St. Ignatius Football ?
- Thread starter RRH1
- Start date
The varsity is 3-2, and Coach O'Connor (Rice grad, long-time MC Assistant) has done a nice job, particularly when you consider what he walked into. I believe they have 25 freshman this year. They did not have those numbers last year. He is creating a football culture where there was none. At least since the 60s. O'Connor has them on the right track.
Sure sometimes the stars will align and they'll put together a good team but that's an awfully tough place to win, doubt they'll ever have any consistent success no matter who is coaching.
Probably should drop the summer football camp price if he wants to get any type of numbers there.
Ignatius is another in the line of CCL schools that just do not fit with the others when it comes to football. As was discussed before some of the smaller schools in the conference just cannot compete at all with the Blue / Green and even in some cases schools in the White Division have a huge gap between numbers and talent. The bottom 6 schools really need to be isolated completely from the others when it comes to scheduling so they can compete and at least 2 levels. They can be under the umbrella of the CCL but should never have to play against them. what business does DePaul have playing Loyola for instance this week. DePaul is having a nice season but this game is not going to do either team any good. Same goes for when Leo play MC and basically everyone St. Joes plays. A division of Joes, Depaul, Ignatius, Leo, LFA and one other small school would be fair and balnced for those programs.
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I would be ok with two crossovers against the Blue and leaving out the smallest crew.
It seems like Igs football program is heading in the wrong direction. No knock against O'Connor, but you need to have the numbers. It was just several years ago that the school revived the program ('05 I believe). Initially they had some numbers, but here we are today and they suit up 28 players on varsity? They have had A winning season since coming back to the sport. It would be great to see that change, but given the environment surrounding football and safety concerns, I dont see that changing anytime soon which may force their hand? I have my own suspicions, but anyone else have any thoughts on why they cant get over the hump? The school is great and thriving, but the same cant be said for the football program.
If Igs was in the lowest CCL division of a 3 division setup, that still makes 5. I'm guessing a 6th would be either of St. Lawrence, Bishop Mac or Aurora Christian - but BMac and AC I could see balking (why travel many miles for less prestigious opponents) and having other options "downstate" or in the far suburbs if need be. St.L might be playing itself into the the 2nd division this year. If no one goes to Blue and the above 3 balk at being the best of the rest, a 5-8-5 setup would be the default, which kind of lends itself to the "bad" crossover matchups again.
Here's my recommendation for CCL re-alignment:
18 Members 3 x 6 Team Divisions:
Blue = Carmel, Rice, Loyola, Rita, Providence, Montini
Green = Fenwick, De La Salle, Francis, Marmion, Laurence, Mac
White = Leo, Ignatius, Joseph, DePaul, Aurora Christian, Lake Forest
Hibernate red division
5 conference games, 2 cross-overs, 2 non-conference
Success factor adjustments every 2 years based solely on 2yr conference record
6th in blue/green move down to green/white respectfully
1st in green/white move up to blue/green respectfully
Bottom line, CCL needs to dictate change for long term sustainability.
Success factor re-alignment will allow 2yr home & home cross-overs while ensuring less competitive division members aren't locked into non-competitive situations long term. (4 teams or 22% of members would be effected, minimal)
Lastly, each division would also qualify for IHSA automatic qualifier
Any thoughts on this plan?
18 Members 3 x 6 Team Divisions:
Blue = Carmel, Rice, Loyola, Rita, Providence, Montini
Green = Fenwick, De La Salle, Francis, Marmion, Laurence, Mac
White = Leo, Ignatius, Joseph, DePaul, Aurora Christian, Lake Forest
Hibernate red division
5 conference games, 2 cross-overs, 2 non-conference
Success factor adjustments every 2 years based solely on 2yr conference record
6th in blue/green move down to green/white respectfully
1st in green/white move up to blue/green respectfully
Bottom line, CCL needs to dictate change for long term sustainability.
Success factor re-alignment will allow 2yr home & home cross-overs while ensuring less competitive division members aren't locked into non-competitive situations long term. (4 teams or 22% of members would be effected, minimal)
Lastly, each division would also qualify for IHSA automatic qualifier
Any thoughts on this plan?
You are on the money with this. I would let the "last one in" each division an easy path, ie: it would seem Montini would face tough opposition, thus allow them crossovers against easier competition. They'd still likely get 5 wins, and have the playoff points as well. Plus, the Blue needs to space out those games.
Barring that I'd like to see the 6th team spot be filled by an Indianapolis Catholic team. any combo of Ritter, Cathedral, Roncalli, Chatard, Brebeuf -- could fill that scheduling hole.
The school just put a bunch of money into the program. New field, lights, stands, etc. O'Connor is only in his second year. Last year they won 1 game. Already, he's tripled that. They put up 21 on Laurence. The only games they got crushed were Tinley and Loyola. I don't think anyone is saying that Ignatius is to turn into MC or LA, but by golly, they can still be a successful program in the 2nd or 3rd tier of the CCL. If he can get another Freshman class where 25 kids are playing football next year, he is definitely on the right track. Time will tell, but from what I have heard, the school, administration and alumni are behind the program going forward. I think it's also noteworthy that since the revival in 2005, he is the first coach they hired from Chicago, with experience in the Catholic League. Again, he's not making the program into Mount Carmel, but if he can pull some good kids who might not start at the more powerful schools, and they will obviously be good students, Iggy could turn into LA's little brother.
They've caught up to the Cincy and Cleveland area. If Andrean of Merrillville was in the CCL, which current CCL team is a "peer" football team (B. Noll might not exist anymore for all I know).
Pat Jennings coached Igs from '09 to '14- he played at GT in the '80s and coincidentally is from Chicago. The field in the back also dubs as a soccer field. I dont see them ever becoming a force in football, maybe compete to some extent. The alums I speak with dont even realize they have a team or simply dont care. As far as LAs "little brother"(?), not in the cards.
Here's the rumor...changes more weighted on enrollment.
2016 Divisions
Blue - the same
Green - Montini, Fenwick, Francis, De La Salle, Ignatius
White - Marmion, Laurence, Mac, Aurora
Red - Leo, DePaul, Joe's, LFA
2016 Divisions
Blue - the same
Green - Montini, Fenwick, Francis, De La Salle, Ignatius
White - Marmion, Laurence, Mac, Aurora
Red - Leo, DePaul, Joe's, LFA
That Green would be a great division for the "nonrevenue" sports. Could also just be called the Central. Montini is the roughneck of that quintet.
Who's has a more competitive program?
Not jumping all over your point, but the divisions I laid out are fair for the current state of the league. If Iggy has best white overall record after 2 years and Mac has worse in green, they swap divisions. Gotta start somewhere & enrollment doesn't matter much.
He was there and it did fall off. Rock bottom for an injury- riiddled Fenwick squad...ugly ugly loss.
There is a very cool story developing here.
Iggy plays a lot of underclassmen too.
It would be great to see them in the playoffs.
What a great way for the a Seniors who have stayed with it and balanced the commitment of time with many other responsibilities to close out their careers: The first team in school history to make it to the playoffs.
Iggy plays a lot of underclassmen too.
It would be great to see them in the playoffs.
What a great way for the a Seniors who have stayed with it and balanced the commitment of time with many other responsibilities to close out their careers: The first team in school history to make it to the playoffs.
Good post. One correction: The Wolfpack did make it in 2010 and lost to Simeon in the first round.
I really enjoyed watching them last night. A bunch of kids going both ways and executing the game plan to perfection. Fun to see.
This is power for the course for the Friars...make the playoffs 3 or 4 years in a row and then fall off for a year or 2
I think Iggy is headed in the right direction. Their AD is Rice's former varsity volleyball Coach Brother Paul Ickes, the winningest coach in Illinois history. He built Rice's volleyball program from the ground up. His hiring and experience in the CCL leads me to believe Iggy has made a commitment and is going forward. Coach OC played for Tom Mitchell and coached under Lenti for many a years. He's the right guy for the job and will give 100%.