D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast

Hey, we get it -- you don't like to think about math during the summer. If you're taking a class during the summer, it's probably not math-related, rather some elective. But unfortunately, the math is now going to be just as important in Division III football as it was in the BCS days in Division I.



We know. That's not encouraging. And maybe we can't be encouraging about it, at least not the way it's currently set up, but we can sure as heck talk about it and try to explain about it. That's why we've brought back in our math correspondent, Logan Hansen of @loghanratings, to talk about what the new NPI -- the NCAA Power Index -- the new math -- means for the Division III football playoffs and selection format. We'll talk about how many years the NCAA folks tested this formula on, and we'll talk about how many they should have tested it on, and what Logan found when he went back further. 



We also talk with Delaware Valley football coach Mike Isgro, a former Aggie player under Duke Greco and assistant coach under Greco who now goes on to replace him. We talk about the long conference winning streak, where the opportunities for improvement are for the Aggies and more.



And we also chat with Jessica Huntley, founding commissioner of the Atlantic East Conference. No, this isn't another conference looking to take an automatic bid, but something even more interesting to talk about -- the growth of women's flag football and how much growth we might expect to see at the Division III level in the near future. It's a great conversation about a way schools can look to help manage their enrollment as things get tight out there in higher education, and expand the country's most popular sport in a new venue and new format.



Plus we take THREE mailbag questions, so make sure you stick around to hear them all, and talk about some of the latest coaching changes and conference shuffles.

It's not often that we've had to call a coach back the next day and ask follow-up questions, but when news broke less than 24 hours after we talked with Berry coach Tony Kunczewski, we knew we had to get his take on his team getting Randolph-Macon added to its schedule. For Berry, it's one season after a 9-1 season with a low strength of schedule ended in disappointment -- Kunczewski talks about that, about the watch party his team had last November, and how they are channeling that disappointing end in 2024.



This edition of the podcast is sponsored by GameStrat, the folks with the experience to help you get your sideline video replay solution up and running for this fall. They've been at this for more than a decade and can get you that edge on your opposition in 2024 with their experience, their expertise, resources for uncovering best practices and more. Mention the offer code D3FB24 to get $100 off a team's order of our sideline replay solution.



We also talk with Augustana coach Stephen Bell, coming off his team's 8-2 regular season finish. And while the Culver's Isthmus Bowl might have been a disappointment for the Vikings, it's still a big step up for a program which hasn't made the playoffs since 2005, but still holds the unbroken record of four consecutive Division III football national championships.



And since football schedules are almost entirely out and announced, Patrick and Greg went through the games that are in and each picked one game each week to spotlight and talk about.



The D3football.com podcast is a weekly in-season podcast by Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas, which was started in 2007.

When Crawfordsville and Greencastle, Indiana, found themselves beneath a total eclipse last week, it turned out to be a great time to combine a rare celestial event with a chance to talk with the coaches in one of Division III football’s top rivalries. In the case of DePauw, that’s Brett Dietz, whose team has won […]

What's next? That's a great question this time of year, and we tackle that big question in a few ways in our January podcast, the first one of 2024.



Cortland, now the reigning and defending national champs, says what's next is turning the page, but before they do, we sit down with Red Dragons head coach Curt Fitzpatrick to reflect on a great (the greatest?) Stagg Bowl, and the aftermath, while talking about recruiting and the transfer portal and what his program is looking for for next season.



We ask what's next of Brad Spencer and North Central football. Spencer reflects on the play call that left his team out of the end zone on a two-point conversion with 80 seconds left in the game, then getting his players back in the meeting room on campus recently to talk about what happens between now and spring ball?



Something else that's definitely "next" in Division III is new programs taking the field, and the Roanoke Maroons will do so in a limited way this fall, and a more formal way in 2025. Patrick and Greg sit down with new Roanoke head coach Bryan Stinespring and his defensive coordinator, Mike Giancola, as they start the daunting task of taking a football program from an idea on paper to a unit on the field, one which will play on the same field the Stagg Bowl was just played on.



Plus, what's next in the Division III football playoffs? We talk about that drive for 40 teams. Patrick and Greg discuss that and more in this edition of the podcast.



The D3football.com podcast is a weekly in-season podcast by Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas, which was started in 2007.

We wrap up another season, here on the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast. Perhaps not as well as the Cortland defense wrapped up Luke Lehnen on the two-point conversion attempt pictured here on the page, but we try.



Was this the best Stagg Bowl ever? We've only seen about half of them in person, but our crew does its best to answer that question. Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas are joined by Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, and Frank Rossi and James Baker of In the Huddle. Plus, Cortland sports information director Fran Elia, a podcast superfan, stops by to chat, and we talk with and congratulate Cortland football fans who were getting a bite to eat and a cold beverage at the famous Mac and Bob's in Salem, Virginia.



Our crew hands out game balls, and talk about the unsung big plays of the game. Calling a time out? Sure. Fourth-down scramble? Definitely.



Is this a changing of the guard? Great question. Will the Stagg Bowl return to Salem at some point after this? We discussed it before, but after the game, maybe things seem different. 



Plus, Patrick has some news as to the order of quarterbacks the next time awards are handed out. You'll want to hear, complainers.



This edition of the podcast is sponsored by d3photography.com, the licensed photography bureau contracted by D3sports.com.



The crew discusses, in this edition of the podcast.



The D3football.com podcast is a weekly in-season podcast by Patrick Coleman and Greg Thomas, which was started in 2007.

It's great to be back in Salem covering a Stagg Bowl, and Patrick and Greg and Frank Rossi are here to preview Stagg Bowl with North Central and Cortland.



For North Central, it's the fourth time in a row they've been to a Stagg Bowl, and in four different places, so how does their experience stack up? For Cortland, it's the first Stagg Bowl, but does their experience playing the Cortaca Jug game in Yankee Stadium help this group prepare?



From Cortland, we talk with coach Curt Fitzpatrick, quarterback Zac Boyes, linebacker John Whiney and wide receiver Cole Burgess. And from the North Central side, we chat with coach Brad Spencer, quarterback Luke Lehnen, left tackle Jeske Maples, safety Julian Bell and wide receiver DeAngelo Hardy.



Will the Stagg Bowl return to Salem at some point after this? We discuss. Plus, we generally expect a high-scoring game, but how high? Over or under 94.5 points? Who will be the most prolific quarterback-to-receiver combo?



More over-unders, listener questions, and the rest in our Stagg Bowl preview podcast.