Watch out for the NEC

[UNHknowledge]

The NEC is a conference on the rise that I guarantee will be participating in the I-AA playoffs within 3 years. With the addition of scholarships, this conference will win games against the other scholarship conferences and I don't think the CCSU/GSU game was a fluke. Their starting running back is Hairston (former Rutgers starter) and their backup is Freeman (last years starter who had a scholly to UNH in '03 but had complications with paperwork). Scholarships are HUUUGE when it comes to recruiting. My college decision came down to Colgate and UNH, and my decision was easy because Colgate could only give me "needs based financial aide". With scholarships, there is really no reason not to go to an NEC school. They are all in very nice areas: Wagner (staten island,ny), Iona (new rochelle,ny), Robert Morris (pittsburgh,pa), Sacred Heart (fairfield,ct), Albany (albany,ny)...etc.
As much as I love the Patriot League (my brother played at Bucknell), I think that it will be the worst league in I-AA very soon unless they start granting full athletic scholarships.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

My college decision came down to Colgate and UNH, and my decision was easy because Colgate could only give me "needs based financial aide". With scholarships, there is really no reason not to go to an NEC school. They are all in very nice areas: Wagner (staten island,ny), Iona (new rochelle,ny), Robert Morris (pittsburgh,pa), Sacred Heart (fairfield,ct), Albany (albany,ny)...etc.
As much as I love the Patriot League (my brother played at Bucknell), I think that it will be the worst league in I-AA very soon unless they start granting full athletic scholarships.

You had me until about "Staten Island". First of all, Iona's in the non-scholarship MAAC, not the NEC.

Second of all, the NEC is limited-scholarship and by league rule are only allowing 30 of them vs. the 50 to 60 grants-in-aid that PL schools can offer. The NEC have made big strides athletically, no doubt. But PL schools offer Ivy league-level schools for your education as well.

Finally, the Patriot League is far from approaching the worst league in I-AA. Wait and see how Lehigh, Lafayette, Colgate, and maybe even Holy Cross fare the rest of the way and the I-AA playoffs. Also, look in the past six years at the PL's record in the playoffs versus the OVC and MEAC, two "scholarship" conferences.

[UNHknowledge]

Yea Iona is in the MAAC, i sometimes get teams in the NEC and MAAC confused because they're so similar. You're right about the limited scholarships as well but trust me on scholarships playing a huge role in recruiting...i'm speaking first hand. 30 scholarships is 30 more than 0, which is what the PL offers. Look at Towson, they are night and day from the team they were when they were in the PL because of the addition of scholarships. Towson also made their transition with very limited scholarships, but those few scholarships are enough to change a program. I'm not saying the PL is going to be terrible this year and next year, but with the NEC playing tougher non-conference schedules and winning they will begin to make the playoffs thus taking away a spot that may have gone to an at-large PL team. Just something to think about and I'm making these statements from a very non-biased view. Like I said, my brother is a Bucknell alum and I have no connection to the NEC.

[aceinthehole]

You had me until about "Staten Island". First of all, Iona's in the non-scholarship MAAC, not the NEC.

Second of all, the NEC is limited-scholarship and by league rule are only allowing 30 of them vs. the 50 to 60 grants-in-aid that PL schools can offer. The NEC have made big strides athletically, no doubt. But PL schools offer Ivy league-level schools for your education as well.

Finally, the Patriot League is far from approaching the worst league in I-AA. Wait and see how Lehigh, Lafayette, Colgate, and maybe even Holy Cross fare the rest of the way and the I-AA playoffs. Also, look in the past six years at the PL's record in the playoffs versus the OVC and MEAC, two "scholarship" conferences.


Belive it or not, Wagner was ranked as the most beautiful campus in America by the Princeton Review!
http://universitybusiness.ccsct.com//page.cfm?p=779

Yes, I know its not Pepperdine or Hawaii, but it has a sweeping views of NY harbor, and its actually quite green up there.


Wagner is New York State's southernmost college. Located atop Staten Island's Grymes Hill, Wagner's 105 park-like acres represent the highest elevation on the eastern seaboard from Maine to Key West Florida. Panoramas of the Manhattan skyline, the New York harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean are all visible from the College's bucolic hills.
http://wagnerathletics.cstv.com/trads/wagn-trads.html

[UAalum72]

Yes, I know its not Pepperdine or Hawaii, but it has a sweeping views of NY harbor, and its actually quite green up there.
The freshman dorms have a view of the Statue of Liberty. The Wagner campus is the former Cunard estate (British steamship line)

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Wagner's alumni include Broadway Tony award winners, movie stars, film producers, playwrights, and Fortune 500 CEO's including the Chairman of GE Investments, the Chairman of Dupont Europe, the Chairman Emeritus of The Oppenheimer Management Company and the Chairman of the New York Power Authority.

They should probably scratch that last one after this year's ConEd debacles. xlolx

Back on topic. Yes, the NEC could eventually pry an at-large I-AA playoff spot from a Patriot/MEAC/A-10/SoCon school, if and when their champion won't play in the Pioneer/NEC bowl.

As for Towson, I'll believe the turnaround when I see them in the I-AA playoffs. Scholarships have made them from a middle-of-the-pack Patriot League school with no championships to a middle-of-the-pack A-10 school with no championships. Awful hard to say if they're better.

Your main point is the NEC is on the rise; that's very true. They've done a good job so far. But the season is young and the Patriot League is pretty damn good in their own right. We'll see how thinks shake out.