>Posted on 12 Jul 1995 at 16:13:23 by Bill Fenwick
>
>Re: Cornell coaching update (fwd)
>
>Frankly, I'm surprised to see Bill Beaney's name as a finalist -- not for
>lack of talent, or for lack of success, but because Midd is in the process of
>constructing a new, first-class arena (very similar to Dartmouth's) and I
>think is entertaining thoughts/hopes of *moving up* to Div I, which, for a
>school of Midd's academic standing and physical location, should mean a berth
>in the ECAC.  On the other hand, as of March this year, no such proceedings
>had been initiated, and in fact it presents some problems in the ECAC
>matchings and *buddy system* for road games.  I'd like to see it come to
>pass, though; some new blood in the ECAC would not be amiss.  What say you,
>readers?
 
As a Brown (Graduate School) alumnus, faculty member, and hockey fan, I
I hope Bill Beaney DOESN'T get the job at Cornell because he is
definitely one of the best coaches in college hockey. His teams are
excellent on fundamentals, and play with intensity and confidence. As
an alumnus of a rival Division III school (Bowdoin), however, I'd
LOVE to see Bill Beaney get the job a Cornell for the same reasons I
listed above...
 
I doubt very much that Middlebury would move up to Division I. Middlebury
is one of the founding members of NESCAC, and has established rivalries
in many sports with other NESCAC schools. (The Bowdoin/Middlebury rivalry
is a big one both in hockey and lacrosse.) If Middlebury were to move up
to Division I, it would have to drop out of NESCAC, affecting all of
the other varsity sports.
 
>Parenthetically, let me add that the *Big Time* is not necessarily so
>desirable. The top echelon of Div III, of which Midd is definitely one, would
>give most of the Ivies and a good number of the ECAC a run for their money
>NOW.
 
I entirely agree with Bill F on this one. I watch many Division III games
every winter (involving Bowdoin). There's no question that the top
teams in Division III are very close in talent to the middle-of-the-pack
Division I teams. Not only is the skill level pretty high, but none of the
top Division III schools in the East play the tedious clutch-and-grab style
favored by Yale and Princeton. At the top level, Division III hockey is
an exciting game of skill and speed.
 
Luiz F. Valente