FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[robertgoulet]

Does anyone have an update on NCC DT Dan Lester? Has only played in 3 games this year and none since the Wheaton game back on 9/30.  is he out for the year or hoping he's back for the playoffs?  love watching him play and hope his career isnt over (i guess at this point he could potentially petition for a medical redshirt)

Had been wondering this myself. Hope he can make it back for the playoffs, for his sake.

[UWO Titan 78]

As the regular season enters the final week, I'm wondering if North Park's five wins garners Coach Rooker with CCIW Coach of the Year honors? If Augie beats North Central, I'm sure the award goes to Coach Bell. I know the award often goes to the conference winner. However, North Central is supposed to do what they are doing. The Augie season is a good one, but they have been a perennial power in the past. North Park was picked last in the preseason poll. They have beaten 4 teams that they lost to last season, and they have captured 4 conference wins. They could finish as high as fifth in the conference. They have won the most games in program history since 1968. I'm biased and I've seen the improvement and hard work from the players and coaches at NPU. I've only been a CCIW guy for the last two seasons, but I'm impressed with what Coach Rooker has accomplished.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm obviously as big of a Kyle Rooker fan as this board has, since I interview him on the air after every home game, come win or come loss, and I spend a fair amount of time in his office talking with him about his football program and his players. But I'd like to elaborate on all that a little bit.

The NPU team motto under Kyle has been #therightway, and it's more than just an empty social-media slogan. Under Kyle Rooker, North Park football really has done things the right way. The Vikings have not only fought their way up to respectability within CCIW football circles, they've done so while building a team culture that emphasizes high academic performance and character development. A lot of football coaches shape good football players; Kyle Rooker shapes good men who also happen to be good football players. Kyle is exactly what North Park wants in its head football coach; not simply someone who improves the product on the field, but an exemplary Christian father and husband and a leader and role model of young men who will go on to do great things and bring credit to their alma mater.

I can't say enough good things about Kyle and what he's done at North Park, both on and off the field. Kyle's one of my favorite coaches to ever don a North Park polo in any sport, and, given how many dozens and dozens and dozens of coaches I've seen come and go at Foster & Kedzie over the decades, that's not a statement that I make lightly. I'm terribly afraid that we may lose him to some school that pays better and where it's a lot easier to climb to the top of the ladder, because not only do I strongly suspect that he's the best head coach North Park has ever had in its 94 years of fielding a football team, but he might be the best we could ever hope to get.

Kyle has earned CCIW COY, there's no doubt about it. When you look at this season's Vikings in light of the perennial futility of the NPU football program, and the inherent difficulties involved in building a successful football program at the only big-city school in the league, what Kyle and his (outstanding) staff have done in 2023 is nothing less than extraordinary. Having said that, though, I also recognize what a tremendous season Steve Bell has had at Augustana, ten fifth-years or not. (To me, the presence of so many fifth-years is a testament to the coach, who has obviously engendered so much buy-in -- literally, if you think about the price tag of a year's worth of Augie tuition -- from so many of his players.)

I want Kyle Rooker to win the award. I will be disappointed if he doesn't. But I will fully understand if the award goes to Steve Bell instead. Heck, I won't even argue if it goes to Brad Spencer of NCC, because turning this league into little more than a nine-week series of speed bumps isn't something that anybody should ever take for granted.

[hazzben]

As the regular season enters the final week, I'm wondering if North Park's five wins garners Coach Rooker with CCIW Coach of the Year honors? If Augie beats North Central, I'm sure the award goes to Coach Bell. I know the award often goes to the conference winner. However, North Central is supposed to do what they are doing. The Augie season is a good one, but they have been a perennial power in the past. North Park was picked last in the preseason poll. They have beaten 4 teams that they lost to last season, and they have captured 4 conference wins. They could finish as high as fifth in the conference. They have won the most games in program history since 1968. I'm biased and I've seen the improvement and hard work from the players and coaches at NPU. I've only been a CCIW guy for the last two seasons, but I'm impressed with what Coach Rooker has accomplished.

Since a non-CCIW guy posed the question, here's a take from a MIAC guy. With Steve Johnson retiring at the end of the season, it reminds me of how he won MIAC COTY honors in 1989 after going 3-6-1. They had been so horrible up to that point (something like 14 wins in the previous decade) that their leap forward into competitive status was enough for Coach J to get the honor.

I think you could argue the case for NPU or Augie. The former hasn't been competitive in a long long time, and the latter hasn't been consistently in the hunt in a long time either. I didn't see either of these scenarios playing out to start the year. I'd probably lean NPU. If you aren't honoring the coach who won the league, then honor the guy who was picked to finish last and massively exceeded expectations. 

[lmitzel]

I'm just glad this is a legitimate question, unlike in CCIW men's basketball where it's traditionally been "Who won the league? Cool, that coach wins the award, and if there's a tie it's co-winners."

As much as I'd love for Spencer to win the award again, I have no beef with either Rooker or Bell winning it. If it were me, I'd go Rooker based on the whole "first 5-win season since the 60's" thing, but Bell would be a good choice too.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm just glad this is a legitimate question, unlike in CCIW men's basketball where it's traditionally been "Who won the league? Cool, that coach wins the award, and if there's a tie it's co-winners."

Amen to that, Lucas.

[New Tradition]

The NPU team motto under Kyle has been #therightway, and it's more than just an empty social-media slogan. Under Kyle Rooker, North Park football really has done things the right way. The Vikings have not only fought their way up to respectability within CCIW football circles, they've done so while building a team culture that emphasizes high academic performance and character development. A lot of football coaches shape good football players; Kyle Rooker shapes good men who also happen to be good football players. Kyle is exactly what North Park wants in its head football coach; not simply someone who improves the product on the field, but an exemplary Christian father and husband and a leader and role model of young men who will go on to do great things and bring credit to their alma mater.

I could do a find and replace with "John Thorne" for "Kyle Rooker" and "NCC" for "North Park" and it would mirror exactly how I felt in 2002 due to Coach Thorne's philosophy.  He told us over and over again that he wanted to make All-American husbands and fathers, and if some All-American football players came about because of it, then that was a nice bonus.  Really hoping Rooker sticks around and NP can build on this--I can say firsthand that this is 100% how you turn a program around that hasn't been historically successful.

[matblake]

No complaints about any of the above choices.  Although I haven't seen NP play yet (that will happen Sat) I would lean toward Rooker at this point, if nothing else but the competitive level he has raised the Eastern Vikings to in his tenure so far. 

[matblake]

I'm just glad this is a legitimate question, unlike in CCIW men's basketball where it's traditionally been "Who won the league? Cool, that coach wins the award, and if there's a tie it's co-winners."

Amen to that, Lucas.

And a double portion from me.  Annoying, and annoyingly unlikely to change.

[SpartanHouse4]

My vote would go to Norm for COY.

[lmitzel]

My vote would go to Norm for COY.

[lmitzel]

Regional rankings are out. NCC 2nd in Region V, Wheaton 4th, Augie 6th.

Wartburg tops Region V, which could have bracketing implications.

[Gregory Sager]

My vote would go to Norm for COY.

I was looking for a good GIF reply to SpartanHouse4's post, but I like yours a lot better than the ones I was looking at.

[New Tradition]

Regional rankings are out. NCC 2nd in Region V, Wheaton 4th, Augie 6th.

Wartburg tops Region V, which could have bracketing implications.

Having Augie ranked changes the calculus a bit with a Cardinal win this weekend as it would provide NCC with a second win over an RRO.  It still may not be enough to move the Cards over Wartburg, though, as long as Bethel and Central stay ranked.   Those 2 plus a win over Coe give Wartburg 3 wins over RROs.  Depending on how this shakes out, NCC may be travelling for the semis if they end up on the same side of the bracket as Wartburg or Mount depending on how the committee views UMU's wins over JCU and Marietta.   

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/d3/regional-rankings

[robertgoulet]

Regional rankings are out. NCC 2nd in Region V, Wheaton 4th, Augie 6th.

Wartburg tops Region V, which could have bracketing implications.

Having Augie ranked changes the calculus a bit with a Cardinal win this weekend as it would provide NCC with a second win over an RRO.  It still may not be enough to move the Cards over Wartburg, though, as long as Bethel and Central stay ranked.   Those 2 plus a win over Coe give Wartburg 3 wins over RROs.  Depending on how this shakes out, NCC may be travelling for the semis if they end up on the same side of the bracket as Wartburg or Mount depending on how the committee views UMU's wins over JCU and Marietta.   

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/d3/regional-rankings

That would be, as the kids say, wack.