Wesley athletics file photo

By Greg Thomas
D3football.com

For the past 30 years, Wesley College football players and coaches have said the word “Together” every time they break. The past 12 socially distanced months have made all of us recalibrate our concept of togetherness, but at Wesley College, one of Division III’s cornerstone football programs is coming together one last time. 

We’ve known since July 2020 that Wesley College had been acquired by Delaware State University. Questions about not just the fall season, but the long-term future of Wesley athletics surrounded the program. Despite robust satellite university systems in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the prognosis for Wesley football after the acquisition had not been good. “The possibilities looked a little bleak,” Wesley coach Chip Knapp said, “because we haven’t seen a lot of precedent where one school acquires another school and keeps the acquired school’s athletic department.”

Marcus Gaspard looks to make the most of his remaining time at Wesley and has been working toward it. Twitter photo

While the long-term future of the program was in limbo, Knapp and the Wolverines focused in the short term on what they could control. “We were unsure about what was going to happen with the (fall) season and the future of Wesley, but we were being given positive messages about the possibility of keeping the program at Wesley so I put my head down and kept pushing forward and grinding like we were going to play the season,” senior defensive back Marcus Gaspard said. 

When the likelihood of a spring season was apparent, Wesley football went back to work. “We looked at it as a chance to develop our players, continue with their academics and make progress with their degree.”

Despite the finality of this spring’s games, Wesley has a lot to play for. 

“We want to be able to get our players out there and get their film out there. We also want to play good football and we want to play winning football. We want to uphold that tradition for our alumni. Developing our players and representing Wesley football are two of the main goals this spring,” Knapp said. 

Knapp was proud of the effort and attitude of his players during a difficult time. “There’s nothing to reference for this situation for a football program,” Knapp said. “We’re going to go through these stages of grief and that’s kind of what the team is going through. It’s a proud moment as a coach to see that even through adversity our guys are giving a great effort.”

Wesley football alumni have also been riding this emotional roller coaster. Bryan Robinson, D3football.com 2005 and 2006 South Region Defensive Player of the Year, told Around the Nation that he and many Wesley alumni are active in group chats and social media recalling their favorite moments as Wesley players. 

“We just talk about the good times and guys bring up different memories. Whether it is a game or a bus ride or a trip that we had. It’s been fun to play some of those incidents back,” Robinson said. “You don’t forget them, but you don’t think about them until somebody brings them up. It was initially rough, but more recently it’s been enjoyable that we can remember those moments and share them still.”

Robinson’s teammate on the 2004 and 2005 Wesley teams, wide receiver and return specialist Curtis Gore has also had to work through the moment with his own family. “My son is a big football fanatic and he loved Wesley. He went to the Wesley camps. I had to break the news to him and for it all to come to an end is just heart breaking.” 

Despite the understandable melancholy, Gaspard said that people may be surprised at the level of enthusiasm at Wesley practices this spring. “Our intensity level is through the roof at practice. We understand that there are only a handful of Wesley games left and that’s it forever. We obviously want to close this chapter of Wesley football and tradition by winning every game.”

The tradition that Knapp and Gaspard reference is one that very few in Division III have matched. Since the beginning of the 2005 season, Wesley has played in 14 NCAA championship tournaments. The Wolverines have played in six national semifinal games. They have won ten or more games 12 times. The only two Gagliardi Trophy winners from Wesley’s region, either South or East, have been products of Wesley College. There are really only three other programs in the division that can match this kind of consistent excellence. 

“We’ve been very proud of the consistent success that we were able to put out,” Knapp said. “We didn’t have one good senior class and then come back to the pack.”

If Wesley’s success is an outlier in Division III, I’m not sure we have the proper statistical terminology to describe their success relative to other programs that have been suspended or ended in recent years. 

“Having a good football team is an indication of the strength and stability of a school and unfortunately, in this rare occasion it wasn’t the case,” Knapp said. It is difficult to reconcile the incongruity of Wesley’s success in football and Wesley’s balance sheet difficulties as an institution. When viewed through that lens, it makes Wesley’s winning tradition all the more remarkable. Nobody has been able to achieve more with less than the program built by Knapp and the late Mike Drass. 

Any examination of the history and legacy of Wesley football would be incomplete without talking about Mike Drass. In fact, Wesley football may not have made it to 2021 without the tireless efforts of Drass. From filling 10-game schedules as an independent to building singular relationships with his players, the desire to finish strong is as much a tribute to Drass as it is to Wesley’s tradition.

Bryan Robinson and his classmates of 15 years ago elevated the Wesley program to elite status with back-to-back trips to the national semifinals. 2005 photo by Pat Coleman, D3sports.com

“What Coach Drass brought to us was a refuge,” Robinson said. “We trusted him with everything. And he was trustworthy and was there for everybody.” Drass’s personal connections with his players are a common thread that unites the Wesley football family. Despite scholarship offers after his immediate success at Wesley, Robinson reciprocated Drass’s trust and loyalty and stayed in Dover. 

The most recent generation of Wesley players have also been influenced by Drass. “Coach Drass was someone who would never let me quit and he saw so much potential in me. When he passed away, it left a burden on me to change my life around. He helped me change my life,” Gaspard said. “I’ve made huge strides in athletics and academics. I’m the Student Government Association president at Wesley College. I know he would be proud and I don’t know if I would have come this far without him.”

Drass’s impact on his players has endured well beyond their playing careers. “Coach Drass was the first person I called when I thought about going back to get my master’s,” Gore said. “I graduated in 2018 with my master’s degree. Coach Drass was the first one I saw when all the graduates walked off stage. I went to shake his hand and he slapped my hand away. He said ‘man don’t shake my hand, give me a hug brother, I’m so proud of you.’ ”

“What’s made this program is the great people and the great players we’ve had here,” Knapp said. “Our goal when we set out a long time ago was to give our players and everyone involved in the program a great experience. I think we’ve done that. We’re proud of what we’ve done here and we’re going to miss continuing to provide that experience to everybody.”

That experience extends beyond individuals enrolled at and employed by Wesley. “I’m from Dover. I’m born and raised here. What Wesley ended up meaning to Dover ...” Robinson paused. “I know a lot of people here love that football program and the sports teams in general. It’s been a ride that the entire city has been on. It’s going to change the town for sure.”

So what can we expect from Wesley during the final chapter this spring? Aside from expecting Wesley to win, Gaspard understands the magnitude of the moment. “Have fun, embrace and enjoy the Wesley tradition during these last games,” he responded when asked how the team will approach these final games. 

The recently announced NJAC schedule has Wesley’s final two games away from Drass Field, a situation that doesn't lend itself to proper closure. If there is an opportunity to add a game in April, Knapp would jump at the opportunity. 

“We’d love to do that,” Knapp said when asked about taking the program’s final snaps on Drass Field. “A fifth game would be great if we can find someone who is willing to come here and play that fifth game. Finding a team that is willing to add a fifth game in April may be a little difficult, but we’re going to try.”

It is little surprise that Wesley alums would welcome that opportunity as well. “I’m going to try my best to get there,” Gore said “We don’t know what the spectator policy is going to be, but if I’m able to I’m definitely going to make it up there.”

Wesley’s influence in Division III cannot be understated. They’ve spent time as the team to beat in two different regions. After reclassifying to the East Region in 2015, Wesley reset the bar for what East Region teams might achieve in the postseason. In addition, Wesley was the last truly great independent team the division had, accepting challengers located from coast to coast and from any division. During a period of time when Division III hyper-organized into AQ-eligible conferences, Wesley not only survived years of barnstorming, but, together, they thrived. And now, as the sun is setting on this storied program, we don’t know for sure if their final snaps will be played in Dover or in Newport News or somewhere else entirely. We can be sure though, that wherever it happens, the entire Wesley football family will, one way or another, share that moment.

Together.