D3 football question

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Winnipegopher

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Apologies if this is better suited for the Off topic board. Mods can move if desired.

I will be in MSP next week-end. A quick look at the schedules show both Macalester and St. Thomas at home.

Is it worthwhile to attend a D3 game? I am more concerned with atmosphere than calibre of play. I have been on the mac campus and it is quite nice, is there much going on around a game? How many people attend a D3 game at these schools?
 

St. Thomas has a pretty good thing going right now. Attendance will be somewhere between 1500-5000 depending on the game. I know it is a big range, but thats the way it is.
 

Next weekend might be tough for atmosphere considering the time of year, and I'm not sure if these schools will be in session yet. If they are, obviously that helps. My guess is you'd find a much better atmosphere AND quality of play at St. Thomas compared to Macalester if those are your only two choices.

There are some wonderful D3 facilities and atmosphere in the MIAC. But, to see it at its best you have to hit it right. St. John often leads the entire country in DIII attendance and they play their games in a nice little woodland stadium. Gustavus has a new Stadium and it is beautiful, with a view over the MN river valley and built into a natural "bowl". Any MIAC in-conference game between any teams mid pack and above have decent atmospheres.
 

If St John's has a home game the best D3 atmosphere is St John's by far- worth the 75 minute drive
 

Football is always worth watching

Football is always worth watching anytime, anywhere.
 


Winn :

St. Thomas is nice set up most weekends and it'll probably still be decent next weekend. However, the game will be right at about the same time of "move in" and freshman orientation, so it will probably be pretty hectic over there. Additionally, classes don't start until the following wednesday, so a lot of the upper classmen will not be around. I'd imagine the atmosphere won't be ideal. Like other posters have said, it's still football. They are a good team and have a nice place to play, so it should still be fun.

I don't know much about Mac.
 

The Tommies are pumped - they made it to the Quarterfinals last year so I am guessing there will be good crowd and energy there. The Tommies are a good team and the caliber of play will entertain.
 

Go watch SJU. It will be a route of a game against Northwestern, but SJU has been rated as a top 10 place to watch a college football game by Sports Illustrated. It's a real college atmosphere and they avg 8k people (4k people attend CSB/SJU) per game. SJU has great fans and typically out draws the home team when they play on the road as well.
 

I will suggest Simpson (IA) at Bethel. Bethel went to the final four last year and Simpson plays in Iowa's top D3 conference.
 



Macalester games might be free though. They were when Caruso was there.
 

TrapperDoo said:
The Tommies are pumped - they made it to the Quarterfinals last year so I am guessing there will be good crowd and energy there. The Tommies are a good team and the caliber of play will entertain.
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I'd say go but school hasn't started yet. Crowd will be the smallest of the year.

St johns st Thomas should be a fun one this year.
My buddy told me bethel won't be as good this year (he played there). I'd make st johns trip if you can, st Thomas plan b, macalester plan free.

Carlton has a nice stadium too IMO, i don't know their schedule.
 

Thanks for all the advice.

Carleton is at home and that is a pretty drive. St. John's sounds nice too. However we are driving in Friday and then out Monday so I am not sure I want to drive on Saturday. Is St. Thomas a nice campus? I have driven by but never gone in.

Macalester being free allows for the casual drop-in so that may be the call. Show up for an hour or two and then off to watch Gophers-USC.
 

The really important thing is whether you can get a decent hot dog. How far is Augsburg's stadium from TCF? It might be fun to watch a game at Augsburg, in the afternoon, and than catch an evening game at TCF.
 



Winnipegopher said:
Thanks for all the advice.

Carleton is at home and that is a pretty drive. St. John's sounds nice too. However we are driving in Friday and then out Monday so I am not sure I want to drive on Saturday. Is St. Thomas a nice campus? I have driven by but never gone in.

Macalester being free allows for the casual drop-in so that may be the call. Show up for an hour or two and then off to watch Gophers-USC.
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Do you realize that any of these games will overlap the USC/Gopher game? Just didn't want you to miss the big game.
 

Yup I know. The big game on tv is a bit of a hard sell to the wife. If only TCF had a viewing party.
 

Do yourself a favor, watch a football game at St. John's...
 

The nice thing about Johnnies games is that you can stand 6 feet back from the sidelines and end zones if you want. You get right up to the action which makes it more entertaining.
 


MIAC games are usually quite fun to watch. I'd highly recommend the drive down to Carleton, but I'm biased because I went there. Carleton's stadium is nice (I lived in it for a year), but there usually aren't a ton of people who go to the games. However, the ones who do go have a good time, and the voluntary band and "Gender-Neutral Cheerboys" (if they're still around) are usually pretty hilarious. St. Thomas is a nice place to watch a game, much nicer than Mac in my opinion. I hate to say it, but I'd have to go with St. John's, though. The passion, the stadium, the quality of football, you're going to find it hard to beat the experience.
 

SJU

Have to go to SJU- getting that close to one of the best game day experiences - it is only 75 minutes-

Plus wins the best concession stand award for brats and dogs done on the grill in front of you.
 

hollingsworth_1024x768[1].jpg

Everybody is partial to their own thing. I've enjoyed (almost) all the MIAC football venues.
 

that looks great because there isn't a damn track around the field.
 

The first college game I attended was a Concordia Moorhead game. The stadium seemed huge to me. Of course, now it would seem quite small, but I grew up in a town of only about 500 people.
 

Time for another ranking!

I played in the MIAC and here is how I would rate the venues based on the stadium, setting, atmosphere, campus, recent upgrades, etc.

SJU - the "natural bowl" and Johnnie following are impressive
UST - beautiful campus, great Summit Ave neighborhood, stadium is now a good blend of old and new after construction of the new athletic complex
GAC - I played at the old place, but know the campus setting and heard the new facilities are great
CCM - nice campus surrounded by residential neighborhood, one of the larger capacities with big stands on each side of field
STO - nice campus, nice setting for the field, big grandstand on home side only
CAR - beautiful campus, large grand stand stadium on the home side only
BETH - always seemed a bit like a high school stadium to me; religious music blasting during pregame :)
HAM - nice new facilities, setting and neighborhood didn't do much for me
AUG - they have made upgrades to the football field but the setting is bad near I94 - it used to be both sidelines on the south side of field because of space issues, not sure if that still exists?

MAC was in the conference back when I played and I would put them above AUG.
 

I say St Thomas, you avoid the drive, small but nice campus, school hasn't started so none of the games are going to be that well attended, you can skip out at half time to watch the Gopher game if you want to, and there are lots of restaurants a short distance from the game for dinner.

St John's is well, collegeville, the game will be entertaining, but that is it, unless you are looking for the northwoods experience.
 

When you get to town, look in the August 31st Highland Villager (the community paper in Highland Park). There is usually a coupon for a free ticket to the Tommie's opener.
 

Winnepeggopher, Your spelling is atrocious.

:cool:
 

jovs said:
I say St Thomas, you avoid the drive, small but nice campus, school hasn't started so none of the games are going to be that well attended, you can skip out at half time to watch the Gopher game if you want to, and there are lots of restaurants a short distance from the game for dinner.

St John's is well, collegeville, the game will be entertaining, but that is it, unless you are looking for the northwoods experience.
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SJU will be in session, USTd will not.
 

If we can expand this to the D-II ranks, does anyone have any opinions of the NSIC stadiums? I've only been to Bemidji's stadium. The stadium is old but mostly functional. They had portapotties at the stadium, because the bathrooms have been closed for years. At least the last time I was there, they were closed, but I don't get there that often. Still, there's the nice view of Lake Bemidji.
 

UMD's stadium has been refurbished with some chairbacks (a little more expensive), a modern press box, a luxury viewing area (for big donors) and new bathrooms.
Only one side of the field (home team bench and fans) has a grandstand that runs between the 10 yard lines. Seats above row 7-8 offer pretty decent sightlines. The big issue with this side is the sun, which is directly in your face from about noon until 4:00, which unfortunately is when the majority of home games are played. It also creates a bad glare off the turf.
I try to get to 2-3 games a year when I'm not at TCF, and lately I've stood on the top row of temporary bleachers on the visitor side. It's a great view and usually not crowded. You also meet some pretty nice opposing fans, including a great time when they hosted Grand Valley in a playoff game a couple years ago. The visitors were very knowledgable and classy.
There's a small tailgate/pregame party scene right outside the main gate. Usually a local radio station or grocery store will grill up free hot dogs and a few extras. I also see people drinking in this area, but no one seems to care. Another option is to park at Mount Royal Fine Foods (kind of a high end grocery store) which is an easy half mile walk to the stadium. They have an amazing deli with outstanding pregame food. I recommend the chicken caesar wrap.
The Bulldogs are awesome to watch. Fundamentally sound (particularly on both lines and tackling) and extremely physical. They return just about everybody from the national championship team of a year ago. Worth the trip to Duluth, especially on a hockey weekend when you can do both.
 

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