MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Got a wonderful email from a SLIAC coach this weekend that I didn't see until Monday morn... always nice to know when you're appreciated... really starts the work week out right....

[ecreddevils]

In football, Greenville leads Westmin big and St. Scholastica leads Minnesota Morris big... if that holds, it sets up a conference championship game between Greenville and St Scho next Saturday afternoon at Greenville... both will come in undefeated in conference... should be a heck of an atmosphere..... I imagine the winner will get an automatic NCAA bid... also imagine that just like basketball, the UMAC leader will be matched against a high seed....

In other UMAC/SLIAC football news, EC held off IWC 23-10 on the road, giving EC its best start through nine games since 1995 (7-2).  Only four teams in EC football history (100 plus years) have won seven games in a season. 

In basketball news, EC scrimmaged a fairly talented Illinois Central College team on Saturday.  The game ended up ICC 100 EC 93: 

Marious Lobdell 28 pts. 5 reb.
Marquis Lobdell 24 pts.
Josh Fenoglia 16 pts.

[WUPHF]

Glad to see the SLIAC board up and running already. I hope to see at least as many SLIAC games as I did last year, and hopefully more, though the family expanded by one so this is all depends on whether or not the little guy likes basketball.

[hopefan]

Glad to see the SLIAC board up and running already. I hope to see at least as many SLIAC games as I did last year, and hopefully more, though the family expanded by one so this is all depends on whether or not the little guy likes basketball.

Start him out right!!!   Congrats on the addition!!!!!

[Denny McKinney]

It's a Great Day on the Board. WUH - Big Congrats News!!! Plus, Hopefan got an email. And, a Big Saturday Nite game. Looks like it's going to be a Big Week.

[GC Panther 01]

Looks like GC will have a scrimmage Saturday @ Wash U.  not sure of gametime however.  Pretty good early test as Wash U ranked preseason 11 ? .

[Denny McKinney]

Panther Power! Good Luck. The "Coach's All Stars" plays Concordia - StL on Saturday @ 7 pm. At Pederson Fieldhouse on Concordia's campus. This will mark the 25th Anniversary of the 1st Game Pops played when starting the FC program in Nov. 1988. Pederson Fieldhouse was the Home Court for both the Men's and Women's team from '88 - '92, before moving into the DSAC.

[hopefan]

Denny... I'd love to hear a little more history... was that first game against Concordia?... Was there a SLIAC back them?  Did Fontbonne join the SLIAC or D3 right away, or did they start NAIA or unaffiliated and come to D3/Sliac later... who did they play those early years?  When did they first play Webster?  Did your dad go right from Mo Bap to Fontbonne?  Was it a tough decision to leave an established program, or was he pumped to start something new?

[hopefan]

GC Panther, if you hear a game time let us know... but if the weather is good, I'm thinking more of going to see Greenville Football

By the way... for anyone else thinking of seeing Friday opening night hoops Nov 15... SLIAC/CCIW challenge at Westmin... the women's and Men's games interchange...
Greenville women 1:00 vs Millikin Women
Greenville Men  3:00  vs Millikin Men
Westminster Women 5:00 vs Elmhurst Women
Westminster Men 7:00 vs Elmhurst Men

[Denny McKinney]

Hopefan - Pops was hired by FC VP Mel Patton (former StL Cards 1B) in August 1987. Yes it was tough to leave MoBapt! He rebuilt the athletic program their. '87-'88 season he coached at MBC and recruited players and other coaches for FC. He won Show Me Conference Coach of the Year that year, an award he never received in the SLIAC. He was inducted into MBC HOF the next year, he never really left. Attended HOF Banquets for next ? years and a few of his FC players ended up graduating there. It was the lure of starting an NCAA Program that was the selling point.

FC had enrollment of 303 in 1987 and was NAIA for two years playing mostly Show Me Conf. opponents. The Concordia Preachers were FC's first game played on Nov 12, 1988. He immediately got the ball rolling on the SLIAC and All the schools went D3 and played a conference schedule in '90-'91. My Lil Brother, Dean Fournie (Chad's brother) and three others, transferred with Pops as incoming Jr's. They had to sit out first semester, so Pops only scheduled 4 games first semester. I think 88-89 would of been the first time playing WU.

FC played at the Pederson Fieldhouse from '88 - '92, while Prez. Dr. Dunham (her father was Bobby Knight's stat man for 20 years), Mel Patton and Pops raised the funds to build the Dunham Student Activity Center. It was paid for before the first tip-off.

Pederson Fieldhouse was the practice facility for NBA's St. Louis Hawks.

[hopefan]

Dunham Student Activity Center is still far and away the nicest facility in the SLIAC, with Principia a sold second... they always shine...   Not that I don't like a number of our smaller older facilities.. ie Greenville, Westmin, Spalding, and Eureka....  and nothing in D3 compares to Blackburn

[Denny McKinney]

Hopefan, Before the Administration changes. When The DSAC had freestanding "Goose Neck Goals", tables and chairs down the full length of the window and Beer on Tap in The Cafe'. It was as good as it gets, for a Fun Facility to play in.

The goals were acquired by Dr. D's dad, straight from IU and retrofitted purple and gold.

[GC Panther 01]

Thanks for the history lesson, great stuff.  Agree I loved playing there, was a great facility.   

Did they stop the beer sales behind the glass for games?

[Denny McKinney]

GC 01 - Yes they did!!! We lost half the town of Waterloo and Red Bud from attending. At the time, The Cafe' was separate from the gym, so beer was sold to the fans in the windows. 2003 took tappers completely out and went to a NO BEER Campus. How can you have a Catholic school without Beer and Fish Fry sales?

You got to play on the Old Freestanding Baskets GC 01. The perfect shooting background. I would venture a guess, by percentages, both teams shot better in that gym then any other SLIAC gym.

I reckon if you let a big scorer design his own fieldhouse, it would be a shooters house. The night my Pops was offered his college scholarship to Southwest Missouri State, he had 32 pts and didn't play the 4th quarter. He got one National Championship and two trips to the Final Four as a PG. Then the Korean War broke up a three year run by Southwest, to the Granddaddy in The Auditorium in KC. The NAIA I tourney was 32 teams then and I think the NCAA was still only 8. His freshmen year they beat Gonzaga in the first round and the High Scoring Indiana State team in the Championship.

[GC Panther 01]

I loved the free standing goals, at the time thought they were the best thing since sliced bread.  I didn't know they had replaced those as well, what a shame.
Those goal gave the place a better feel of a big time arena. 

I was always jealous of the gym there, it was rumored around GC that at one time AB had offered money to build a like facility in Greenville but it was turned down by the trustees because of the nature of the business.  No clue if those were just legends or actually happened.

That and coming from a dry campus I always wanted to sit up there and watch a game while having a cold one myself.

Very interesting stuff on the tourney runs in the NAIA as well, but the I'm partly a history nerd as well.