Sat., Sept. 14 • 1 p.m. • Roger Harring Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium
LaCrosse, Wis.
THE GAME: Illinois Wesleyan (0-0) plays at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (1-0) on Sat., Sept. 14. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Roger Harring Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It is the 34th annual Shrine Benefit Game and Sports Spirit Day at UW-L.
ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan is 484-348-42 (.578) in 110 years of football. That win total is tied for 16th among Division III schools (with St. John’s [Minn.], 484-211-24 in 91 seasons).
FOR OPENERS: IWU is 9-6 in opening-day games under Norm Eash. IWU lost last season’s opener, 17-14, vs. Washington U. in St. Louis.
FOR THE RECORD: IWU teams are 28-9-1 in September in the Norm Eash era and, last year at Washington U., lost in September for the first time since 1995...That loss also snapped a string of 11 straight regular season non-league wins, dating back to a 24-21 loss to Simpson in 1995...Since 1995, IWU has won 51 of its last 62 games (.823) and has been over the .500-mark for eight straight years and 12 of the last 13 years. Of those 11 losses, four have been to Wheaton, three to Millikin, two to Augustana and one each to Washington U. and Mount Union...The Titans are 53-15 (.779) at home and 46-25-1 on the road (.646) under Eash...IWU is 42-8 (.840) at Wilder Field in the last 11 years, including 2001.
HONORS: Four players return that were first team all-CCIW choices last season - senior defensive back and punt returner Kevin Kaplan (Cary, Cary-Grove HS) (20 tackles, five interceptions, led league in punt returns); senior linebacker Mike Clark (Joliet, West HS) (82 tackles, 45 solo, 13 tackles for loss); senior offensive tackle Adam Miller (Elgin, Larkin HS); and junior wide receiver Tim Snyder (Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South HS) (27 catches for 396 yards). Kaplan is also a third team preseason All-American (Don Hansen’s Football Gazette).
HOLD THAT LINE: In last year's final NCAA Division III statistics, IWU was 29th in total defense and 13th in scoring defense (12.0 allowed).
THE COACHES: Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 16th season as head coach at IWU and his next win will be his 100th as a college head coach. He has an overall record of 99-40-1 (.711) and a CCIW mark of 77-32-1 (.704) with conference titles in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2001. Eash, the CCIW “Coach of the Year” in 1992, 1996 and 2001, is tied for fourth in all-time CCIW coaching wins with Millikin’s Carl Poelker, who was 77-30-1 in 14 years (1982-95). Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86)...Larry Terry, a 1977 UW-La Crosse grad, is in his third season as head coach at UW-L. He is 12-9 (.571) at the helm of the Eagles and 37-38-1 (.493) in eight years as a college head coach. The 11th head coach in school history, Terry has also been the Eagles’ offensive coordinator since 1988. UW-L has led the WIAC in total offense four times under Terry. Terry has a master’s degree from Bowling Green and a doctorate from the U. of New Mexico.
RANKINGS: IWU was picked to finish second in the preseason College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin coaches’ poll.
ON THE AIR: The IWU/UW-L game will be broadcast on WJBC Radio and is available via the Internet at http://www.wjbc.com.
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. IWU will also be facing the U. of Chicago (on Sept. 28) for the first time in the 110-year history of the sport at Illinois Wesleyan.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Senior Matt Makaryk completed 17 of 24 passes for 307 yards and three TDs and also rushed for 42 yards and a score to lead UW-L to a 31-17 non-league win at Division II Washburn last Saturday. Ross Moline (three catches for 140 yards and two TDs) and Matt Rizzo (four catches, 63 yards, one TD) were Makaryk’s favorite targets. The Eagles had 487 yards of total offense compared to 244 for the Ichabods...With a 4-6 record in 2001, UW-L had its second losing record in the last four years. The Eagles were 4-5 in 1998, their first losing record in 34 years. UW-L had a four-game losing streak in 2001, its longest losing streak in a season since 1963 when it dropped the first six games of the year...UW-L was picked to finish sixth in the 2002 WIAC preseason poll selected by the sports information directors. UW-Stout was voted to finish first with UW-Stevens Point, which downed CCIW favorite Augustana last weekend, second ...UW-L is 195-63-9 (.747) all-time at Veterans Memorial Stadium, including 67-12 (.848) since 1987.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Titans play two more non-CCIW games - hosting Washington U. at 6 p.m. next Sat. in the first night game at IWU since 1971. IWU plays at the U. of Chicago at 1 p.m. Sept. 28. IWU opens CCIW play at home Oct. 5 vs. North Park in IWU’s 2002 Homecoming game.
MEDIA GUIDE: The 2002 Illinois Wesleyan football media guide, complete with player and coach profiles and all-time records, is available for $5 via mail. Send a check to: Sports Information Director, Illinois Wesleyan, P.O. Box 2900, Bloomington, IL 61702-2900.