MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[joehakes]

The NP Christmas tournament crowds may also have been somewhat muted by the organ stylings of Reno Tondelli.  Snce the NP Jazz Band (which was one of the best I have ever heard) was scattered for Christmas Break, Reno would come in and play the mighty stadium console at the Park. 

Every thing has the same tempo and rhythm and it was often toward the end of the song that you figured out what the song actually was.  You expected a mirrored ball to come down from the ceiling. the house lights to go down and the PA announcer to go, "Okay.  Couples only skate!"  Reno's national anthem took five minutes to play. 

He would whip the crowd into a comatose state and then smile one of the most bug-eyed smile ever.  He was a classic.  Add to that the small crowds and it really was a funny atmosphere, especially compared to games when the students were in session.

[sac]

Any CCIW'ers coming up to Holland for the 2nd annual MIAA/CCIW challenge?


Wasn't Augie a cartoon character? 

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, even in those years when NP was a National power they didn't have a local Chicago following?  Thats unfortunate.  I would've thought people would jump on that bandwagon left and right, kind of like the White Sox this year, or the Bulls last year.

You can't hop on a bandwagon that you can't see, and NPU has always been a nearly invisible institution in its home city. Even when the Park was winning national championships it was under the media radar, Dennis's fine efforts to allay the problem notwithstanding; I remember coming home from the Final Four at Grand Rapids the Sunday after the '87 championship, running over to the White Hen on Foster Avenue in great anticipation of seeing the Tribune's writeup on the Vikings -- and finding it on page six of the sports section.

There's loads of pro and major college teams in this town to follow. And NPU is handicapped in terms of local awareness not only by its tininess but by the fact that a sizeable chunk of the student and alumni population consists of out-of-staters. But the main reason why the Park didn't have a "townie" following during the national championship years (I put quotes around "townie" because I'm not sure that such a word can accurately describe someone from a city of three million people) is because this is Chicago, not the small-town midwest. The social life here is, shall we say, more expansive to alternative possibilities besides attending basketball games. It's just a completely different culture here than it is downstate or in places such as Indiana or Iowa or Wisconsin.

The NP Christmas tournament crowds may also have been somewhat muted by the organ stylings of Reno Tondelli.  Snce the NP Jazz Band (which was one of the best I have ever heard) was scattered for Christmas Break, Reno would come in and play the mighty stadium console at the Park. 

Joe, didn't current Cubs organist Gary Pressey also hammer on the Hammond at an NPC Holiday Tournament or two back in the early eighties? Or did he make his appearances at the Park after you'd decamped for Dollywood and your abortive career as a bluegrass superstar? 

[Gregory Sager]

Any CCIW'ers coming up to Holland for the 2nd annual MIAA/CCIW challenge?

Thanks for reminding me, Scott. Are there any Calvin/Carthage/Hope/Wheaton people in Chicagoland who are planning to drive to Holland on Friday for the Challenge? Please e-mail me. Thanks.

Wasn't Augie a cartoon character? 

Hence, Augustana's longstanding alternative nickname, "the Doggies".

[Gregory Sager]

Just a reminder to those of you who are taking part in the CCIW pick'em contest (and the field isn't closed; you can join in at anytime) that there's a game tonight (St. Xavier @ Illinois Wesleyan) at 7:30, and the pick for the game must be in by tipoff.

[emeritusprof]

Augie was a previous owner of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Augie is the present coach of the Carthage baseball team.

[Titan Q]

Well, tonight's IWU/SXU contest should be fun.  My mom is a proud St. Xavier grad while my dad, sister, and I all went to dear ole IWU.  As I have posted here a few times over the years, my parents go to all St. Xavier home basketball games at the beautiful Shannon Center.

My earliest memories of basketball are of watching St. Xavier play.  We lived (mom and dad still do) just 5 minutes from SXU's campus on the southside, and my dad would take me to watch the Cougars play, starting when I was 3 or 4 yrs old I think (the early '70s).  I grew up going to a bunch of St. X games, attending their basketball camps, and of course, sneaking into the old, tiny gym over breaks in the winter with my fellow St. Germaine grade school buddies to find a place to play.  (It cannot be called "breaking in" when the same door can be compromised so easily over and over again, can it?)  

So for selfish reasons, I'm glad IWU is hosting the Cougars this year with IWU making the trip up to Chicago next year. 

[Titan Q]

Another neat thing about this game is that it features two of the best small college basketball programs in the state.  I think if you were going to put together a list of "best all-time small college programs" in Illinois, IWU and SXU would have to be high on the list, with programs like McKendree (NAIA), Olivet Nazarene (NAIA), Augustana, North Park, etc also in the mix.

[veterancciwfan]

A stat from the newly issued IWU Media Guide: The IWU players (current or former) with the most Shirk Center games of 27 points or more are Korey Coon with 6, Luke Kasten with 5 (including 27 in his initial game at Shirk as a freshman), and Bryan Crabtree with 4. Chris Simich, who didn't start until his junior year, had 3 such games, so his stat is equally impressive as Coon and Kasten started every game in their 4 year careers (except for injuries) while Crabtree started most games during his freshman year and all after that.

The opposing player with the most Shirk points is Josh Hinz of Beloit with 37.  In looking over the that list, I would nominate Chris Jeffries of Washington U. as the best opposing player to ever appear at Shirk. He scored 31 in a 2002 game which Wash. U. won by 13. IWU returned the favor in St. Louis in the 2nd round of the 2003 D3 tourney. A close second would be David Benter of the 95/96 Hanover team. He scored 26 in a 1996 D3 tourney game won by IWU by only 6.   

[David Collinge]

[...] Sox organist Nancy Faust (a North Park alumnus) [...]

A North Park transsexual?  I guess I've seen about everything now! 

[joehakes]

I think that Gary Pressey may have been there my first year, but Reno Tondelli was there for a few.  We couldn't figure out why he was invited back after the first year, but he was unintentionally hilarious. 

Nancy Faust, I think, came for one night, but wasn't thrilled about playing for 28 players and a few coaches, along with 25 spectators.  I could be wrong on that, and if I am, I'm sure that Greg and/or Dennis will correct me.

[petemcb]

I'm probably going to hear various disclaimers from the Titan nation, but I'm listening to the second half of the Titan broadcast versus St. Xavier.  They are pounding St. X. by close to 20 near the end of the game.  I saw St. Xavier this past weekend, and they looked to be the equivalent of any of Elmhurst, Augie, or Carthage.  I can't think of one potential CCIW IWU loss that would be a good bet.  The Titan talent, preparation, strength, depth, and experience are remarkable.  Let the battle for second place begin.......

[devildog29]

Wow, great game by the Titans tonight.  D3 #1 IWU over NAIA D1 #16 SXU 81-61.  So the Titans beat SXU by 20.  SXU beats UIC by 1.  UIC beats Georgia Tech by 20 or so.  Does this mean the Titans could compete in the ACC this year? 

[iwumichigander]

petemcb - A consistent performance for sure by the Titans; probably a different contest if Jabary Sanders was able to go for St Xavier but still a win for IWU.

St Xavier would compete for CCIW title if in our league (of course without the scholarships 

[Gregory Sager]

Nancy Faust, I think, came for one night, but wasn't thrilled about playing for 28 players and a few coaches, along with 25 spectators.  I could be wrong on that, and if I am, I'm sure that Greg and/or Dennis will correct me.

I do remember Nancy Faust showing up to play the organ at an NPC Holiday Tournament one night. If she was upset about the sparse crowd, she didn't let on. She's seemed to me to be an unfailingly warm and gracious person every time I've encountered her, just as any North Park alumna should be. I can remember going to White Sox games with a bunch of friends when I was in college, and we'd always wear North Park stuff and make sure that we stopped by Nancy's booth. She'd always wave to us and yell, "Go North Park!", but we could never talk her into playing "Hail To The Varsity" (North Park's fight song) on the Comiskey Park organ. Too bad; if she had, she might've made a White Sox fan out of me. 

The two times ('01 and '02, I think) that NPU alumnus Jim Geake got his buddy Wayne Messmer to show up and sing the national anthem at North Park basketball games were big thrills for me -- especially since I don't think Messmer's ever done the honors at his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan. He, too, is a very congenial local sports celebrity.

But my favorite famous-musician-at-a-North-Park-game story is still the one and only appearance by legendary blues harmonica player Sugar Blue at the crackerbox, where he played "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of a packed house assembled for a CCIW game 'round about '91 or '92 or so. Sugar Blue was a Chicago blues club fixture for many years, and he's best known as the guy who played the harmonica solo on the Rolling Stones' hit single "Miss You". Sugar showed up right before the game started, absolutely wailed on the national anthem -- and then as soon as it was over he promptly passed out on top of the third-row scorer's table. They just left him alone to sleep off whatever it was that he was on that night. It's the only time I've ever seen someone older than toddler age sleep through a CCIW basketball game.