FB: American Rivers Conference

[sportsknight]

Ok ... we have Harry Smith as a football student-athlete at Central.  When I was teaching at UD in the late 60's, one of my students was Anthony Iadanza ... now known at Tony Danza .. a wrestler for the Spartans.  Any other IIAC athletes gone on to fame?

Actually just had this discussion with a co-worker a couple days ago.  The famous IIAC alums that immediately come to mind (even if they weren't all athletes):
BV:  Uhh...help me out here Beavers
Central:  The aforementioned Harry Smith, NFL Hall of Famer Vern Den Herder
Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)
Cornell:  Drawing a blank again
Dubuque:  Danza, disgraced Notre Dame coach George O'Leary
Loras:  Greg Gumbel, MLB Hall of Famer Red Faber, Notre Dame AD Kevin White, actor Don Ameche, Harlem Globetrotter Curly "Boo" Johnson
Luther:  Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (just one among numerous reasons not to vote for him)
Simpson:  George Washington Carver
Wartburg:  Former Texas Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz, FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley, Iran hostage Kathryn Koob, former MLB umpire Don Denkinger (Cardinals fans know who he is), Hooters co-founder Dennis Johnson

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Has anybody heard of the OC at UD getting any interviews???  Joe Austin was a finalist for a Div. II HC job last year up in Minnesota or one of the Dakotas if I remember correctly.  Just curious if he had any interest in any DIII jobs in this area or if he is setting his sights higher up the food chain.  Or would it be too hard for any IIAC school to accept hiring someone from UD     

It is always strange to see someone move directly from one IIAC school to another, but I don't really care where the next head coach comes from as long as he runs a very good program (WINNING while not breaking rules).

With what the Spartans have done the past two years it would make sense to see certain Northern Sun programs (Division II) look closely at the OC at Dubuque.

[BeaverOfYore]

Ok ... we have Harry Smith as a football student-athlete at Central.  When I was teaching at UD in the late 60's, one of my students was Anthony Iadanza ... now known at Tony Danza .. a wrestler for the Spartans.  Any other IIAC athletes gone on to fame?

Actually just had this discussion with a co-worker a couple days ago.  The famous IIAC alums that immediately come to mind (even if they weren't all athletes):
BV:  Uhh...help me out here Beavers
Central:  The aforementioned Harry Smith, NFL Hall of Famer Vern Den Herder
Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)
Cornell:  Drawing a blank again
Dubuque:  Danza, disgraced Notre Dame coach George O'Leary
Loras:  Greg Gumbel, MLB Hall of Famer Red Faber, Notre Dame AD Kevin White, actor Don Ameche, Harlem Globetrotter Curly "Boo" Johnson
Luther:  Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (just one among numerous reasons not to vote for him)
Simpson:  George Washington Carver
Wartburg:  Former Texas Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz, FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley, Iran hostage Kathryn Koob, former MLB umpire Don Denkinger (Cardinals fans know who he is), Hooters co-founder Dennis Johnson

Off the top of my head: Larry Biittner (MLB in the 70's), Bernie Saggau, RAY REASLAND (sorry Rams, our bad).

[Floyd in Iowa City]

I have heard that at least a few players already think the top choice should be a certain coordinator finalist rather than a current head coach.  The coordinator has been at a really good program in recent years and has six years of previous head coaching experience at two small colleges.

There is another assistant coach still to be interviewed that interests me as well.

There are no Luther coaches or ex-Luther coaches among the five candidates interviewing.

Wait a second.  Iowa's OC Ken O'Keefe qualifies there.  Iowa has been good in recent years.  And he was a head coach at Fordham and Allegeney...two small colleges!!!

That would be a big hire...but alas, I don't think that is who you are talking about 

O'Keefe at this point makes a few more dollars than what the IIAC schools pay for football.  It will be interesting to see what Ken is doing next year, but it doesn't seem like the Iowa Conference is in his near future.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Ok ... we have Harry Smith as a football student-athlete at Central.  When I was teaching at UD in the late 60's, one of my students was Anthony Iadanza ... now known at Tony Danza .. a wrestler for the Spartans.  Any other IIAC athletes gone on to fame?

Actually just had this discussion with a co-worker a couple days ago.  The famous IIAC alums that immediately come to mind (even if they weren't all athletes):
BV:  Uhh...help me out here Beavers
Central:  The aforementioned Harry Smith, NFL Hall of Famer Vern Den Herder
Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)
Cornell:  Drawing a blank again
Dubuque:  Danza, disgraced Notre Dame coach George O'Leary
Loras:  Greg Gumbel, MLB Hall of Famer Red Faber, Notre Dame AD Kevin White, actor Don Ameche, Harlem Globetrotter Curly "Boo" Johnson
Luther:  Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (just one among numerous reasons not to vote for him)
Simpson:  George Washington Carver
Wartburg:  Former Texas Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz, FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley, Iran hostage Kathryn Koob, former MLB umpire Don Denkinger (Cardinals fans know who he is), Hooters co-founder Dennis Johnson

Dr. Eddie Anderson coached at Loras, Holy Cross, and Iowa and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Ossie Orwell was a star baseball player for Luther in the 1920s that played for Connie Mack's multiple World Series Champions (with Jimmy Foxx, Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, etc) that competed with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and those good Yankee teams.  Ossie used to have hunting trips with guys like Ruth around the Decorah area in the off season (at least that is what I have heard).

Norseman Marv Olson played MLB in the 1930s.

Harvey Kuenn also attended Luther before going on to be a MLB star in the 1950s.  He won a batting title for the Tigers.  He also managed the Milwaukee Brewers to the World Series against the Cardinals in 1982.  The Brewers were called Harvey's Wallbangers that year because it was a great offensive team.

Sid Reque (Baseball), Pete Peterson (Basketball, Football, Track), and Edsel Schweizer (Football) were all famous coaches in their day and were elected to national halls of fame.

Moco Mercer was a star at Simpson in football and then became a great coach at Dubuque.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Conrgrats to Simpson on what appears to be a very solid hire.  I actually thought Simpson was better this year than what I saw from them in 2006, but I only saw them once each season.

There is still some talent on that roster and I would assume the OL should continue to get better as they become upperclassmen.  Weren't they playing a bunch of young guys on the OL the last two years?

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Ok ... we have Harry Smith as a football student-athlete at Central.  When I was teaching at UD in the late 60's, one of my students was Anthony Iadanza ... now known at Tony Danza .. a wrestler for the Spartans.  Any other IIAC athletes gone on to fame?

Actually just had this discussion with a co-worker a couple days ago.  The famous IIAC alums that immediately come to mind (even if they weren't all athletes):
BV:  Uhh...help me out here Beavers
Central:  The aforementioned Harry Smith, NFL Hall of Famer Vern Den Herder
Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)
Cornell:  Drawing a blank again
Dubuque:  Danza, disgraced Notre Dame coach George O'Leary
Loras:  Greg Gumbel, MLB Hall of Famer Red Faber, Notre Dame AD Kevin White, actor Don Ameche, Harlem Globetrotter Curly "Boo" Johnson
Luther:  Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (just one among numerous reasons not to vote for him)
Simpson:  George Washington Carver
Wartburg:  Former Texas Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz, FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley, Iran hostage Kathryn Koob, former MLB umpire Don Denkinger (Cardinals fans know who he is), Hooters co-founder Dennis Johnson

Off the top of my head: Larry Biittner (MLB in the 70's), Bernie Saggau, RAY REASLAND (sorry Rams, our bad).

New Hampton High School thought Ray did a good job (I think he coached Heideman and the guys around him when the Chickasaws got very good in football in the late 1980s and early 1990s).  What did Ram fans think of him when he was an assistant at Cornell?  Maybe Coach Miller needed to stay in Mount Vernon a little longer.

[Kohawk Krazy]

BV Alums:

Carlos Martinez
Rosemary Sackett, chief judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals
Benjamin Mordecai, broadway producer
Joel West (actor)
Randy Rahe, head men's basketball coach at Weber State University

Cornell Alums:

Leo Beranek 1936 -- Co-founder of Bolt, Beranek and Newman
Chris Carney 1981 -- Congressman from Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional district
Mike Conklin 1969 -- Feature writer and columnist, Chicago Tribune
Joseph A. Curnutte 2004 -- Award winning Off-Broadway actor
James Daly 1941 -- Emmy Award-winning actor[1]
Lester J. Dickinson 1898 -- Congressman and Senator
Lee Alvin DuBridge 1922 -- President of the California Institute of Technology, science advisor to U.S. President Richard Nixon
Donald E. Fehrenbacher 1948 -- Pulitzer Prize for History winner
Michael J. Graham 1975 -- President of Xavier University
Edgar J. Helms 1889 -- Founder of Goodwill Industries
David Hilmers 1972 -- Astronaut and medical doctor
Richard Kirkham 1977 -- Philosopher
Maryann Mahaffey 1946 -- Detroit City Council member
Nancy Price 1946 -- Author, Sleeping with the Enemy
Leslie M. Shaw 1874 -- Governor of Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Treasury
William Taylor -- Chairman of the FDIC
Dale O. Thomas 1948 -- Wrestler and coach
Walter Thornton 1899 -- Major League Baseball player
John Q. Tufts -- Congressman from Iowa's 2nd Congressional district
Winifred Van Etten 1925 -- Best selling novelist
Don Weiss 1949 -- Sports writer and NFL executive known as Mr. Super Bowl

Ok ... we have Harry Smith as a football student-athlete at Central.  When I was teaching at UD in the late 60's, one of my students was Anthony Iadanza ... now known at Tony Danza .. a wrestler for the Spartans.  Any other IIAC athletes gone on to fame?

Actually just had this discussion with a co-worker a couple days ago.  The famous IIAC alums that immediately come to mind (even if they weren't all athletes):
BV:  Uhh...help me out here Beavers
Central:  The aforementioned Harry Smith, NFL Hall of Famer Vern Den Herder
Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)
Cornell:  Drawing a blank again
Dubuque:  Danza, disgraced Notre Dame coach George O'Leary
Loras:  Greg Gumbel, MLB Hall of Famer Red Faber, Notre Dame AD Kevin White, actor Don Ameche, Harlem Globetrotter Curly "Boo" Johnson
Luther:  Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (just one among numerous reasons not to vote for him)
Simpson:  George Washington Carver
Wartburg:  Former Texas Rangers broadcaster Mark Holtz, FBI whistle blower Coleen Rowley, Iran hostage Kathryn Koob, former MLB umpire Don Denkinger (Cardinals fans know who he is), Hooters co-founder Dennis Johnson

[Charlie Kohawk]

Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)

Fitch is a 1954 graduate of Coe, but didn't coach there. You can add Fred Jackson to the list after his performance Sunday.

[Charlie Kohawk]

Newly named Simpson coach Jim Glogowski "was named All-American in 1995 by the Don Hansen Football Gazette."

Was that as big a deal back then as it is now?

[sc_stormchaser]

 

Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)

Fitch is a 1954 graduate of Coe, but didn't coach there. You can add Fred Jackson to the list after his performance Sunday.

If we're going to say Carlos Martinez is a "famous" alum for BV, you would have to include Fred Jackson for Coe. I realize Carlos has played in Arena Football and tried out for a few NFL teams, but Fred is actually making an impact with the Bills.

[HoosierinIowa]

William Shirer, one of my favorite authors, is a Cornell alum.
Does Simpson's new coach have any Iowa ties for recruiting?

[Klopenhiemer]

Coe:  Marv Levy, Fred Hickman of ESPN, Curt Menefee of Fox Sports, former NBA coach Bill Fitch (he is either an alum or coached there at some point)

Fitch is a 1954 graduate of Coe, but didn't coach there. You can add Fred Jackson to the list after his performance Sunday.

If we're going to say Carlos Martinez is a "famous" alum for BV, you would have to include Fred Jackson for Coe. I realize Carlos has played in Arena Football and tried out for a few NFL teams, but Fred is actually making an impact with the Bills.

I wont aruge with that.  Carlos did catch on with the Dallas Cowboys for a while I have not heard where he is at exactally right now.  BOY or Show, you have any information on where Carlos is right now?

[Pat Coleman]

Newly named Simpson coach Jim Glogowski "was named All-American in 1995 by the Don Hansen Football Gazette."

Was that as big a deal back then as it is now?

In 1995 the pecking order was:

AFCA
SIDs team (H-P sponsored at that time, I think)

And then the rest were a jumble -- Don Hansen, USA Football, etc. Both Hansen and USA Football (which has since sold its domain) named tons of honorable mentions.

[sc_stormchaser]

William Shirer, one of my favorite authors, is a Cornell alum.
Does Simpson's new coach have any Iowa ties for recruiting?

Joe Beschorner, a Simpson alum and a very good football player, has been an assistant up at USD for a few years now. I don't know what their relationship is like, but Joe would be an excellent addition. That would be exciting to see him back at Simpson. I played football with Joe...great football mind and I bet he's a heck of a recruiter. He grew up in Iowa, so he certainly has ties to Iowa. He was a member of the '96 and '97 playoff teams. In fact, if I remember correctly, he had a 99 yard interception return for a touchdown in one of the '97 playoff games.