MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

[iwumichigander]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

Thank-you for posting this ...
because iwu70 has yet to note the individual first place finishes at the national track meet nor that Coach Chris Schumacher was recognized as the women's national coach of the year (and a third time winner of this award) nor those events where IWU placed multiple award finishers.  And oh yeah, a men's individual event national champion in the discus event.  I probably missed a few things but iwu70 will fill us in!

[Gregory Sager]

[Mr. Ypsi]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

Thank-you for posting this ...
because iwu70 has yet to note the individual first place finishes at the national track meet nor that Coach Chris Schumacher was recognized as the women's national coach of the year (and a third time winner of this award) nor those events where IWU placed multiple award finishers.  And oh yeah, a men's individual event national champion in the discus event.  I probably missed a few things but iwu70 will fill us in!

I'll begin the filling-in process for my erstwhile classmate.   Women's individual national champions were Amelia Glueck (long jump) and Molly McGraw (high jump) - both also setting IWU records.  (Those of you who follow women's basketball will be well familiar with Molly, who was 3rd team AC as a freshman, and 2nd team AC this year as a sophomore.)  Max Leonard was the men's national champ in the discus. 

Also kudos to sophomore Luke Winder of NCC, who has now swept the national titles in the pole vault both indoor and outdoor this year and last.

The national COY is voted by the coaches, but appears to be de facto almost as automatic as the CCIW men's basketball COY - Chris Schumacher's three COY awards are the same three years IWU has won the women's national title.  (Which is to take nothing away from Coach Schumacher - he recruited them, he trained them, he motivated them [though if they need motivation at the national finals, they were the wrong recruits! ])

And great thanks to ALL the Titan women who scored in the tourney - we needed every point!  We beat out Baldwin Wallace by ONE point, and Wash U by 3.

[BTW, Greg, IWU also won the national title in opera! ]

[AndOne]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

Thank-you for posting this ...
because iwu70 has yet to note the individual first place finishes at the national track meet nor that Coach Chris Schumacher was recognized as the women's national coach of the year (and a third time winner of this award) nor those events where IWU placed multiple award finishers.  And oh yeah, a men's individual event national champion in the discus event.  I probably missed a few things but iwu70 will fill us in!

I'll begin the filling-in process for my erstwhile classmate.   Women's individual national champions were Amelia Glueck (long jump) and Molly McGraw (high jump) - both also setting IWU records.  (Those of you who follow women's basketball will be well familiar with Molly, who was 3rd team AC as a freshman, and 2nd team AC this year as a sophomore.)  Max Leonard was the men's national champ in the discus. 

Also kudos to sophomore Luke Winder of NCC, who has now swept the national titles in the pole vault both indoor and outdoor this year and last.

The national COY is voted by the coaches, but appears to be de facto almost as automatic as the CCIW men's basketball COY - Chris Schumacher's three COY awards are the same three years IWU has won the women's national title.  (Which is to take nothing away from Coach Schumacher - he recruited them, he trained them, he motivated them [though if they need motivation at the national finals, they were the wrong recruits! ])

And great thanks to ALL the Titan women who scored in the tourney - we needed every point!  We beat out Baldwin Wallace by ONE point, and Wash U by 3.

BTW, Greg, IWU also won the national title in opera! 

Men's or Women's? 

* NCC's Luke Winder not only won the national pole vault title, but was also named NCAA Division III National Field Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season by the USTFCCCA. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

The opera title is now coed - we're no longer Elizabethans!

Can't Luke do anything else?  Jesse Owens broke 4 world records in about 55 minutes in Ann Arbor in 1935!  Is Luke a slacker?

BTW, shame on me for not also congratulating Titan women who pushed teammates to score.  Ultimately T&F is an individual endeavor, but in preparation it really is a team sport.  The teammates who 'force' the scorers to go 'higher, faster, longer' to succeed are also crucial to success.

[AndOne]

Well, Luke did win both the indoor AND outdoor titles last year as a freshman, and again in this, his soph year. So he does have 4 national titles in only 2 years. 

Rumor has it that the IWU coed opera team was buoyed by an unusual amount of countertenors able to hit the high falsetto. 

And now, back to our regularly scheduled basketball programming.

[USee]

RIP Lee Fund

http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2016/5/31/wheaton-remembers-lee-pfund.aspx

Pfund is the winningest coach in Wheaton history for both men's basketball and baseball. He won 362 games on the basketball court and guided the Crusaders to 249 victories on the diamond.

He served as head men's basketball coach from 1951-75, guiding Wheaton to the first-ever NCAA Small College Division Men's Basketball Championship in 1957 as his squad garnered a 28-1 record. Overall, he mentored the Crusaders to five College Conference of Illinois (CCI) championships; and from 1955-59 his teams won a conference record 58 consecutive CCI contests.

"Coach Pfund is the Wheaton men's basketball program," states current men's basketball coach Mike Schauer. "I have always said that the challenge of following in coach Pfund's footsteps has never been about trying to win as many games as he did, but to influence has many lives as he has. The number of men I meet who have been impacted in one way or another by their relationship with Coach Pfund is almost impossible to calculate - it is virtually every person that has come through this program in some way, shape or form."[/b]

[AndOne]

Growing up in next door Glen Ellyn, it always seemed like Lee Pfund WAS Wheaton athletics. There were stories about him and his teams in the local paper all the time, and it always seemed like the story was about a Wheaton victory. Off the field and out of the gym, I'm sure he meant more to both the town of Wheaton and the College than simply being a successful athletic coach. Both communities have lost a treasure, and a winner in all respects.

[Gregory Sager]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

Thank-you for posting this ...
because iwu70 has yet to note the individual first place finishes at the national track meet nor that Coach Chris Schumacher was recognized as the women's national coach of the year (and a third time winner of this award) nor those events where IWU placed multiple award finishers.  And oh yeah, a men's individual event national champion in the discus event.  I probably missed a few things but iwu70 will fill us in!

I'll begin the filling-in process for my erstwhile classmate.   Women's individual national champions were Amelia Glueck (long jump) and Molly McGraw (high jump) - both also setting IWU records.  (Those of you who follow women's basketball will be well familiar with Molly, who was 3rd team AC as a freshman, and 2nd team AC this year as a sophomore.)  Max Leonard was the men's national champ in the discus. 

Also kudos to sophomore Luke Winder of NCC, who has now swept the national titles in the pole vault both indoor and outdoor this year and last.

The national COY is voted by the coaches, but appears to be de facto almost as automatic as the CCIW men's basketball COY - Chris Schumacher's three COY awards are the same three years IWU has won the women's national title.  (Which is to take nothing away from Coach Schumacher - he recruited them, he trained them, he motivated them [though if they need motivation at the national finals, they were the wrong recruits! ])

And great thanks to ALL the Titan women who scored in the tourney - we needed every point!  We beat out Baldwin Wallace by ONE point, and Wash U by 3.

[BTW, Greg, IWU also won the national title in opera! ]

I said that the tradition was that we noted national championships in other sports, gentlemen, not that we described them in fulsome and excruciating detail. When NCC won its most recent x-country Walnut & Bronze in '14, it got a one-line mention on CCIW Chat. That's the general idea.

I'm willing to bet -- all together now -- all the corn in Manito that the number of people who read this room who give a rat's tuchus about women's track & field could fit into a Volkswagen Beetle with room left over.

[Gregory Sager]

Growing up in next door Glen Ellyn, it always seemed like Lee Pfund WAS Wheaton athletics. There were stories about him and his teams in the local paper all the time, and it always seemed like the story was about a Wheaton victory. Off the field and out of the gym, I'm sure he meant more to both the town of Wheaton and the College than simply being a successful athletic coach. Both communities have lost a treasure, and a winner in all respects.

Well said, Mark. Lee Pfund was a giant of CCIW athletics, and it was his tremendous Crusaders teams of the late '50s that put this league on the map as far as small-college hoops is concerned. He was a very nice gentleman -- I had the chance to converse with him once or twice at King Arena over the years after the late Dave Lawrenz had introduced us -- and I'm sure that the Wheaton College community will keenly feel his loss.

His death also subtracts one more member from the ever-dwindling roll of Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched for the Bums in 1945, finishing his one and only major-league season with a 3-2 record and a 5.20 ERA. I don't know how many Brooklyn Dodgers are still alive, but there can't be that many of them. (I suppose it's fitting that Lee Pfund is the only baseball coach to ever lead Wheaton to a CCIW title in that sport, which he did back in 1951.)

Peace to his memory.

[iwumichigander]

While I'm usually the first to complain about iwu70's boosterish digressions, in this case I have to defend him with specific regard to the women's outdoor track & field thing. The unspoken tradition in this room has been that, while discussing in-season progress of other sports (a la iwu70) is discouraged, it's OK to make note on CCIW Chat of a national championship won by a CCIW school in another sport. For example, several of North Central's various cross-country titles have been noted here as they've been won.

(I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a case of "give him an inch, and he'll take a mile." )

Thank-you for posting this ...
because iwu70 has yet to note the individual first place finishes at the national track meet nor that Coach Chris Schumacher was recognized as the women's national coach of the year (and a third time winner of this award) nor those events where IWU placed multiple award finishers.  And oh yeah, a men's individual event national champion in the discus event.  I probably missed a few things but iwu70 will fill us in!

I'll begin the filling-in process for my erstwhile classmate.   Women's individual national champions were Amelia Glueck (long jump) and Molly McGraw (high jump) - both also setting IWU records.  (Those of you who follow women's basketball will be well familiar with Molly, who was 3rd team AC as a freshman, and 2nd team AC this year as a sophomore.)  Max Leonard was the men's national champ in the discus. 

Also kudos to sophomore Luke Winder of NCC, who has now swept the national titles in the pole vault both indoor and outdoor this year and last.

The national COY is voted by the coaches, but appears to be de facto almost as automatic as the CCIW men's basketball COY - Chris Schumacher's three COY awards are the same three years IWU has won the women's national title.  (Which is to take nothing away from Coach Schumacher - he recruited them, he trained them, he motivated them [though if they need motivation at the national finals, they were the wrong recruits! ])

And great thanks to ALL the Titan women who scored in the tourney - we needed every point!  We beat out Baldwin Wallace by ONE point, and Wash U by 3.

[BTW, Greg, IWU also won the national title in opera! ]

I said that the tradition was that we noted national championships in other sports, gentlemen, not that we described them in fulsome and excruciating detail. When NCC won its most recent x-country Walnut & Bronze in '14, it got a one-line mention on CCIW Chat. That's the general idea.

I'm willing to bet -- all together now -- all the corn in Manito that the number of people who read this room who give a rat's tuchus about women's track & field could fit into a Volkswagen Beetle with room left over.

Oh Pleez We all know iwu70, AndOne and particularly Mr. Ypsi are capable of more verbosely and minutely excruciating details than posted herein. The only other poster than can exceed them would be ... Sager.  And there is a lot of corn in Manito.

[joehakes]

Lee Pfund and my father were close during my dad's time at Wheaton.  I met Coach when I was a young boy and he was my idea of what a coach did and looked like growing up.   Talk to anyone who has any history at Wheaton and they will tell you that his interest in people far outstripped his coaching ability which was substantial.  Later on, I would go years without seeing him, but he always recognized me which was true of the thousands of people that get met. For years, he was the elder statesman of the NABC, which meant that he got the first Final Four tickets issued to the coaches. A wonderful man and a tremendous coach.  He will be missed.

[Gregory Sager]

Oh Pleez We all know iwu70, AndOne and particularly Mr. Ypsi are capable of more verbosely and minutely excruciating details than posted herein.

Shhh! Don't tempt him!

The only other poster than can exceed them would be ... Sager.  And there is a lot of corn in Manito.

Well, in theory, yeah. (The me thing, not the corn-in-Manito thing.) But I've never watched a women's track & field event, and I don't see myself writing copious posts about one in the future. In other words, I'm not in that Volkswagen Beetle.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oh Pleez We all know iwu70, AndOne and particularly Mr. Ypsi are capable of more verbosely and minutely excruciating details than posted herein.

Shhh! Don't tempt him!

The only other poster than can exceed them would be ... Sager.  And there is a lot of corn in Manito.

Well, in theory, yeah. (The me thing, not the corn-in-Manito thing.) But I've never watched a women's track & field event, and I don't see myself writing copious posts about one in the future. In other words, I'm not in that Volkswagen Beetle.

If I were an NPU guy, I probably wouldn't care about women's T&F either, but at IWU we dominate.   (NATIONALLY.  We dominate the conference even more in women's golf, but can't overcome the obstacle of not being able to play 12 months a year. )

And I challenge your presumption - I'm betting the number of readers of this thread who care about women's T&F would exceed even circus clowns' ability to fit into a VW Beetle.  We may be few, but we are not vanishingly few.

More importantly, I eagerly welcome almost ANYTHING to keep this board going during the off-season.  It could be best places to eat in each CCIW location, worst haircuts of CCIW coaches, best books you've read recently, whatever - just, please, no cobwebs in CCIW Chat!