FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

[usee]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

Jaybird,

I tried to warn you. 

[usee]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

By the way, for those of you tuning in from home, don't just pass this post by. It is an excellent summary of NPU football from a knowledgeable insider. Well done Greg.

[Gregory Sager]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

Jaybird,

I tried to warn you. 

What made me chuckle is the fact that you saw fit to quote my entire screed in your post. It's almost as though you're punishing 79jb for failing to heed your advice.

Consider this post "piling on".

[Gregory Sager]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

By the way, for those of you tuning in from home, don't just pass this post by. It is an excellent summary of NPU football from a knowledgeable insider. Well done Greg.

Thanks, usee.

[usee]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

Jaybird,

I tried to warn you. 

What made me chuckle is the fact that you saw fit to quote my entire screed in your post. It's almost as though you're punishing 79jb for failing to heed your advice.

Consider this post "piling on".

Either that or I am trying to see how few posts it takes to turn a page on post patterns. 

[HScoach]

........soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games......

Ugh.  There's something un-American about that.

[matblake]

........soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games......

Ugh.  There's something un-American about that.

It just goes to show that people like being associated with winning.  The men's soccer program has been the most successful program as of late at North Park, therefore it has become the showcase sport.

[thunderdog]

Wheaton alum update:

Former all-American RB Pedro Arruza, now head coach of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, has lead the YellowJackets to a 6-1 record.  If RMC can win their last 3, they will have secured an automatic bid for the playoffs.  This will be no easy task, as all 3 remaining opponents have high scoring offenses.  Plus, one of the opponents is the traditionally tough Bridgewater and the last game of the year is their rival game against Hampden-Sydney.   Whatever happens, it's been a nice start to the season for RMC and Coach Arruza has the YellowJackets led in the right direction.

[Mugsy]

Picture of the new Wheaton College scoreboard with the HD jumbotron over on the podcast page, though it doesn't give you a sense of the size of it.  My estimate would put it at around 3 times larger than the old scoreboard.

http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/2007/10/15/atn-podcast-looping-chicago

[79jaybird]

DennisPrikkel- I meant to tell you, that I workout at the YMCA  with Mr. Bill Gierke whom you know very well.  I see Bill in the weightroom/on the treadmills and he always asks about you and North Park.  His Nephews are current Carthage students and Alumni, so we always talk about the CCIW and Division III.

[79jaybird]

While I would agree that IWU is the favorite on Saturday I don't think it is going to be easy for the Titans.  Elmhurst is one of those teams that you don't know what to expect because of their inconsistencies.  I know Kudyba is going to bounce back and have a solid game. The defense is going to keep the team in the game,  the real question is going to be the running game. 
Odds say/favor IWU because Elmhurst hasn't played well in Bloomington over the years, but I do look forward to a close game. 

[cardinaldad]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

All very good, valid points Gregory Sager. Two of the hardest traditions (habits) to break are winning and losing....of course with losing being the most difficult to break.

[cardinaldad]

I've heard this as well. Some of the cases, I hear, are very severe. This can be very, very serious. Let's hope they can all eliminate the infection and fully recover.
Staph infections have been in the news quite a bit the last couple of years. I don't ever remember anyone having these types of infections a number of years ago. Can anyone give any insight as to why they(staph infections) are so prevelent now? Could it be the new field turf causing it? Perhaps it breeds some bacteria that is transfered with turf burn?

Cardinaldad,
I know that Staph infections are much worse now than they used to be because people have misused antibiotics creating "superbugs."  Oftentimes, people take antibiotics until their symptoms are gone and then stop without finishing their prescription.   It doesn't necessarily mean that the infection is gone, however.  The antibiotic has killed most of the infection, leaving only the cells that were naturally strong against that particular antibiotic.  When these bacteria multiply, they create more anti-biotic resistant cells.  If you do this with enough antibiotics, you have an infection that is resistant to just about everything.  I know this is the case with MRSA, a pretty nasty, potentially deadly Staph infection that I had my sophomore year at NCC.  Unfortunately, this also makes it more difficult for the human immune system to fight off these infections, which accounts for the increase in their frequency, not only in athletes, but also in the general population as well.  Athletes are more likely to contract them because the close quarters and constant skin contact with so many individuals simply increases the likelihood of coming into contact with someone who has been exposed to the bacteria.

Thanks NT. I was aware of the information in your post. I was just trying to get some information or opinions on whether anyone knew if this might/could be a cause of the spread. It just seems more prevelent since these fields have been installed. Maybe just a coincidence. Is there a method do disinfecting the field? Similar to a wrestling mat? Could another contributor to the spread be the method of washing the uniforms? Maybe if the water is not hot enough, etc? Any thoughts anyone?
At the beginning of the season, notices were given to families at NCC that stated there were a couple of cases on the football team. Serious stuff!!!!

[Dennis_Prikkel]

I am a big fan of North Park, and feel bad for them not being able to generate any wins in the conference.  I thought this would be the year they upset somebody and start to build on their CCIW mark, but gosh I don't see that happening after some of their games already.
I am running out of ideas and suggestions for them.  NPU is such a great academic institution and the neighborhood is safe/clean,  why so much trouble attracting good football talent?

I've been over this more than once, 79jb. Here it is again:

1. Losing begets losing. The longer a program has been down, the harder it is to turn things around -- especially when the losing is both epic and constant. NPU's last winning season was 1968; since then the Vikings have exactly one .500 CCIW season (4-4 in 1979) and one .500 overall season (4-4-1 in 1993) to show for their pains.

2. Related to #1, the NPU student attitude towards the football team is one of indifference mingled with contempt. None of the alumni under the age of 55 can remember a time when the football team actually mattered at North Park. The school's football team has always been the butt of jokes among Parkers (and I've made more than my fair share of those jokes myself). When I was in school, basketball players were the kings of the campus; football players were pariahs. Football games are not well attended by students, and they never have been for as long as I've been around (which is quite a while). Men's soccer is now the showcase program at NPU, and home soccer matches draw easily twice as many students as do home football games. To a Parker, "college football" means sitting around the TV on a Saturday afternoon with your dormmates watching Notre Dame vs. Boston College or Ohio State vs. Penn State.

3. The coaching carousel. Scott Pethtel is the seventh man to take the helm at North Park since Goose Anderson left 22 years ago. How can you build a program when the average head coaching tenure doesn't even last through a single four-year generation of students?

4. Attrition. NPU's football program has been notorious for bringing in hordes of freshmen every year ... only to have half or more of that freshman class evaporate once football season ends. Some of that has to do with bringing in too many student-athletes who couldn't succeed academically at North Park. Some of it has to do with bringing in too many football players who discover only after they've arrived that they are not comfortable with NPU's religious environment and dry campus. And much of it has to do with the frustration of losing big and losing often, and seeing the coaches who recruited them depart for greener pastures with depressing regularity. As a result, the program's sophomore, junior, and senior classes tend to be small ... which means that lots of freshmen are forced to play right away. And you don't win in the CCIW with a lineup dominated by freshmen. Hence, the vicious cycle continues.

5. Environment. Urban football has been in decline for many years now. The vast majority of the good and/or fundamentally schooled high school football players in Chicagoland are in the suburbs; and, as I've said numerous times before, a city-based school is a hard sell for many suburban kids who're looking at colleges.

6. Facilities. NPU's athletic facilities have lagged badly behind the rest of the league for as long as I can remember. The football field was beat-up and overused. The practice field was a chewed-up strip of land behind the fume-spewing bus barn across Foster Avenue from the stadium. And the weight room was a sad joke. The renovation of the athletic complex and the construction of Helwig Rec Center have turned the facilities issue around in a big way over the past three years, and a lot of the hope around NPU that the football program can be revived rests in that facilities improvement.

7. Alumni support. Until last year there was no support group of North Park football alumni who could drum up interest in the program and support it on the side. Much of that has to do with the mass defections every year that I spoke about in #4, and some of it has to do with the weariness of football alums whose memories of playing the sport at NPU aren't necessarily fond ones. Now, however, there is an active NPU football alumni support group, and it's hoped that this group will help make some headway in these areas.

8. Administrative apathy. NPU is an institution whose financial reserves are modest and whose budget is perpetually tight. Although the endowment has grown exponentially since David Horner took over the presidency in the dark times of the late '80s, NPU's annual budget is still largely tuition-driven, which is never a good situation for any institution of higher learning. The pie available to the athletic department has always been a small one, and the lack of success on the field as well as the high turnover rate among both coaches and student-athletes have meant that the football team hasn't really been high on anyone's priority list in Old Main. The football program was seen by the NPU braintrust as nothing more than a resource to bring in lots of warm bodies who pay tuition. That's starting to change somewhat, too, as the football program now has some strong advocates among the people who run the university.

Enough has changed over the past couple of years to make me think that NPU now has a shot at bringing the program up to at least the level of mediocrity over the next few years -- although no program exists in a vacuum, and NPU's success or lack thereof (like every other CCIW program's) is contingent upon the health of the other seven programs in the league. North Park now has very strong facilities; a good head coach who fits in well with the school's profile and mission, is getting a handle on whom (and how) he should be recruiting, and is committed to seeing things through over the long haul; the likelihood of some ongoing staff continuity; and better support from both the football alumni and the school administration.

But turning around a football program that has been so bad for so long is an enormous undertaking that requires a long-term commitment of resources and the patience to endure a slow and lengthy process. As I've said before, turning around a losing basketball program is like doing a U-turn in a pickup truck, while turning around a losing football program is like doing a U-turn in a fully-laden semi. It could take Scott Pethtel up to four years to see tangible results for his and his staff's efforts, and he's only midway through his second season.

Give him time, 79jb.

Well done GS - to which I had my own two cents.

1- lack of quality coaching that have come from winning programs and know how to instill that elan in their players.  The expectation of losing, that comes from having coaches that know how to lose gracefully.  There is no expectation of victory.

2- The North Park head football job is obviously not the glamour job that is going to impress a young D3 assistant from a winning program looking to move to head coaching job.  I was on the interview panel at North Park when Tim Rucks left to go to Carthage.  I remember that one CCIW AD from another school advised one of his searching assistants not to go to North Park because it was a graveyard for coaches.

3- While this board is obviously most interested in football - its not hard to look at North Park's woeful record in just about every sport the CCIW offers (except in men's soccer and men's baseball recently).  When the volleyball coach (after the school year has already started) has to send an email to the student body asking for players with high school experience to come out for the team (it happened this fall) its obvious that something is very wrong with North Park's approach to intercollegiate level athletics.  How many times in recent years has North Park failed to complete with a full team in sports like cross-country and golf, or gone to the conference track meet with under a dozen participants.  It has been this way for decades, that the school would rather drop a sport, then require the coach to do any recruiting at all.  Names of prospective athletes are given to coaches, who do little or nothing to contact the students.

It is very sad.

MW