Game(s) From Obscurity

This week, we take a different slant on the small schools highlight, and will preview two games from the first round of the NCAA Division Three post season.  You know, because they have a tournament and stuff.

Our first matchup is not for the National Title, but the opening round of the ECAC championship. In this, the Bears of Ursinus College will square off against the Cougars of Kean University in a game at Kean’s Union New Jersey campus. I’ve heard directions are difficult to get.

Kean was founded in 1855, and boasts over 13,000 total students (undergraduate and graduate). They wouldn’t be very happy with us this week, and really is it any wonder? The Cougars are 8-2, and just missed out on winning the NJAC with a loss last Saturday. Unless the Cougars win, this is the last time you’ll hear about them- except for their exceptional nose guard.

Ursinus, on the other hand, has as its primary mission “to model civility, to prepare students for an interdependent world and to teach students how to put their ideas to work”. Founded in 1896, they went coeducational in 1880. The College is named after a 16th century German theologian, and has its roots in the German Reformed Church.  The football Bears also ended their season as “first loser”, finishing behind Johns-Hopkins in Centennial Conference play. Located near Philadelphia, it is missing a great opportunity to be the nation’s premier research institution for rhinitic studies. See, ’cause it’s pronounced “yer sinus”… I’ll be here all week.

Because it’s Mich1gAAn Week, we’re also highlighting a playoff game between an Ohio Institution and the representative from the powerful Michig*n Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the nation’s oldest. Unfortunately, like most things from TSUN, there’s not a lot of football excellence: this year’s conference champion is one of the only two conference schools from Indiana.

Hailing from Angola IN (home of the Duesenberg museum), Trine University is a growing and developing campus and program. Originally Tri-State University, they assumed their new moniker in 2008 to honor long time supporters of the institution.  If you’re interested in making a deeper connection, you can always participate in the Frenzy.  Just know that the education there will emphasize “Learning how to do, while learning what to do“. So there’s that. The Thunder finished their season 9-1, losing their only game to Franklin by one point.

Representing Ohio in this weekend’s matchup is Case Western Reserve University from Cleveland Ohio (yes, they play football in Cleveland). Undefeated, and UAA champions, the Spartans enter the post season ranked number seven in the nation. Founded in both 1826 and 1967, the University’s impact on the greater society is of the magnitude that Case has formed a separate institute just to attempt to quantify it. Among the architecture is the Weatherhead School of Management’s Lewis building, designed by Frank Gehry. The campus also includes the Cleveland Museum of Art and other civic and cultural opportunities for students, you know, just in case.