Four Division III football conferences are joining the ever-growing number of leagues sponsoring postgame bowls, as the Ohio Athletic Conference, Presidents' Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference will square off this November in Canton.
It's listener suggestion time, and you paired us up with new Wittenberg coach Jim Collins and new Ithaca coach Michael Toerper. Witt played in four Stagg Bowls in the '70s and Ithaca played in four of the first eight. Plus we tackled surprise playoff teams, how the pandemic changed D-III and whether it is better for a struggling program to play nine games or play a 10th vs. a juggernaut.
After 25 seasons, Joe Fincham, who currently is 10th among active Division III football coaches in career wins, is calling it a career at Wittenberg, and his replacement is a storied former Division III coach as well.
We had some great games and some upsets in Saturday's afternoon but things really came alive after dark. Whitworth snapped an 11-game losing streak to Linfield, Wheaton retained the Little Brass Bell with authority, Wittenberg outlasted Denison and Trine claimed an early conference title showdown in Top 25 action.
The Tigers ended up on top last season after the NCAC standings got a bit messy. This year, Wittenberg's key cogs are a year older and are in a position to avoid the mess altogether. More in Around the Great Lakes.
For teams that needed until the final play to wrap up Saturday's first-round games, what comes next is putting the drama behind them and getting ready for the second round. More in a Road to Salem feature by Adam Turer.
When Denison kicker Connor Dunn’s 33-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 21 seconds left, Wittenberg thought that was it for the season. Fortunately for the Tigers, they were able to regroup, and things fell into place around them.
At Wittenberg, or Lake Forest, a helmet sticker hardly suffices to counteract the emotion of losing a teammate. But both teams are dealing with the loss in the best way they know how.
Saturday showed that Top 25 teams are far from infallible. Seven teams had to eke out single-digit victories, while three others fell to unranked opponents. As the line between the Top 25 and everyone else blurred, the top four purple powers showed why they are perennial Stagg Bowl contenders. That and more in Snap Judgments.
St. Thomas didn't need its All-America running back on Saturday to beat its archrival, UW-Whitewater downed the NAIA's No. 2 team and Wittenberg knocked off Wabash. More in Saturday's Top 25 roundup.
An injury early in his career nearly cost him more than just a season of football, but Evan Killilea recovered and has come on strong to lead Wittenberg's defense.
Hobart survived on the road at St. Lawrence, while Ithaca shut down St. John Fisher and Wittenberg held off Wabash in the NCAC. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins clinched as well, while St. John's put itself on the doorstep.
Division III has changed so much just in the 15 years of D3football.com, but it was a different experience entirely in decades past. Read more about it in the words of former Wittenberg quarterback Bill Hauser.
When Wittenberg and Mount Union take the field together Saturday, it will be for the first time since 2001, and in front of a big crowd. More in a Road to Salem feature.
The first round of playoffs had a couple of thrillers, with Ithaca, Franklin and Wesley rallying, as well as St. John Fisher doing what St. John Fisher does in November. That and more in our full wrapup.
OAC, PAC, NCAC, HCAC going bowling
January 09, 2024Four Division III football conferences are joining the ever-growing number of leagues sponsoring postgame bowls, as the Ohio Athletic Conference, Presidents' Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference will square off this November in Canton.
