2015-16 DK Fan of the Year

Normally I would've posted this sooner, but time just has a way of flying and, next thing you know, it's July and I realized that this year's Fan of the Year hasn't been crowned yet.

So here we go, last year Jenni Semprini became the first DK 411 Fan of the Year winner thanks in large measure to her many years of following BCU athletics.  Well this year's winner earned it for similar reasons.

One of the problems I had this year was the fact that towards the end of the basketball season, multiple people were starting to make their case to earn the title, but I ultimately decided to go with a senior who has been Bringing the Noise for a couple of years now.

So the winner is...CHRIS SCHMIDT!!!

Chris (joined in the photo by basketball player Clay Herrald) spent the first part of his time at BCU as a member of the Charger JV Basketball team, and was serving as a student assistant for the varsity until this spring when he became a player on the school's first men's volleyball team.

The main thing Chris had going for him when it came to winning this award was the fact that he spread his support between a number of sports.  I've seen him at soccer, volleyball, and basketball games (including the women's games which are easier to pick out because most students haven't been supportive enough to show up and watch the ENTIRE women's game).

There were many other worthy candidates that will have a chance to battle for the title again in 2016-17, so let the competition begin once again.  I will be watching.

I'm DK and that's the 411.

2014-15 DK Fan of the Year

Now that you have had a history lesson when it comes to the legacy of this award, it is time to add a new member to the club.  I'll admit that it was a tough choice to make because there were a few different people who stuck out this year and deserved this award, luckily most of them are underclassmen and will probably have another shot at winning it in the years to come.

In this case, seniority and longevity were the factors that led to this person receiving the award for this year.  And so, the 2014-15 DK Fan of the Year is......

Jenni Semprini
Jenni (on the left in the stripes) earned the award this year because of her consistent attendance at BCU games throughout the years and the energy she brought to the student section.  Unlike most students, Jenni got her start before she enrolled at BCU because her older brother Kyle was a member of the men's basketball team from 2007-11.  A member of the Charger women's volleyball program, first as a player and finishing up as a student assistant, Jenni has never been afraid to get into the games or to try and stand out in the crowd (as the referee costume clearly shows).  For these reasons, Jenni has earned the right to be named Fan of the Year.

DK Superfan of the Year Award Legacy

Back in August, I announced on here that I was going to revive the old Briar Cliff Fan of the Year Award.  Well, the time is here and I feel that I've seen enough to crown someone as the award winner.

Before I do that I am going to talk about previous award winners from when BCU actually gave this award out, and also name guys as winners for the years between when BCU stopped giving it out and this year so that the award winner can have some idea of the exclusive club he/she is joining.  So here we go with a trip down Memory Lane:

2008 BCU Fan of the Year:  Dennis Klein

Call me crazy, but it only seemed right to start the Legacy part of this post with the guy who actually writes this blog...ME.  I won the award in 2008 when I somehow beat out two seniors, Jason "J-Man" Pulliam and Larry Caouette, both of whom I've always said deserved the award more than me because they were my mentors and helped make me into the Superfan that I became over the years.  One thing you will notice about the photo (which was taken at Homecoming if I remember right) is that there is no hardhat.  That's because the hardhat came to be the following year after I had won the award.

2009 BCU Fan of the Year: Anthony "Donut" Cosentino

 Donut (right with the hair) arrived at BCU the year after I did, and knowing that I was ineligible for the award in 2009, I nominated him for the award due to his costumes, his passion throughout the year in multiple sports to cheer on the Chargers, and because I saw a lot of myself in him and thought there was a little tag-team style thing forming.  Well, that didn't end up working out, even though he graduated from BCU two years after he won the award, Donut basically disappeared from the sports fan scene.  I never really got a clear answer as to why it happened.  I know he was involved in track and field, and he probably also had some class commitments that got in the way (I know there were times when I was late to games at different times due to night classes).

Due to these events occurring, I've decided to re-issue the award with a DK Fan of the Year award for the 2008-09 school year.  Ironically, the award will go to the guy who is in the photo with Donut:

2009 DK Fan of the Year: Derek "DC" Christoffel
DC was a year older than me in school (Class of 2009), and he caught the passion from the same upperclassmen that I did when it came to supporting the Charger teams with everything you had.  A lot of the groups that I ran with were the same as him around campus, such as the Rohe's Boys and I always consider him one of the early members of the Soccer Hooligans as well, even though that group didn't really take off until after his graduation.  He was also one of the original "Blue Crew Coordinators" and is one of the few people to hold that position that actually understood what the original purpose of the Coordinators was, which was to organize the Blue Crew's chants and stunts to make the NFC more intimidating for opposing teams that came in (although other coordinators have chosen to focus on publicity stunts like Lucky Duck Chuck and Shot From the Seat instead).  Therefore he is getting the DK Fan of the Year Award for all the work he put in over those years.

2010 BCU Fan of the Year: Jason Wesselmann:
Jason (Class of 2010) was the final winner of the award before BCU decided to stop giving it out. I don't think I'm making anything up when I say that most people around BCU athletics didn't vote for him to win the award, and were shocked when it was given to him.  One reason he won it was because of a decision made by the people in charge of the award.  Going into that spring (that was the time of year that the award was presented), when the nominations started coming in, most of the coaches and athletes were nominating the same person for the Fan of the Year Award...DK.  Since I had already won it a couple years earlier, Mariann Pesky, who was in charge of the award, didn't really want a multiple time winner because she felt that I would just keep getting the award every other year and wanted to make the award more competitive.  So she met with me and explained how she felt.  I understood where she was coming from and agreed to a compromise where I would be one of the nominees for the award, but the person that I had nominated would win it.

The reason I nominated J-Wess was because, although he wasn't as high profile of a fan as I was (his style was more laid-back and subtle), for the four years he was at BCU, he was always there at the games and doing what he could to support the teams.  He was also consistent in showing up for some of the sports that other students didn't always attend such as baseball and track and field.

2011 DK Fan of the Year: Matt Boubel

Although most people have always said it'll be a long time before another Superfan of my caliber comes along, we came about as close as possible with this guy.  A native of San Antonio, Texas; Matt came to BCU as a member of the soccer team and began to learn the ways of the Blue Crew at that time very quickly.  After a waiting for about half a season for the other upperclassmen to join me and DC in the leadership role of the Crew, Matt and some of his soccer teammates got tired of the quiet student section at home games and took matters into their own hands.  Combining what they had learned from the 2007-08 Crew, and adding some elements from their experiences in soccer supporters sections at US national team games, the Soccer Hooligans were born.  As the years went on and their courage got stronger, the Hooligans began to add a new feature to their arsenal during games...costume themes.  Matt got the ball rolling on this part unintentionally during a Blackout game during the 2009-10 season, when he wore one of those black spandex body suits, which has lived on in BCU folklore because our athletic director was throwing a fit for most of the game because he felt the suit was too tight and too revealing.  Other themes followed, including suit jackets, ugly Christmas sweaters, and then came the most popular and legendary theme of them all, the throwbacks.  This occurred during the Mount Marty game and, in some ways, allowed Matt to get the last laugh for the Blackout controversy because the uniforms that Matt and the guys wore were way tighter and probably more revealing than the spandex ever did.

Matt was my nomination for the Fan of the Year Award, but I was informed that the award had been discontinued but was never given an exact reason for why that was.  So now he is getting the credit he deserves by becoming the 2010-11 DK Fan of the Year recipient.

2012 DK Fan of the Year: Chase Biermann

 

The brother of BCU Hall of Fame volleyball player Renee Biermann, Chase was around BCU athletics for a few years before arriving as a member of the soccer program.  He was one of the founding members of the Soccer Hooligans and during the 2011-12 season, and took over as one of the leaders of the group following the graduation of the senior founding members.  Some of Chase's trademarks that set him apart were the glasses he would wear during games (whether they were real or not I'm not sure) and whenever the ref would make a questionable call he would take off the glasses and hold them toward the ref who made the call, offering them so that the ref would call a better game, and also that he was always willing to lead the "Charger Power" chant (based off of Nebraska's "Husker Power" chant often heard during games at Memorial Stadium).

2013 DK Fan of the Year: Kevin Cannady

A member of the Charger football team, Kevin was at his best during the basketball season.  Unlike a lot of BCU students, Kevin was known for showing up and cheering on the women's team as well as the men's team and for cheering on the plays of guard Kelsey Evans with the call of "I see you 4!".  Another thing that made Kevin stick out from the rest of the Blue Crew in those days was that he would stick around Sioux City during Spring Break and cheer on the Chargers women's team during their National Tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013.









2014 DK Fan of the Year: "Charger" Tim and "North High" Mark

As you may recall, the 2013-14 season was not exactly a banner year for BCU Basketball.  The men's team was going through a transition year without any seniors and with a larger than normal amount of underclassmen starting on the varsity, and the women's team saw the injury bug strike some key players throughout the season along with a string of close losses.  Unfortunately, the tough seasons also saw a drop in student attendance at the games, so I decided to give the Fan of the Year Award to two regular guys as a reward for the loyalty they have showed over many years.  "Charger Tim" (the guy in the yellow) and "North High Mark" (the guy in the blue), you probably recognize Mark as a member of the Dining crew at the Stark Center, have been a regular site at their usual front row/half-court seats of the NFC for longer than I've been following the Chargers.  They rarely miss a home basketball game and can also be seen in attendance at other BCU events such as volleyball, baseball, and softball games.  They are also season ticket holders for the Sioux City Bandits where they cheer on former Chargers like Jon Smith, Drew Prohaska, and Bret Van Muyden with a group of friends every spring and summer.

So that's the legacy that the 2015 winner with be joining in the upcoming post.

I'm DK and that's the 411!

Reviving the Fan of the Year Award

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since the Briar Cliff Athletic Department has awarded a Fan of the Year Award at their annual Champions of Character banquet.

For those of you who weren't around back then, the award was presented to two students (one male one female) and also to an adult (usually a member of the administration or faculty).

I was fortunate to win the award back in 2008 when I won it over two other nominees (Jason "Well-Spoken Token" Pulliam and Larry Caulette) who I will always say deserved it more than me because they were two guys who I consider mentors when it came to my development into the BCU Superfan, and because of the fact that I was only a sophomore and those two guys were seniors.

Because of the long time that has passed without BCU reviving the award, even though I have tried to convince them to bring it back, I have decided to take charge and give out my own award, the DK FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD.

The criterium for winning this award is simple:

1) The winner must be a BCU Charger fan.

2) The winner must have a regular attendance at BCU sporting events (although I will admit that basketball season will probably carry a little more weight since those are the games I am able to attend the most regularly)

3) While attending these games, the winner must be someone who BRINGS THE NOISE and is an active participant in supporting the Chargers throughout the game.

I will decide the winner of the award at the end of the school year (most likely in late-April or May).

I'm DK and that's the 411!

Top 5 BCU Fan Groups

With the Briar Cliff offseason known as Summer Vacation coming up, I've decided to look back at my six years as the BCU Superfan and choose the top 5 Briar Cliff fan groups.  Now when I say fan groups, I don't mean the Blue Crew.  Pretty much every group on this list is a branch off of the Blue Crew that has chosen to take on a different form to better express themselves.  Also, the names that I'm giving these groups are the names that I have come up with to best describe them, unless otherwise said.  So here is the Top 5 BCU fan groups:

#5 The Football Guys (2009-present)

Although these guys have only been around for a couple of years, they have helped get the football team back involved during sporting events other than the football games.  They started showing up during last season and began making an impact on games through trash-talking the opposing players and sometimes the coaches.  They will also occasionally take shots at the officials, but that's only saved for extreme situations where they feel the Chargers are getting screwed.  Another positive feature is that they support both the men's and women's basketball teams, while most students tend to show up during the 2nd half of the women's game but in plenty of time for the men's game.

The times where these guys came through the biggest was during the last two NAIA Women's National Basketball Tournament.  As most of you know, when BCU switched to semesters in 2011-12, it caused Spring Break to hit right in the middle of the National Tournament.  These guys have stuck around during the past two tourneys when the Chargers have made deep runs to the Fab Four and Elite Eight.

#4 Class of 2007 seniors (2002-2007)

This particular group is very special to me because their leadership during my freshman year was a major contribution to my development as a die-hard Charger fan.  These guys usually showed up just a few minutes before the men's game would start and would immediately take over the second row of the old Blue Crew section (for you younger readers, the Blue Crew was originally located behind where the Briar Cliff bench is currently located).  The moment that stands out in my mind when it comes to these guys is the Saturday afternoon shown in the photo above.  This was Homecoming Weekend and the Hastings Broncos were in town.  Just before the game started, the guys started marching in in full body paint spelling out CHARGER (they didn't have enough guys for the S).  During the 1st half of this game, one of our guys was elbowed by a Hastings player, we assumed accidentally, without a foul being called.  A few minutes later, right in front of us, another BCU player was elbowed by the same guy, resulting in a broken nose.  As soon as this one occurred, Anthony Dvorak (the guy wearing A in the photo) pulled out the roster sheet and found the guy's name was Scott.  The rest of the game consisted of us just riding this guy with all kinds of crazy lines (although I will point out not a single curse word was uttered by the group).  At the time, the movie Eurotrip was still popular, so at one pont, when Scott committed a foul, as the guys were mocking him with different lines, I just happened to the question "Hey Scott, don't you know the rules" and something clicked in all our heads and we started chanting a line from the movie "SCOTTY DOESN'T KNOW, SCOTTY DOESN'T KNOW" at him. The only thing that didn't work out for us that game (which BCU won), was the fact that the game ended with Scotty having only 4 fouls, because we were praying to give him a fond farewell when he fouled out.

#3 Tim and Mark (aka the Diehards)

These two guys (just for reference in the photo Tim's the guy in yellow and Mark's the guy in blue) have been attending Briar Cliff sporting events for many many years (way longer than me).  They try to show up during all sports, but they're main time of year is basketball season.  They are usually the first people not working during the game to show up at the NFC on game night (I'm usually the third) and take their familiar position right at mid-court.  They also travel to road games that are close by, such as NWC, Dordt, and Midland (I'm not counting that school across town).  They are also big supporters of other teams in Sioux City, especially the Bandits indoor football team.

#2 The Soccer Hooligans (2009-2013)

I'm gonna be honest, ranking the top two groups was one of the toughest decisions I've had to make since I started this blog.  The main factor that this came down to was a simple question: "When I look back on the best example of Charger fans, who do I think of first?".  With that in mind, I have decided to place the Soccer Hooligans at #2.  These guys started out as ordinary members of the Blue Crew for the first couple years that they were at BCU.  However, starting with the 2008-09 season, they started to take on more of a leadership role in the Crew.  Originally known simply as "Those soccer guys" to most of the fans, they got their name following a game where the officiating was, well let's just say, questionable.  Following the game a certain BCU Athletic Director walked up to me after they had already left and said, "I'm counting on you to keep those soccer hooligans in line" and thus, the name was born.  The following season (2010-11) they took their game to another level.  It started out at the final home game before Christmas Break, when they suddenly showed up in classic Christmas sweaters, this was followed by a couple other theme nights before what is probably their most remembered theme, Throwback Night.  This year marked an interesting point in this groups history, as the remaining original hooligans are graduating, so it will be interesting to see if the younger guys step it up and continue this legacy.

#1 The Rohe's Boys (2003-08 season)

And now for the Number One fan group during my time at Briar Cliff, the one, the only ROHE'S BOYS!

Although the name and the trademark yellow t-shirts didn't come around until the 2007-08 season, this group of mostly seniors spent all four years bringing the noise to the NFC, even though they only saw a winning season in that final year.

This group came together when the majority of them were assigned to the same floor during their freshmen year, and one of their fellow freshmen, Neil Rohe (for you younger Chargers that's Eric's older brother) started to see significant playing time on the varsity team.  The guys had talked about doing t-shirts dedicated to Neil since that freshmen season, but had always backed away from actually doing it.  Finally, in their senior season, they decided it was time to do it.  With seniors Nick West and Jason Pulliam (known to the Blogger world as "Well-Spoken Token") leading the way, the group chose to have the shirts be bright yellow to make themselves stand out from the Blue Crew.  After the original group received their shirts, West and Pulliam decided to include some younger fans in the group who had proven their loyalty and determination to support the Chargers, including a young sophomore who would eventually become known as the BCU Superfan. When it came to the gameday performance of the group, these guys had the full arsenal.  They could get the Blue Crew to follow them on cheers, were masters at heckling opponents and getting them off their game, and were known to ride the referees whenever necessary.  But when I think of the Rohe's Boys, there is one moment that stands out more than any other:  It was the GPAC Semifinal round, and BCU was still on Spring Break and the dorms were not open. BCU had finished 5th in the conference and had just knocked off Dordt in the quarterfinals to set up a third showdown with "that school across town not called WIT" who were ranked #1 in the country at the time.  In a move that I don't think has ever been matched, every single one of the Rohe's Boys travelled from wherever they had been spending Spring Break and showed up at Allie Gym to cheer on the Chargers.  That dedication was rewarded when the Chargers upset the Chiefs by three, which led the Boys to storm the enemy's court in classic college basketball style.

I hope you've enjoyed this countdown, and I encourage you to comment below or on my Facebook page on any changes you would've made to the list, or any other stories about these groups that I may have missed.

I'm DK and that's the 411!

NAIA Volleyball Host Bid

Tonight, our Briar Cliff women's volleyball team completed a season sweep of "that school across town", however, even though this occurred and BCU also finished the regular season with a higher position in the GPAC standings, the Morningside Lady Chiefs will be the host school for the NAIA National Volleyball Tournament when it comes to the Tyson Events Center in November.

Now before you start asking about the GPAC Tournament, you are right.  IF Briar Cliff can win the GPAC Tournament, they would take the host bid away from Morningside.  But, with no offense intended at Coach Muhe or the Charger players, that is a very small possibility due to the competition that Briar Cliff would have to face in order for that to happen, including three teams ranked in the Top 25.

I'm sure you're asking how can this be?  Well that's why I'm here to give you the answer.

The first criteria used to determine the host bid is a simple one: The host team must have an overall record above .500.  This is the only criteria required by the NAIA because they don't want a team below that mark to qualify and get the crap beat out of them by the competition.  This is one condition that I agree with and it's for the same reasons the NAIA has stated.  The last thing I would want is for Briar Cliff to qualify for the Tournament and then go down in the group stage with embarrassing scores (and yes Charger fans, it can get worse than that Northwestern game at the NFC this year).

The second criteria used, and these were agreed upon by BCU and Morningside, the NAIA and GPAC did not have any say in these conditions when the tournament arrived in Sioux City a few years ago, is the two teams records against six "common opponents".  What this means is that the GPAC, who although they didn't have any say in the condition serves as a neutral supervisor to keep track of the criteria, keeps track of six conference games where both schools had the same opponent in the same home/away situation.  For example, if Briar Cliff hosted Dordt and Morningside also hosted Dordt then those games could be considered common opponents.  If BCU hosted Dordt but Morningside played Dordt in Sioux Center, then those games could not be used against each other.  Another condition is that head-to-head doesn't count as common opponent.

This common opponent rule was the one that gave Morningside the host bid because they finished with a record of 5-5 while Briar Cliff was only 3-7.

When I saw the criteria that was used to determine the host bid, the first thing I said was "What about head-to-head, shouldn't the matches between two teams battling for the bid have authority over common opponents?"

The answer I got came from the fact that the criteria was made years ago when the GPAC had two additional teams than it does now (Sioux Falls left for NCAA Division II, and Dana College in Blair, Nebraska closed suddenly a couple years ago).  Back then, there was a chance that Briar Cliff and Morningside would only face each other once in volleyball, so the schools didn't want the host bid to come down to a "sudden death" game.

While this made sense then, that rule should've been amended after the two schools left the conference and the GPAC moved to a home/home regular season where all the teams face each other twice.

So now that I've explained the current rules and conditions, I'm gonna give you what I think the criteria should be for the host bid:

1) The host team must have an overall record about .500.  This is a rule that the NAIA put in and it is a good one for the reasons I explained earlier.

2) HEAD-TO-HEAD: If one school sweeps the other school in the two matches where we square off, then that school should earn the bid as long as they fulfill the first condition.  If the two teams split the season series and then face each other in the GPAC Tournament, that game would serve as a "sudden death" match to determine the bid.

3)  GPAC STADINGS: If the two schools split the head-to-head match-ups, and there is no match in the GPAC Tournament, the school that finishes higher in the GPAC should be the one to earn the host bid.

4) COMMON OPPONENTS: If both schools finish tied in the GPAC standings, THEN you go to the Common Opponents that are currently used.

So in conclusion, I'm asking, no BEGGING, Briar Cliff President Bev Wharton, Athletic Director Steve Gast, and head coach Jill Muhe, along with their contemporaries over at Morningside, to amend their rules for the host bid and put in criteria that ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE!!!!!!

I'm DK and that the 411!

DakotaDome Debate

Well, after a few weeks of being asked for my reaction to the recent news coming out of the football program at BCU the time has finally come for me to give my answer.

First off, I'll set the stage. For those of you who haven't heard (and there are more that you'd think) the Briar Cliff athletic department has recently announced that the Charger football team will play one game at the DakotaDome on the campus of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion (39 miles from Sioux City) during this season and, starting in 2013, will play their home games exclusively in Vermillion, leaving their home since the program's beginnings Memorial Field in Sioux City. Athletic Director Steve Gast and head coach Tom Rethman have said that the move into a Division I-AA stadium will improve recruiting and the credibility of the football program as well as expand the fan base that Briar Cliff has in the region. Gast has also been quoted as saying that this will be "one of a network of connected, and often shared, sites where we teach, learn, work, compete and recreate" and that the Dome will "provide a tremendous game-day environment for our football team, our opponents, our students, fans and everyone associated with BCU football." During the same interviews Gast talked about this being an interim step in a plan that ultimately will end in the team moving to a stadium either on-campus or in the Sioux City area. 

Now that I've told you what's going on, here's my take: For starters, I first heard about this back in March (a couple months before the official announcement was made), but at that time the plan was to play one game at the Dome each season and play the rest at Memorial Field. When I heard this I liked the idea. Playing a home game at a separate site from your official home field is nothing rare in college football. This even happens at the NCAA Division I-A level (Florida-Georgia @ Jacksonville, Oklahoma-Texas @ Dallas, and Arkansas plays one home game in Little Rock).

Now when the announcement came that BCU was going to move to the Dome exclusively in 2013, my reaction was just a little bit different. And all I have to say to Athletic Director Steve Gast is WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!!!

While I will agree that Memorial Field is not the best place for a college football team to call home (especially when the weather is not the best and also in November after BCU and Heelan have played on it week after week) AT LEAST IT'S IN SIOUX CITY!!!! Our football fans in the community and our students ARE NOT going to travel 39 miles from Sioux City and Briar Cliff campus to watch a Briar Cliff HOME football game. I don't care if we're moving to the DakotaDome or (Bleeping) Notre Dame Stadium, they just won't do it. Busing from campus to the games might get some but come on, if the students won't go to games just down the road at Memorial where they can hang out in the parking lot during halftime and go across the street to Applebee's if the game gets out of hand, then what's going to make them hop on a bus or carpool to Vermillion to watch a game indoors? Also, you say that this will expand the fan base in the region, then answer this question for me, What football fan (not counting families of team members and coaches) is going to come to the DakotaDome to watch a team that has gone from 5-6 in 2006 to 2-9 in 2012 and has never had a winning season in 10 years of football?

Now Steve Gast also mentioned that this was an interim site until a new stadium can be built either on-campus or in the Sioux City area. That one is almost too easy to counter. Back in 2005, when Trent Johnson was talking to me about possibly coming to Briar Cliff to continue my education following high school, he kept bringing up the fact that Briar Cliff was going to be improving the facilities on campus, especially at Heelan Hall. Now the plans for a new addition didn't come out until a couple years later, but BCU was using this as a recruiting tool for prospective students for years with little to no progress being made until construction finally started in 2011. Another example is how from 1982, when the Newman Flanagan Center opened, until 2010 the floor the basketball and volleyball teams play on went through very little change in terms of look and also in upkeep. By 2009, the floor had numerous dead spots and, most infamously, still had BCC, for Briar Cliff College (not Chargers like the school claimed after the change to BCU) on the center court circle. My point is that every upgrade that the school has added over the years to the campus has taken a long time to raise the money for. And even if we could build a stadium on-campus, there is still the problem of the city ordinance against our on-campus fields having lights for night games. I've lost count of how many times we've finished a soccer doubleheader with light so dim that the light from the scoreboard glowed on the ground in front of it, or how we've had to suspend baseball games due to the sun going down so far that it was a safety hazard for the players.

So in conclusion, the idea of moving home football games to the DakotaDome is not only a mistake, it is PROGRAM SUICIDE!!!! Instead of increasing our fan base within the region will isolate the fan base that we already have because our team will not be in its key market. It will also hurt the program's connection to the student body because they won't travel 39 miles to watch a team play their home games.

Now while there are no easy solutions to this situation, a solution could be started with one simple move: Form an agreement with Heelan to raise the money together to install FieldTurf on Memorial Field. This move would improve our current facility significantly and would prevent the wear and tear that the field goes through every fall. It is also a solution that has been proven, not only in college football, but in the GPAC itself as both Morningside and Northwestern, who also share their fields with high school teams, have installed FieldTurf at their stadiums to compensate for the extra use. So my prediction for this move to Vermillion is that it will backfire on the football program and we will more than likely move back to Memorial Field with our tails between our legs in 2015.

I'm DK and that's the 411!

Senior Day

Today Briar Cliff University honored the four senior men's basketball players who's careers will end following this season. It is always an emotional time when you finally realize that the four years are just about over and that it's almost time to move on. In honor of these seniors, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about each one of our seniors from this season. While their careers can't truly be measured in statistics over the past four years due to the talented classes that came before them, they have each contributed to the legacy of Briar Cliff Charger Basketball in their own unique ways.

Tim Loan (55) is a great example of what patience and persistence will earn you. Tim spent 3 years on the Briar Cliff JV team, including his sophomore year which was cut short by injury. During those three years we were able to see Tim steadily improve as a post player and eventually earn the right to play significant varsity time during his final season here at Briar Cliff. I'm sure there were times during those JV years that Tim probably thought to himself "What am I doing here?" or "Will I ever get a chance to really show what I could do?" but he stuck with it and has shown his talents well during this season.

Brenton "Ziggy" Brown (15) is a JUCO transfer who only played two seasons in the blue and gold. Last season he saw more action and there were many times where he dazzled the crowd with his abilities. Although he hasn't seen the playing time that he wanted this season, he has come up big in some key situations to help the Chargers pull out victories, including some key shots during the upset wins over Dordt and Nebraska-Omaha.

When I think about Ben Sitzmann (23) the first thing that I thought was "Wasn't it just yesterday I saw him playing for Heelan in the Substate game over at Tyson Event Center? Where have these four years gone?"
Ben of course is the Hometown Hero of this class. Born and raised in Sioux City, he grew up where many of us were able to see him mature and improve his game during his time at Heelan. Those of us that were that lucky knew that if the improvement continued he would be a special player for Briar Cliff, and we were right. Ben has been a great player no matter what role the coaches needed him to play. Whether it was coming off the bench during his sophomore season or being a starter during his junior and senior seasons, Ben has always given the same blue collar effort that is a calling card for Siouxland basketball players over the years.

And then there's Eric Rohe (13). Eric's story is unique to this class because he is the only one who came to BCU with a family legacy to continue. For those of you who don't know, Eric's older brother Neil was one of Coach Barry's first recruits to come to BCU. During his career, which ended in 2008 (the spring before Eric enrolled at Briar Cliff), Neil amazed over 1,000 points for his career, was named an honorable mention All-American in his senior year, and helped lay the foundation for the success that the Charger program has experienced in recent years. More importantly than that is that Neil was known around BCU as one of the friendliest and active students on campus. It didn't matter whether you were a freshman or a grad student, Neil would treat you with the same respect and dignity that he treated everyone.
While Eric was not able to match Neil's basketball achievements, mainly due to the upperclassmen that were ahead of him for three years, he is a great example of never complaining, doing the jobs that he was asked to do, and for being an even better person off the floor to everyone around him, whether it was his best friend or someone he just met.

So what is the final legacy for the Class of 2012? In many ways it's too soon to tell since the postseason hasn't been played and we haven't been able to look back. In many ways, it's a question of "What might have been?" due to these guys having to sit behind the likes of Chase Vander Feen, Kyle Semprini, Matt Geelan, and James Larson for their first three years, but it's also a legacy of guys who took advantage of the opportunities that were given to them over the years and doing their best to make the most of them.

I'm DK and that's the 411.

Ray Nacke Day

Hey everyone,

Yesterday Briar Cliff University did something that they should've done a long time ago. The school officially dedicated the floor of the Newman Flanagan Center in honor of former head coach Ray Nacke.

By now most of you already have heard a lot about Coach Nacke's career, especially if you read the article in Saturday's Sioux City Journal [great job by BCU alum Michael (Mikey) Brauer] so I'll just state the basics.

When Coach Nacke got to BCU (BCC at the time), the school had only been coeducational for 5 years (1966) and the athletic programs were also that old. The basketball team had to practice in what is now the Briar Cliff theater, and those of you who have seen the theater (including the area behind the stage) know just how small that gym was. The team played their home games down at the Sioux City Auditorium (now the Long Lines Rec Center at the Tyson Events Center), not the worst facility in the world, but many people wished that BCU could play in an on-campus facility.

Coach Nacke took a mediocre program and eventually built it to a program that had 22 winning seasons, numerous District and National Tournament appearances, and of course his crowning achievement, the ability (and in his words luck) of being able to start the Panama Pipeline which brought great student-athletes to Briar Cliff.

Probably the best thing about the Nacke Era is that it has been used by coaches that have followed as a standard for what the expectations are for each BCU team that has followed. When Todd Barry took over the BCU program in 2004, Briar Cliff had fallen on hard times in men's basketball. One of the first calls Coach Barry made after taking the job was to the man he had coached against many times during his reign at Northwestern, and his good friend, Ray Nacke. Coach Barry used the Nacke Era to show the players that he brought in as an example of what Briar Cliff had accomplished and also set the tone for all the teams that played for him were to follow. This included hanging various pictures and newspaper/magazine articles (including one Sports Illustrated article which can be found here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124160/index.htm), and putting the names of many of Nacke's best players' (Galvez, Malcolm, Butler, and of course Rolando Frazer) names in the lockers of the current players, with each new varsity player having his name added to that locker.

The honoring of the Nacke Era continues with the "somewhat" new coaching staff. As soon as he was hired last March, Coach Nelson used the Nacke Era in just about every interview that he gave in those first few days. If that wasn't evidence enough of what Coach Nacke means to the current BCU team and fans, you just had to be at the Flanagan Center yesterday, as the whole Charger team formed a tunnel with the former Charger players as Coach Nacke and his family walked onto the floor for the dedication, and as members of the Briar Cliff student body wore throwback uniforms (many of which were actually worn during the Nacke Era) and chanting his name at the end of the game.

Many times in this country, people tend to look at the present and the future and leave the past for dead. We tear down old buildings to make room for new ones. But one thing is for certain, as long as they play basketball at Briar Cliff and as long as the Newman Flanagan Center is the home of Briar Cliff basketball, the name of Ray Nacke will live on in the hearts and the minds of all the members of the Briar Cliff family.

I'm DK and that's the 411.

I'M BACK!!

Hey everybody,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while (almost 2 years to be exact) but I am back now and hopefully will be posting more often.

I'm DK and that's the 411!

BCU/Morningside opinion

As most of you know, Briar Cliff came away with a split vs. Morningside tonight. The women lost, but they battled to send the game to overtime and then ran out of gas, which happens. The guys played a good game and I give full credit to the Mustang defense (commit this to memory cause I don't compliment Morningside often) for the good job they did on BCU.

As good as it was to beat Morningside for the third time this year, and in the case of the men's team three games in a row, the main reason for this post is to get on the one aspect of BCU that didn't show up at all during the game... The BLUE CREW.

Now before you start getting on me about the fact that it's finals week, don't even start because I get it. Heck I had two finals today including one that took place during the women's game, but I still found the energy to cheer on the Chargers all night and the fact that the opponent was Morningside gave me even more momentum. But apparently I was the only one who felt that way, because there was no life in the CREW at all tonight.

What happened to the days when opponents would be shaking in fear when they walked into the Newman Flanagan Center because they knew the BLUE CREW would be on them from pregame warmups til the postgame handshakes?

What happened to the days when the BLUE CREW would stand for the WHOLE 40 MINUTES regardless of whether the opponent was Morningside or York College?

Now don't give me that crap about being "too tired" because of studying and taking finals because that is just that CRAP! If you were really that tired, you never should've been at the NFC in the first place. You should've been back in your room sleeping, but you chose to show up to the game and as soon as you walked through those doors, you were expected to bring the noise.

Now maybe the problem is that you hear me use that term and don't know what it means. BRING THE NOISE is defined as making all kinds of noise during sporting events that supports the team you're cheering for and demoralizes the team you're cheering against.

Also I heard some people say they were afraid to get into it because their were a couple of policemen at the game. I understand this concern, but let me explain why there is no reason to worry. The police were at that game because of some incidents that have occurred over the years between students from both schools downtown on Saturday nights. Their main reason for being there is to prevent any fights from breaking out between fans and making the NFC look like the 700 Level at Philly's Veteran's Stadium. They will not bother you unless they are provoked which only occurs when heated arguments break out between fans, someone yells an f-bomb or something similar a little too loudly and usually only if it has occurred a couple of times, or if someone runs out on the court for no real reason. They WILL NOT bother you for heckling opposing players, as long as it is clean, chanting AIR BALL, cheering on your team, or standing up during play, not even if the old people complain about it to the cops (trust me I've seen it).

I do realize that some of you weren't here when the CREW was rocking the gym two years ago, but those of you who were here, the seniors and juniors are one of the main reasons this problem has come up. When those upper classmen that led the CREW when we were freshmen and sophomores were underclassmen, they stepped up once the guys they looked up to graduated and moved away, and when guys like Larry Caouette, Adam Robards, Roger Sandau, Anthony Dvorak, Travis Schumacher, Tuba, and "The J-Man" Jason Pulliam graduated two years ago, I knew without them even telling me that it was my time to step up and lead the CREW. The problem is that I seem to be the only one who realized this because not one other senior or junior has stepped up since that night in Orange City when the 2007-08 BCU men's basketball season came to an end.

So for those of you who weren't here, here is how it used to be. The BLUE CREW would stand for the whole game and cheer on the Chargers, acting like the Cameron Crazies jumping up and down when our team was on defense, and heckling the opponents by giving them nicknames like Rogaine, Showoff, etc; insulting them with phrases like Scotty Doesn't Know, or Air Ball; and distracting them during free throws with "The Ric Flair Scream", "Hey (name) I hear your sister's goin' out with Squeak", Psych, and the silent treatment (which was the only thing the CREW did tonight). When it came to Morningside it was even easier because we would use things that they had done downtown against them. We would also travel to road games that were close by like Northwestern, Dordt and Morningside, fill their gyms with Charger blue and out cheer their student sections, including one time at Dordt where there were only two of us because we were in the middle of a break and we still outcheered their student section of 30-40 people.

So the bottom line is that once this season ends, the torch is passed from me and the rest of the seniors to YOU to get this student section into it. And all I've got to ask is... Who's it gonna be? Who is willing to step up to the plate and get this CREW rocking again? Because from what I saw tonight, there is NOBODY willing to do that, and if nobody does than the Newman Flanagan Center will just be another boring crowd in the GPAC, just like Dordt, and just like Northwestern.

I'm DK and that's the 411.

BCU/Morningside

Well, it's that time again, when our Briar Cliff Chargers have to face our "friends" from across town, the Morningside CHIEFS (oops, I forgot they got rid of that name back in the 90s and are now the Mustangs).

When you think about it, our little rivalry with M'side (and any of you that know me know that I have a few different names I call that school that I can't use on this blog) is one of those rare ones in sports. There are not too many rivalries where the two teams are located so close to each other that they are actually in the same zip code and within 10 miles of each other.

When I think of this rivalry in the sport of basketball, my sophomore year (2007-08) is the first year I think of. The reason is simple, we played Morningside three times that year, our traditional two matchups with them in the regular season, and once in the GPAC Tournament semifinals.

Going into the basketball matchups, we had not defeated the Mustangs in any sport during the fall season, the closest opportunities coming in the two volleyball matches where BCU blew a 2-0 lead in games TWICE and in a 1-1 draw by the men's soccer team, and the wrestling team had been blown out in the first duel of the season. The basketball season had some added intensity because BCU guard Ian Banks had transferred to Morningside that summer and although he was required to sit out one season he was still looked on as a traitor by all of us BCU diehard fans.

The first game was played at the Newman Flanagan Center one week after BCU went on Thanksgiving break so only myself and a handful of BCU students were there to watch. The Chargers played well, but Morningside pulled away at the end to win by 12. The main memory I have about that game is the Morningside students at the game chanting "BC-Who" and the huge grin on Ian Banks' face, which made me feel sick.

As the season went on, BCU was beginning to make their presence known to the nation as an up and coming team. Less than a week after the M'side game, they came within a missed Neil Rohe buzzer-beater of defeating #1 MidAmerica Nazarene, and took nationally ranked Bellevue down to the wire. They were also winning GPAC games left and right leading up to the highly awaited rematch vs. Morningside at their house (this was the year before the two schools agreed to move one of the games to Tyson Event Center).

For this game, every diehard Charger fan in the student body crossed the border between the two schools and brought the noise with them (something that the BLUE CREW has lacked in the past two games at HOME). This time BCU was actually staying ahead of the Mustangs who were now ranked #1 in the nation and were undeafeted.

But then something happened that will live on in BCU/Morningside lore for years. With under 10 seconds left in regulation, Briar Cliff had a 3 point lead. Morningside heaved a couple of three point shots that missed but the ball got tipped back to Morningside's Johnson (sorry I can't remember his first name) who shot the ball falling into the crowd just as the buzzer sounded and, in what can only be described as a miracle shot, hit it to send the game to overtime.

The overtime was all Morningside because our boys were just out of gas after that miracle shot went in and Morningside cruised to win and lost only one game the rest of the season to win the GPAC regular season title.

For Briar Cliff, the rest of the regular season was pretty good, but they just couldn't seem to crack the Top 25 because they would lose at the wrong time. Going into the GPAC Tournament, all of us knew that BCU would have to win the whole thing to make the NAIA Divison II tournament in Branson. After a lopsided victory at home vs. Midland, the Chargers pulled out a nailbiter in Sioux Center against Dordt which set up another rematch with Morningside in the GPAC semifinals.

There many things that I will never forget about that day. The first thing was that Briar Cliff was on a break at the time and the dorms would not open until the next afternoon, but all of the best fans that led the BLUE CREW throughout the season were at the game. This included some that returned early from Chicago, Texas etc, and some of the greatest fans Briar Cliff has ever had, Jason "J-Man" Pulliam, Travis Schumacher, Nick West, Jesse Parra, Roger Sandau, and others. This game was a battle like the other two games and, just like the second matchup, came down to the final seconds.

Once again BCU had a three point lead with less than 10 seconds to play and once again Morningside had the last possession. This time however, the Mustangs didn't get a clear shot, the player who shot the ball had to split two Charger defenders and missed. The Morningside fans wanted a foul called on one of the two Charger defenders, but it didn't matter because HIS FOOT WAS ON THE LINE and the shot wouldn't have been enough to tie the game. As soon as the shot missed and the buzzer sounded, all I can remember is, since I was standing in the second row, pushing the student in front of me so I could get on the MORNINGSIDE court to celebrate with the rest of the BCU students and players who were already on the floor.

Even though that BCU team didn't make the NAIA Tournament, those matchups with Morningside were as good as any fan could ask for.

I'm DK and that's the 411

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!

BCU vs. Morningside

Yesterday, our BCU men's and women's basketball teams came through at the CNOS Classic by sweeping our "friends" from Morningside in a varsity double header for the first time since I've been a student here at Briar Cliff.

For our women's team, this win shows just how far they have come during this season. As most of you probably know, Morningside's women's basketball program is one of the most powerful in NAIA Divison II. They have been to the final four so many times recently that I've lost count and for most of the previous decade they have dominated Briar Cliff. But yesterday, our women proved that this new decade is going to be different. Late in the game, our women were trailing by double-digits to the Mustangs and many of us at Tyson, including myself, thought to ourselves "Here we go again, we gave Morningside a run for it but they're pulling away at the end." Then the Chargers battled back in the final two minutes to score 19 unanswered points to defeat Morningside 74-69.

For our men's team, it was pretty much business as usual, as the Chargers pulled away at the end to defeat the Mustangs 88-69 and capture their 3rd consecutive win over Morningside and their second consecutive win over the Mustangs at Tyson Event Center.

While it was almost impossible for me to be disappointed at all yesterday, I did find something that rubbed me the wrong way. During the women's game, there were only a handful of students in the arena. By the time the men's game started, the two sections behind BCU's basket were packed. I think it is time that the BLUE CREW starts supporting both teams. In past years, when the women's team was struggling to win games, I could understand students coming late to the first game and getting there in plenty of time for the men's matchup, but now that the women's team has found their rhythm and are ranked 15th in the NAIA National Poll, we need to show up and support them just like we do for the men.

Despite this, I'm going to end this post with a positive remark that I thought of when the game was scheduled at Tyson. "Even though it was Morningside's home game. Tyson Events Center is still OUR HOUSE!" This is a reference to the fact that prior to the Newman Flanagan Center opening in the mid-1980s, the Chargers used to play at the Sioux City Auditorium, which is connected to the Tyson Events Center and can be seen in Gateway Arena in the corner where the American flag is located.

I'm DK and that's the 411.

Briar Cliff Basketball

Going into the 2009-10 basketball seasons, I predicted that our men's team would build on their NAIA National Tournament birth last season by WINNING at least one of the GPAC Championships, either the regular season or the tournament, and return to Branson this coming March.

As we head into Christmas break, my predictions are looking very good as the team has only lost one game so far this season, they are currently undefeated at the Newman Flanagan Center, and as of this afternoon are ranked 10th in the national poll. Even though we lost guards Brett Ratcliff and Kelvin Adams, along with forward Derek Mechaelsen to graduation, the team has filled those gaps with sophomore guards Eric Rohe, and Ben Sitzmann step up after a year on the junior varsity, along with junior transfer Kyle Swanson, and freshman Micheal Collison adding height and strength under the basket to the roster. Along with the guys stepping up, returning starters Chase Vander Feen, Kyle Semprini have picked up where they left off last season. They are draining three-pointers left and right, and we'll have to see if they can break their own BCU records for three-pointers in a season.

As for the women's basketball squad, I really didn't expect anything special. The team was coming off a 13-18 season overall and 6-12 in the GPAC and I didn't really expect anything but minor improvement from that.

But I have never been more happy to admit I was WRONG. Mike Power's squad has exploded out of the gates with a 9-2 record overall and tied at #15 in the nation, which I might add is two spots higher than our crosstown rivals, and defending national champions, the Morningside Mustangs.

The Chargers' resurgence in women's basketball has a lot to do with newcomers Kela Cihak, Kylie Dilla, Britany Below, and Morgan Brown joining up with returning players Megan Salcedo, Christa Stewart, Michelle Determan, and last year's leading scorer Liz Grider.

While the basketball season is far from over, the Briar Cliff basketball as both of our teams appear to be contenders for National Tournament bids, but there is still a lot of work to do. We still have to face our traditional rivals Morningside and Northwestern twice, and are also looking at a rematch with the school that handed both BCU teams their first losses of the season, the Sioux Falls Cougars coming up in the next couple of months.

I'm DK, and that's the 411.