Cardinal Sports Update Friday July 29,  2010

We here in the William Jewell College Athletic Department hope you are enjoying your summer.  The clock is moving rather quickly here as our fall athletes report to Jewell on Sunday, August 15.  Things have been busy in the department this summer and we wanted to take some time to share some of the things we have been working on.

William Jewell moves forward in NCAA membership candidacy process
William Jewell College has moved one step closer to Division II status in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

College officials were notified July 12 that Jewell has been approved to move to candidacy year two status as part of a three-year membership candidacy period. Under the membership timeline, Jewell would move to provisional year status in the 2011-2012 academic year after completing candidacy year two. Upon successful completion of the provisional year, the College would be invited to active membership in the NCAA Division II during the 2012-2013 academic year.

“We believe that this new affiliation is already enhancing William Jewell’s tradition of developing student-athletes who are both engaged in the classroom and competitive on the playing field,” said Dr. David Sallee, President of William Jewell. “We look forward to addressing membership requirements and progressing through the candidacy process.”

Dr. Darlene Bailey, Director of Athletics and Chair of the Department of Physical Education at William Jewell, added: “This is great news for the College. I appreciate the efforts of each of our coaches, support staff and administrators, and the entire college community during this past year. We still have lots of work to do, but the progress we have made working together as a community is exciting. We feel that the end result will be a top quality experience for our student-athletes.”

In October of 2009, William Jewell was invited to join the Great Lakes Valley Conference of the NCAA’s Division II.  During the current candidacy year two period, Jewell will maintain dual membership in the NAIA and NCAA while continuing to compete in the NAIA’s Heart of America Athletic Conference.  The College will be eligible for NAIA post-season play while completing educational activities as part of the NCAA Division II membership process.

William Jewell will begin regular season competition and be eligible for select GLVC championships during the 2011-12 academic year. The College will be eligible for postseason competition in the majority of GLVC sports in 2012-2013.

Dr. Bailey said that William Jewell will continue to maintain its commitments to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Heart of America Athletic Conference during the remainder of the candidacy period of the NCAA membership process. “This is our last year with the NAIA, and we want to make it a good one,” Dr. Bailey said. “We have a long history with the organization, and we want to honor the tradition of athletic competition that so many of our student-athletes at Jewell have enjoyed.”

William Jewell was notified of its acceptance to begin candidacy year one by the NCAA Division II on July 10, 2009. 

The Indianapolis, Ind.-based Great Lakes Valley Conference was established in 1978 and is one of the largest NCAA Division II conferences in the country. With the October 2008 addition of Maryville University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Springfield, the GLVC includes 15 teams from five Midwestern states. Other members of the GLVC are: Bellarmine University (Louisville, Ky.), Drury University (Springfield, Mo.), Kentucky Wesleyan College (Owensboro, Ky.), Lewis University (Romeoville, Ill.), Missouri University of Science & Technology (Rolla, Mo.), Northern Kentucky University (Highland Heights, Ky.), Quincy University (Quincy, Ill.), Rockhurst University (Kansas City, Mo.), Saint Joseph’s College (Rensselaer, Ind.), University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.), University of Missouri-St. Louis (St. Louis, Mo.), University of Southern Indiana (Evansville, Ind.) and University of Wisconsin-Parkside (Kenosha, Wis.).

William Jewell sponsors 18 sports, including all seven of the ‘core’ sports (men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball) currently sponsored by the GLVC. The Cardinals also sponsor men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s golf, each of which is also a sport sponsored by the Conference.

William Jewell also sponsors football and, with the addition of the Cardinals to GLVC membership, brings the number of football-playing institutions in the league to six. It is anticipated that football competition will begin in the GLVC in 2012.

William Jewell was a charter member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and has been competing in the NAIA conference since 1971. The Cardinals have captured 96 conference titles in the HAAC and were the first NAIA program to claim 500 football victories.

For more information, go to www.ncaa.or  

Cardinal Club Kickoff
William Jewell College Cardinal Club invites you to enjoy Cardinals at the Cashew on Thursday, August 5, 2010
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  The Cashew is located at 2000 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, M0. 64108.  Join us as we kickoff the 2010-2011 season of Cardinal Athletics. Head Football Coach Jerod Kruse will give Cardinals fans a
glimpse into this year’s football season.  To RSVP for this event click the following link:   by Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

www.jewellalumni.com/events

2010 Football Season Outlook
Coming off of a disappointing 2009 campaign, the William Jewell football team will look to new leadership to turn the program around.  The Cardinals finished 2009 at 1-9, and after five years at the helm coach Fran Schwenk announced his retirement in October following a 40-year career in coaching. 

Jerod Kruse, who spent two years as the Cardinals Defensive Coordinator, was named the new head football coach in December of 2009 and is excited to begin his first season at the helm. 

“We are really looking forward to our last season in the NAIA,” said Kruse.  We have over 20 seniors back on the team that have played big minutes for us and I feel very good about their leadership and their hunger to turn things around.”  The College is in the Candidacy Year 2 phase of membership transition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.


Following is a position-by-position look at the 2010 Cardinals:

Offense
Quarterback
As was the case last season, quarterback looks  to be a position of great depth for the Cardinals in 2010.  Returning in the quarterback position is senior Drew Witman, who started 10 of the 11 games in 2009.  Witman threw for 1,686 yards and 6 touchdowns last season for the Cardinals.  Senior Tom Farinacci and red-shirt freshman Sean Shelton will also compete for the top spot at the quarterback position for Jewell.

Running Back
The Cardinals return All-Conference performer in senior Jake Lynch.  Lynch rushed for 429 yards and finished fourth on the team in receptions with 20.  Coach Kruse is looking for big contributions from a number of young backs and transfers as well.

Wide Receiver
The Cardinals return all but one of their receiver corps from last season.  Along with the addition of some transfer student-athletes and the incoming first-year players this could be one of the deepest receiving groups the Cardinals have had in recent years. 

Tight End
Jewell will look to some players at this position who have moved from previous positions but proved themselves worthy of the move in spring ball.  “We believe the players we moved along with our incoming recruits have really helped shore up this position,” said Kruse. 

Offensive Line
The offensive line will be one of change for the Cards this season.  The Cards lost several players along the offensive line to graduation.  According to Kruse this position was one of major emphasis during recruiting.  “We feel very good about who we brought in and we will look to some of the younger guys to step up and play,” said Kruse.  “You are only as good as the players up front and I believe we have the ability to be much improved in this position.”

Defense
The Cardinals will return all of the defensive starters with the exception of two cornerbacks.  The Cards finished fourth in pass defense in the HAAC and will look to some young players who have stepped up in spring ball to continue their ascension to the lineup. 

Defensive Line
The Cardinals’ defensive line will be one of familiarity as all the starters return from last year’s team.  The line will be anchored by All-Conference performer Mark Gerster. Coach Kruse likes what he saw in the spring and feels good about the depth and competition at this position.

Linebacker
The linebacker corps will return all the starters from last year’s squad. The group will be led by All-Conference performers David Diener and Zach Traphagan who finished first and second on the team in tackles last season respectively. 

Secondary
The Cardinals return both safeties from last year’s squad and added some transfer student-athletes and incoming recruits that will compete for positions in the defensive backfield. 

Special Teams
With the addition of young place kicker Warren Frevert and the continued growth of Daniel Meegan punting the ball, Jewell appears to have firmed up those positions.  The Cardinals look to be further along in the special teams area than in years past according to Coach Kruse.  “We really placed a heavy emphasis on this area in regard to schemes and getting players in the right position,” said Kruse. “We have systems in place that utilize our special team players’ strengths and this was one of our most improved areas during spring ball.”

Overall Coach Kruse is excited about what lies ahead for this year and the years to come.  “With getting a late start last year in recruiting we believe we were able to effectively address most of our needs,” said Kruse.  “We appear to have a good start in building the foundation as we move into this season and the future.”

We look forward to seeing many of you at our events and athletic contests over the course of the year.  We have a very exciting homecoming in the works and our athletic website is undergoing some exciting changes as well.  We will keep you up to date with all the exciting news and information from our athletic department.  Enjoy the rest of your summer break!