FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BoBo]

Kumerow making a good impression with the Bengals in this story from the Cincy Enquirer.

Link: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2015/08/22/cincinnati-bengals-jake-kumerow/32139719/

[Sakman 1111]

My son who was a solid player at UWW never received a dollar from Whitewater......five years out of state tuition (red shirt freshman year).....he chose UWW because of the facilities and coaches....went to the Stagg Bowl 2005 and 06....This year an excellent wide receiver from his high school and a good kid attempted to enroll but the financial package didn't come close so he is at a junior college.....for those young men who don't have the $$$ out of state tuition costs can be a hurdle that is impossible to make.....

[Just Bill]

UW-Stevens Point (no apostrophe, no "ph"  ), for one, has no tuition discount for Illinois residents, unless it's been added very recently. But I doubt that. UWSP, being centrally located generally has the weakest pull on out-of-state students. They are a minimum of 2.5 hours to any border and a potential recruit always has to drive past another, closer WIAC school, no matter which direction they are coming from.

[ScreamingEagles]

UWL offers tuition reciprocity for Minnesota students at in-state prices but nothing for any other specific state.

http://www.uwlax.edu/Admissions/Tuition-and-housing-costs/

http://www.uwlax.edu/Admissions/Non-resident-tuition-programs/

They also have a "Return to Wisconsin" program that offers 25% off out-of-state tuition if your parents, stepparents, or grandparents attended UWL.  The "Midwest Student Exchange Program" is something UWL participates in and caps out-of-state tuition at 150% of in-state rates for qualifying students.  UWL is only allowed 40 such students per freshman class and it is academically-based.  I would doubt either of these smaller programs has much of any effect in recruiting, although the Minnesota reciprocity definitely does.

In comparison, UWP has Minnesota reciprocity and also the Tri-State Initiative which provides discounted tuition for Iowa and Illinois residents.  This rate for 2105-2016 is about $4,000 lower than non-resident tuition, but is actually only about $1,000 different than UWL in-state rates ($9,898 for UWP Tri State and $8,962 UWL In-State).  There is no question that UWP's success on the football field has increased with more and more Illinois students coming there.  How much of that is due to the Tri State Initiative is hard to quantify with so many factors involved in the recruiting process as many have stated already.

[Gregory Sager]

Listen, Whitewater has the biggest advantage imaginable: They win championships. All else is moot! Of course it's easier to get kids at Whitewater -- they have earned it by winning six of eight. You don't have to sell your program to a prospective recruit.

Similarly Mount Union has that advantage. Otherwise, what really differentiates that school from any of a hundred similar schools in Division III?

These are destination places. Recruiting a non-scholarship player (or a borderline scholarship player) to Whitewater or Mount Union is like recruiting tech people at Google.

Agreed. Over the years I've noticed that, more than anything, the most common reason why a student-athlete chooses a particular school is for the chance to play for a winner. And the more you win, obviously, the easier your sell gets on the recruiting trail. I figured that this is something that goes without saying, but it's probably wise that Pat went ahead and said it, anyway.

UW-Stevens Point (no apostrophe, no "ph"  ), for one, has no tuition discount for Illinois residents, unless it's been added very recently. But I doubt that. UWSP, being centrally located generally has the weakest pull on out-of-state students. They are a minimum of 2.5 hours to any border and a potential recruit always has to drive past another, closer WIAC school, no matter which direction they are coming from.

UWL offers tuition reciprocity for Minnesota students at in-state prices but nothing for any other specific state.

http://www.uwlax.edu/Admissions/Tuition-and-housing-costs/

http://www.uwlax.edu/Admissions/Non-resident-tuition-programs/

They also have a "Return to Wisconsin" program that offers 25% off out-of-state tuition if your parents, stepparents, or grandparents attended UWL.  The "Midwest Student Exchange Program" is something UWL participates in and caps out-of-state tuition at 150% of in-state rates for qualifying students.  UWL is only allowed 40 such students per freshman class and it is academically-based.  I would doubt either of these smaller programs has much of any effect in recruiting, although the Minnesota reciprocity definitely does.

In comparison, UWP has Minnesota reciprocity and also the Tri-State Initiative which provides discounted tuition for Iowa and Illinois residents.  This rate for 2105-2016 is about $4,000 lower than non-resident tuition, but is actually only about $1,000 different than UWL in-state rates ($9,898 for UWP Tri State and $8,962 UWL In-State).  There is no question that UWP's success on the football field has increased with more and more Illinois students coming there.  How much of that is due to the Tri State Initiative is hard to quantify with so many factors involved in the recruiting process as many have stated already.

Thanks for responding to my question, guys. This pretty much confirms what I suspected regarding UWSP and UWL and their policies for Illinois residents.

[02 Warhawk]

Listen, Whitewater has the biggest advantage imaginable: They win championships. All else is moot! Of course it's easier to get kids at Whitewater -- they have earned it by winning six of eight. You don't have to sell your program to a prospective recruit.

Similarly Mount Union has that advantage. Otherwise, what really differentiates that school from any of a hundred similar schools in Division III?

These are destination places. Recruiting a non-scholarship player (or a borderline scholarship player) to Whitewater or Mount Union is like recruiting tech people at Google.

Pat gets it.

[fredfalcon]

RF has 6 freshmen from LaCrosse/Holmen, including a couple with good reputations as h.s. players (Serauskas comes to mind). Does that say anything about UWL's inability to land local players? Whatever the reason, it's unusual to see that many from a location which also has a WIAC school nearby. There are 133 total players listed on the football website, a sizable number of recruits, probably the most in Coach Walker's tenure.

[Just Bill]

I don't know. In my experience the hardest recruit for a WIAC school is a hometown kid. Those kids have almost too much familiarity with you, and there's little novelty or excitement to attending college in the same city you've lived in for 18 years. It works for some, but most college kids are looking to branch out a little further from mom and dad.

[NewHawk]

Bullis was a great recruiter as a position coach and I imagine he has only gotten better as the HC. he makes the recruit feel like they are counting on them to win the next championship. For a kid to walk in those front doors and see 6 trophies has to be a eye popper.

[BoBo]

Jake Kumerow had the most receiving yards for Bengals vs Tampa last night with 42 & 3 receptions for 2nd most on Bengals. Here he shakes off a hit from the Buc's DB and pops his helmet off...gains 16 yards.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/25C03952B31247793996290842624_30e90c53540.4.6.11791078965769637346.mp4?versionId=Sx7k_nh7SBALtgnsyk6B3A.J5kXZpRes

[KitchenSink]

Jake Kumerow had the most receiving yards for Bengals vs Tampa last night with 42 & 3 receptions for 2nd most on Bengals. Here he shakes off a hit from the Buc's DB and pops his helmet off...gains 16 yards.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/25C03952B31247793996290842624_30e90c53540.4.6.11791078965769637346.mp4?versionId=Sx7k_nh7SBALtgnsyk6B3A.J5kXZpRes

Had that game on for most of the evening.  My God, the Bengals offense looked ATROCIOUS.  Didn't see Kumerow in the game until the 4th.  Yes, the slant he caught he delivered a shot to the DB and sent the DB's helmet flying (kept going, too).  It was apparently too late in the game for the announcers to get excited about it, but they did talk about Whitewater and their recent dynasty for a bit.  Seemed like a good solid showing for Jake.

[BoBo]

Jake Kumerow had the most receiving yards for Bengals vs Tampa last night with 42 & 3 receptions for 2nd most on Bengals. Here he shakes off a hit from the Buc's DB and pops his helmet off...gains 16 yards.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/25C03952B31247793996290842624_30e90c53540.4.6.11791078965769637346.mp4?versionId=Sx7k_nh7SBALtgnsyk6B3A.J5kXZpRes

Had that game on for most of the evening.  My God, the Bengals offense looked ATROCIOUS.  Didn't see Kumerow in the game until the 4th.  Yes, the slant he caught he delivered a shot to the DB and sent the DB's helmet flying (kept going, too).  It was apparently too late in the game for the announcers to get excited about it, but they did talk about Whitewater and their recent dynasty for a bit.  Seemed like a good solid showing for Jake.

As an UDFA, that's the time of the game he has to show up to look like he belongs on an NFL gridiron. It's definately an uphill grind. Hopefully, he's impressing the right people in his 4 minutes or so of playing time during these exhibition games and in practice to stick around. Yes, the Bengals supposed loaded offense was a comprehensive failure. Andy Dalton had a QB rating of 15.7 in the 2 quarters he played - it's hard to be that bad!! A.J. McCarron followed that up with nothing noteworthy, either.

[ScreamingEagles]

RF has 6 freshmen from LaCrosse/Holmen, including a couple with good reputations as h.s. players (Serauskas comes to mind). Does that say anything about UWL's inability to land local players? Whatever the reason, it's unusual to see that many from a location which also has a WIAC school nearby. There are 133 total players listed on the football website, a sizable number of recruits, probably the most in Coach Walker's tenure.

I wouldn't put a ton into it unless it happens a few years in a row.  The last two classes for UWL have had a bunch of players from the local area, including one from Holmen that played a bunch as a true freshman in 2014.  If two or three of those six turn into all-conference players then it's a problem, but who knows how hard the UWL staff recruited them either (and if they got accepted into school, etc.).  I know for me personally I never would have went to my hometown college from high school so it's not always an easy sell. 

[02 Warhawk]

I remember Michael Zweifel (Gagliardi Trophy winner) went to Whitewater high school, but selected to attend River Falls.... before ending up at Dubuque. I believe a lot of his decission making had to do where his dad was (and wasn't) coaching at that time.

WR Tony Bilderback also went to Whitewater H.S. but is currently a SR at UWL.

[badgerwarhawk]

I came across this while reading the Jefferson Daily Union newspaper today.  Another perspective on playing close to home....

"WHITEWATER — There's something about playing under the lights, but when you're able to play under the lights just minutes from home for a national championship winning team, it has to amp you up.
 
That's the case for former Fort Atkinson High School and now UW-Whitewater football players Zach Koch and Jordan Strasburg.

It's amazing to be close to home, all the local support even from here in (Whitewater)," Koch said. "Most of the people around here know each other whether you're from Whitewater or Fort Atkinson. You walk around here and they recognize you, they're like 'oh hey I recognize you' or 'I know your parents.' The local support is a neat aspect of being able to play here."


Credit to Jacob Onak, sports reporter for the DU.