BCU vs. Northwestern

When most people think about Briar Cliff rivalries, the first team that comes to mind is that team on the other side of Sioux City, the Morningside Mustangs. While that rivalry is "the big one" now, that has not always been the case. While the Chargers and Mustangs have faced each other since BCU first started their athletic program in 1966, for the first 30+ years those matchups were only significant for bragging rights because, at the time, Morningside was a member of NCAA Division II while Briar Cliff has always been a member of the NAIA so games were only scheduled when it was convienent for both schools.

Prior to Morningside joining the NAIA in 2003, the biggest NAIA rival for Briar Cliff was the Northwestern Red Raiders, and without a doubt, the sport that brings out the most competiveness in this rivalry has always been basketball. Both teams have historic baskteball traditions that include numorous NAIA National Tournament appearences, numorous seasons where their teams were ranked in the NAIA National Poll, and also times when either team has been ranked #1 in the nation (for those of you who don't know, Briar Cliff's men's basketball team was ranked #1 back in the 1981 final poll. The BCU women were ranked #1 in the late-1990s).

This rivalry has seen its share of great coaches, such as NAIA Hall of Famer Ray Nacke who coached Briar Cliff from the early 1970s to the late-1990s, and Todd Barry who prior to arriving at BCU 6 years ago spent 10 years as the head coach at Northwestern.

It has also seen its share of great players: Ray Nacke's Panamanian Pipeline of the late-1970s and 1980s including Eddie Warren, Mario Butler, Ernesto "Tito" Malcolm, Amado Martinez, Mario Galvez, and Rolando Frazer.

Finally it has seen some unforgettable moments, such as:
2007 when Briar Cliff came up one point short of upsetting Northwestern in Orange City.

The 2008 regular season where Briar Cliff upset #7 Northwestern in the NFC and kicked off a celebration that saw the BLUE CREW storm the court.

The 2008 GPAC Tournament Championship Game where over 150 Briar Cliff students drove through a blizzard to ORANGE CITY to watch the Chargers try and qualify for that year's NAIA Division II Tournament (I will not mention the result of that game).

For many Charger fans, these facts would be enough to get them going. But for me, this rivalry has even more meaning. I was born and raised in Hospers, Iowa, a small town located less than 10 miles away from the Northwestern campus. Many of my friends growing up were Red Raider fans, and some of them are currently students at Northwestern. For me, this rivalry is as big as the one we have with Morningside because when Briar Cliff wins, I have bragging rights over many of my friends back home, and when that doesn't happen, I have to hear about it from those same fans until the next time BCU and Northwestern square off.

So in conclusion, this rivalry with Northwestern is Briar Cliff's oldest, so let's get out there tonight and cheer on our Chargers to victory.

I'm DK and that's the 411!