9.1

SPORTS

NU changes football conferences after more than a century

By Lawrence Shaw
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Coach Mike Yesalonia holds “The Mug,” which the Cadets will keep until they face Coast Guard again next year. Norwich beat Coast Guard in the homecoming game 24-14. (Plourde Photo)

After 110 years of football, Norwich University has changed from the Freedom Football Conference to the new Empire Eight conference.

The change was put into effect at the beginning of the 2004-05 season. Part of the reason why Norwich changed conferences was because, “the Coast Guard Academy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Kings Point also changed conferences,” said Mike Yesalonia, head coach of Norwich football and 1982 NU graduate.

“This left us [Norwich] without any conference play, so we wouldn’t have had the automatic qualifier, where if you win the conference, you automatically get into the national playoffs,” Yesalonia said.

Coming into the new conference presents challenges for the Cadets.

Four out of seven teams in the Empire Eight went to the playoffs: Norwich University, Ithaca College, Springfield College, and Saint John Fisher. The other teams in the conference include Hartwick College, and Alfred University.

The coaching staff does not plan to implement any different plays than they did while in the Freedom Football Conference.

“We change plans from game to game,” Yesalonia said. “Some games we run and others we throw.”

When told about changing conferences, the players had mixed emotions. Some of the teams Norwich has traditionally played have standing rivalries which will be missed. For some players, it will just be like going home to play, since the team will be playing teams in New York.

Marcus Adames, 20, a sophomore sports medicine major from Milford, Penn., said, “Most of the players are excited about switching conferences; we get to face new competition.”

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.