FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[The Third Division]

Next Man,

That's a valiant attempt but most people here remember it was the previous NCC head coach who played the "disrespect" card (RE: Mt Union) last year in a well publicized video on the field after the Wheaton game. Then the NCAA committee threw kerosene on that fire by sending NCC to Mt Union for the Semis.

Link?

[Pat Coleman]

Next Man,

That's a valiant attempt but most people here remember it was the previous NCC head coach who played the "disrespect" card (RE: Mt Union) last year in a well publicized video on the field after the Wheaton game. Then the NCAA committee threw kerosene on that fire by sending NCC to Mt Union for the Semis.

Link?

I don't remember a video, but it was part of our podcast that week:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2021/09/20/atn-podcast-286-the-bell-the-poll-and-why-you-arent-ranked/

[USee]

Next Man,

That's a valiant attempt but most people here remember it was the previous NCC head coach who played the "disrespect" card (RE: Mt Union) last year in a well publicized video on the field after the Wheaton game. Then the NCAA committee threw kerosene on that fire by sending NCC to Mt Union for the Semis.

Link?

I don't remember a video, but it was part of our podcast that week:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2021/09/20/atn-podcast-286-the-bell-the-poll-and-why-you-arent-ranked/

https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2021/09/20/atn-podcast-286-the-bell-the-poll-and-why-you-arent-ranked/

Coach Thorne's remarks start around the 3:09 mark.

[Pat Coleman]

I think you and I just posted the same link.  My only comment was that it wasn't a video.

[USee]

Yes I misread your post as I didn't realize your link was to the podcast from that week. My bad. You are as sharp as ever!

Didn't you capture that audio along with a video from your cell? Either way I know NC17TV filmed the whole thing.

[79jaybird]

Brad Spencer bleeds NC cardinal red better than anybody.  He has extensive knowledge of NC from a variety of angles so I think NC promoting him to HC was a good move.  I think NC runs the table in the CCIW and many games are going to be lopsided.

My personal/Alumni goal for Elmhurst this year is to get 2 CCIW wins.   See if we can set up a small, attainable goal and build from there. 

[Pat Coleman]

Yes I misread your post as I didn't realize your link was to the podcast from that week. My bad. You are as sharp as ever!

Didn't you capture that audio along with a video from your cell? Either way I know NC17TV filmed the whole thing.

Definitely shot video of the postgame celebration with the Little Brass Bell. I don't remember if I also shot video of Coach Thorne's postgame congratulations to his team on-field.

[The Mole]

So Augustana was a powerhouse in the 80s winning four in a row from 83-86 and runner-up finish in 82 and final 4 in 88. Much harder to get into the field back then with 8 or 16 teams getting bids. Seemed like they and Dayton were always on a crash course for each other. After Reade retired, it seems like they lost a step. What happened?  I know the CCIW is brutal, but what has caused them to be out of the conversation for so long with such a long and storied tradition?

[The Third Division]

So Augustana was a powerhouse in the 80s winning four in a row from 83-86 and runner-up finish in 82 and final 4 in 88. Much harder to get into the field back then with 8 or 16 teams getting bids. Seemed like they and Dayton were always on a crash course for each other. After Reade retired, it seems like they lost a step. What happened?  I know the CCIW is brutal, but what has caused them to be out of the conversation for so long with such a long and storied tradition?

I think Larry Kehres happened.

[The Mole]

Does not explain losing games in the regular season. How about in the CCIW? Wheaton, Ill Wesleyan and NCC surpassed them. Also looks like Millikin gave the, a hard time in the late 80s thru 90s. How/why?

So Augustana was a powerhouse in the 80s winning four in a row from 83-86 and runner-up finish in 82 and final 4 in 88. Much harder to get into the field back then with 8 or 16 teams getting bids. Seemed like they and Dayton were always on a crash course for each other. After Reade retired, it seems like they lost a step. What happened?  I know the CCIW is brutal, but what has caused them to be out of the conversation for so long with such a long and storied tradition?

I think Larry Kehres happened.

[Augie6]

So Augustana was a powerhouse in the 80s winning four in a row from 83-86 and runner-up finish in 82 and final 4 in 88. Much harder to get into the field back then with 8 or 16 teams getting bids. Seemed like they and Dayton were always on a crash course for each other. After Reade retired, it seems like they lost a step. What happened?  I know the CCIW is brutal, but what has caused them to be out of the conversation for so long with such a long and storied tradition?

I think Larry Kehres happened.

Mole -

There was definitely a decline from the Coach Reade years from 1979-1994, who compiled a record during that time of 146-23-1.  Coach Tom Schmulbach, who was a long time assistant under Coach Reade, took over after his retirement and put together a record of 34-13 over 5 seasons, before stepping down due to health issues.  Coach Jim Barnes, who played at Augie under Coach Reade, replaced Coach Schmulbach and went 79-34 from 2000 through the 2010 season.  Although not at the level achieved under Coach Reade, The program was still strong as both Schmulbach and Barnes won multiple CCIW titles during their tenures with one playoff appearance under Coach Schmulbach and two under Coach Barnes. 


Since 2010 when Coach Barnes resigned, things have really changed.  I won't go into great detail rehashing some of the things that I've posted relative to the current administration and coaching staffs, over the past decade+. Suffice it to say, hiring Rob Cushman to replace Coach Barnes was a terrible hire and he, along with the administration, was responsible for setting the program back.  Cushman went 17-23 in his 4 years and did not have a winning season.  I was optimistic when they hired Coach Steve Bell away from Monmouth and felt it was a good hire, but it clearly hasn't worked out on the field. He's had 7 years to turn it around, but has not been able to recruit the type of talent needed to compete for championships in the CCIW, let alone on the National stage.  His record during his tenure is 24-39 with one winning season at 6-4.  Augie did get a new President this year, so we will see if anything changes, but the prior administration seemed perfectly fine with trotting out a below average football team every year, as long as there are enough players coming in each year and generating tuition $.  Clearly, that is the statistic that has mattered with the administration and not wins and losses.  It's a shame to see what this program has become.

[The Mole]

Thanks Augie6. Support from the administration is vital. Hopefully, the new Pres provides the necessary resources to become competitive and relevant once more. Other programs in the East have faced similar issues: Lycoming, Rowan, Widener come to mind. They have just disappeared from the conversation. Meanwhile, other programs have surfaced like DelVal, Hopkins and Muhlenberg. I am fascinated by the dynamics of how programs rise and fall.

[USee]

In terms of Augies decline, Augie6 has detailed it many times over the last several years. I do think Augie had a monopoly on the Chicago and quad cities areas in recruiting when places like Geneseo HS were literally running their single wing offense and many players would go to Augie and fit right in. The Chicago area catholic schools sent a bunch of players to Rock Island and they had dominant defenses. And I believe they had an edge on all other CCIW schools in financial aid for a long period of time. When the other CCIW schools caught up in terms of aid and recruiting, the talent became dispersed across several schools.

Millikin had it going for a while in the late 80's and early 90's under Karl Poelker. Wheaton was good under JR Bishop but didn't win the league outright for the first time until 1995 (JR Started in 1982). Swider took over in 1996 and there were 4 years in a row Wheaton literally beat Augie on the last play of the game. I think Swider single handedly sent Jim Barnes out of coaching.

Bob Reade was 1-0 against Larry Kehres and won his last of 4 consecutive National titles just before the start of  Mt Unions Purple Reign.

[79jaybird]

The Mole-  You don't replace legends like Reade, Keller, Chrouser,  Larson etc. overnight.   Coaches like this are hard to find and nowadays, tough to keep for any length of tenure.  We all tease and bug Eash down in Bloomington, but you have to give him is props, in that he has established a great legacy at IWU.

Recruiting became more of a challenge for Augie as the rise in programs like Carthage ('06 was it?) North Central (Thorne's dominance) and even Elmhurst was somewhat stronger a few years back under the Journell/Lester days. 

I am still somewhat perplexed why Augie abandoned their juggernaut Wing- T offense?  I remember when they opted for a more spread like system,  we wondered why?

Throughout history schools had their decades of dominance with
50's Wheaton
80's Augie
today  North Central

so perhaps like the tide, maybe it's a low tide right now. 

[USee]

CCIW Coaches Poll is out:
https://cciw.org/news/2022/8/11/north-central-picked-to-repeat-as-cciw-football-champion.aspx