Looks like both Ithaca and ourselves have progressed to the next round in the tournament. It's the first 10-win season in a long time. Cortland State, Ithaca and ourselves are the remaining upstate New York teams still in the running. Defense wins championships. Johns Hopkins will be tough. DIII does not have a pairwise like hockey.
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Union College: 2023-2024
- Thread starter Dutchman
- Start date
Unionpalooza
New member
The most recent ten-win season was 2019, and before that 2005. Those were the same years we also most recently won an NCAA playoff game. Great stuff for a first-year head coach, who inherented a lot of talent and brought a ton of energy to Schenectady. Hopkins is an elite team this that scores a lot of points, but has had to eke out wins in a couple of high-scoring affairs. If our defense - the best Dutchmen defense since the 1990s, and maybe since the 1980s - can keep the game within reach, we’ll have a shot at the upset. Both Union and Ithaca would have to score upsets, but if they pull it off, we’d get a classic rematch with a trip to the final four on the line. (At that point, either team runs into the Mount Union buzzsaw.)
In the interim, the new coach is recruiting the kinds of athletes we’ve not seen since the Al Bagnoli days, and hopes are high for the future.
The 1968 Union football team (defense unit only) allowed five touchdowns all season, and opponents only averaged 1.9 yards per carry and 7.6 points/game. The offensive unit gave up three touchdowns on interceptions run back for scores. At 7-1, Union only lost to the #2 Eastern DIII team (Lambert Cup) that year, Kings Point. Kings Point only lost to a very strong Lafayette team 7-0 (Union finished 4th). The NCAA DIII national ranking and record-keeping did not come into being until 1973. In 1968, a set of trophies collectively known as the Lambert Cup was awarded to teams in Division I FCS (formerly I-AA), Division II, and Division III and was an indication of Eastern football supremacy. The Lambert Trophy was an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. No NCAA or other D-III playoffs existed back then. You had to go back to 1949 to find another strong (winning) Union Team. You can see the exploits of this 1968 team on some primitive old Super-8 home videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5jb9B-URe4 (Kings Point 1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5sPadq_T0M (Alfred 1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Y4F3XbyOs (Williams 1968)
The 1968 team faced two of the best running backs ever to play D-III college football. One went on to play professionally for the then Baltimore Colts and earn a Super Bowl ring.
Defense wins championships. I have a good feeling.
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Wicked Slappaahs
I miss Tie Domi
Union played a very solid game vs. Maine. They are well coached and play together every shift...they are definitely growing as they gain experience. Would've been fun to see them get the equalizer.... if they hadn't had the costly turnover on the blue line. All in all a very solid effort.
Wicked Slappaahs
I miss Tie Domi
Article in today's Gazette detailing that a new ice arena at Mohawk Harbor is far from a done deal. With the developer reminding everyone that they'll do what is best financially for their ownership. Let the coercion for additional public and Union U. funding commence !! Personally, I think the stated $50 mil price tag is light ...given inflation and skyrocketing material costs.
https://www.dailygazette.com/opinio...cle_92988b40-9dee-11ee-a160-9b43f819e411.html
https://www.dailygazette.com/opinio...cle_92988b40-9dee-11ee-a160-9b43f819e411.html
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
I suspect it was discussion relative to this topic that sank the previous Union thread on here.
My recollection is that most on here were in agreement with your POV. It really is a dumb nickname ...
I think that $50 mil for a 2000-seat rink is in the right ballpark, given that Bentley’s 1917-seat, 76,000 sq ft, on-campus rink that opened in February 2018 was built for about $45 mil. The Bentley Arena (presumably no one has stepped up to earn naming rights?) also earned Platinum LEED status through all kinds of sustainability bells and whistles (ex., 504 Kw solar array on roof covers about 40% of electricity costs, lots of glass for solar heating, etc). Capacity for hockey games is about 2200 with the additional standing room along counters on the 360 degree wrap-around mezzanine, and about 3300 for concerts and the like when panels are laid down on the rink surface. Hope that Union can get a new arena, too.
This weekend, UNION dropped one to Yale and one to Brown at home. UNION has had very weak competition in the season's first half, and Yale's just the opposite. Despite its record, Yale used a tougher schedule to develop the talent they had. The Brown matchup was a tossup, and congratulations to Brown for tying it up right at the end of regulation and winning in overtime. Lots of Dutchmen just standing around. We are not going to win with that approach. Still predicting a bottom 4 for the Dutchmen.
Who could have anticipated last night's home game against Clarkson? The "big boys" came in expecting to outskate and outshoot Union. So did I. They did (in the first period). Then Union started playing the body (Never mind Clarkson players were a lot bigger). Clarkson folded. Korpi's goal was a life lesson in determination. Clarkson was lucky the beating wasn't a lot worse. Who was the best player on the ice? Chauvette of course.
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[TD]50[/TD]
[TD]Yale[/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
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[TD]13[/TD]
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[TD]8-11-1 (2-3)[/TD]
[TD].4417[/TD]
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[TD]52[/TD]
[TD]Princeton[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
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[TD]6-11-2 (3-0)[/TD]
[TD].3158[/TD]
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[TD]53[/TD]
[TD]St. Lawrence[/TD]
[TD]11[/TD]
[TD].4483[/TD]
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[TD].4015[/TD]
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[TD]54[/TD]
[TD]Harvard[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
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[TD].2843[/TD]
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[TD]55[/TD]
[TD]Rensselaer[/TD]
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ECAC Struggling this year. This is the current pairwise #50-55
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[TD].4417[/TD]
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[TD].4015[/TD]
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[TD]54[/TD]
[TD]Harvard[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
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[TD]Rensselaer[/TD]
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ECAC Struggling this year. This is the current pairwise #50-55
I just read Schott’s column In the Gazette on February 16[SUP]th[/SUP]. In my opinion he is too close the situation and is missing the big picture. The proposed 2200 seat hockey rink at Rivers casino makes no sense either for Union hockey or for that matter Schenectady, NY. This size stadium is not big enough for concerts, high school basketball, or school graduation ceremonies. It makes no sense to put down ice weekly for 28 home hockey games and then return the space for general use (it’s too expensive). It also makes no economic sense to keep ice in a new arena during the season for team practice, youth hockey, and figure skating rentals.
The college will always need a season long practice facility on campus to go along with off campus games. Therefore Messa will have to remain in tact (and maintained) indefinitely. Schenectady the city needs a bigger arena similar to the Glens Falls civic center which (by the way) the developers tried to put in Schenectady during the (late, great) Frank Duci era.
Messa rink is also under rated. It’s not a national division 1 rink but every seat is good (unlike RPI). Bench seats are fine for a two hour hockey game, bathrooms (upper and lower) are available and parking is never a problem for the size crowds that Union hockey attracts. It also doesn’t look good at all for the college to put on hockey games at an off campus casino. Union should stick with Messa until they can afford to put up a better arena on campus.
The college will always need a season long practice facility on campus to go along with off campus games. Therefore Messa will have to remain in tact (and maintained) indefinitely. Schenectady the city needs a bigger arena similar to the Glens Falls civic center which (by the way) the developers tried to put in Schenectady during the (late, great) Frank Duci era.
Messa rink is also under rated. It’s not a national division 1 rink but every seat is good (unlike RPI). Bench seats are fine for a two hour hockey game, bathrooms (upper and lower) are available and parking is never a problem for the size crowds that Union hockey attracts. It also doesn’t look good at all for the college to put on hockey games at an off campus casino. Union should stick with Messa until they can afford to put up a better arena on campus.
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Excellent Points, well said.
You defeat your argument within the post. If Messa is not a D-1 rink, then how do you expect Union to compete on a national stage with an inferior building? You will have major problems attracting talent w/o a first-class facility even with athletic scholarships.
Also, why keep Messa as a practice facility when Union is making a financial commitment to the new facility for practice and games? Do you want to pay double for practices? The new rink will supposedly be steps away from campus. How is that a problem? Bright Landry is across the Charles River in Allston, a healthy trek down from the Harvard campus for some of our players. That hasn't been a problem for us.
I do agree that 2200 is too small especially if you are building a new facility that is expected to attract other events. Go big or go home.
And with the proposed hotel space as part of the plan, you guys could host a holiday tournament or other winter tournament and draw teams from outside the region. Bringing in more business to Schenectady. Just sayin'.
Wicked Slappaahs
I miss Tie Domi
Messa rink is substandard. Period. It doesn't come close to today's standards for ADA compliance or building code, not to mention creature comforts.
I have not read anywhere that Messa will be kept as an ice sheet for practices, once the new arena is built. Given that new exercise and training facilities will be included in the new rink, I don't believe that is the plan. From the release: "...Also, shifting the hockey programs from Messa will free up valuable space in the Achilles Center for other athletic uses. As a result, the facility will now be enjoyed by more members of the Union community, enhancing the student experience for all at the College."
https://unionathletics.com/news/2024...wk-harbor.aspx
As the press release notes, the capacity for non-hockey would be 3,600 (with seating on the ice surface area). Which is plenty big enough for concerts and other events. Also, a hotel at the site already exists ..I don't recall reading that they are planning for or need to build another one.
What folks aren't taking into consideration is the perilous fiscal circumstances that small northeastern liberal arts colleges face. The headwinds they face are real given the shrinking population / demographics in the northeast. Union is better shape than many of them, but just this week there was an article detailing Moody's down grade of its bond rating forecast for Union: "... expectations of ongoing multi-year operating deficits requiring the use of reserves, resulting in weakening financial reserve levels relative to peers.”
https://www.timesunion.com/education...t-18684810.php
What the arena lease arrangement gives the school is cost certainty in the form of the annual lease payments. They avoid financing a huge construction project AND they avoid the operational and maintenance costs (known and unknown) associated with ownership. Both the men's and women's ice hockey programs will receive brand new facilities that will only strengthen their recruiting efforts. I guarantee you that the coaches are beyond thrilled with this decision. It's a no-brainer.
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I wasn't concerned about the capacity for non-hockey. My point was hockey attendance only and building an arena today for only 2200 makes little sense unless their studies show that 2200 capacity will not be exceeded repeatedly. Certainly, you'll have trouble attracting NCAA regionals. 3000 would have been better.
I don't think you're right about the operational and maintenance costs of the rink. The lease payments will have to cover those costs because that is the only source of incoming funds when the rink is operational. For concerts and other events, they can cover those costs through renting the space, ticket revenue, booth rentals, signage, etc... Hockey doesn't generate that type of income flow so the lease payments are pretty much what will cover 'time on ice'. Unless they sell ad space along the boards.
I hope someone in the administration has done their homework and fully understands where our attendance for home games came from and whether they will travel the added distance and inconvenience to our new rink. I am not sure you can compare Harvard's Bright as there is a very large local working-class following of College hockey in Boston with its easy public transit. I don't see many students at Harvard at their home games. There is excellent parking. I don't know if the new rink will be a win. Will it attract new Schenectady Fans? Different types of fans? Possibly. How much will season tickets cost? Who will set the price? What will the concessions be like? Will the improved parking bring more distant fans?
Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen consistently turned heads in higher education by predicting that 50% of colleges and universities will close or go bankrupt in the next decade (by 2030). The prediction arose out of an observation that the business model of traditional colleges and universities was broken. https://www.christenseninstitute.org...e-next-decade/ Many are already closing or merging with other colleges and universities.
Most of the decline in student population is due to fewer young men pursuing college. About 1 million fewer young men are in college, but only 0.2 million fewer young women. As a result, men make up 44% of young college students today, down from 47% in 2011, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data. Men are heading for the trades where they can earn good money immediately without incurring the suffocating debt of college loans. Many college graduates already work at the trades and many others are underemployed. The only thing a college degree gets you is more debt.
Top tier liberal arts schools like Colgate, Williams, Amherst, with very loyal alumni and big endowments should do ok. Engineering Universities like RPI will be ok. Not clear to me that Union will make it. Then, the hockey team will not matter.