How The Cortaca Jug Came to Met Life

D3Playbook NOVEMBER 15, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III Our goal is to keep you - the influencers in DIII athletics - apprised of what's happening around Division III - the games, polls, news, happenings, awards, calendar of events, and much more. We hope you enjoy d3Playbook and that you'll share this with your friends, colleagues and co-workers.   >> Good Friday Morning!  Welcome to the intersection of fall playoffs and winter regular-season. Remember to thank your SIDs and trainers. >> Today's Word Count: 1,440. A quick read. A smart read. >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please invite your colleagues to sign up below.   Subscribe to d3Playbook 1.  How the Cortaca Jug Came to Met Life To see a big plan through to conclusion, collaboration is needed and not always at the highest levels. The thought of Division III football teams playing in a stadium that hosted a Super Bowl in 2014 and is home to two NFL teams on its face seems absurd. But come 1 p.m. Nov. 16, Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland will play the 61st edition of the Cortaca Jug at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. So many things had to fall into place, but it’s possible the relationship between the schools’ athletic directors was the biggest factor in making it a reality. >> Situational Awareness: Marc Hudak (Ithaca '90), the president of the New York City chapter of the National Football Foundation, made the original proposal to Ithaca AD Susan Bassett in June of 2018. "We saw the potential. There’s a strong downstate contingency for both Cortland and Ithaca, especially with the alumni base, with a lot of our alumni being from down there, still living in the area," said Bassett. >> Reality Check: “For Ithaca College, this is the largest gathering of alumni ever in the history of the college,” Bassett said. “It’s a tremendous visibility opportunity, a tremendous alumni and student-engagement opportunity for both Cortland and Ithaca. - Bassett >> The Bottom Line: “With this going to MetLife and hitting almost a national high-pitched level, the exposure for our programs has been extraordinary. I can’t believe the amount of interest and notes and letters and emails I’m getting from all over the place. … So many people are talking about it from an excitement standpoint and you see it from the numbers. Our campus is getting unbelievable exposure.” - Mike Urtz, Cortland AD >> Of Note: Greg Sankey, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, has tweeted about the annual game to anyone interested in a college football story outside the SEC. Sankey is a proud graduate of Cortland. And Doug Morrone, head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and former TE coach for the Red Dragons, also had some comments about his biggest game. >> Keep Reading courtesy of Rob Centorani, Ithaca Journal >> Go Deeper courtesy of Adam Turer, D3football.com   2.  Land of Hope and Dreams   What a weekend we have in store for you! Cross Country holds eight regional championships with teams and individuals looking to qualify for the national meet next weekend. Field Hockey plays its Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches on the road to next weekend's Final Four. By the end of the day Sunday, men's and women's soccer will be down to the Sweet 16, while women's volleyball will have determined its Elite Eight. If that's not enough ... football determines its 32-team field and bracket on Sunday, while the regular season continues in basketball, ice hockey, swimming and wrestling. Whew! But this is why we got into the business. Enjoy a great weekend of action.   3.  Runnin' Down a Dream   The 2019 NCAA Division III cross country regional championships take place Saturday at eight locations around the country. Links will take you to host site information/results. Atlantic (Canton, NY; St. Lawrence University) Central (Waverly, IA; Wartburg) Great Lakes (Grand Rapids, MI; Calvin) Mideast (Bethlehem, PA; Muhlenberg) Midwest (Oshkosh, WI; UW-Oshkosh) New England (Brunswick, ME; Bowdoin) South/Southeast (Memphis, TN; Rhodes) West (Claremont, CA; Pomona-Pitzer)   4. Hoping to Get to the Nook  Round of 16 #6 Franklin & Marshall at #1 TCNJ; MIT vs. #17 Geneseo #14 Babson at #2 Middlebury; #20 Endicott vs. #9 Kean FDU-Florham at #3 Salisbury; #16 Lynchburg vs. #8 Rowan #11 Messiah at #5 Johns Hopkins; Denison vs. #4 Tufts Final Four Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 23-24 at Spooky Nook Sports Complex, Manheim, PA >> What to Watch For: Middlebury has the longest home winning streak in D-III (34), while Babson has the third-longest road win streak (8). TCNJ's Cayla Andrews leads the country with 31 goals and has 74 for her career.   5. Volleyball  Regionals #15 Saint Benedict d. UW-Eau Claire, 3-1; Northwestern-St. Paul d. #23 St. Olaf, 3-1 #3 Calvin d. DePauw, 3-0; #10 Ohio Northern d. Aurora, 3-0 #10 Hope d. UT Dallas 3-2; #14 Muskingum d. Wittenberg, 3-1 UW-Stevens Point d. #16 Augsburg, 3-2; #12 St. Thomas d. Dubuque, 3-1 bold indicates host at Emory (begins today) at Clarkson (begins today) at Johns Hopkins (begins today) at Tufts (begins today) at Christopher Newport (begins today) at Chicago (begins today) >> What to Watch For: Johns Hopkins is the only unbeaten team (29-0) in the field. The Blue Jays are attempting to become just the fourth D-III team to post an undefeated season, joining Central (41-0, 1999), Washington-St. Louis (40-0, 1992) and Bates (36-0, 1989). Saint Benedict's Madison Weiss tops D-III in blocks per set (1.69) and is second in hitting percentage (.425). Clarkson's Kate Isaksen is eighth on the all-time D-III dig chart (3,112). >> Bracket with links     SPONSORED MESSAGE Searching for talent for your athletic department? Need assistance with a departmental review or a strategic plan? Time to refresh your conference's policies and procedures? ASC is dedicated to small colleges and is committed to providing solutions for your concerns. Contact Kurt Patberg (kpatberg.asc@gmail.com), Kim Fierke (kim.fierke.asc@gmail.com) or Steve Ulrich (steveulrich.asc@gmail.com) to see how ASC can help your organization.   6. Soccer (W)  16 sites hosting for first two rounds Messiah, Hardin-Simmons, MIT, TCNJ Wheaton IL, St. Thomas,, Ohio Northern, Carnegie Mellon Washington-St. Louis, Cal Lutheran, Wartburg, Chicago William Smith, Middlebury, Johns Hopkins, Amherst >> What to Watch For: Hardin-Simmons' Taylor Bernal has played in more matches (115) than any other active collegian. St. Scholastica's Morgan Friday leads the country with 29 goals. MIT's Ava Gillikin tops the D-III charts in goals-against average (0.128) and save percentage (.958). >> Bracket with links   7. Soccer (M)  16 sites hosting for first two rounds Keene State, Mary Washington, RPI, Oneonta John Carroll, Trinity TX, F&M, Kenyon Catholic, Christopher Newport, Tufts, W&L Hope, Luther, Calvin, North Park >> What to Watch For: Oneonta's Witman Hernandez leads D-III with 10 game-winning goals. WPI's Rufus Adams tops the country in goals-against average (0.429) and save percentage (.889). >> Bracket with links   8. Weekend Preview Football - D3Football.com Mount Union (at Marietta) Mary Hardin-Baylor (at Sul Ross State) UW-Whitewater (vs UW-Oshkosh) Wheaton, Ill. (at Elmhurst) Muhlenberg (vs. Moravian) North Central (at Millikin) Salisbury (at William Paterson) Saint John's (vs. Rose-Hulman) Bethel (at #17 St. Thomas) John Carroll (at Baldwin Wallace) Two Games to Watch WIAC Championship: Whitewater vs. Oshkosh MWC Championship: Monmouth vs. St. Norbert Ice Hockey (M) - USCHO Norwich (at #5 Hobart; at Skidmore) Geneseo (at Cortland; vs. #3 Oswego) Oswego (vs. Brockport; at #2 Geneseo) Augsburg (vs. #8 UW-Eau Claire) Hobart (vs. #1 Norwich; vs. Castleton) UW-Stevens Point (at Saint John's; at Bethel) Trinity (vs. Connecticut College; vs. Tufts) UW-Eau Claire (at Gustavus; at #4 Augsburg) Adrian (H/H vs. Finlandia) St. Norbert (A/A vs. Trine) Ice Hockey (W) - USCHO Plattsburgh (exhbition vs. Bishop's) Adrian (A/A vs. Marian) Elmira (vs. William Smith) UW-River Falls (vs. UW-Stevens Point; at Northland) Hamline (A/H vs. Augsburg) Williams (A/A vs. Colby) Norwich (vs. UNE; at Trinity) UW-Eau Claire (at Northland; at UW-Superior) Gustavus Adolphus (H/H vs. St. Catherine's) Middlebury (A/A vs. Connecticut College) H/H - home/home; H/A - home/away; A/H - away/home; A/A - away/away Basketball (M) - D3hoops.com Swarthmore (at Neumann) UW-Oshkosh  North Central (vs. Greenville) Amherst Wittenberg (at Brooklyn) Emory  Washington-St. Louis (at UW-Whitewater; at UW-Platteville) Nebraska Wesleyan (vs. McMurry; vs. Hardin-Simmons) Christopher Newport (vs. Marywood; vs. TBA) Nichols (vs. E. Connecticut; vs. TBA) Basketball (W) - D3hoops.com Amherst (vs. New Jersey City) Tufts (vs. Roger Williams; vs. New Paltz) Scranton (at Ursinus; vs. TBA) Wartburg (at #19 UW-La Crosse; at UW-Eau Claire) Bowdoin (at Endicott) Hope (vs. Finlandia; vs. Hanover) Mary Hardin-Baylor (vs. Wayland Baptist) George Fox  (vs. Pomona-Pitzer; vs. UC Santa Cruz) St. Thomas  DePauw (at UW-Whitewater) Wrestling - NWCA Wabash (vs. Manchester) Loras (at Luther Open) Wartburg (at Luther Open) Mount Union Augsburg UW-Whitewater (tie) (at Luther Open) UW-La Crosse (tie) (at Luther Open) Stevens (vs. #15 Ithaca) Baldwin Wallace (tie) Coe (tie) (at Luther Open)   9.  Comings and Goings   Georgia Nugent, president emerita of Kenyon College, named president of Illinois Wesleyan. Melissa McCarthy named head field hockey coach at Widener. John Caslin announced retirement as head cross country/track and field coach at Goucher. Jocelyn Bernhardt named head women's water polo coach at Grove City.   Subscribe to d3Playbook