FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[USee]

Interesting selection of finalists.

Nystrom is the OC at Dubuque, Brittich the current DC at Elmhurst I believe and Jeff McDonald is the talented DC at IWU. I don't know who Aaron Vicko is.

[Gregory Sager]

Interesting selection of finalists.

Nystrom is the OC at Dubuque, Brittich the current DC at Elmhurst I believe and Jeff McDonald is the talented DC at IWU. I don't know who Aaron Vicko is.

Vicko had been the DC at UWSP. He's not listed on the UWSP coaching page anymore, though; I'm not sure when he left there.

[79jaybird]

While they all seem to have some positive accolades and accomplishments, what worries me is I don't see a lot of true, HC (top dog) leadership.  I really had hoped Elmhurst would have been able to get a proven HC leader.    Well,  down to 4 and we'll see who lands the gig.

[Gregory Sager]

College-level head coaching experience is clearly not a prerequisite for a CCIW head football coaching hire, as the last two head coaches hired by CCIW programs have not had prior college HC experience. Elmhurst is apparently going to make it three in a row. This is in sharp contrast to CCIW men's basketball head coaches, among whom the last head coach hired who didn't have prior college HC experience was all the way back in 2006. That's easily explained by the fact that there are a whole lot fewer college football programs than there are college basketball programs, so the potential pool of applicants with head coaching experience is much smaller. Conversely, coaching staffs are much bigger in football than they are in basketball, so the pool of assistant football coaches is comparatively larger.

[USee]

While they all seem to have some positive accolades and accomplishments, what worries me is I don't see a lot of true, HC (top dog) leadership.  I really had hoped Elmhurst would have been able to get a proven HC leader.    Well,  down to 4 and we'll see who lands the gig.

Who is going to leave a HC position to come to Elmhurst? I don't think that's realistic. Maybe a guy who has been a HC before.....I think Jeff McDonald is a great candidate. He is HC material in my mind.

[79jaybird]

True USee.  And Elmhurst has not had a very favorable football history to fall back on.

But- The CCIW does carry some luster so perhaps somebody who was HC at a different D-III institution (i.e. NAC, or MWC) who would want to the prestige & history of the CCIW could lure an eye.

[Gregory Sager]

While they all seem to have some positive accolades and accomplishments, what worries me is I don't see a lot of true, HC (top dog) leadership.  I really had hoped Elmhurst would have been able to get a proven HC leader.    Well,  down to 4 and we'll see who lands the gig.

Who is going to leave a HC position to come to Elmhurst?

Mark's right. A UMAC, NACC, or MWC head coach might be inclined to take the Elmhurst position. The CCIW is a higher league than those others in terms of prestige and competition level. Plus, although I'm sure that the Elmhurst job is on the low end of the CCIW head football coach pay scale, I'll bet that it pays better than any of the HC jobs in those other leagues, and Elmhurst has better resources for its football program than just about all of the schools in those three leagues. The downside is that, even though Elmhurst is located right in the middle of the most fertile recruiting territory in the country's heartland, the Chicagoland suburbs, the administration does not appear to be behind the program -- it makes no difference whether it's because the school can't put more resources into football or because it won't -- which could make improving the program an uphill battle. Then again, if Millikin can do it with the right coach, Elmhurst can, too ... and there's a lot of guys out there, I'm sure, who are confident that they're the right coach.

In fact, Millikin is a great reason why it's plausible for Elmhurst to receive an application from a head coach at another college. MU's situational woes are well-documented; it's located in an unattractive downstate city with a bad reputation, it draws much of its student population from an area that's difficult to recruit due to the unique financial conditions of farming, and it's a school whose academic specialties -- nursing, music, and theater -- are not typically attractive as potential majors to high-school football prospects. And yet MU was able to draw the interest of a head coach at another D3 school, Dan Gritti of Rhodes, and hire him ... and he's turned the Big Blue program around.

Don't underestimate the appeal of a CCIW head football coaching job, USee -- any CCIW head football coaching job. Even NPU had over a hundred applicants for the recently-filled HC job.

[USee]

Millikin has a football program? Who knew....

[wally_wabash]

Millikin has a football program? Who knew....

They've got uniforms and everything.  It's pretty great. 

[UWO Titan 78]

While they all seem to have some positive accolades and accomplishments, what worries me is I don't see a lot of true, HC (top dog) leadership.  I really had hoped Elmhurst would have been able to get a proven HC leader.    Well,  down to 4 and we'll see who lands the gig.

Who is going to leave a HC position to come to Elmhurst?

Mark's right. A UMAC, NACC, or MWC head coach might be inclined to take the Elmhurst position. The CCIW is a higher league than those others in terms of prestige and competition level. Plus, although I'm sure that the Elmhurst job is on the low end of the CCIW head football coach pay scale, I'll bet that it pays better than any of the HC jobs in those other leagues, and Elmhurst has better resources for its football program than just about all of the schools in those three leagues. The downside is that, even though Elmhurst is located right in the middle of the most fertile recruiting territory in the country's heartland, the Chicagoland suburbs, the administration does not appear to be behind the program -- it makes no difference whether it's because the school can't put more resources into football or because it won't -- which could make improving the program an uphill battle. Then again, if Millikin can do it with the right coach, Elmhurst can, too ... and there's a lot of guys out there, I'm sure, who are confident that they're the right coach.

In fact, Millikin is a great reason why it's plausible for Elmhurst to receive an application from a head coach at another college. MU's situational woes are well-documented; it's located in an unattractive downstate city with a bad reputation, it draws much of its student population from an area that's difficult to recruit due to the unique financial conditions of farming, and it's a school whose academic specialties -- nursing, music, and theater -- are not typically attractive as potential majors to high-school football prospects. And yet MU was able to draw the interest of a head coach at another D3 school, Dan Gritti of Rhodes, and hire him ... and he's turned the Big Blue program around.

Don't underestimate the appeal of a CCIW head football coaching job, USee -- any CCIW head football coaching job. Even NPU had over a hundred applicants for the recently-filled HC job.

Was the administration behind the program more when Tim Lester was there, or was he just the right coach at the right time? Either way, I think the right guy can be successful at Elmhurst. It's all about recruiting the right players.

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin has a football program? Who knew....

Well, if you're going to state flat-out that Elmhurst can't expect to land some other school's head coach to be the new head coach of the Bluejays, then expect me to point out the obvious to you.

Was the administration behind the program more when Tim Lester was there, or was he just the right coach at the right time? Either way, I think the right guy can be successful at Elmhurst. It's all about recruiting the right players.

I can't speak to that in toto, but I can tell you that someone within the Elmhurst administration was breaking the financial aid rules on behalf of the football team, among other EC athletics programs, which eventually caused Lester's 2012 CCIW co-championship to be vacated.

[79jaybird]

Well, being married to a Prof at EC, I see/hear some tidbits.  Plus, my experiences on and off the fields at EC,  I have always felt this-   Elmhurst likes the "showers" that come with having athletics, but reality is athletics will ALWAYS be a "We have it just to have it" kind of repor.  You don't go to Elmhurst for Athletics.  You come to Elmhurst for a great Education and oh by the way, if you like to play (X sport), we have a team you can join.   

So you have a half*** approach towards athletics,  plus geographically it is often too close to home (backyard) for a stud recruit, so they choose other schools,  creates a double whammy.  Look at Nathan Wallick a few years back.  A stud from Elmhurst, but chose Millikin.  As I recall, Elmhurst really lobbied hard to get him.

President Cureton did not value athletics like we all would like to see.  Ray liked sports, and pushed hard to get Lacrosse (because of his native am ancestry).   Van Aiken while still in his infancy is showing signs that he is going to be a proponent of athletics.

This is also why IMO, I was hoping to see a HC with some experience who knows how to deal with the top level Admin obstacles that frequently come into play.   

[robertgoulet]

Millikin has a football program? Who knew....

When I got to NCC in 00 they were the team that scared me the most. I seem to remember seeing them kicking off a bunch and knocking NCC players out of the game each time due to the verocity of their hitting!

[GoIrish7]

Well, being married to a Prof at EC, I see/hear some tidbits.  Plus, my experiences on and off the fields at EC,  I have always felt this-   Elmhurst likes the "showers" that come with having athletics, but reality is athletics will ALWAYS be a "We have it just to have it" kind of repor.  You don't go to Elmhurst for Athletics.  You come to Elmhurst for a great Education and oh by the way, if you like to play (X sport), we have a team you can join.   

So you have a half*** approach towards athletics,  plus geographically it is often too close to home (backyard) for a stud recruit, so they choose other schools,  creates a double whammy.  Look at Nathan Wallick a few years back.  A stud from Elmhurst, but chose Millikin.  As I recall, Elmhurst really lobbied hard to get him.

President Cureton did not value athletics like we all would like to see.  Ray liked sports, and pushed hard to get Lacrosse (because of his native am ancestry).   Van Aiken while still in his infancy is showing signs that he is going to be a proponent of athletics.

This is also why IMO, I was hoping to see a HC with some experience who knows how to deal with the top level Admin obstacles that frequently come into play.   

Agree and Disagree here - I think Coach Lester was the first coach to come in and treat Elmhurst like a top tier program. He expected to go 7-3+ and be in the top 4 in the CCIW. When this didnt happen in his eyes it was a down year. The repor before him and after him has been and is, well lets go 5-5 and anything better than that is a success.

In my 4 seasons there 09-12 I would say that the Admin was below average in supporting football. That being said Coach Lester did an outstanding job finding ways to raise money. We worked for a Valet company for large evernts where they would pay hour wages for each player on the team, that money for those who worked would go directly to the program paying for player package (team issued gear) so the school and players wouldnt have to pay themselves. Huge golf outing, alumni events, donors to aid in paying for other things. This was all money that went to the football program without any help from Admin.

Since President Van Aiken has come in it appears to me he is fully behind athletics. New offices, weight room upgrade, Alumni events, Homecoming funding etc... It has almost flipped. The Alumni golf outing is not well attended anymore, not as many donations from the outside etc and it appears that the school has picked up the bill and funding alot of things.

Downtown Elmhurst has never been better for college night life. Is it downtown Naperville, no. But it still beats night life for most schools around. Looking forward to see who they hire. Suprised a few names who applied were left off the finalists list. Whomever the new HC is, I would argue the support from the Admin is as good as it has been in years.

[79jaybird]

Good points GoIrish. 

Lester indeed treated Elmhurst like a D-I institution.  However,  this caused a TON of friction with the faculty.  Not going to go into major details, however many times that friction caused a lot of havoc both on and off the field.

I would even go back to the Tom Journell era about instituting a new approach.   I recall doing a taped pre-game interview in Journell's office and he was the first coach that said,  "We are going to make it a point to beat Augie."  And not have a fear of the Vikings.  Journell surprised a lot of Bluejay Alum and Trustees with that courage to tackle the superiors of the conference (at that time)

Elmhurst, nightlife, things, to do, Metra access to downtown, etc. are all cosmetics that may or may not have anything to do with the college in itself.   I will say, these bells & whistles is one reason I chose Elmhurst,  but in terms of success on Saturdays...

Van Aiken has been a little more gentle in trying to cynergize the athletics, Alumni, city, etc.   So far he is showing positive strides.

IMO- It is pointless to dwell on the past,  cry over spilled milk, and focus on hiring the new HC,  look at how he can improve the current team, and most importantly start rebuild a program that is in a tailspin.