Wagner College's win over Colgate puts Northeast Conference football on the map

[aceinthehole]

Great story about the rise of NEC Football.


The little Northeast Conference grew up considerably with Wagner College’s historic 31-20 victory over nationally-ranked Colgate in the NCAA football playoffs last weekend.

It took years of perseverance for the NEC to land an automatic berth into the Football Championship Subdivision national tournament, but just one glorious afternoon on Grymes Hill for the conference to demonstrate that it finally had arrived.

“It’s definitely a monumental time for NEC football,” said Noreen Morris, the conference commissioner. “To have a convincing win over a very quality opponent in our third year in the tournament really proves we belong and that the NEC is a force to be reckoned with in the (FCS) football world.” http://www.silive.com/colleges/index.ssf/2012/11/wagner_colleges_win_over_colga.html?utm_source=twi tterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Pard4Life]

Um, no...

Do I think Wagner is for real? Maybe.

Are they good? Yes.

Did they beat a quality opponent? Not really.

Is this a landmark win? No.

[Mr. C]

Um, no...

Do I think Wagner is for real? Maybe.

Are they good? Yes.

Did they beat a quality opponent? Not really.

Is this a landmark win? No.

Don't be a fuddy duddy. It was a huge win for Wagner and the NEC. And probably one of many to come, with the NEC jumping ahead of the PL in the scholarship game.

[Lehigh'98]

I'm very happy for Wagner and the NEC. Although losing Albany will hurt, if they get stronger as a league it will only benefit the PL and CAA as those OOC games will no longer be looked at as cupcake wins. Wagner has a very nice team this year after a rough start, they look like they can be competitive this coming week. Hopefully I will get to check out a game of theirs next year as its a very convenient location to the NY/NJ area.

[Dane96]

Don't be a fuddy duddy. It was a huge win for Wagner and the NEC. And probably one of many to come, with the NEC jumping ahead of the PL in the scholarship game.

The PL is jumping ahead of the NEC in that dept. Full allotment (well close to) to 40 max.

[danefan]

It's nice for the NEC, but I think it goes to show you the writer doesn't know much about the vast devise between the haves and have nots in FCS.

Beating Colgate isn't exactly setting the world on fire.

Now beating EWU would be.

[aceinthehole]

What it tells me is the NEC front office (and its members) worked very hard to put together a plan to improve football. They made strategic changes inside the league (scheduling, schollys, facilities). They lobbied the NCAA hard for the AQ - and that was no easy task. The NEC had a pool to help win the bid to host a playoff game - 'gate didn't even put in a bid.

I think we all know the PL and Colgate isn't a "power" conference or team, but this program did reach the NCAA Finals in 2003 and has multiple playoff apperances. The PL AQ teams has won firts round games in the preceeding two years. Again, it is not like the NEC beat the defending National Champs, but it is a HUGE win any way you slice it. Especially in just their 3rd year with the AQ!

I think the point is the NEC has done a lot in a short period of time and this win will help future recruting. Of course it is a "feel good" story, but it does give some insight on what the NEC was doing while the Patriot League was debating scholarships among its members.

(also note the writer made a mistake - CCSU beat six-time national champs Georgea Southern in 2006, Albany did not)

[danefan]

What it tells me is the NEC front office (and its members) worked very hard to put together a plan to improve football. They made strategic changes inside the league (scheduling, schollys, facilities). They lobbied the NCAA hard for the AQ - and that was no easy task. The NEC had a pool to help win the bid to host a playoff game - 'gate didn't even put in a bid.

I think we all know the PL and Colgate isn't a "power" conference or team, but this program did reach the NCAA Finals in 2003 and has multiple playoff apperances. The PL AQ teams has won firts round games in the preceeding two years. Again, it is not like the NEC beat the defending National Champs, but it is a HUGE win any way you slice it. Especially in just their 3rd year with the AQ!

I think the point is the NEC has done a lot in a short period of time and this win will help future recruting. Of course it is a "feel good" story, but it does give some insight on what the NEC was doing while the Patriot League was debating scholarships among its members.

(also note the writer made a mistake - CCSU beat six-time national champs Georgea Southern in 2006, Albany did not)


Agreed. The NEC has done a lot to make its football conference a better and stronger conference. Its too bad they capped the scholarship max, but its understandable for the smaller schools to want to do it.

And I noticed the CCSU/GSU flub.

[aceinthehole]

Agreed. The NEC has done a lot to make its football conference a better and stronger conference. Its too bad they capped the scholarship max, but its understandable for the smaller schools to want to do it.

And I noticed the CCSU/GSU flub.

+1000

[Franks Tanks]

Any win in the playoffs is a quality win, but this is a bit of hyperbole. Wagner played great and deserves a ton of credit for the win, but Colgate was a flawed team. They had a suspect defense and an inconsistent passing game. Wagner however did an excellent job slowing down the Colgate running game, which is no small feat.

Wagner lost to Georgtown, and beat a 2 win Holy Cross team by 1 point. I have a lot of respect for Wagner, but I don't know if this win was a monumental achivement. I am rooting for Wagner this week however.

[Tim James]

I'm very happy for Wagner and the NEC. Although losing Albany will hurt, if they get stronger as a league it will only benefit the PL and CAA as those OOC games will no longer be looked at as cupcake wins.

Adding Northeast 10 teams wont help them get stronger. There has to be other ways. Maybe add a PSAC team like LIU Post or something.

[danefan]

Adding Northeast 10 teams wont help them get stronger. There has to be other ways. Maybe add a PSAC team like LIU Post or something.

Adding a team like New Haven would help. New Haven has produced very good DII teams recently. New Haven is a natural fit for the NEC.

[Franks Tanks]

Adding a team like New Haven would help. New Haven has produced very good DII teams recently. New Haven is a natural fit for the NEC.

New Haven has always been pretty serious about football, despite dropping the sport for a few years. They do have a quality program, but may have extreme difficulty funding a D-I athletic program.

Post is back in the NE-10 by the way. The PSAC kicked them out this past year because they added another private D-II school located in Western Pa. Post is weird because it is technically a branch campus of LIU, and I heard the main campus in Brooklyn doesn't want Post in D-I. Otherwise they could be a NEC fit.

[DSUrocks07]

xthumbsupx to our future conference mates

xpopcornx

[aceinthehole]

The NEC doesn't need a 4th school from Connecticut - so unless CCSU goes AE/CAA Football that's not going to happen. The NEC doesn't need to add anyone in New England.

I do think the best fits out there are probably a PSAC school. West Chester would actually be at the top of my list.

[danefan]

New Haven has always been pretty serious about football, despite dropping the sport for a few years. They do have a quality program, but may have extreme difficulty funding a D-I athletic program.

Post is back in the NE-10 by the way. The PSAC kicked them out this past year because they added another private D-II school located in Western Pa. Post is weird because it is technically a branch campus of LIU, and I heard the main campus in Brooklyn doesn't want Post in D-I. Otherwise they could be a NEC fit.
New Haven would probably have problems which is why the discarded their DI plans a few years ago. They're athletic budget is less than 50% of most NEC schools.

[Franks Tanks]

The NEC doesn't need a 4th school from Connecticut - so unless CCSU goes AE/CAA Football that's not going to happen. The NEC doesn't need to add anyone in New England.

I do think the best fits out there are probably a PSAC school. West Chester would actually be at the top of my list.

IUP to D-I rumors have existed for decades, but it seems like they will never leave the PSAC. Years ago West Chester was pretty much a D-I school, official classifications were often murky, but they played in the old ECC with Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell, Lasalle, Delaware, St. Joe's and others.

I have no idea if WCU has any interest in moving back up, but they would be a very good fit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_Conference_(Division_I)

[aceinthehole]

New Haven is a non-starter unless CCSU and Quinnipiac both move on. Plus, as you have pointed out they really don't have the $$$ to go D-I across the board.

I really don't see any future expansion from the NE-10. The trip for the NJ and Western PA schools would suck.

Franks brought up the issue with LIU-Post. As long as LIU-Brooklyn is in the NEC, LIU-Post probably isn't going D-I.

At this point the NEC has 12 teams and isn't thinking about expansion at all. But assuming some mebers did move on in the conference shuffle, I think any future NEC expansion will come from NJ, PA, DE, or MD.

Depending on the scenario and needs of the NEC, I could see them talking with NJIT, some MAAC programs, Delaware State, Morgan State, and some PSAC schools.

[TheValleyRaider]

At the very least it would appear that the NEC has passed the PL by when it comes to expansion talk xpopcornx

[Pard4Life]

Don't be a fuddy duddy. It was a huge win for Wagner and the NEC. And probably one of many to come, with the NEC jumping ahead of the PL in the scholarship game.

Not being a fuddy duddy (what is a fuddy duddy? xlolx ) ... If they beat Eastern Washington, that would be a landmark achievement. The first round, as it exists, is essentially a play-in game. And, NEC teams have been beating Patriot teams i.e. Albany over Colgate earlier this year. Wagner handled Albany, so you could say this win is not overly surprising. You could dare say Wagner's win was expected.

[busybee14]

New Haven is a non-starter unless CCSU and Quinnipiac both move on. Plus, as you have pointed out they really don't have the $$$ to go D-I across the board.

I really don't see any future expansion from the NE-10. The trip for the NJ and Western PA schools would suck.

Franks brought up the issue with LIU-Post. As long as LIU-Brooklyn is in the NEC, LIU-Post probably isn't going D-I.

At this point the NEC has 12 teams and isn't thinking about expansion at all. But assuming some mebers did move on in the conference shuffle, I think any future NEC expansion will come from NJ, PA, DE, or MD.

Depending on the scenario and needs of the NEC, I could see them talking with NJIT, some MAAC programs, Delaware State, Morgan State, and some PSAC schools.
Why not have existing member Fairliegh Dickenson move up football ? From the NE10 i would think St.A could handle the jump or maybe Bentley

[busybee14]

Bringing Marist aboard would make to much sense.

[Bill]

busybee

That's an interesting thought (FDU) to move up for football, but it's simply never going to happen. FDU football is on the Madison DIII campus. They'd have to go DI in all sports, and in essence compete against themselves for students in other sports (with the Teaneck campus). To go deeper, If the Madison campus ever did go DI (let's pretend the facilities were upgraded dramatically), it would be a death knell for the athletics on the Teaneck campus....

[aceinthehole]

busybee

That's an interesting thought (FDU) to move up for football, but it's simply never going to happen. FDU football is on the Madison DIII campus. They'd have to go DI in all sports, and in essence compete against themselves for students in other sports (with the Teaneck campus). To go deeper, If the Madison campus ever did go DI (let's pretend the facilities were upgraded dramatically), it would be a death knell for the athletics on the Teaneck campus....

Yep, that's the same issue with LIU-Brooklyn (D-I without football) and LIU-Post (D-II with football). Different campuses and athletic programs, but it's basically the same college.

[RichH2]

No doubt a great win for Wagner and NEC. A step forward but landmark , not yet. NEC 's self imposed 40 limit still stands as a major roadblock. I have little doubt that some schools will be able to maximize those and put up nationally competitive squads. League however will pretty much stay where it is now.

[aceinthehole]

No doubt a great win for Wagner and NEC. A step forward but landmark , not yet. NEC 's self imposed 40 limit still stands as a major roadblock. I have little doubt that some schools will be able to maximize those and put up nationally competitive squads. League however will pretty much stay where it is now.

Maybe, but the NEC, as a conference, is already ahead of the SWAC, MEAC, and Big South and they all allow 63 rides - so what does that say?

I'll say it again, scholarships alone will not make or break the NEC (or the PL for that matter).

[RichH2]

Ace
Apples and oranges. Bottom line, more good players within reach here. NE has over 2500 HS football teams, that does not include Oh or Va. Add to that that NEC schools are just better overall academically.
Certainly not saying NEC will take a step back just that moving higher not likely as a conference.

[dgreco]

I agree with the sentiments on expansion... Delaware State, West Chester, IUP, Bentley, Morgan State and then NJIT. As for the win it was huge for Wagner and makes the seahawks a more legit program for recruiting and will help the NEC overall.

[heath]

N ot
E ven
C lose
?
What happened to the Seahawks after losing to Georgetown and Monmouth? Nice run,but are still not on the GPS yetxlolx

[DFW HOYA]

Sadly, Wagner didn't put the NEC on the map inasmuch as the PL is not on the map either.

Most football fans outside of AGS think of it as Division II. So much for the promotional wonder that is the FCS moniker.

[Sader87]

As others have noted, it's a nice win for both Wagner and the NEC but it's more an indictment on how stagnant the PL has become.

Wagner was losing to schools like Stonehill and Assumption as late as 2009 and 2010...that they beat both Holy Cross and Colgate this year is hopefully a harsh dose of reality that the PL will soon rectify in the scholarship-era.

[downbythebeach]

It's a big win because NEC schools are only a few years removed from being "Mid-Major."
NEC schedules used to include schools like Gannon, Buffalo State, Rowan, and Stonehill.
We could never get home games against PL or CAA teams, and if we played away we would
be blown out by halftime.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I don't get why people are downplaying Wagner's win. It unquestionably was a big win, and a deserved one.

Was it surprising? To me, yes, but overall in terms of the NEC, no. NEC teams had beaten "power conference" teams before, and Albany, lest anyone forget, was a 1st-and-goal away from knocking off Stony Brook last season. The NEC belongs in the playoffs.

It was a surprise to me because I had seen Colgate's offense up close, and when they played Lehigh the Raiders were playing turnover-free ball and were averaging over 40 points a game on offense. I couldn't fathom the Raiders being held to 2 offensive touchdowns.

[danefan]

I don't get why people are downplaying Wagner's win. It unquestionably was a big win, and a deserved one.

Was it surprising? To me, yes, but overall in terms of the NEC, no. NEC teams had beaten "power conference" teams before, and Albany, lest anyone forget, was a 1st-and-goal away from knocking off Stony Brook last season. The NEC belongs in the playoffs.

It was a surprise to me because I had seen Colgate's offense up close, and when they played Lehigh the Raiders were playing turnover-free ball and were averaging over 40 points a game on offense. I couldn't fathom the Raiders being held to 2 offensive touchdowns.

I think it was a good win for the NEC and even better considering it came from a non-Albany NEC team.

I guess when I look at the win, I don't see it as huge because we beat up on Colgate and never saw them as that great of a team.