Monmuth's Press Release on NEC's AQ
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:58 am
Of course this is old news to us, but Monmouth points out the importance and excitment in the NEC for the AQ. This does provide a little insight into the process and what the NEC had to overcome.
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"Having an opportunity to play for a postseason berth is something that players in our program have looked forward to for a long time," said MU Head Coach Kevin Callahan. "Having it become a reality excites everyone involved in our program, past and present. It also plays an important part in recruiting, for years schools were able to hold against us the fact that we couldn't advance to postseason play. This evens the playing field in that aspect of recruiting."
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Due to the tireless efforts of key members of the NEC office and member institutions, including former Commissioner Brenda Weare and Callahan, the champion of the league will gain automatic access to the newly expanded NCAA FCS playoff bracket.
Weare, who passed away in June of 2009, compiled numerous seasons' worth of data which included NEC team records against similar teams that play in conferences with automatic bids. Callahan believes the 2005 and 2006 seasons, which saw marquee wins by NEC teams over former FCS playoff participants Colgate, Fordham, Lehigh, Georgia Southern and Delaware, were instrumental in swaying the NCAA Championship Committee's decision.
"Brenda was outstanding in her preparation and presentation of the facts on why the NEC deserved a bid," said Callahan. "She was diligent and relentless in her approach to the NCAA and coaches committee and slowly over time won them both over. Everyone in this conference owes her a tremendous amount of gratitude."
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Before long Callahan and other NEC coaches and administrators began to push the idea of playoff access for the league. The league applied formally to the NCAA Championships Committee for an automatic bid five separate times, but those applications were denied, most recently after the 2006 season. In addition to the feeling that the NEC teams could not compete with traditional playoff teams (contrary to Weare's statistical data from the 2005 & 2006 seasons), there were a number of other obstacles to overcome.
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"Being included in the FCS playoff is a significant step forward for NEC football," said MU Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Marilyn McNeil. "Having the opportunity for a promised post season experience is a goal for all of our programs. It meets our aspirations of providing our student-athletes the maximum opportunity to compete at the highest level. Our football student-athletes work as hard as our basketball or baseball student-athletes and now have the same dream of competing at the next level that those athletes have always had."
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