NESCAC

[InsiderRoll]

That is awesome to know and see about LC / Tufts in 2023

The Endicott / Lynchburg games in '15 and '16 were fun to watch.
And a lot of credit goes to the LC program for committing to everything that goes into making these Tufts games work.

Many ODACs & Centennials have a # of New England prospects that they recruit to play major roles in their programs.
ISL, NE West, Lakes Regions, and the top teams in each state have players looking, committing and playing at these schools.

Would be fun to see more of these top programs take advantage of the opportunity to play in New England.
And hope they wouldn't use the "weather" as a crutch or reason not to

I’m not sure it’s completely weather based. It’s expensive to travel that far for a D3 program. And quite frankly there are so many of the northern teams willing to come down. At times it can be a tough sell to an AD when there are many quality opponents willing to come down south for the weather in early and mid March

[SaltCounty]

All true Insider - in no way do I say that, with the idea it should happen yearly.
But some of those budgets in the South are much better than the North.
And if Admissions is pushing for enrollment from New England states - that helps build a case.

Plus - anyone thats ever played in Baltimore or VA Beach during March knows it can be just as cold as Hartford or Boston

[ah23]

Was going to say, the annual Tufts-Stevenson game was always on a weeknight in March. NESCACs play plenty of midweek OOC games in region as well. I don't think it's the weather as much as it is the logistics of putting together a game during the week.

[MrLax2U]

The 2011 Tufts/Stangs game at Johnnie Unitas Stadium in freezing rain was one of the best D 3 games that year.

[BIGDAWG]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

[smoova]

^ obvious troll is obvious.

[ergit]

^ obvious troll is obvious.

Yes, troll for sure…

[Ddw1]

Looking at several of the NESCAC Schools OOC schedules, they look pretty challenging. For example, with a very young team(a good number of freshman and sophomores), Bates opens up against a very good Babson team on 2/23 at Babson, then plays national champ RIT on 2/27 at RIT(who is scrimmaging Yale at Yale on 2/12), plays WNEC on 3/9, and then plays York at the Mustang Classic on 3/19 the day after playing Amherst at the Classic on 3/18. It, at the very least, appears that Coach Lasagna has created a very challenging OOC schedule to go along with the normal difficult NESCAC schedule.

[SaltCounty]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Amherst, Bates, Midd, Wesleyan and Williams have all CHOSEN to play OOC games against some of the top / traditional powers of the LL, NCAC, ODAC... including a combination of Endicott / Springfield / WNE... the last 5-7 years. Not to mention opponents like Cortland and Stevens Tech.

So the "real fear" claim is bogus.

But 100% agree with you when it comes to competition. There are years that even the NESCAC Tournament Champ would not be a shoe-in for some of these other leagues.

[UpperCorner22]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Amherst, Bates, Midd, Wesleyan and Williams have all CHOSEN to play OOC games against some of the top / traditional powers of the LL, NCAC, ODAC... including a combination of Endicott / Springfield / WNE... the last 5-7 years. Not to mention opponents like Cortland and Stevens Tech.

So the "real fear" claim is bogus.

But 100% agree with you when it comes to competition. There are years that even the NESCAC Tournament Champ would not be a shoe-in for some of these other leagues.

Is that the Endicott team that Trinity handled with ease last season?

[Chipzhoo]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Nice narrative. You realize these schools actually give value to the concept of student athletes, right?

[AOD]

^ obvious troll is obvious.

Yes, troll for sure…

Don't be so quick to dismiss ignorance. He simply may not know about which he posts.

[Slim]

AOD ??

AOD = Assembly Of Dust ?!

[pcowlax]

Assembly of Dust is a great band! A fun mix of Vermont Jam Band sound (Reid is a legend) and southern rock. Enjoy this jam.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RvT8JvJWhw0

[BIGDAWG]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Nice narrative. You realize these schools actually give value to the concept of student athletes, right?

Do you realize all schools care for their student athletes, not just the NESCAC's which you put on such a pedestal? Have some self awareness and realize the league you idolize is not all you think it is.

[BIGDAWG]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Amherst, Bates, Midd, Wesleyan and Williams have all CHOSEN to play OOC games against some of the top / traditional powers of the LL, NCAC, ODAC... including a combination of Endicott / Springfield / WNE... the last 5-7 years. Not to mention opponents like Cortland and Stevens Tech.

So the "real fear" claim is bogus.

But 100% agree with you when it comes to competition. There are years that even the NESCAC Tournament Champ would not be a shoe-in for some of these other leagues.

Endicott, Springfield, and WNE are your examples of top OOC games? That really is a reach. Going to the Mustang Classic is a great competition, but don't try to group those sorry New England teams with the likes of the rest of the country.

[smoova]

^ obvious troll is obvious.

Yes, troll for sure…

Don't be so quick to dismiss ignorance. He simply may not know about which he posts.

You don't say ...

[Baducchi]

Pleeeeease let this be a normal season...

[UpperCorner22]

^ obvious troll is obvious.

Yes, troll for sure…

Don't be so quick to dismiss ignorance. He simply may not know about which he posts.

You don't say ...

Yeah - he proved it with that last comment...

[lilax]

It seems the NESCAC teams have a real fear of many of the higher tiered talent in the south and west of the country. With the exception of Tufts, they all shy away from real deal OOC games. There is plenty of talk that they could beat anyone in all of these conferences, though I tend to disagree. The best in the Liberty League, NCAC, ODAC, etc. would have their way with most of the NESCAC teams that lack true grit. Maybe one day these teams will make their way to the areas where D3 lacrosse truly thrives, but until then, I see the NESCAC as a bunch with a lot of bark and no bite.

Here is what has been explained to me about why the NESCAC doesn’t play more quality OOC games. If I have some parts wrong, my apologies.

The NESCAC schedule is compartmentalized into an 8 week season starting the first weekend in March. That means 7 of the weekends are designated for a conference game and 3 Wednesdays for conference games

With 11 teams in the conference, each team gets 1 bye weekend. Bates is allowed to start playing 1 week early because of their trimester finals schedule in the middle of the season (They do not play for 7 days during the course of finals). Because of travel distance, Colby typically does not have a weekend bye because they are an overnight visit for all teams excluding Bowdoin and Bates. Colby has a Wednesday bye.

Because of the rotating bye weekends, not every team can get out and attend the Mustang Classic.

Some bye weekends happen so late in the year, it is tough to find a quality non-conference opponent because everyone is in the heart of the schedule.

Each school seems to have strict no missed class policies, therefore the NESCAC teams cannot take overnight trips during the week, leave early on Friday to travel, and have to be back at a reasonable hour Sunday night.

Another major rule is that neutral site games must be approved by the conference. No neutral games at high schools are allowed.

With that in mind, the NESCAC is typically between a rock and hard place when it comes to scheduling.