a proud part of student life. And that's why I named myself this, with full knowledge that it also more accurately fits hockey now since hockey is now the premier pastime.

Signed, an unapologetic NU baseball alum and booster.

Next time we run into each other, let’s chat about this*. I have some insight...

Worth noting, Erickson and Burchill are AFA transfers. Erickson is a civvie at Norwich, while Burchill is in the Corps. Erickson (I’m told) didn’t want to do “Rookdom” at NU, having already done the equivalent at AF. Burchill opted to go through Rookdom again (essentially).

*the recruiting model

 

[Bog Hockey]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

KRBF, is Burchill expected to compete for more ice time this upcoming season? Tell me about Ian Williams. Will we see him, again?

 

[KrbFlint]

KRBF, is Burchill expected to compete for more ice time this upcoming season? Tell me about Ian Williams. Will we see him, again?

Obviously, especially with a coaching change, nothing is a given. That said, I’d expect to see Burchill on the ice more this season.

Ian Williams left school to address a personal issue. I know he’s been keeping in contact with the guys. Anything I could say on his return would be purely speculation.

 

[Bog Hockey]

Obviously, especially with a coaching change, nothing is a given. That said, I’d expect to see Burchill on the ice more this season.

Ian Williams left school to address a personal issue. I know he’s been keeping in contact with the guys. Anything I could say on his return would be purely speculation.

How much confidence do you have in NU’s ability and willingness to recruit, hire, and retain another successful men’s ice hockey coach?

 

[KrbFlint]

How much confidence do you have in NU’s ability and willingness to recruit, hire, and retain another successful men’s ice hockey coach?

100%

I firmly believe Mike McShane will handpick the next coach

 

[NU Pastime]

Next time we run into each other, let’s chat about this*. I have some insight...

Worth noting, Erickson and Burchill are AFA transfers. Erickson is a civvie at Norwich, while Burchill is in the Corps. Erickson (I’m told) didn’t want to do “Rookdom” at NU, having already done the equivalent at AF. Burchill opted to go through Rookdom again (essentially).

*the recruiting model

Sounds like a plan.

I know it's not as simple as it sounds, especially with money involved (academies being free rides to some of the top schools in the country, the other SMCs all being state schools). But I'm certainly interested in hearing your insight.

 

[NUProf]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

Sounds like a plan.

I know it's not as simple as it sounds, especially with money involved (academies being free rides to some of the top schools in the country, the other SMCs all being state schools). But I'm certainly interested in hearing your insight.

The big issue with this is the fact that the NCAA rule is that the student has to contact the new school. Receiving schools can't make the initial contact with potential transfers. There have been some changes in those rules recently, but I believe it is still the case that the first contact has to be by the student.

 

[802Hockey]

Re: Norwich 2017-18 Season Thread: Defending the Crown

Sad to see Mcshane go but we were blessed to have him for so many years. Tough to really guess who is coming in next...Dawes was my first thought as well but Stevenson is an up and coming program that I just can't see him leaving...that being said, who really knows.

Whatever the case the new Coach and team will be thrown on the hot seat early: Endicott, Skidmore, Hobart, Umass-Boston, Babson, Adrian, Middlebury/Plattsburgh to start the year......ouch.

Confident they will find the right guy though and very glad to hear McShane is sticking around to aid in that search/transition.