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G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

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  • BlueBlood
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Congrats on the new track KWC. I saw the photos - it looks nice. Should be a game-changer for T&F recruiting.

    Leave a comment:


  • alumnifan
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    I do appreciate your knowledge of the Conference and the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams. You also did a great job of putting a positive spin on each review.

    Some of the athletic departments read these posts regularly. That's one reason I like this Board. So, thank you for a great volleyball review.

    However, some of the programs will use this as motivation. If the student athlete can't give all they can to the sport and learn from their mistakes, they shouldn't be playing.

    Leave a comment:


  • buckeyeblitz
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    BuckeyeBlitz's Annual Volleyball Preview

    Hello everyone! I have been extremely busy this summer traveling and officiating club volleyball tournaments. So, the amount of my research is not going to be as in depth as it has been in the past with details about all of the new signees. Just some thoughts about each program and the direction I expect them to go in this the first season of what I am calling the New G-MAC! This is also in large part to a much greater number of teams this year as well! First of all, I would like to start out with the main questions that I will be looking forward to getting answered as the season progresses this year.

    1. Will Cedarville be able to maintain their position at the top of the conference in this New G-MAC era?
    2. Will Findlay & Hillsdale boot CU out of that top position and take a dominant role at the top of the conference as was expected when the moves to the conference were announced?
    3. How will the East/West divisions of the conference impact the schedule and how the conference tournament will shape up as well?
    4. Will the G-MAC have more than one bid to the NCAA Tournament this season?
    5. Will the Old G-MAC continue to build their programs up in order to compete in the New G-MAC?

    I am going to go through this process by ranking the teams in the conference from #1-#13 based on how I think they will perform this year. There is nothing scientific about this other than looking at how they fared last season and looking at what they lost/gained through graduation/recruiting. I will then look at how I believe the conference tournament will shake out based on the divisional alignment.

    To start off with the rankings. I believe that there will be three tiers to the conference this year with teams competing hard within these tiers. The top tier will be (Cedarville, Findlay, Hillsdale, & Lake Erie), the middle tier will be (Davis & Elkins, Kentucky Wesleyan, Malone, Ohio Dominican, Trevecca, & Ursuline), and the bottom tier will be (Alderson Broaddus, Ohio Valley, and Walsh). There could very well be a mixing of these groups as the season goes along, and quite frankly I could see any of the three that I have labeled in the bottom tier making a decent run this season and pulling off some key wins. I honestly believe that there will not be a single pushover team in the G-MAC this year as all of the teams have been building towards this new era. I will go through my rankings in reverse order.

    #13 Alderson Broaddus
    Last year was a bit of a struggle in Coach Stoner's first year with the program. The loss of their starting setter from the previous season was a major blow to the Battlers program, and they never fully recovered. That being said, they do have a lot of good talent returning this year! They also have a really good freshmen setter from Mercy HS and NKJV coming in that should be very good for them. They are now going to be much more adjusted to Coach Stoner's philosophy, and I would not be at all surprised if they are much better than last year! Last year's results though are why I have them at the bottom of the list going into this season.

    #12 Ohio Valley
    Ohio Valley is going to see many changes this year, and that kind of has things up in the air for the Fighting Scots. First of all, Coach Jacoby retired after decades of leading the program! He will be missed as he was greatly respected by many in the volleyball community. The other big thing is that Alyx Henry graduated. Henry has been one of the stars of the G-MAC the last four years, and was basically the only thing that was keeping them competitive last season. So, will they be able to replace Henry in order to compete? That is the big question, and I just do not know that answer. It is always very hard to get information about OVU's signees. So, I just do not know. On the coaching front, they did very well. Marlon Sano has some great experience in multiple levels including a brief stint as an assistant with the National team. I believe that he will be a refreshing add to this program, and just what it needs going forward to help it be competitive in the New G-MAC!

    #11 Walsh
    Of all of the volleyball programs in the G-MAC that have made the switch from the NAIA to DII in recent years, Walsh has easily been the one that has struggled the most. In the NAIA days, Walsh was a powerhouse and usually one of the better teams in the nation. Since moving to DII and the GLIAC, they have struggled mightily. Looking at their schedule for this season, they do not even have anything scheduled for opening weekend. I am hoping that is because they just haven't finalized it yet, but that is a little scary. They have their conference schedule and one weekend of non-conference. That is all at the moment. They are returning some pretty good talent, and they have a really nice recruiting class coming in from what I can tell. So, hopefully, this is the year that they will begin to turn this ship back around and get back on the right trajectory!

    #10 Kentucky Wesleyan
    This middle tier of teams was very, very hard for me. Honestly, I can see them finishing in any order. I believe there will be a battle in this group for the final spots in the conference tournament in November that will be fun to watch. KWC had a pretty good team last year that just underperformed in some matches they should have competed better in. They were a young group though which could account for a big portion of that. I really like Coach Hagan and what he is doing with this program, and I look forward to watching how they compete this season. I would love to see them finish higher than this initial ranking, and I believe that they have that potential. I believe that Coach Hagan recruits well, and has done that once again. The big thing for them is how are they going to compete against the former GLIAC teams this season! Also, with the East/West alignment of the conference, they are right in the middle of the tougher of the two divisions. So, they will be battle tested for sure!

    #9 Malone
    Malone was the first of the former GLIAC teams to come into the G-MAC last season. They were usually a middle of the road team in the GLIAC, and continued that last year in the G-MAC. They did have a pretty good run at the end of the season, and made a nice push in the conference tournament. Coach Hockman has been at MU for quite some time, and knows how to compete at the highest of levels. She did a great job of addressing their needs in this recruiting class bringing in some really good setting talent! They also have two really nice opening tournaments that they will be playing in with some great competition. This is really going to help them prepare for a tough conference schedule when it gets here! Their position in the East division of the conference is also going to be a big help to them as well. This should be a pretty good season for Malone!

    #8 Trevecca#7 Ursuline#6 Davis & Elkins
    Wow, what a run for the Senators at the end of last season! They finished the regular season very strong, and took Cedarville to a hard fought 5 sets in the conference championship match! They graduate Saucy, but will be returning Sasha Johnson who I believe was the MVP of the tournament last year! I could not find any information out about their signees for this year, but I know that Coach Heyne has been doing a great job bringing in top level recruits to this program! Every year though, D&E has started the season kind of slow only to pick up momentum heading into the home stretch. If they can get off to a good start this year, I think that will pay off for them in the long run! Also, being in the East division of the conference should be useful to them as well! It will be fun to see how they compete against the former GLIAC teams!

    #5 Ohio Dominican
    The next tier of teams for me was extremely difficult to try and rank! I believe that the race at the top of the conference this year is going to be extremely exciting to watch with some very big matchups to come during the course of the season! These four teams could easily be ranked in any order and be perfectly justified in that order! This 2017 season is going to be fun to watch!

    #4 Findlay
    I know what you are thinking. How can you put the team that was the 2nd best team in the region last year by seed as the #4 team in the G-MAC entering the season? Well, it is not easy. All I can say is Tong and Garverick. The graduation of those two players is a major loss to this team. That being said, Coach Colchagoff never rebuilds, he just reloads. So, I believe that they will be just fine! They also have Olson (National Freshman of the Year two years ago) back at setter along with Hammersmith at the RS. Winner is also capable of some pretty big things at the OH position as well! So, I do not expect Findlay to lose much of a beat! Their recruiting class also looks to be very good, and their opening two weekends look really strong which will prepare them well for the G-MAC season! Coach Colchagoff is also one of the best coaches around as far as I am concerned and will continue to have his team prepared for anything to come their way throughout the season!

    #3 Lake Erie#2 Hillsdale
    Hillsdale failed to make the NCAA tournament last year after falling off towards the end of the season. I am not certain as to why that happened for them, but I am going to assume that they had some issues that were the main cause of that (injuries perhaps) as they started the season very strong! This team will be one that those of you that are not familiar with are going to want to see. They probably run the fastest offense in the conference, and when they are connecting, are very fun to watch! Coach Gravel is also considered to be one of the best coaches around, and is known for being a meticulous planner, analyzer, and opponent scout! He uses this information well, to prepare his teams for the competition! I think that it is also very important to note that Hillsdale is the only team in the New G-MAC that Cedarville has never defeated! Obviously, every year is different, but that could contribute to a psychological advantage for the Chargers in that matchup as well! Even though, they did not make the NCAA last year, I would not be surprised to see them as the team to beat as we enter 2017!

    #1 CedarvilleTournament Predictions
    The conference has not updated the operating codes on the website for volleyball yet. So, it is hard to tell how the tournament is being set up. On the championships tab, you can see that 8 teams will be playing and they are seeded 1-8. So, I am not sure how they are figuring this up with the divisional alignment in the conference. I am going to assume that it will be similar to last year where they had a certain number of teams guaranteed from each division plus a couple of wild cards. If that is the case this year, I am going to assume that it will be the top 3 in each division plus two wild cards based on overall winning percentage. I think the West division is the stronger division, and those teams could easily be beating up all over each other. However, I think that you will see Cedarville, Findlay, and Hillsdale come out of the West with Lake Erie, Davis & Elkins, and Ursuline come out of the East. The wild cards would then be Ohio Dominican and Trevecca.

    I do believe that with the much stronger volleyball conference in the G-MAC this year that there will definitely be multiple bids from the G-MAC in the NCAA tournament this season! Definitely two bids with the possibility of three. I do not think that there will be any more than that though. All in all, I think that the 2017 volleyball season in the G-MAC is going to be a thrill to watch for many reasons! This is going to be fun! I hope you all enjoyed!

    Leave a comment:


  • alumnifan
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    KWC hired a really good coach. This was a sport that the previous Director of Athletics wanted to bring in.

    Leave a comment:


  • BlueBlood
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Congrats to Randy.

    BTW - at this rate, bowling may be the G-MAC's next sport. UC, KWC, now Walsh.

    Leave a comment:


  • ABjo
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    AB's Randy Dobnak signs pro contract with the Twins:

    http://gobattlers.com/news/2017/7/27...zabethton.aspx

    Leave a comment:


  • UFSwimDad
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    I'd be surprised to see swimming in the near future. There is currently no pool on campus (or really even close to campus).

    That is what makes me think few will jump into the sport. That's a lot of money. Unless you have a local pool close by or have the funds and or alumni resources to help off set costs, I wouldn't think many will jump on board he swimming train. Swimming is a sport that gets cut more often than added lately.

    Leave a comment:


  • BlueBlood
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Originally posted by UFSwimDad View Post
    If I were to make a guess on what current GMAC schools would start up swimming, I would think that KWC,perhaps Hillsdale on the men's side as the schools. Perhaps Walsh, ODU and maybe Cedarville but that is all pure speculation.
    If I had to guess CU's next sport, I would guess M/W Lax. Its a growing sport and CU has a decent amount of students from NY/NJ/PA/MD (the majority of the CU student population is out-of-state). Also, there is plenty of room for another athletic field and a turf field could be used by the soccer teams when their fields are too wet (such games have been moved to Wright State's turf field on occasion in the past).

    Also, CU has no women's golf team. The men's team counterbalances volleyball. I think they add a women's team at some point.

    I'd be surprised to see swimming in the near future. There is currently no pool on campus (or really even close to campus).

    Leave a comment:


  • UFSwimDad
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Originally posted by alumnifan View Post
    The Conference officials are on it. This is going to be a great season. Everyone will be upping their game. Cedarville has already produced individual national championships. There are some distinguishing statistics.

    KWC has actually added to their athletic department. Wesleyan's full year tuition is around $25,000 a year. Bellarmine charges over $40,000 per year. That is one of the reasons KWC has a budget of over four million and not $14,000,000. That and Wesleyan uses a lot of walk on players in most sports.

    A lot of new things will be happening, and just by what I see in how programs as a whole are being branded. Wesleyan has been rebranding. They are getting to work on the minor sports this year.

    The entire Conference is branding and the goal is to produce the most scholar athletes that is possible. That is a high priority and hard to achieve.
    If I were to make a guess on what current GMAC schools would start up swimming, I would think that KWC,perhaps Hillsdale on the men's side as the schools. Perhaps Walsh, ODU and maybe Cedarville but that is all pure speculation.

    Leave a comment:


  • UFSwimDad
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    I am sure that is the case but again, it will have zero impact for this season and most likely next. That is why I was speculating.

    Leave a comment:


  • alumnifan
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    The Conference officials are on it. This is going to be a great season. Everyone will be upping their game. Cedarville has already produced individual national championships. There are some distinguishing statistics.

    KWC has actually added to their athletic department. Wesleyan's full year tuition is around $25,000 a year. Bellarmine charges over $40,000 per year. That is one of the reasons KWC has a budget of over four million and not $14,000,000. That and Wesleyan uses a lot of walk on players in most sports.

    A lot of new things will be happening, and just by what I see in how programs as a whole are being branded. Wesleyan has been rebranding. They are getting to work on the minor sports this year.

    The entire Conference is branding and the goal is to produce the most scholar athletes that is possible. That is a high priority and hard to achieve.
    Last edited by alumnifan; 07-24-2017, 07:59 PM.

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  • Tech Boys
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Sorry. I was referring to the swim teams leaving their respective swimming-only conferences to compete in their primary conferences.

    Leave a comment:


  • UFSwimDad
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Ok, thanks for that.

    Leave a comment:


  • alumnifan
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Point being: Conferences form, develop and excell over time. The G-MAC is still a young conference. This upcoming season the conference will mature and some schools may leave, and other schools will join in the future.

    Leave a comment:


  • UFSwimDad
    replied
    Re: G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

    Originally posted by alumnifan View Post
    Which G-MAC schools are leaving? BTW, AB and KWC started the Football Conference with just those two programs.
    I do not believe he thinks any GMAC schools are leaving. He was stating that some current schools in the Blue Mountaikn swim conference have already left

    Leave a comment:

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