FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[HScoach]

Back 20 years ago, home field advantage used to be the actual field surface.   Whether turf or crappy grass in week 12.  However with almost everyone having new age turf, this advantage is gone.

[HScoach]

ONU/NCC:  good luck to whichever team has the best chance against UWW.

[Mr. Ypsi]

ONU/NCC:  good luck to whichever team has the best chance against UWW.

Or Trine.  Let's not overlook that game!

[bleedpurple]

ONU/NCC:  good luck to whichever team has the best chance against UWW.

Or Trine.  Let's not overlook that game!

Happy Thanksgiving to all you haters! 

And to the rest of you, too!

[usee]

Back 20 years ago, home field advantage used to be the actual field surface.   Whether turf or crappy grass in week 12.  However with almost everyone having new age turf, this advantage is gone.

I remember the mud rink in alliance from 1995. That was some home cookin. Fortunately, I understand  the locker rooms for visitors hasn't changed much there so you get part of the experience.

[runyr]

ONU/NCC:  good luck to whichever team has the best chance against UWW.

Or Trine.  Let's not overlook that game!

Happy Thanksgiving to all you haters! 

And to the rest of you, too!

purple,
No hate here and may the best team always win!  +k

[Mugsy]

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

I know I've been blessed far more than I deserve and have so much to be thankful for.  My family, my friends, my freedom (thanks to those in the armed forces), a roof over head, food on the table... I could go on.

A funny clip on Thanksgiving stunts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST01bZJPuE0&feature=related

Oh... and safety to those yahoo's who still think they can suit up and try to prove it during Thanksgiving "touch" football games.  Already one torn achilles tendon and one broken ankle posted from my Facebook friends.

[augie9903]

Hello everybody,

I'm a first time poster on this board and have been reading your posts on and off throughout the years to keep me as informed as I can be on what's going on in the CCIW and at Augie.  Reviewing the events of the past few days/years have left me with wondering what the heck is going on at Augie?!

Being an alum of Augustana, i've always been, and always will be proud of the tradition that was built through the hard work of thousands of student athletes who have given many countless hours to do their part in ensuring that they left their program at the top of the conference.  That being said, the events of the past 3-4 years have left me with a bit of a pit in my stomach.  I have a strange feeling we are witnessing a permanent decline that may be very difficult to reverse.  I'm not going to try and judge the merits of a man that I never met, but this new hire just feels strange to me.  From the outside looking in it looks like the administration simply wants to have a coach and a team...nothing more.  The greatest asset our program has had over the years has been the expectation, not the hope, that we will be number one.  Have these expectations changed?  I suppose only time will tell.....

I wish everyone the best of luck this weekend.  I for one am travelling to Champaign to watch my Rochester Rockets play Alleman in the state finals so i'll get the best of both worlds.... The pleasure of watching my hometown come home with the title, and the pleasure of watching a hard hitting wing-t team giving it their all on the field.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

[seventiesraider]

Back 20 years ago, home field advantage used to be the actual field surface.   Whether turf or crappy grass in week 12.  However with almost everyone having new age turf, this advantage is gone.

I remember the mud rink in alliance from 1995. That was some home cookin. Fortunately, I understand  the locker rooms for visitors hasn't changed much there so you get part of the experience.

I understand we installed a shinny new nail several years back

[Veinteuno]

Hello, I am new to this board but have always read it from time to time. I have not only played for augustana but also coached there in the recent past. Let me say that I disagree with your asessment regarding coach cushman. He may not have a sterling pedigree, but this man is the man for the job. There would've been an uproar if he was not hired. The players rally around coach cush, and really buy into what he says. Since he has been at augustana his defense have been around the top of the league. His first year the defense allowed 13.4 ppg, 7th in the nation. Coach cushman knows his stuff, and is a tremendous teacher of the game. He is someone the players can identify with, and although he might not have chicago ties he is an asset in recruiting. He is extremely likeable and easy to relate to. The past few years at augie have not been up to standards, and there have been some alarming losses. If you look closer at the losses, especially in 2009 were almost all close. I'm not going to bash barnes, but the players were overjoyed with the hiring of cushman. I'm not saying he's the next tom landry, but being a part of the program in the recent past, I can vouch for the hiring. This is not a mistake or quick fix, he is the right man for the job, and those currently in the program would all agree. Yes, the administration has been difficult to deal with recently, but next year ericsson field is being redone, and there is a soccer and lacrosse only field being built. Football will have its own field. It might seem like a dire situation, but have faith coach cushman is the right man for the job, and will provide results.

[Augie6]

Hello, I am new to this board but have always read it from time to time. I have not only played for augustana but also coached there in the recent past. Let me say that I disagree with your asessment regarding coach cushman. He may not have a sterling pedigree, but this man is the man for the job. There would've been an uproar if he was not hired. The players rally around coach cush, and really buy into what he says. Since he has been at augustana his defense have been around the top of the league. His first year the defense allowed 13.4 ppg, 7th in the nation. Coach cushman knows his stuff, and is a tremendous teacher of the game. He is someone the players can identify with, and although he might not have chicago ties he is an asset in recruiting. He is extremely likeable and easy to relate to. The past few years at augie have not been up to standards, and there have been some alarming losses. If you look closer at the losses, especially in 2009 were almost all close. I'm not going to bash barnes, but the players were overjoyed with the hiring of cushman. I'm not saying he's the next tom landry, but being a part of the program in the recent past, I can vouch for the hiring. This is not a mistake or quick fix, he is the right man for the job, and those currently in the program would all agree. Yes, the administration has been difficult to deal with recently, but next year ericsson field is being redone, and there is a soccer and lacrosse only field being built. Football will have its own field. It might seem like a dire situation, but have faith coach cushman is the right man for the job, and will provide results.

Veinteuno,

I appreciate your thoughts about the coaching situation as someone who has been close to the Augie program in the past few years and I hope that you're right about Cushman.   However, having some decent statistical years and losing some "close" games doesn't make me feel any better about the situation.  7-3, 6-4 and 6-4 and losing to Wheaton and NCC 3 years in a row is the only "statistic" that matters.  Obviously, this is not all on Coach Cushman, but in the limited games I've seen in the past 3 years, I haven't been impressed by the defense I've seen on the field.  They tended to give up a lot of points/yards to the better teams in the conference and aren't able to make the big stops when needed.  There may have been an "uproar" from the players that have played there in the past 3 years, but I can assure you that it wouldn't have come from the guys that helped build the program into the national power that it used to be. 

I'm glad to hear that Coach Cushman is so respected by the players he coached, and, again, I hope you are 100% accurate in your assessment.  Only time will tell.  I, for one, will be more than happy to post on this board that you were absolutely right if that happens.

[Viking Mike]

I agree with Augie6.  Will be very estatic if Cushman is the answer to bring the Vikes back to excellence, but the hire was way too quick.  You don't know who else might be out there that may be even a better fit for the program. How many former football players have gone on to coach at successful suburban high school programs in the Chicago area.  One would think they would have a better chance in the recruiting wars.

It seems like the administration is selling Augie short by not atleast doing a national search.  This is one of the premier coaching positions in Div 3 and would have drawn many strong potential candidates.  By not having the position open for more than 24 hours, it has the taste of mediocrity by simply reacting to what may have been the most popular pick on the campus at this specific time.  As an alumni, I would have hoped for a long list of candidates and interviews.  This just seems likes a decision that required little work on the part of administration and was the EASY pick.  Augie deserves more than this.

If Cushman truly is the right pick for this program, then I will enjoy every minute of every game.  If nothing else, he seems very enthusiastic about his new role.  It just would have been nice to have him on a short list along with a few other candidates and let this thing play itself out.  It seems like even Cushman was surprised at how quickly a decision was made. 

Simply put, the perception is that the administration did not put in the time to make sure they had the right man for the job.  I would have felt better if Cushman was selected after a 2 wk process of interviews, etc.

[formerd3db]

This obviously is my opinion, and being an "outsider" and someone who admittedly knows nothing about the Augustana program (other than knowing a couple of almuni and what I have heard from them in the past), you can please "take this for what it's worth" - which is not much .  Anyway, I totally missed/overlooked the resignation announcement of Coach Barnes this week - perhaps it being overshadowed a bit by the Thanksgiving holiday "busyness" - of course, those of you who are Augustana boosters and/or CCIW posters here were aware being on top of the situation.  I would agree, at least on the surface from the press release and his comments, that Coach Barnes appears to perhaps have possibly "hit the wall" a bit at this stage of his life in being burned out a little with respect to his coaching career.  Nothing to be ashamed about that at all, it does happen in any profession/job and, while change is always scary and difficult, we all know that the "game plan" gets changed in our lives at times as new opportunities and direction are offered to us by "the Man Upstairs in charge".  

Yet, in now hearing of this development, I, too, was a bit surprised at the quick hire.  No disrespect to the new Head Coach Cushman, as it appears he is well-liked and respected by the current players and former players as has been mentioned here in some of the recent posts by some of you.  Moreover, he may be the best fit for the program (time will tell of course), although I am still surprised the Augustana administration did not take some additional time and do a more broad ranged search - at least interviewing a few candidates.  While Cushman has been with your program as mentioned, he is not a "Midwest guy", having come from the west.  While that doesn't make him unqualified by any means - certainly he is familiar with the program and has had experience as a head coach- at the same time, I can't imagine that there are not at least a handful of coaches who are Augustana alumni in the Midwest region (or east) both in the collegiate ranks as assistants or at the high school level as head coaches who would have been qualified and interested as potential candidates for the position.  While hiring an alumn (such as Barnes was) obviously isn't a guarantee of success either, there is something to be said (and special in some sense) in the hiring of someone to come back to their alma mater. On the other hand, hiring someone, for example, from the high school ranks is/can be a risky move also as we all know that coaching at the collegiate level -even DIII - is a completely "different animal" to take on; nor is success a sure thing in hiring a collegi assistant, regardless of where they come from and/or are or are not alumni.

Perhaps, as has been speculated, the Augustana administration did just not want to deal with, both in time and all the hard work, having to do a "national" or even regional search among potential candidates for the position.  Obiously, having someone on your staff already is a plus in that regard, even though he has only been there for a shorter time.  Again, that and any of the other reasons I've mentioned, doesn't make Coach Cushman unqualified at all, and I certainly wish him and the Augustana program and players all the best for success.  But as I menioned, I still am surprised they didn't take a little time and evaluate to some degree perhaps some of their qualified alumni/former players.  Always a wonderful feeling and great opportunity for alumni to take over their college's program (although as we all know, that has its potential downside too if things don't work out and they eventually end up getting fired or leaving).  Either way, these situations are always difficult no matter how it is looked at.  Anyway, I wish Coach Barness all the best for the next chapter in his life and, again, also all the best to Coach Cushman and his players and you Augustana supporters as well as your program moves forward.

[Veinteuno]

Augie6 and vikingmike, I completely understand where you are coming from. I only posted to let you know how much confidence there is for cushman on campus. Also, I only brought up those close losses, and statistics to show he has done a good job on defense. I agree that some teams, mainly ncc have had their way with augies defense of late. However, his defenses have also stepped up numerous times against good competition. The defense played great this year against wheaton, most of wheatons points came off of a short field from turnovers. Anyways, again I see why there is some doubt, but I just wanted to let you guys know that the situation isn't as bleek as it seems. We will all see where the Augie program goes from here, but I for one think it is in good hands.

[augiefan]

What's done is done. On the surface the hiring of Cushman is not a very inspired choice, but it was clear that Coach Barnes' program had already been left in the dust by NCC and Wheaton and was losing ground to the other CCIW programs. Not a good trend.

I am primarily an Augie MBB fan, so I do not know much about Barnes' coaching staff. Cushman may be a great choice, but one would have hoped for a more dramatic hiring like NCC did when they hired Coach Thorne. Obviously coaches like Thorne are rare at the DIII level, but as others have pointed out Augie has great FB tradition and would have been an attractive opportunity for a top flight coach with name recognition. However, financial times are tough in the academic world, so it looks like Augie may have gone with the cost efficient hire rather than the high profile and more expensive alternative.

As Augie fans we can only wish Coach Cushman the best and assist him in selling the Augie program to the full extent permitted by NCAA rules. If the returning players are wholeheartedly in support of Cushman, they will be the school's best salesmen to potential recruits.