I wrote the letter to present historical facts about the football program and to indicate patterns of the program.I sent the letter knowing full well that it will most likely go to the circular file, but it is my two cents, nothing more or less, in as respectful and integral manner as I can possibly be. I have spent far too much of my life expressing vitriol over an online forum under a pseudonym and that hasn't done anything but burn bridges. I figure this letter, written under my real name and on paper was the most integral way of expressing my thoughts. It most likely will reach the trash can, but my integrity is intact. Anyways, that's all I've got.
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Region 4 football (Great Lakes-ish) / Re: FB: North Coast Athletic Conference
November 17, 2023, 11:47:55 AM #2
Region 4 football (Great Lakes-ish) / Re: FB: North Coast Athletic Conference
November 15, 2023, 08:20:13 PM
Letter sent to Wabash President earlier this week:
"Dear President Feller,
I hope this letter finds you well, happy, healthy and blessed. I write as a loyal alumnus of Wabash College and the Little Giants football program. While I am sure that many people who watched the Monon Bell Game this year found it to be thrilling, one cannot help but acknowledge the disappointment, heartache, and agony of losing the Bell and the North Coast Athletic Conference for the second year in a row and for the third time in the past four years. I fell in love with Wabash football as a small child. My father was an alumnus of the class of 1974 and we would go to the games every year. The last time a senior class only won a single Monon Bell game in their 4 years at Wabash was the class of 1999, who won the Bell as freshman in 1995, surviving 7-2 over DePauw in the snow bowl of Blackstock Stadium. The classes of 2000 and 2001 each went all four of their years without ever winning the Bell. The class of 2001 came close in November of 2000, but lost their 8-point lead in the 4th quarter and eventually lost by 10 to DePauw in that game, the last of head coach Greg Carlson's Wabash career. Then, we hired a new coach, Chris Creighton, who in 7 years won 5 Bells, 4 NCAC championships, and 3 playoff appearances. In my time as a student there, he won the NCAC in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He lost his final Bell game on a last-second field goal by DePauw in 2007. We then hired Erik Raeburn, who in 8 years, won 3 NCAC titles and 5 playoff appearances. His only loss to DePauw was his first year. He quickly learned that this would not be acceptable a went on to win 7 straight Monon Bells, each in dominating fashion, never beating DePauw by any margin less than 3 possessions, and often it was many more points than that. After he left, we promoted from within and have Don Morel, who, in 8 years (minus the COVID season of 2020) has lost the Monon Bell four times, three of those times when a share of the conference championship was on the line (2022 and 2023) and once when an outright NCAC title was on the line (2019). He has given us 2 NCAC Co-Championships (2018 and 2019) with players who were holdovers from the Raeburn era. He has given us 1 playoff appearance which was a blow-out loss in the first round in 2019. Every Monon Bell game under Morel has been a one-possession game, save 2022 when we were defeated by DePauw 49-14. With all due respect, one must acknowledge the fact that Wabash football is not what it used to be. With the senior class of 2024 becoming the first senior class since that of 1999 to lose the Bell 3 out of 4 times, with DePauw winning three straight NCAC titles, one cannot help but believe that our football program has fallen backwards and is soon on track to becoming the perennial "also rans" of the Monon Bell rivalry and the NCAC. It is becoming ever-increasingly frustrating to watch Wabash football, especially when we face DePauw, only to see black-and-gold fans pour onto the field after yet another close game in which Wabash had multiple chances to win. The energy of this current coaching administration seems to be content with what Wabash football has become. As an alumnus who has been a Wabash fan since childhood, it has become embarrassing to witness this year after year. The best recruiting tool any sports team can have is the act and reputation of winning. The best high school players will want to attend the college with the team that is going to win, especially the big games, like that of the Monon Bell and those games which the conference championship rides on, which, most recently, has also been the Monon Bell game. If we continue on the pattern that we are now as a program, our rivals at Depauw will be recruiting better players, will continue to defeat us in the Monon Bell game, and will continue to dominate the NCAC just as we once did 8 years ago. It is a sad day as a Wabash Man when I look at Depauw and I think to myself, "that's what we used to be." All of this being said, it is time for Wabash football to consider where it wants to go as a program. If Wabash is to reverse the current trend it is on of losing the Bell 3 out of 4 years, losing the NCAC, and perennially missing the playoffs, new leadership of the program is required. Please help Wabash football find a new leader and head coach who can take us back to the days of being perennial Monon Bell and NCAC Champions, and hopefully, one day, a national championship which we still have yet to win. Thank you for your time and consideration of the facts as presented here.
Sincerely,
Paul Joseph Smith
Wabash Class of 2008"
"Dear President Feller,
I hope this letter finds you well, happy, healthy and blessed. I write as a loyal alumnus of Wabash College and the Little Giants football program. While I am sure that many people who watched the Monon Bell Game this year found it to be thrilling, one cannot help but acknowledge the disappointment, heartache, and agony of losing the Bell and the North Coast Athletic Conference for the second year in a row and for the third time in the past four years. I fell in love with Wabash football as a small child. My father was an alumnus of the class of 1974 and we would go to the games every year. The last time a senior class only won a single Monon Bell game in their 4 years at Wabash was the class of 1999, who won the Bell as freshman in 1995, surviving 7-2 over DePauw in the snow bowl of Blackstock Stadium. The classes of 2000 and 2001 each went all four of their years without ever winning the Bell. The class of 2001 came close in November of 2000, but lost their 8-point lead in the 4th quarter and eventually lost by 10 to DePauw in that game, the last of head coach Greg Carlson's Wabash career. Then, we hired a new coach, Chris Creighton, who in 7 years won 5 Bells, 4 NCAC championships, and 3 playoff appearances. In my time as a student there, he won the NCAC in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He lost his final Bell game on a last-second field goal by DePauw in 2007. We then hired Erik Raeburn, who in 8 years, won 3 NCAC titles and 5 playoff appearances. His only loss to DePauw was his first year. He quickly learned that this would not be acceptable a went on to win 7 straight Monon Bells, each in dominating fashion, never beating DePauw by any margin less than 3 possessions, and often it was many more points than that. After he left, we promoted from within and have Don Morel, who, in 8 years (minus the COVID season of 2020) has lost the Monon Bell four times, three of those times when a share of the conference championship was on the line (2022 and 2023) and once when an outright NCAC title was on the line (2019). He has given us 2 NCAC Co-Championships (2018 and 2019) with players who were holdovers from the Raeburn era. He has given us 1 playoff appearance which was a blow-out loss in the first round in 2019. Every Monon Bell game under Morel has been a one-possession game, save 2022 when we were defeated by DePauw 49-14. With all due respect, one must acknowledge the fact that Wabash football is not what it used to be. With the senior class of 2024 becoming the first senior class since that of 1999 to lose the Bell 3 out of 4 times, with DePauw winning three straight NCAC titles, one cannot help but believe that our football program has fallen backwards and is soon on track to becoming the perennial "also rans" of the Monon Bell rivalry and the NCAC. It is becoming ever-increasingly frustrating to watch Wabash football, especially when we face DePauw, only to see black-and-gold fans pour onto the field after yet another close game in which Wabash had multiple chances to win. The energy of this current coaching administration seems to be content with what Wabash football has become. As an alumnus who has been a Wabash fan since childhood, it has become embarrassing to witness this year after year. The best recruiting tool any sports team can have is the act and reputation of winning. The best high school players will want to attend the college with the team that is going to win, especially the big games, like that of the Monon Bell and those games which the conference championship rides on, which, most recently, has also been the Monon Bell game. If we continue on the pattern that we are now as a program, our rivals at Depauw will be recruiting better players, will continue to defeat us in the Monon Bell game, and will continue to dominate the NCAC just as we once did 8 years ago. It is a sad day as a Wabash Man when I look at Depauw and I think to myself, "that's what we used to be." All of this being said, it is time for Wabash football to consider where it wants to go as a program. If Wabash is to reverse the current trend it is on of losing the Bell 3 out of 4 years, losing the NCAC, and perennially missing the playoffs, new leadership of the program is required. Please help Wabash football find a new leader and head coach who can take us back to the days of being perennial Monon Bell and NCAC Champions, and hopefully, one day, a national championship which we still have yet to win. Thank you for your time and consideration of the facts as presented here.
Sincerely,
Paul Joseph Smith
Wabash Class of 2008"
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