MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

The new Augie logo:

http://www.augustana.edu/x36549.xml

[iwu70]

New IWU Football Stadium name tomorrow, too.  Before the first home contest vs. Hope tomorrow, the football stadium will become "Tucci Stadium" (pronounced "two-chee"), named for the benefactor and alum who has given an endowed professorship and also funded the new artificial turf and renovation of Wilder Field.  It is a very nice facility now, with this new surface etc.  Seems only Millikin has natural grass now, right?  Let the football begin!

[mr_b]

GO GO GO!!

Famous movie quotes - brought to you by Our House.

Really? I thought it was an endorsement for Dulcolax.

[huckleberry]

Here is link for updates on Wheaton C  (Dave Lawrenz)

http://www.drl12.org/

Continue to keep Dave in your prayers.

[Titan Q]

My parents, who have become close to Dave over the years, have been keeping me updated on his condition for the last few weeks.  I'm very thankful to have the above link now though - it provides great detail.  I did not realize how serious this situation was until the last call I got, about 2 days ago.  The words "life support" provide a whole new level of context.  Very scary.

Dave ("Wheaton C") is one of the first people I met via my association with the D3hoops.com CCIW message board, going back 13 years or so now.  He is a first-class individual and one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.  And boy does he love Wheaton College athletics...anyone who has ever sat with him down the stretch of a tight Thunder basketball basketball game knows exactly what I mean!

Let' all make sure to pull for Dave and his family as he deals with what sounds like a very, very serious situation.

[Titan Q]

I have some incredibly sad news to pass along.  Our good friend Dave Lawrenz passed away late this afternoon.  Completely out of the blue, Dave got very sick just a little over 30 days ago (starting with a fever).  After a couple weeks of tests, he was diagnosed with Still's Disease, which seems to be extremely rare in adults...and today he passed away.  The CCIW community lost a great man today.

Dave was a regular contributor to the board here for a number of years, posting as "Wheaton C", until he went to work for Wheaton College in 2003 as Regional Director of Development for the Southwestern United States.  He was a 1974 graduate of Wheaton and just absolutely loved everything about his alma mater.

13 years ago when I started posting here, Dave began e-mailing me and we quickly struck up a friendship.  We'd meet before and after each IWU/Wheaton game.  My parents got to know Dave as well from going to various CCIW games, and in time, they became close.  Dave provided them with season passes to Wheaton basketball games each season, and they'd sit together during several games each year.  Just a little over 30 days ago, Dave and Ann visited my parents new home in the SW suburbs.

Several posters here have a similar story I'm sure.  Dave loved meeting other contributors to the board and talking about the CCIW and Division III.  Dave was kind of the center of wheel here - everyone knew him, sought him out at Wheaton (and other) games, and considered him a friend. 

I'll remember Dave for the smile that was always on his face, for his humility, for how passionate he was about Wheaton College (including how nervous he was watching the Thunder play), and for allowing me to see CCIW athletics as being about way more than just athletics.  When I think of Wheaton College basketball, I think of Kent Raymond, Joel Kolmodin, Nate Frank, and all of the great players I've watched...but I'll always think of Dave Lawrenz first.  He was just an absolutely wonderful person.

Please keep Dave's wife Ann, his 3 kids, and the Wheaton College community in your prayers. 

(I'm guessing the link below will be updated with details.)


http://www.drl12.org/

[74impala]

Well said Titan Q.  The Wheaton College community has lost a good man.

[Pat Coleman]

Really, all of the CCIW has lost a great man here. The few posts that Dave made after we transitioned to this forum software don't even come close to showing the impact he had on this board over the years. He was a great member of this online community when it was first getting going, from 1999 on.

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=67

[iwumichigander]

Wheaton C - sadly missed.  I thought Dave was one of the more level headed, informed posters on this board and a great person.

[Gregory Sager]

This is hard for me to take. Dave was one of my favorite people. One of the best things about seeing a game at King Arena was getting a chance to hang out with Dave and talk basketball with him, or CCIW sports in general (the burgeoning rivalry between NPU and Wheaton in soccer opened up a whole new field for our banter!). He loved Wheaton sports with a passion, but he never let that get in the way of how he acted towards anybody who, like me, didn't feel the same way about his beloved alma mater. He was an unfailingly polite and good-natured Christian gentleman, and a walking advertisement for the kind of person that Wheaton College produces. He was also a good friend. He never hesitated to run out to his car with me to drive me to the Metra stop if a game ran late, and a few times we simply hung out together and had coffee after a game and talked about everything and anything besides basketball.

And I certainly wasn't the only person upon whom Dave had an impact. As Bob said, Dave was sort of the center of the wheel among CCIW basketball fans. If you were a long-time fan of a CCIW basketball team, chances are that sooner or later you crossed paths with Dave ... and you were the better for it. He always felt that the CCIW was a special league, and he wanted to help create a community of fans that reflected that. He was really one of the people who made this board what it is today, and he read it avidly even after going into self-imposed exile as an active poster when he went to work for Wheaton.

I will really miss him. Heck, I miss him already. Trips out to Wheaton for basketball games just won't be the same for me anymore.

I hope that his many friends and acquaintances will reach out to Ann and his family and show their support. Visitation and memorial service times are posted here.

[Gregory Sager]

One more addition to NPU's freshman class; 5'11 guard Mike Rice of Evanston Township HS cleared some last-minute financial paperwork and is now enrolled at the Park and on board the Viking longship.

[kenoshamark]

Sad indeed and my condolences to his family.....I met Dave back 11 or 12 years ago as well and have very fond memories of seeing him at the Wheaton games. I remember being at games where multiple posters would show up and Dave would point them out and made sure we would get together and talk.  Been trying to think of what else to say but I know I can't sum it up any better than what Bob and Greg did (thank you both).  I guess the only other thing I would add is if someone were to ask me to describe Dave in two words I would have used what Greg already pointed out....Christian gentleman !!!

[Titan Q]

The obituary for Dave Lawrenz...

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyherald/obituary.aspx?n=david-robert-lawrenz&pid=153494018&fhid=2048


Still hard to believe.

[iwu70]

I'm very sorry to hear about Dave.  A big loss for us all.  A truly kind man, a great Wheaton supporter, and a sportsmanlike gentleman always.  My support and deep condolences go out to his family and to all the Wheaton community on this loss. 

IWU70

Too much sadness today, with 9/11 remembrances, news about death of Dave and also another dear friend, former colleague in the United Methodist Church, dying of cancer in Colorado early this morning, only age 58, with three daughters.  Really too much for one day. 

ms

[AndOne]

North Central has added Ian Franks to its basketball coaching staff for the 2011-2012 season.

Ian, who will be this season's graduate assistant coach, played at last year's national runner up, College Of Wooster (OH.). In his senior season of 2010-2011, he led the Fighting Scots in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (6.4 rpg), and assists (3.4 asp), and was named a D3Hoops 1st team All-American. He was a 4th team selection in 2009-2010.   

Ian will be a great addition to head coach Todd Raridon's staff, and those of us who support the Cardinals welcome his contributions.

http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/releases/20110713aimy33