FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[ExTartanPlayer]

But Ken knows, a D1 AD isn't likely to risk his/her job on believing something he/she hasn't actually seen happen.  Ken sighs as he comes to grips with the reality that as much as he'd love to be the next UWW head coach, no matter how good he does there, he'll likely never be looked at as a guy that has the ability to build a program. 

I think you're overplaying this a bit.  Leipold took over a team that was already championship caliber...it's not like he took over River Falls and turned it into a dynasty.   Totally true that Leipold solved the Mount Union conundrum and that is no small feat, but that all by itself doesn't constitute the kind of program building that you're saying is prerequisite for D1 ADs to take notice.

Thanks for the reply, emma.  Believe it or not, I wasn't just yanking your chain this entire time, I did/do legitimately think there is interesting information to be gleaned here, or at least discussed. 

I happen to agree with wally on the specific point raised here - that Lance took over a program that was Stagg-finalist-caliber and turned it into repeat-national-champs-caliber, and I don't see that so much as a guy that built his own program as much as a "guy who took the program to the next level and kept it there."  He still got the big-time phone call. 

I happen to think that winning national titles will get you noticed regardless of how good the program was when you got there.  Earlier bleedpurple mentioned a parallel to Oregon's QB position ("Like a QB coming out of Oregon. Is he great because he is great? Or is he great because the Oregon system made him great?") - but despite the fact that a bunch of dudes have been very productive QB's in the Oregon system before him, Marcus Mariota is probably going top-5 in the NFL draft this year if you can believe those early scouting reports.  If the next guy can rack up a couple national titles at UWW, I think he will have as good a shot as anybody to get the moving-on-up call, regardless of whether UWW was really good before you got there or not.

Some other stuff in your post that I agree with and/or wish to comment on:

- I think you've guesstimated about the same breakdown of coaches that I would have that would have even "considered" applying at UWW.  If we stick with just the 239 D3 programs, I think it's definitely fair to say that about three-quarters would never have applied at UWW (or anywhere else) mostly because they just have no interest in leaving their current spot.  Linfield is coached by an alum, UMHB is coached by the guy who started the program, my own alma mater is coached by an alum with 40+ years at the school as a player/coach, etc.  Regardless of whether they'd be desirable elsewhere, that type of guy wouldn't apply for any other job.  There are also probably a handful of first-year or second-year guys in their current jobs that wouldn't have applied because they knew they'd never get into the pool anyway.  Really, the Erik Raeburn/Dean Paul/Glenn Caruso type is the only one that would be ripe for this job: an up-and-comer with a few years' success in their current spot and preferably a playoff berth or two on the resume, but not so much that they're entrenched and in "I'll never leave" mode.

- In the latter part of your post, where you name the approximate breakdown of D2, D3, NAIA coaches who might have D1 aspirations but did not apply for the UWW job...

(sidebar: does anyone know how many applications were received? There could be plenty of guys who did put their names into the pool that we just don't know about)

...it seems that you're at least implying that "didn't apply at UWW for the HC position in 2015" = "doesn't think UWW is the best route to a D1 job" for a large number of those hypothetical D2, D3, and NAIA guys that want to make it to D1 someday.  Even if there are, like, 200 of those D2 coordinators, NAIA guys, and D3 guys that want to become D1 coaches, and only 25 of them applied (I'm guessing that way more than 25 people applied for this job)...that doesn't mean the remaining 175 chose not to apply because "UWW is not the best way for me to get to D1."

And now we come to a point where I think we agree but we're both using it in our own ways: yes, a lot of guys in that pool didn't apply for the UWW job.  I happen to think that some didn't bother because they know they are not "highly qualified" - i.e. guys in their first or second year, guys from programs that are kind of scuffling right now, guys that are doing everything they can to turn Mediocre D2 U into Above-Average D2 U and don't really have time to be looking at head-coaching jobs elsewhere.  I think for many of those guys, the rationale was not "I don't think UWW will get me to D1" as much as "I'm the offensive coordinator of a team that went 4-6 in the IIAC last year, and while I want to coach D1 someday, I kinda doubt that the defending national champs will take my application seriously."

So even though you present a compelling large raw number of coaches, contained within that list are a bunch of guys who aren't "highly qualified" at all (I know that you were very praiseworthy of the candidates, but some of your UWW brethren scoffed at candidates with 100 wins and playoff berths on their resumes; so I'm quite certain that many of those hundreds of D2/D3/NAIA guys would have been openly scoffed at as candidates to take over the UWW juggernaut).

Finally, one last point of interest:

We here on D3boards are generally much more informed about the national D3 scene than most fans, players, and even coaches.  I'd be curious to hear others' experiences on this, but I have spoken to a fair number of guys with D3 playing and/or coaching experience that didn't know much about anything outside of their own league (wally has told me a rather hilarious anecdote in the past about a certain coach who didn't know how the playoff selection process worked, and I've heard and seen a few similar things myself).  It's possible that some of those guys didn't apply for the UWW job because it just wasn't on their radar.

[Joe Wally]

Tartan,

Does anyone really know how the playoff selection process works?

[KitchenSink]

It's official.  Kevin Bullis, head coach of the Warhawks.

[voice]

It's official.  Kevin Bullis, head coach of the Warhawks.

Note to Royal Purple - IT IS NOW OFFICIAL Kevin Bullis is the new head football coach at UW-Whitewater... just the fourth head coach in the past 60 years!

Attached below is UWW AD Amy Edmond"s press release:

http://uwwsports.com/news/2015/1/30/FB_0130152841.aspx

[Pat Coleman]

I noticed RP took down its story.

I am not sure RP had its own sources -- think they were just following the Football Scoop report. Which is why, when I tweeted about it last night, I cited only the scoop.

[NewHawk]

the coach is in place, now its time pick up where we left off in December. 

Go WARHAWKS!!!!

[Raider 68]

I have not really kept up on the UWW HC coaching position vacancy, until I just saw who the candidates were. My question is why would UWW not select a coach who has head coaching experience like Dean Paul or Erick Raeburn. If the internal candidate was the OC or DC, that is an easy decision, but I am little surprised this internal candidate would have been the best  choice over
already successful HC applicants. Just wondering??

[ExTartanPlayer]

I have not really kept up on the UWW HC coaching position vacancy, until I just saw who the candidates were. My question is why would UWW not select a coach who has head coaching experience like Dean Paul or Erick Raeburn. If the internal candidate was the OC or DC, that is an easy decision, but I am little surprised this internal candidate would have been the best  choice over already successful HC applicants. Just wondering??

Putting aside the "Kevin was a HUGE part of all of our national titles!" argument (which may also hold merit), it's worth noting that Bullis was a defensive coordinator at two different schools, including a long stint at UWRF, and held the title of "assistant head coach" for four years there.  So while promoting a DL coach may seem unusual, he's a very experienced coach with long prior stints as coordinator.

[emma17]

Ex and Wally,
I appreciate your last posts and agree with the idea that LL might not be looked upon by some as the guy that "built" the UWW program.  No doubt the UWW program has been building for many years.  Today's success doesn't exist without the forward thinking of Coach Perkins and then Coach Berez, his staff and players.

The part that I attribute to LL in terms of building the program is the Template (which is more complex than it sounds).  UWW had really talented players in 05 and 06 (and although not in the same quantity, for many, many seasons prior).  UWW has always been located in excellent proximity to population centers and talent.  It's always had the academic standards it has and the larger student population.  It's a program that made pushes into the playoffs throughout the years, but at the end of the day it was missing something.   

We can't give LL "building" credit for the players and coaches in place when he got there.  But he should (and probably did from the Buffalo AD) get loads of credit for taking all the advantages that existed and building and enforcing a template that produced a championship with the existing players, and then he did it on a repeated basis-proving it wasn't just about one especially talented group.

That's the part that would be missing from the resume of anyone that took over the UWW HC job and hoped for a D1 promotion.  I happen to think a D1 AD needs that part in a D3 coaches' resume.

Ex, I agree not every coach would be considered highly qualified, so the pool absolutely does shrink.  I don't think we want to get into a debate on the definition of "many", so I'll just leave it alone.   

To the joy of many, it would appear this subject is coming to a close. 


 

[emma17]

Ex, this I'd love to know:

(sidebar: does anyone know how many applications were received? There could be plenty of guys who did put their names into the pool that we just don't know about)

[ExTartanPlayer]

Ex, this I'd love to know:

(sidebar: does anyone know how many applications were received? There could be plenty of guys who did put their names into the pool that we just don't know about)

As an outgoing senior, I helped screen applicants for a full-time assistant-coach position and remember being shocked by the large number of applications we got (75+ if memory serves me right, and most all had at least some degree of collegiate coaching experience; I expected, like, ten guys to apply for that job).  I'm quite aware that there's a wider pool of realistic hopefuls for "assistant coach at middling D3 program" vs. "head coach of national champions" - so I am very curious to know if UWW got dozens and dozens of applications, or if the magnitude of the job meant that only folks with some serious meat on their resume bothered to apply.

While it appears that we're content to put the previous question to bed, I do think that knowing the # of applicants would be interesting.  Some cursory breakdown: X number of current head coaches, X number of current coordinators from each level, etc - would be pretty cool to see, shed some light on the applicant pool that tends to show itself for HC positions.  And, as speculated long while ago, it would be interesting to know if there were any intriguing names that didn't make the Finalist cut.  I have to assume that ER and Dean Paul were the best-looking current HC's that put their names into the ring.

[badgerwarhawk]

To the joy of many, it would appear this subject is coming to a close. 

Proving conclusively that there is a god and he is benevolent. 

[bleedpurple]

To the joy of many, it would appear this subject is coming to a close. 

Proving conclusively that there is a god and he is benevolent. 

Glad to have you on board, BW! 

[Joe Wally]

To the joy of many, it would appear this subject is coming to a close. 

Proving conclusively that there is a god and he is benevolent. 

+k

[bulk19]

Ex, this I'd love to know:

(sidebar: does anyone know how many applications were received? There could be plenty of guys who did put their names into the pool that we just don't know about)

This information (# of applicants) is available; it's a matter of someone asking for it. I'm not sure, however, if that person has to be a credited member of the media to obtain it? Or what hoops a lay person might have to jump through to get it...

The applicants' names, however, might not necessarily be disclosed; an applicant can request that his/her name not be disclosed... Names of finalists are always released...