BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The last time an Illinois Wesleyan University football team traveled abroad was in June 1996, when the squad played (and defeated) the Hamburg Blue Devils, an American football club in Germany.

That fall, the Titans went 10-1 overall, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title with an undefeated 7-0 mark, and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

IWU head coach Norm Eash is hoping history will repeat itself as he takes 74 Titan players on a trip to Italy from May 31 to June 8.

On June 3, IWU will face the Bergamo Lions, one of the top American football clubs in Europe, a team that went undefeated in winning the Eurobowl title in 2000 and has not lost in nine games so far this season.

"Our primary objective is to win a football game, representing Illinois Wesleyan University and the United States," said Eash. "Our secondary objective is to make sure our football players enjoy their trip and, for some, a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

With 10 practices for the foreign game allowed by the NCAA, the Titans will start practice on May 9. "Our plan is to spread the practices out over three weeks," Eash said. "We will be able to assess the talent we have coming back and experiment with any changes we might make in our offensive and defensive schemes in the fall."

NCAA Division III schools are allowed to participate in a foreign game once every three years. IWU defeated Hamburg, 37-7, before 14,000 fans on June 3, 1996, in the first Monday night game in the history of American football in Germany.

Based on that experience five years ago, Eash is sold on the value of such a trip. "This is a great way to establish team chemistry and character," he said. "There will be real togetherness with the group being with each other for nine days in a foreign country, having a chance to play a game, sightsee, and be involved with people in Italy."

With the game scheduled for the team's third day in Italy, Eash says the opportunities for doing other things is important. "I think a key to a trip like this is to play soon after getting there," Eash said. "That frees up the remainder of the time for cultural exchange."

While in Italy, the 105-person traveling party will visit, and have sightseeing and walking tours of, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Vatican City. In addition to the players, several assistant coaches and staff members will be on the trip, along with a trainer and physician, and some players' family members have also elected to take the trip.

Each player and trip participant is responsible for paying for their own travel costs and expenses.

The Lions will be more than midway through their 2001 season when they host the Titans and, to say the least, they have been impressive. Bergamo has outscored opponents, 492-32 (or an average of 54.6 - 3.5), and amasses 408.8 yards of total offense per game while allowing only 77.2 yards.

Bergamo, which plays in the Golden League of the Italian Federation of American Football (FIAF), has as many as 12 players who played collegiately in the U.S. and Canada. FIAF rules allow each team to have two Americans or Canadians and five Mexicans, while others qualify as homegrown Italians based on heritage.

An example is 31-year-old quarterback Dino Bucciol, who qualifies as an Italian because his parents were born in the country. Bucciol played collegiately at Canada's Simon Fraser University and was also on the Hamburg Blue Devils team the Titans defeated in 1996.

Local talent comprises the rest of the Bergamo roster, ranging from policemen to workers in the factories and mills around Genoa, Turin, and Milan. Bergamo's foreign players receive small stipends (around $800 per month), plus free housing, a phone card and the use of a new car. Italian players do not receive a salary, but do get meal and gas money for road games.

"From what we've been able to find out, football in Italy is a lot like the old semi-pro and factory league football that used to be played in this country," said Eash. "The Golden League is the premier division of American football in Italy, so we should be in for a real test."

In his fourth season with the Lions is 31-year-old American running back Tyrone Rush, who still holds rushing records at the University of North Alabama, and played professionally for a short time with the Washington Redskins, even seeing time in the 1992 Super Bowl.

Rush, who has 957 yards on 68 carries with 22 touchdowns in six Golden League games, missed a game with a muscle strain suffered April 29 during a 55-14 win in Switzerland over the Seaside Vipers. But indications are that Rush, who is on pace to set a new Italian single-season record for rushing touchdowns, will be available for the Lions' next league game on May 19 and would play against IWU.

Bucciol has completed 64 of 89 passes for 1,208 yards and 23 touchdowns without an interception. His top receiver is Maurizio Barbotti, who leads the Golden League with 18 catches for 348 yards and eight TDs.

Defensively, the Lions feature 5-foot-11, 228-pound middle linebacker Tony Magliocco, who had 14 tackles in six games last fall for Eastern Illinois University, and Italian native Roberto Castellano, who leads the Golden League with five quarterback sacks for -44 yards.

Magliocco, a native of Anaheim, Calif., transferred to Eastern from a community college and found his way to Bergamo via the internet.

The Lions' head coach is 34-year-old Carlos Barocio, a Mexican who played college football at New Mexico State, went to Europe as a player and stayed on as a coach, leading the Badalona Dragons to two Spanish championships.
 
 

March 11    Brescia Bengals     73-0   Rush 245 yards rushing; Bucciol 10-13, 165 yards
March 17    Torino Tigers       63-0   Rush 187 yards rushing; Bucciol 8-10, 232 yards
* March 25  Tyrolean Raiders    35-0
April 1     Ancona Dolphins     41-0   Rush 106 yards rushing; Bucciol 16-24, 196 yards
April 8     Ferrara Aquile      65-0   Rush 76 yards, 5 TDs; Bucciol 11-17, 236 yards
April 14    Bolzano Giants      62-12  Rush ran for 139 yards; Bucciol 15-17, 272 yards
April 22    Reggio Emilia Hogs  49-6   Rush ran for 4 TDs and 204 yards
* April 29  Seaside Vipers      55-14
* May 6     Seaside Vipers      49-0
* May 12    Tyrolean Raiders
May 19      North Milan Frogs
* May 27    Marche Team Dolphins (Eurobowl quarterfinals)
June 3      Illinois Wesleyan (exhibition)
June 10     Milano Falcons
June 16-17  Eurobowl semifinals
 

* - South League of Eurobowl XV