FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[ncc_fan]

Mugsy,

I think that's a fair analysis. FWIW, I was a little uncomfortable with Bethel's game preview. Yeah, they racked up yards the last two years, but Wheaton also won both games. Pretty sure Wheaton would be just fine with the same result this year and Bethel would love to be outgained, but still playing next week.

letsplay2:

What you don't realize about Bethel's passing attack is that Halstrom, who just had 119 yds rec and a TD last week, didn't play against UST. It is definitely not the strengh of our offense, but it will have an added dimension it was lacking against UST.

Should be a fun game on Saturday, especially with neither team having an edge in prayer power 

"Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other... The prayers of both could not be answered." -- Abraham Lincoln

[NCF]

Mugsy,

I think that's a fair analysis. FWIW, I was a little uncomfortable with Bethel's game preview. Yeah, they racked up yards the last two years, but Wheaton also won both games. Pretty sure Wheaton would be just fine with the same result this year and Bethel would love to be outgained, but still playing next week.

letsplay2:

What you don't realize about Bethel's passing attack is that Halstrom, who just had 119 yds rec and a TD last week, didn't play against UST. It is definitely not the strengh of our offense, but it will have an added dimension it was lacking against UST.

Should be a fun game on Saturday, especially with neither team having an edge in prayer power 

"Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other... The prayers of both could not be answered." -- Abraham Lincoln

AMEN! Just remember, there are plenty of good Christian men on all of the football teams still playing this week-end so the prayers of all 16 teams won't be answered the way they would like them to be answered.

[Viking Mike]

Can't believe the news coming out of Rock Island ......... Barnes has resigned from football post.

Of course, we may never know why, but this comes as a shock.  Augie has had some disappointing seasons by their standards in recent years, but never thought it would result in Barnes resigning.

According to the press release, it sounds like he was very spent with the expectations of maintaining a top 25 program.
It has the feel that maybe he was unhappy.... perhaps with the amount of time devoted and subpar results, or maybe with dealing with the high expectations of rabid fans like myself.  I can't imagine the Viking Nation being vocal enough to display displeasure with the coaching performance at this level, but perhaps I'm wrong.  It sounds like Zapolski was surprised as well with his decision.  Sounds like a decision by someone who was no longer enjoying his job and wants to enjoy his new life.  (Thought he was married when he came to Augie.... perhaps divorced and recently remarried)  Can't fault someone for this.  I too was unhappy with some of our recent on field performances, but I still felt that Barnes was a great coach and an excellent representative of Augustana Football and the College.

Not sure what this means for Augie football going forward.  With a new offense 3 yrs in and approp recruited athletes, who comes in and what kind of offense is run.  Is Schmulback interested in the post again?  Is Cushman head coaching material.  I did like the idea of having a previous Augie student/player at the helm.  Atleast from the stands, it appeared Barnes had a tight fraternity and brotherhood amongst his players. 

I think one of the most improtant pieces other than finding a quality coach will be to find someone ambitious who can heavily recruit some of the Chicago talent and bring quality players back to Augie.  We should not be losing out on prized athletes to teams like North Central and Wheaton.

Thought? comments?  Any info out there.  As an alumni, I am totally bummed out with todays news.

[usee]

I am only a little surprised by Barne's resignation. He is clearly a passionate guy and you don't leave your alma mater as a lifetime coach unless you are unhappy in my opinion. It seems to me from his comments he is burned out. He put a lot into the success at Augie and keeping up a tradition that, frankly, is impossible to maintain without significant resources. The process he has gone through since his arrival (new offense, europe trips, expanded recruiting base, new turf, lights, etc) is a lot of nail pounding hard work. He seems to have been burnt out by it. I think the Augie job is one of the better jobs in D3 and if the powers that be decide to go outside it will draw national attention with a large, qualified applicant pool. just look at what Wabash did when Chris Creighton left. They now have Erik Raeburn, a Mt Union product, running the show and have built on their previous success. I would think strong #2's from WIAC schools, other CCIW schools and other conferences would be interested as would coaches who have had success at some less resourced places. Augie job is a plum job in D3 and the stage is set for them to return to prominence. It wouldn't take much to get them back into the upper tier of D3. NCC did it with Thorne and an administrative committment to building a championship program. Perhaps there are issues in the administration that have frustrated Barnes, who knows. But from the outside looking in this is a great opportunity for Augie to take a giant leap forward.

[CardinalAlum]

I am only a little surprised by Barne's resignation. He is clearly a passionate guy and you don't leave your alma mater as a lifetime coach unless you are unhappy in my opinion. It seems to me from his comments he is burned out. He put a lot into the success at Augie and keeping up a tradition that, frankly, is impossible to maintain without significant resources. The process he has gone through since his arrival (new offense, europe trips, expanded recruiting base, new turf, lights, etc) is a lot of nail pounding hard work. He seems to have been burnt out by it. I think the Augie job is one of the better jobs in D3 and if the powers that be decide to go outside it will draw national attention with a large, qualified applicant pool. just look at what Wabash did when Chris Creighton left. They now have Erik Raeburn, a Mt Union product, running the show and have built on their previous success. I would think strong #2's from WIAC schools, other CCIW schools and other conferences would be interested as would coaches who have had success at some less resourced places. Augie job is a plum job in D3 and the stage is set for them to return to prominence. It wouldn't take much to get them back into the upper tier of D3. NCC did it with Thorne and an administrative committment to building a championship program. Perhaps there are issues in the administration that have frustrated Barnes, who knows. But from the outside looking in this is a great opportunity for Augie to take a giant leap forward.

I would think Rick Ponx from NCC would be a great and logical candidate.   Rick is a CCIW alum (Elmhurst), has done great work at Ohio Northern and NCC as an offensive line coach and now defensive coordinator.   He has also been an incredibly effective recruiter, which is a huge part of any coaching job.  I've hoped that Rick would be the heir apparent if JT ever stepped down, but with Jeff Thorne now a full time coach, I'm not sure who that heir is anymore.     

[FormerCard]

I am only a little surprised by Barne's resignation. He is clearly a passionate guy and you don't leave your alma mater as a lifetime coach unless you are unhappy in my opinion. It seems to me from his comments he is burned out. He put a lot into the success at Augie and keeping up a tradition that, frankly, is impossible to maintain without significant resources. The process he has gone through since his arrival (new offense, europe trips, expanded recruiting base, new turf, lights, etc) is a lot of nail pounding hard work. He seems to have been burnt out by it. I think the Augie job is one of the better jobs in D3 and if the powers that be decide to go outside it will draw national attention with a large, qualified applicant pool. just look at what Wabash did when Chris Creighton left. They now have Erik Raeburn, a Mt Union product, running the show and have built on their previous success. I would think strong #2's from WIAC schools, other CCIW schools and other conferences would be interested as would coaches who have had success at some less resourced places. Augie job is a plum job in D3 and the stage is set for them to return to prominence. It wouldn't take much to get them back into the upper tier of D3. NCC did it with Thorne and an administrative committment to building a championship program. Perhaps there are issues in the administration that have frustrated Barnes, who knows. But from the outside looking in this is a great opportunity for Augie to take a giant leap forward.

I would think Rick Ponx from NCC would be a great and logical candidate.   Rick is a CCIW alum (Elmhurst), has done great work at Ohio Northern and NCC as an offensive line coach and now defensive coordinator.   He has also been an incredibly effective recruiter, which is a huge part of any coaching job.  I've hoped that Rick would be the heir apparent if JT ever stepped down, but with Jeff Thorne now a full time coach, I'm not sure who that heir is anymore.     

Lets not promote sending our defensive coordinator to a conference opponent.  I think they can find themselves a good coach without our help or taking away a huge asset to NC's program      

Gagliardi Finalists named.....no representation from the CCIW this year
http://www.d3football.com/notables/2010/11/gagliardi-trophy-finalists

[New Tradition]

I would think Rick Ponx from NCC would be a great and logical candidate.   Rick is a CCIW alum (Elmhurst), has done great work at Ohio Northern and NCC as an offensive line coach and now defensive coordinator.   He has also been an incredibly effective recruiter, which is a huge part of any coaching job.  I've hoped that Rick would be the heir apparent if JT ever stepped down, but with Jeff Thorne now a full time coach, I'm not sure who that heir is anymore.     

This was my first thought as well. I sure hope not...

[usee]

I think the O/D coordinator at any of the top CCIW, WIAC, OAC, etc shools would be candidates. It really depends on the Augie administrations view on the direction they want to go. Obviously they have stayed close to home traditionally after Bob Reade they hired a long time assistant (Schmullbach) and then went with an Augie alum with ties to their championship run (Barnes). They may have someone in that pipeline to consider but this is a great opportunity to go a new direction with a different regime that would bring fresh ideas and a new eneregy to the program and community. As far as D3 goes it would be a great job.

The recruting base is the larger Chicago area but I really don't think Augie and Wheaton compete very often on recruits. I know it does happen but Augie v Wheaton are very different value propositions. Augie would compete directly with NCC, IWU and Millikin on recruits.

[CardinalAlum]

I am only a little surprised by Barne's resignation. He is clearly a passionate guy and you don't leave your alma mater as a lifetime coach unless you are unhappy in my opinion. It seems to me from his comments he is burned out. He put a lot into the success at Augie and keeping up a tradition that, frankly, is impossible to maintain without significant resources. The process he has gone through since his arrival (new offense, europe trips, expanded recruiting base, new turf, lights, etc) is a lot of nail pounding hard work. He seems to have been burnt out by it. I think the Augie job is one of the better jobs in D3 and if the powers that be decide to go outside it will draw national attention with a large, qualified applicant pool. just look at what Wabash did when Chris Creighton left. They now have Erik Raeburn, a Mt Union product, running the show and have built on their previous success. I would think strong #2's from WIAC schools, other CCIW schools and other conferences would be interested as would coaches who have had success at some less resourced places. Augie job is a plum job in D3 and the stage is set for them to return to prominence. It wouldn't take much to get them back into the upper tier of D3. NCC did it with Thorne and an administrative committment to building a championship program. Perhaps there are issues in the administration that have frustrated Barnes, who knows. But from the outside looking in this is a great opportunity for Augie to take a giant leap forward.

I would think Rick Ponx from NCC would be a great and logical candidate.   Rick is a CCIW alum (Elmhurst), has done great work at Ohio Northern and NCC as an offensive line coach and now defensive coordinator.   He has also been an incredibly effective recruiter, which is a huge part of any coaching job.  I've hoped that Rick would be the heir apparent if JT ever stepped down, but with Jeff Thorne now a full time coach, I'm not sure who that heir is anymore.     

Lets not promote sending our defensive coordinator to a conference opponent.  I think they can find themselves a good coach without our help or taking away a huge asset to NC's program      

Gagliardi Finalists named.....no representation from the CCIW this year
http://www.d3football.com/notables/2010/11/gagliardi-trophy-finalists

Not promoting it, just facing facts!  He's a great coach and I'm sure other people see that as well!  If his goal is to become a head coach, which I'm sure it is, then how would he not be interested?    Then again, it is Rock Island!   

[robertgoulet]

I am only a little surprised by Barne's resignation. He is clearly a passionate guy and you don't leave your alma mater as a lifetime coach unless you are unhappy in my opinion. It seems to me from his comments he is burned out. He put a lot into the success at Augie and keeping up a tradition that, frankly, is impossible to maintain without significant resources. The process he has gone through since his arrival (new offense, europe trips, expanded recruiting base, new turf, lights, etc) is a lot of nail pounding hard work. He seems to have been burnt out by it. I think the Augie job is one of the better jobs in D3 and if the powers that be decide to go outside it will draw national attention with a large, qualified applicant pool. just look at what Wabash did when Chris Creighton left. They now have Erik Raeburn, a Mt Union product, running the show and have built on their previous success. I would think strong #2's from WIAC schools, other CCIW schools and other conferences would be interested as would coaches who have had success at some less resourced places. Augie job is a plum job in D3 and the stage is set for them to return to prominence. It wouldn't take much to get them back into the upper tier of D3. NCC did it with Thorne and an administrative committment to building a championship program. Perhaps there are issues in the administration that have frustrated Barnes, who knows. But from the outside looking in this is a great opportunity for Augie to take a giant leap forward.

I would think Rick Ponx from NCC would be a great and logical candidate.   Rick is a CCIW alum (Elmhurst), has done great work at Ohio Northern and NCC as an offensive line coach and now defensive coordinator.   He has also been an incredibly effective recruiter, which is a huge part of any coaching job.  I've hoped that Rick would be the heir apparent if JT ever stepped down, but with Jeff Thorne now a full time coach, I'm not sure who that heir is anymore.     

Lets not promote sending our defensive coordinator to a conference opponent.  I think they can find themselves a good coach without our help or taking away a huge asset to NC's program      

Gagliardi Finalists named.....no representation from the CCIW this year
http://www.d3football.com/notables/2010/11/gagliardi-trophy-finalists

Not promoting it, just facing facts!  He's a great coach and I'm sure other people see that as well!  If his goal is to become a head coach, which I'm sure it is, then how would he not be interested?    Then again, it is Rock Island!   

For the love of Ponx..let's not give them any ideas! I personally think Augie should take Wheaton's OC or DC (or both?) and make them head coach. 

[CardinalAlum]

Give them Benedictine's then....they're now a playoff caliber team!   

[NCF]

Give them Benedictine's then....they're now a playoff caliber team!   

That would be great-leave Ponx alone, NC needs him for at least a little while longer. He's the best thing to happen to the defense in a long time.

[Pat Coleman]

Augustana job no longer open:

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2010/11/augustana-promotes-defensive-coordinator

[CardinalAlum]

Augustana job no longer open:

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2010/11/augustana-promotes-defensive-coordinator

Well that was quick!   .  Not sure how that move is going to help recruiting in Chicago, but as an NCC guy, I'm pretty happy!

[usee]

Very interesting. They didn't even give us a couple days to toss it around on here!! That was obviously already baked when Barnes made his announcement. I am quite surprised. I would think the Augie job would draw some pretty high profile people since they went with a guy from outside the Augie family (except for the past 3 yrs). Cushman has done a nice job with the Augie defense but its not like he is a slam dunk in terms of pedigree and track record. Obviously the Augie administration sees something they like. the recruiting trail just got more interesting for NCC, IWU, Millikin, etc.