FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

I've done a little research on Midland U.  It is an NAIA school that doles out a huge sum of athletic scholarships.  They have a student population of 1,200 yet claimed 506 athletic slots were occupied by men.  Oddly, they had 94 men on their baseball team last year.  Their football roster had 148 males.  Midland doled out $6,000,000 in athletic scholarships to male athletes last year.  Football expenses were $2.2 million.  Wow.

Among others, this was one of the primary reasons for Nebraska Wesleyan's move away from the NAIA to full time NCAA D3 status.
They got tired of trying to compete in a conference where they were the only school not giving athletic scholarships. Their institutional philosophy always coincided more with that of the NCAA on this issue.

This is not a coincidence or really a philosophy -- it's a requirement. The dual NAIA-NCAA members (which there are no longer any of) always had to follow the more restrictive rule in any occasion where the two associations differed.

Well, if you won't believe me when I say that NWU's philosophy was always more in line with the NCAA stance as far as the awarding of athletic scholarships, perhaps you will believe NWU President Fred Ohles.   

In the press conference announcing NWU's move to the NCAA and IIAC President Ohles stated:

"Nebraska Wesleyan University is delighted to join the Iowa Conference," said NWU President Fred Ohles. "We value the academic rigor and balance that are part of the NCAA Division III philosophy and the Nebraska Wesleyan philosophy. We look forward to the opportunity of fully integrating our entire athletic program with other NCAA Division III schools."

This philosophy encompasses not only NWU's athletic thinking, but it's academic stance as well as academically, NWU is among the most recognized institutions in the country for NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships (fifth in the nation with 53), and CoSIDA Academic ALL-Americans (eighth in the nation with 160) regardless of NCAA DI, II, III, or NAIA.

Thus the combination of NWU's athletic and academic thinking/stance/achievement is the embodied in, and can properly be stated as, it's institutional philosophy.   

[Pat Coleman]

This philosophy encompasses not only NWU's athletic thinking, but it's (sic) academic stance as well as academically, NWU is among the most recognized institutions in the country for NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships (fifth in the nation with 53), and CoSIDA Academic ALL-Americans (eighth in the nation with 160) regardless of NCAA DI, II, III, or NAIA.

Thus the combination of NWU's athletic and academic thinking/stance/achievement is the embodied in, and can properly be stated as, it's (sic) institutional philosophy.   

That's cool that you know how to format and all but a little bit of PR fluff doesn't change the actual facts that they were required to be non-scholarship as a D-III member, even if they were also an NAIA member and in a conference with NAIA teams that gave scholarships. Giving them some fancy extra credit for doing something they were required to do seems a little excessive.

[AndOne]

With all due respect, you neglected to comment on or disprove the main focus of my post. That was to point out that while you said NWU's position regarding giving up all NAIA membership and solely aligning itself with the NCAA was not part of their philosophy, NWU's own President, when announcing their plan, specifically referred to the reason for their move as being part of their "philosophy." Furthermore, he also used the word "philosophy" when comparing his school's position  with that of the NCAA.

Despite your assertion to the contrary, while NWU's not awarding athletic scholarships may be a NCAA requirement, their choosing not to so is also a reflection of their philosophy. "Philosophy" being the same word used, by NWU's own President, in announcing their giving up NAIA membership.

Just because something is a requirement, doesn't mean it can't also be part of a philosophy.
As I said, if you won't believe me, believe the Nebraska Wesleyan President. 

Additionally, that philosophy not only has an athletic component, but an academic one as well. As part of the academic side, NWU has attained the 5th most NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, and the 8th most CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in the nation. Do you really want to classify this enviable level of achievement as "PR fluff" or belittle it by calling it "extra credit?"

[GoPerry]

If you have a second today, take a look at this. Wheaton will supposedly be on the pre-game show that starts at 2 PM (Central Time) for the SEC game on CBS. Got it off the Wheaton athletic Instagram. 
https://instagram.com/p/BKJebGKA6rB/

Yes. CBS is doing a piece on the anniversary of 9/11 about the "Let's Roll" story and Todd Beamer's son, who is currently a Wheaton football player. Very cool.

Thanks for the heads up on this one matblake and USee, I would've missed it otherwise.

Here's the CBS feature link . . .   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO-JAzE6VQY&feature=youtu.be     Mike Swider narrating . . .

[Pat Coleman]

With all due respect, you neglected to comment on or disprove the main focus of my post. That was to point out that while you said NWU's position regarding giving up all NAIA membership and solely aligning itself with the NCAA was not part of their philosophy, NWU's own President, when announcing their plan, specifically referred to the reason for their move as being part of their "philosophy." Furthermore, he also used the word "philosophy" when comparing his school's position  with that of the NCAA.

Despite your assertion to the contrary, while NWU's not awarding athletic scholarships may be a NCAA requirement, their choosing not to so is also a reflection of their philosophy. "Philosophy" being the same word used, by NWU's own President, in announcing their giving up NAIA membership.

Just because something is a requirement, doesn't mean it can't also be part of a philosophy.
As I said, if you won't believe me, believe the Nebraska Wesleyan President. 

Additionally, that philosophy not only has an athletic component, but an academic one as well. As part of the academic side, NWU has attained the 5th most NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, and the 8th most CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in the nation. Do you really want to classify this enviable level of achievement as "PR fluff" or belittle it by calling it "extra credit?"

And having worked in PR, I can tell you that just because something is out into an executive's talking points doesn't make it real. But I'm glad that PR still has an effect on someone.

Honestly, AO, doesn't everyone publicly claim a similar philosophy in Division III? I mean, it is part of the Division III philosophy. Breaking news: Division III school espouses part of Division III philosophy. Is that supposed to be surprising?

[AndOne]

A smiliar philosophy within D3, yes. But if your philosophy is your stance, your attitude, and how you think and act, NWU has always followed the D3 philosophy of not awarding athletic scholarships despite operating within an NAIA conference wherein every other conference member did so. That's all.

[Pat Coleman]

But again, as Division III members, they were obliged to do so. So maybe that's news in the rest of the GPAC but it shouldn't be news to you or to anyone here in Division III. That's why I didn't find it particularly noteworthy.

[USee]

The Wheaton QB story is continuing. The Thunder have 2 QB's who have led the team to undefeated conference titles the last two years.  Andrew Bowers started the first game against Benedictine and Johnny Peltz started against Kalamazoo. Here are the two stat lines:

Andrew Bowers: 19-29-0 (66%) 261 yds 3 TD's 175.3 Eff; 6 rush 19 yds 1.7 ypc

Johnny Peltz: 16-21-1 (76%) 265 yds 4 TD's 235.5 Eff; 6 rush 40 yds 6.7 ypc

Combined these guys are:

35-50-1 (70%) 526 yds 7 TD's 205.4 Eff; 12 rush 59 yds 4.9 ypc

Mike Swider has said on the post game shows that both will continue to play. He gave each of them a full game to start the season. It will be interesting to see how he uses them now that conference play begins. If he continues to rotate them game by game Bowers would play @Carthage, @IWU, @NCC and @Augie and Peltz would play v Elmhurst, v Millikin, v NPU and v Carroll. Bowers plays every away game (which are against the projected top of the conference) and Peltz plays every home game. If the Thunder are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, that would put Bowers up for the first playoff game and Peltz up for round 2 should the Thunder get that far, and so on.

There are a lot of college teams playing 2 quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

[USee]

If you have a second today, take a look at this. Wheaton will supposedly be on the pre-game show that starts at 2 PM (Central Time) for the SEC game on CBS. Got it off the Wheaton athletic Instagram. 
https://instagram.com/p/BKJebGKA6rB/

Yes. CBS is doing a piece on the anniversary of 9/11 about the "Let's Roll" story and Todd Beamer's son, who is currently a Wheaton football player. Very cool.

Thanks for the heads up on this one matblake and USee, I would've missed it otherwise.

Here's the CBS feature link . . .   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO-JAzE6VQY&feature=youtu.be     Mike Swider narrating . . .

I thought this was really well done and a great thing for D3 football.

[79jaybird]

Some tell all stats from the EC/Olivet game.
EC 3 for 14 on 3rd down, 0-3 of 4th down (not as glaring), but only 54 rush yds.
Ah,  going to be tough to beat anybody not running the ball and not being able to convert on 3rd down.
IMO, Elmhurst needs some guys to step up on offense and be a leader.   I had a feeling going into this season
that after graduation, there was going to be some big voids that needed to be sewn up and fast. 

[USee]

A big change this year in scheduling for the CCIW is a result of adding Carroll back into the mix. We now have 9 teams so once the conference slate starts, every team has a bye week at different times. It also means the CCIW games starts 2 weeks earlier than usual. Combine that with some interesting early matchups and we are getting started with a bang this week.

Usually, CCIW teams played 3 non conference games plus a bye and started conference play the last weekend of September. This week we have North Central @IWU in what will be IWU's 2nd game statistically and North Central's first D3 game. This is obviously a huge contest of CCIW contenders as is Wheaton  @ Carthage in what I expect is a game that could be a lot closer than anyone thinks. NPU @Elmhurst and Carroll @Augie is the other games (Millikin is off).

The Thunder play all of the expected top conference teams on the road this year (NCC, Carthage, Augie, IWU).

[thunderdog]

I'm surprised there are no Carthage fans to pump up the Red Men after beating an opponent from one of the premier conferences in the nation, the MIAC. I mean Bethel was a semi-finalist in 2010, a 2nd round team in 2012, and a quarterfinalist in 2013. Regardless of how Bethel's season plays out, this was a signature win, on the road, for the Red Men.

In 2015, Carthage led the Thunder 3-0 at the half and the score was tied 3-3 at the end of the 3rd qtr. The 2016 version is significantly better than the 2015 version. QB Ethan Olles is playing at a much more consistent, higher level than what I saw in last year's Wheaton game. Throw in 6'2" 225lb Frosh RB #19 Jamel Davis and Carthage enters this week 3 rumble with a ton more offensive firepower than 2015.

As for Wheaton, I'll contend that 2016's offense is better than either 2015's or 2014's offense, regardless of who's playing QB. My biggest question on offense was at WR, but I like what I've seen from guys like #3 Chase White, #9 Christian Bolhuis, #81 TE Luke Van Dyke, and others. Plus, the emergence of guys like #31 Stone Watson & #18 Jaelin Goldsmith has this offense humming nicely. AA TE #89 Zach Lindquist has hardly even showed up in the passing game yet and we know what a proven weapon he is.

Defensively, Wheaton better be ready. I'm extremely impressed with the progression of #3 Chase Greenlee. That young man is a force and is significantly better than a year ago. #53 LB Luke Sahly is off to a nice start in replacing Dansdill, but hasn't really been tested yet.

I'm expecting a much higher scoring game in 2016 than last year. I'm expecting a rowdy crowd @ Carthage. I'm expecting an exciting, hard fought game.

[Gregory Sager]

A big change this year in scheduling for the CCIW is a result of adding Carroll back into the mix. We now have 9 teams so once the conference slate starts, every team has a bye week at different times.

It's worth mentioning that Carroll already had its bye week; the Pioneers did not play this past Saturday. They do have a CCIW bye coming up, of course, as does everybody else. But they're going to use that CCIW bye to play their second non-con game, which will be against UW-LaCrosse a week from this coming Saturday.

Incidentally, the CCIW is now 11-5 in non-con play. Given that UWL has won its first two games by scores of 45-14 and 65-14 while Carroll lost its only game to date at home against a NACC opponent (granted, Lakeland is the preseason poll favorite in that league), I suspect that the CCIW will wind up 11-6.

I'm surprised there are no Carthage fans to pump up the Red Men after beating an opponent from one of the premier conferences in the nation, the MIAC. I mean Bethel was a semi-finalist in 2010, a 2nd round team in 2012, and a quarterfinalish in 2013. Regardless of how Bethel's season plays out, this was a signature win, on the road, for the Red Men.

I don't think that it's as much of a "signature win" as you do. A few seasons ago? Sure, that's a great win, especially in suburban St. Paul. But Bethel went 5-5, 4-4 last season, and the Royals began this season in hideous fashion, surrendering 70 points and 735 yards of total offense to a Dubuque team that, however good, is not likely to be making travel plans to Salem, VA anytime in the foreseeable future.

[wally_wabash]

This is obviously a huge contest of CCIW contenders as is Wheaton  @ Carthage in what I expect is a game that could be a lot closer than anyone thinks.

Not this guy.  I watched a fair portion of Carthage/Bethel on Saturday and that Carthage RB 19 is a serious dude.  Not sure if he's a Dante Washington type of dude yet, but he's real good.  On the flip side, I noticed that Wheaton took their best player off the shelf and promptly slapped a fifty burger on Kzoo in about 35 minutes, so there's that also.  Probably a bit too much depth to overcome for Carthage, but Wheaton will have to work to put them away. 

[CardinalAlum]

The Wheaton QB story is continuing. The Thunder have 2 QB's who have led the team to undefeated conference titles the last two years.  Andrew Bowers started the first game against Benedictine and Johnny Peltz started against Kalamazoo. Here are the two stat lines:

Andrew Bowers: 19-29-0 (66%) 261 yds 3 TD's 175.3 Eff; 6 rush 19 yds 1.7 ypc

Johnny Peltz: 16-21-1 (76%) 265 yds 4 TD's 235.5 Eff; 6 rush 40 yds 6.7 ypc

Combined these guys are:

35-50-1 (70%) 526 yds 7 TD's 205.4 Eff; 12 rush 59 yds 4.9 ypc

Mike Swider has said on the post game shows that both will continue to play. He gave each of them a full game to start the season. It will be interesting to see how he uses them now that conference play begins. If he continues to rotate them game by game Bowers would play @Carthage, @IWU, @NCC and @Augie and Peltz would play v Elmhurst, v Millikin, v NPU and v Carroll. Bowers plays every away game (which are against the projected top of the conference) and Peltz plays every home game. If the Thunder are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, that would put Bowers up for the first playoff game and Peltz up for round 2 should the Thunder get that far, and so on.

There are a lot of college teams playing 2 quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

I would be ok not seeing Peltz!  His ability to make plays with his feet as well is always dangerous.