FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BDB]

UW-Stout Sports Information:

UW-Stout defensive back Tyler Naatz, a former Menomonie athlete, has been named to the National Football Foundation's (NFF) 2015 Hampshire Honor Society.

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: Being a starter or a significant substitute in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university; achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout the entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society honors college football players from every division (I, II and III). A total of 817 players from a record 278 schools qualified for membership in the society's ninth year, setting a new record for the number of members in the history of the program.

Several other players around the WIAC were named to the honor society. UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh each had two players, while UW-Eau Claire had one.

Anyone else ever heard of this?

[badgerwarhawk]

Yes, I have heard of it. 

Brady Grayvold and Spencer Jacque were the two WARHAWKS named to the honor society.
http://www.uwwsports.com/news/2015/4/29/FB_0429151836.aspx

Here's some information about it if anyone is so inclined: http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/ScholarAthletes/HampshireHonorSociety.aspx

[cubs]

It surprises me how frequently programs that are perennially poor will blame everything but the coaching staff for the poor success...or even how often you'll hear those fans say "they couldn't have won here". The coaches who are the best really do turn such programs around. Here are a couple locale HS examples (I know, you'll say D3 football in WI is different but I'll disagree) of a staff coming in and turning around a program that every former fan/coach said couldn't be done.

Fond du Lac HS
2011 1-8 (1st yr new staff)
2012 3-5
2013 5-6
2014 10-2

Kimberly HS
2004 5-5 (1st yr new staff)
2005 4-5
2006 9-1
2007 14-0

The one and only Steve Jorgensen!!!!

[emma17]

The UWRF vs UWW Walker vs Leipold hypotheticals are great.
Here is my question,when Leipold took over in 2007 Brezowitz had already taken them to two title games. If that wouldn't have happen in 05 and 06 would Leipold would have been able to do what he did? Remember he was    handed keys to a fancy car and told not to crash it. If that didn't happen would he still have had the same success???
We will see how good he does when he takes over a train wreck in Buffalo.

My guess is, yes, he would have.  The question I have isn't whether or not Leipold would have pushed Whitewater to championships, it's whether or not he would have even been interested in the position if they were still kicking around 5 and 7-win seasons.  Alma mater or not, from the vantage point of a guy who has held D1 and D2 jobs I think there's a world of difference between a D-III school that is *this* close to a title and the other 99% of D-III schools.  I'm sure I'll get a bunch of "nuh-uh" out of this take, but I don't think Lance Leipold ever coaches at Whitewater if they weren't "a fancy car".

I won't say "nuh-uh" as though I know for a fact that LL would have come to UWW regardless of the record.  But I will say "nuh-uh" to you for making a statement that I am guessing you don't have any knowledge that supports such an opinion. 
Afterall, LL choose to go to UB and they aren't knocking on the doorstep of national championships.   

[badgerwarhawk]

From my conversations with Lance over the years I am convinced that he would have come here regardless of record but I think his decision to go to UB despite a championship pedigree is a totally different situation.  While it's apparent he wasn't going to go just anywhere going to UB was going to D1.  Though I'm not convinced that he would have gone to just any D1 program I am convinced he felt UB was a good fit and positioned to be successful.   

[Pat Coleman]

The UWRF vs UWW Walker vs Leipold hypotheticals are great.
Here is my question,when Leipold took over in 2007 Brezowitz had already taken them to two title games. If that wouldn't have happen in 05 and 06 would Leipold would have been able to do what he did? Remember he was    handed keys to a fancy car and told not to crash it. If that didn't happen would he still have had the same success???
We will see how good he does when he takes over a train wreck in Buffalo.

My guess is, yes, he would have.  The question I have isn't whether or not Leipold would have pushed Whitewater to championships, it's whether or not he would have even been interested in the position if they were still kicking around 5 and 7-win seasons.  Alma mater or not, from the vantage point of a guy who has held D1 and D2 jobs I think there's a world of difference between a D-III school that is *this* close to a title and the other 99% of D-III schools.  I'm sure I'll get a bunch of "nuh-uh" out of this take, but I don't think Lance Leipold ever coaches at Whitewater if they weren't "a fancy car".

I won't say "nuh-uh" as though I know for a fact that LL would have come to UWW regardless of the record.  But I will say "nuh-uh" to you for making a statement that I am guessing you don't have any knowledge that supports such an opinion. 
Afterall, LL choose to go to UB and they aren't knocking on the doorstep of national championships.

Yes, he chose to go to UB, but remember he got an opportunity that literally no head coach in the history of Division III got.

[02 Warhawk]

From my conversations with Lance over the years I am convinced that he would have come here regardless of record but I think his decision to go to UB despite a championship pedigree is a totally different situation.  While it's apparent he wasn't going to go just anywhere going to UB was going to D1.  Though I'm not convinced that he would have gone to just any D1 program I am convinced he felt UB was a good fit and positioned to be successful.   

I've heard him say on multiple occasions that "it would take someplace special to pull him away from UWW". I've always interpreted that as pretty much any DI program, or a strong DII program (judging by the schools he had applied for over the years).

As far as Buffalo, I don't see any connection between LL and Buffalo for Lance to go there, over than it's D1 and the $$$. The fact that they seemed eager to hire him probably appealed to LL. I think if just about any DI school approached him (in the same manner that Buffalo did) he would have gone almost anywhere. Which I don't blame him, because it's a wonderful opportunity.

[bulk19]

Question of the day:
Do any of you know a D3 player who was disciplined for underage drinking? Maybe suspended for a game, or even kicked off the team? (If so, I'm not asking for names or specific examples. Just thoughts...) When this happens, does it usually occur because the athlete was arrested or cited? Or does a coach sometime take disciplinary action based on eye witness accounts, and not any police involvement???

Thus, if an athlete is spotted driving under the influence, or intoxicated, the coach might take action, too? But again, does he do so if there is no citation or arrest made?

Now, apply this to the high school level, too. And replace dui or dwi/owi with the word TEXTING.  If a high school athlete is spotted texting while driving, should he/she be disciplined as if he were under the influence, or intoxicated? The consequences of driving while texting could prove to be as dangerous as drinking and driving (and more so, depending on what studies you read...). 

How would you handle it if someone spotted one of your players texting and driving? Would you take disciplinary action? Or would that athlete have to be cited by a cop?

[hazzben]

I don't think there's any basis for this and I think you're really discounting the importance of institutional support and economics.  People don't care at River Falls.  258 people watched their game against Whitewater last fall.  258, man.  That's what 20 years of terrible does.  You don't flip that around in 3-4 years, not without something else changing (specifically dollars into the program).  You can coach 'em up and maybe win 4-5 games regularly, have the occasional 7-win year when you've got a bunch of seniors, but I don't think you can get the players to River Falls to win that league.  Not when you've got to convince players to not go to Whitewater or Oshkosh or St. Johns or Bethel.  There's a ceiling there that Bear Bryant wouldn't be able to bust through.

Well, since you mentioned Bethel, I'll bite.

The interesting thing here is that Coach Johnson really did that at Bethel. His first year in '89 they went 3-6-1 and he was named MIAC coach of the year, basically because it was a miracle they had even been competitive. The program won something like 5 games from '80-'88...they were North Park-esq (which is part of what makes what Conway is doing so interesting to me).

They had almost zero resources, a cow pasture for a field (could maybe even say it was the worst HS field in the metro!), zero facilities and little institutional support. President Brushaber was behind Coach J, but couldn't back it up with funds. Even today, I'd wager Coach J does more with less than any of the competitive programs in the West Region over the last decade+ (UST, SJU, Wart, Central, UWW, UWO, PLU, Lin). That's no knock on those other programs, if you've got the resources or set up, run with those pocket Aces! But there isn't money pouring into the BU athletic dept or the football program.

One thing Coach J had in his favor was an administration that loved his vision and how he wanted to build the program, so they gave him time. If Walker is given time to slowly turn things, maybe that sparks increased institutional support over the long run. Sadly today, even in D3, you probably don't get as long as you would have gotten in the early 90's.

This may be anathema, but the coach I'd say might have a leg up on LL is the recently retired Mel Tjeersma (pro: Church-sma) from Northwest Missouri State. It's not perfectly analogous, because it's D2 to D3. Mel was the OC for Northwestern when they were winning NAIA titles in the early 80's. When he arrived at Northwest as HC, they were thinking of shutting down the school, not just the program. He took them from zero wins his first year to back to back national titles in year 4. They had terrible facilities for a D2 school during almost his entire career there. Still won 3 titles (would have been four if not for a dropped wide open TD catch in the closing seconds of one of their face offs with GVSU) and appeared in 4 other title games. Those numbers are impressive, especially since there's a little more competitive balance at the top of D2 football than there is in D3.

If LL is able to turn things around at Buffalo, then this is a moot point (substituting Conf titles and bowl wins for Nat'l titles, obviously). IMO, that's the only thing missing from his resume. Showing he can rejuvenate and re-invent a place without all the bells and whistles. If I were betting man, I'd say he's got a good shot to do it. I actually think LL and Tjeersma have a lot in common, both men of high character, and that rare combo of CEO, top shelf recruiter, talent developer and X's and O's guru. Rare you find guys that can wear all those hats. Little surprise that when you do, they seem to win a lot of games

[WarhawkDad]

Well said Ex,
Thanks for helping out.

There is at least one more aspect to this good coaching thing that I see some gloss over as 02 did- and that is the recruiting of assistant coaches. 02 said- "If Walker had Borland and Kotelniki ..."- well he doesn't. Now I know Borland was in place pre- LL, but there is a reason Borland stayed when LL arrived and while LL was there and when LL decided to leave- he joined him. The other great assistants are recruits just as the best UWW players are recruits.
This championship program thing requires so much more than just coaching football players. Yes recruiting is key- but you don't get the studs unless the studs but into what you've put in place/are putting in place.

Give LL and his approach 3-4 years at UWRF and I believe they are a playoff team.
If Walker had that much time at UWW are they repeat champions?  Do they win all those incredibly close games?

I loved reading this entire discussion and was really pleased to see these comments at the end about the Assistant Coaches.   Beyond the X's and O's the one thing that LL did extremely well and it is really what distinguishes winning organizations of all kinds and that is surround himself with high quality, self motivated people and delegate to them while holding them accountable.   Coaches like Nelson Edmonds, Jim Zembrowski, Steve Dinkel, Brian Borland, Andy Kotelnicki, Darrel Agpulsa and Kevin Bullis.   Not to mention many other quality coaches that LL brought onto the scene for more limited roles.   

Nice work Emma!  +k

WarhawkDad

[emma17]

Question of the day:
Do any of you know a D3 player who was disciplined for underage drinking? Maybe suspended for a game, or even kicked off the team? (If so, I'm not asking for names or specific examples. Just thoughts...) When this happens, does it usually occur because the athlete was arrested or cited? Or does a coach sometime take disciplinary action based on eye witness accounts, and not any police involvement???

Thus, if an athlete is spotted driving under the influence, or intoxicated, the coach might take action, too? But again, does he do so if there is no citation or arrest made?

Now, apply this to the high school level, too. And replace dui or dwi/owi with the word TEXTING.  If a high school athlete is spotted texting while driving, should he/she be disciplined as if he were under the influence, or intoxicated? The consequences of driving while texting could prove to be as dangerous as drinking and driving (and more so, depending on what studies you read...). 

How would you handle it if someone spotted one of your players texting and driving? Would you take disciplinary action? Or would that athlete have to be cited by a cop?

In general I don't see a problem with a coach establishing clear rules for the good of the player and of the team, as well as corresponding penalties- as long as its done upfront, explained and accepted, and of course implemented consistently.  I can envision a scenario where the coach invites paramedics to speak to the team about the dangers of texting and driving- both to the driver and other people, and having the team come together in agreement as a sort of community service to sign off on a safety promise.  Consequences for breaking the safety promise should be agreed upon upfront by all. 

[emma17]

Well said Ex,
Thanks for helping out.

There is at least one more aspect to this good coaching thing that I see some gloss over as 02 did- and that is the recruiting of assistant coaches. 02 said- "If Walker had Borland and Kotelniki ..."- well he doesn't. Now I know Borland was in place pre- LL, but there is a reason Borland stayed when LL arrived and while LL was there and when LL decided to leave- he joined him. The other great assistants are recruits just as the best UWW players are recruits.
This championship program thing requires so much more than just coaching football players. Yes recruiting is key- but you don't get the studs unless the studs but into what you've put in place/are putting in place.

Give LL and his approach 3-4 years at UWRF and I believe they are a playoff team.
If Walker had that much time at UWW are they repeat champions?  Do they win all those incredibly close games?

I loved reading this entire discussion and was really pleased to see these comments at the end about the Assistant Coaches.   Beyond the X's and O's the one thing that LL did extremely well and it is really what distinguishes winning organizations of all kinds and that is surround himself with high quality, self motivated people and delegate to them while holding them accountable.   Coaches like Nelson Edmonds, Jim Zembrowski, Steve Dinkel, Brian Borland, Andy Kotelnicki, Darrel Agpulsa and Kevin Bullis.   Not to mention many other quality coaches that LL brought onto the scene for more limited roles.   

Nice work Emma!  +k

WarhawkDad

Thanks WD.
You've seen first hand the excellent coaching LL has brought in throughout ol #65's tenure- a lot of good people came through.  I'm especially appreciative of the consistent approach to scheme and process that all the assistants bought into.     

[bleedpurple]

Congrats to Jake Kumerow, signed by the Bengals. According to SB Nation's Cincy Jungle, The Bengals "began the college free agent period" by signing Jake.  Good luck Jake! Show 'em  what you got!

[MasterJedi]

With the signing of Brett Hundley Blanchard is now pretty much just a camp arm with a chance to win a practice squad berth. They've invested 2 years now with Tolzein and Hundley they want to build for the future. Unless Blanchard plays perfect football and makes no mistakes he's not going to make the roster. Would love it if he did but it's not going to happen guys, don't get your hopes up or hold your breath for it.

[emma17]

With the signing of Brett Hundley Blanchard is now pretty much just a camp arm with a chance to win a practice squad berth. They've invested 2 years now with Tolzein and Hundley they want to build for the future. Unless Blanchard plays perfect football and makes no mistakes he's not going to make the roster. Would love it if he did but it's not going to happen guys, don't get your hopes up or hold your breath for it.

I've often wondered what makes a guy like you tick.  What purpose does this post serve other than to come off as a guy w a grudge. Do you really feel you're performing some sort of public service as though us Matt Blanchard fans are likely to end up in severe depression or commit bodily harm if Matt doesn't make the team?
Do you think we Blanchard fans are ignorant to the task at hand?
Why not just be as positive as you can be- does that go against the grain of your personality?
I have Great Hope that Matt will defy the odds and end up with a roster spot.
Shock the world Matt.
And Jake.