CardinalAlum- I agree. I was thinking it was going to be Furco, but just happy the selection involved a Alum.  There are some challenges ahead for Elmhurst to get back to respectability, but 1 day at a time. 

I like the hiring of Mike Heffernan.  Mike is a veteran, good family man, and a trustworthy sole.   I got to know Mike and his father a little better when I was still calling the games for EC.   I like that Elmhurst chose a true blue Bluejay to knows what it means to play for the blue & white, our traditions, and the culture both at EC and the community.   I wish Mike all the best.   

Good points Greg.  Sadly the bar for Elmhurst historically has never been very high.
Look at how long Elmhurst kept Paul Krohn.  Greatest man you'll ever meet, but the Wins were not there for most of his tenure. 

IDK-  Going to be interesting to see what Elmhurst will value the most for the prospective candidate and whom they will select. 

Furco would appear to be a solid, leading candidate. 

One other note,  I'd be in favor of a Elmhurst football Alum to take the reigns.  I.e. Spencer, Scott,  somebody who has donned the blue & white, left it all on Langhorst Field during their playing days, etc. and truly loves Elmhurst. 

Mike Murray was not pushed out at Elmhurst.  If anything Elmhurst would praise Mike Murray because he has helped Elmhurst attain more wins and started to rebuild the program.   

IMO- Elmhurst needs a strong recruiter more than anything.   North Central is dominating the DuPage and Chicago suburbs the last 10-15 years.   3 rings will do that        But added to this rise in NC and before that Wheaton,   Elmhurst is still "too close to home" for many kids.   So, many whammies and obstacles will be faced with whomever signs on.   It's a tough gig.  Many have tried and very few have had success

Murray has left Elmhurst on the upswing.  The next HC needs to pick up where Murray left off and continue to build the foundation.     

I was not at the game, but the first thing that comes to mind, when you look at the box score and recaps (of both schools) is,   Adrian made halftime adjustments and Elmhurst either didn't and/or didn't make the right adjustments.  Once Adrian was up to speed, Elmhurst has little/no answer and it was not a good outcome.   Ugh1   

The good news is they get a bye week to look at what went wrong and gear up for IWU. 

It's a short sample of course, but appears CCIW's overall prowess is down this year. 

Ah, best time of the year,  college football season is back.

For Elmhurst I hope to see some improvement from last year.  The wins may not be there yet, but I'm hoping some of their (many) deficiencies from last year can be polished up.

**Reminder**  Opening week for the CCIW Pick Em's is up, so log onto that board and make your picks each week.

Looking at the conference as a whole, the real race will be who takes second place.   The on paper pick would be Wheaton, but I have a feeling there will be 2 teams ready to compete for that #2 spot.   

Congratulations North Central on another strong season.   Brad Spencer is showing he is a players coach and somebody you can really root for.   I especially like he went for the win, and put it in his player's hands to (hopefully) pull out a W.   
I know the result is not what we all wanted to see,  but sheesh!  This was a great game to watch.   

Good SID's are hard to find.   Makes you appreciate legends like Dave Wrath,  Steve Marovich,  Dave Hilbert, etc.   People who put a genuine interest and detail into their writings. 

20 years ago we had  the big 4 little 4
WHEATON
AUGIE
IWU
MILLIKIN 
(NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER)
THEN A CONSIDERABLE DROP
CARTHAGE
ELMHURST
NPU
NC
(AGAIN NOT ANY PARTICULAR ORDER)

Today,  IMO It's
NORTH CENTRAL
NOTICEABLE GAP

WHEATON
WASH U
ANOTHER BIG GAP

The rest

if you look over the years of the CCIW many schools have risen and fallen.   Wheaton owned the 50's Carthage was strong in the 70's Augie owned the 80's and now North Central has the present ownership.

NC's rise has made it challenging for other schools to recruit.  Also factoring into this equation is facilities.  In Elmhurst's case this is a double whammy, along with the history of not being very good overall, other than a handle of years being very competitive.

yes.  Like the Bears Elmhurst found a way to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.  Which is a shame for Elmhurst fans, because the Jays really came out in the first half inspired poised for a HC upset.   
Credit to Carthage coaching staff though for making some adjustments in the 2nd half.   

Reality unfortunately, is these are (2) really weak teams right now.   

Good things are happening at North Park.  Sadly, the same cannot be said at Elmhurst.
SHOCKINGLY North Central spoiled Homecoming weekend.  The Cardinals are a juggernaut right now on all sides of the ball and poised to make another deep run in the playoffs.  IMO, there is no weakness on this team.

New-Tradition-  Our football field was on a steady decline for years, and the '01 IWU/Elmhurst game was the beginning of the final demise.    My roommate was on the team and after the game you couldn't even see the white numbers blending in with the navy.

The college deserved better, but unfortunately (for a number of reasons),  they waited for a must replace approach as opposed to the preventive maintenance/staying ahead of the game approach.  My HS field was in better condition than EC's was.

Coach Krohn did everything he could with the limited resources and tools he was given to work with.

In similar fashion,  Butterfield Park where we played baseball was in need of TLC too. I recall running after a fly ball in left field and stumbling because there tire tread marks on the field.   

I can recall HC games  on the air vs. IWU (when the Titans were strong),  Wheaton, etc.   I understand often schedules don't allow for changes, but NC has been strong for how many years now      and they can't find a better opponent to have a large crowd?  HC is always the largest crowd of the year and typically a good # of recruits come to visit.   This will most likely be a lopsided rout so if you are a HC coach, anxious to land a recruit,   the recruit (then) sees the Red & White team and realizes they are a conference, local rival.. . IMO just isn't a good recipe for Elmhurst to thrive.

My favorite Elmhurst HC broadcasting on the air was the '01 game Elmhurst vs. IWU in what we dubbed on the air as the "monsoon game".  We had heavy rain for a day and a half.  you could step and sink down to your ankles back when EC has regular grass.   It it is the only game I ever saw that had 4 straight fumbles based on the weather.  The refs would put the ball down to start the play, and the ball would travel (i.e.  like a river current) side to side.        Elmhurst was contemplating getting field turf and after this game,  the decision was made.       

Saturday is Homecoming at Elmhurst and while I fully expect NC to dominate,  I am hoping Elmhurst will (still) come out of the gates inspired.   Still kind of surprised Elmhurst would schedule NC for HC knowing NC is coming off a Nat'l title and has been strong the last few years.  Sometimes depending on the timing, I realize it can't be bypassed, but if there was a opp..
I know for years Elmhurst tried to avoid Augie as a HC game.