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| Team Pages: EC, LC, OSH, PLT, RF, STP, ST, WW |
|
RELEASED: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 UW-Whitewater Tabbed To Win Third Consecutive Football Title
The Warhawks, ranked No. 2 nationally in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25, received seven first-place votes in the conference predictions. UW-Whitewater has reached the NCAA Division III national championship game - the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl - the last two seasons and won 14 consecutive WIAC regular-season contests by an average margin of 26.7 points per game, while allowing 10 points or less in seven of those victories. Lance Leipold begins his first season as head coach of the Warhawks after serving as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 2004-06. He is also a former UW-Whitewater assistant coach and was the team’s quarterback from 1983-86. Leipold replaces Bob Berezowitz, who finished his 22-year career third on the WIAC all-time list with a 158-73-4 record. Senior running back Justin Beaver has amassed 4,129 career rushing yards and is only 299 yards shy of breaking the conference’s all-time mark of 4,427 set by UW-Stout’s Luke Bundgaard from 2000-03. Beaver is also within reach of the league’s all-time record of 967 career attempts by UW-Whitewater’s Chad Wurth from 2000-03. Beaver enters the 2007 campaign with 744 carries. Senior punter Nick Croak has totaled 8,079 career punting yards and is just one of two players in league history to surpass the 8,000-yard mark. The Warhawks’ Joel Gmack holds the WIAC record with 8,997 yards from 1982-85. UW-La Crosse received the remaining first-place vote in the conference poll and is expected to finish second in the eight-team league derby. The Eagles, ranked No. 7 nationally in the D3football.com poll, have won a conference-best 33 championships (most recently 2004) and reached the NCAA Division III playoffs four of the last five seasons. The 2007 campaign marks the final season home games will be played at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field where the Eagles have compiled a 214-67-9 all-time record (.753 winning percentage), including 86-16 (.843) in the last 20 years. A new stadium will be constructed in 2008 and open in 2009. Quarterbacks Griffin Moe (junior) and Gus Almonroeder (sophomore) have not attempted a pass during their careers at UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh will be under the guidance of first-year head coach Pat Cerroni, who served as the team’s defensive coordinator the past seven seasons. The Titans’ 2007 roster has 28 seniors, including 15 who have started a minimum of 10 games. Senior running back Andy Moriarty enters the season with a school-record 2,806 career rushing yards. Only five players in conference history have surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards. Senior placekicker Lucas Raschke has booted a WIAC-record 36 career field goals. His total currently ranks 12th in NCAA Division III history. UW-Stevens Point has posted a .500 or better overall record 21 of the last 23 years and enters the season riding a four-game winning streak, having won their last four WIAC games in 2006 by a combined 10 points, including two overtime bouts. The Pointers welcome back senior defensive end Dan Robinson, an all-WIAC first team performer in 2005, who suffered a season-ending injury in the first contest last year. UW-Platteville scored at least 21 points in eight of 10 games last year and held five teams to 21 or fewer points, the first time since 1999 the defense accomplished that feat. Junior running back Mike Genslinger recorded the first 1,000-yard rushing season (1,028 yards) for the Pioneers since 1994. His 285 yards against UW-River Falls were the most in school history. The 285 yards would have been UW-Platteville’s highest season total in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. He is the first Pioneer to lead the league in rushing since Marty Sturzl in 1984. UW-River Falls head coach John O’Grady begins his 19th season needing just five wins to reach 100 in his career and become just the seventh coach in WIAC history to reach the milestone. Senior running back Nathan Anderson has rushed for more than 100 yards in 13 games in his career. He had a career-best 230-yard performance against UW-Eau Claire in 2005. The Falcons’ non-conference schedule features a pair of league champions from 2006 - St. John’s University (Minn.) and Hope College (Mich.). UW-Eau Claire has registered a .500 or better overall record in nine of the last 11 seasons. Four of seven losses in 2006 were by four points or less, including two in overtime. Senior punter Mitch Schaeuble owns the school career record for punt average at 39.5 yards per kick and uncorked the second-longest punt in WIAC history with an 83-yard boot against UW-Whitewater last year. Sophomore kicker Craig Kolb set a school single-season record with 11 field goals in 2006. Duey Naatz enters his first season as UW-Stout’s head coach after spending the last 17 years as an assistant coach with the program under the direction of three different head coaches. Five of UW-Stout’s seven defeats a year ago were by four points or less, including a pair of one point losses. Senior quarterback Tanner Kattre was responsible for one-half of the Blue Devils’ offense during the 2006 campaign with 148 yards per game. 2007 Preseason Predictions (Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors) 2007 Team Vitals UW-Eau ClaireHead Coach: Todd Glaser, 5th season (2nd at UW-Eau Claire), 16-24 (overall) / 3-7 (UW-EC) Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Offense: 13/7 Letterwinners Returning/Lost on Defense: 18/11 Letterwinners Returning/Lost at Kicker: 2/0 Starters Returning/Lost on Offense: 9/6 Starters Returning/Lost on Defense: 12/7 Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker: 2/0 WIAC Record in last 5 Years: 20-15 WIAC Record in last 10 Years: 40-30 Returning All-WIAC: Mitch Schaeuble, Sr., Punter (2004-HM (punter), 2005-Second (punter), 2005-HM (kicker); Sam Cummings, Sr., LB (2005-Second, 2006-HM); Nate Jahn, Sr., DE (2005-Second) UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Whitewater # # # # # |
| Past Seasons Review |
| All Games Records: Career Records Team Season Records Team Game Records Individual Season Records Individual Game Records |
| Conference Games Only Records: Team Records Individual Records |
All-Time All-WIAC Selections (Since 1966) |
| WIAC
Players in the NFL Draft WIAC All-Americans WIAC Academic All-Americans |
| All-Time
Standings (Since 1913) Past Team Champions Year-By-Year/Game-By-Game Results (Since 1973) NCAA Tournament History |
| NCAA Division III Statistics |
| D3football.com American Football Coaches Association Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl Don Hansen's Football Gazette |
Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the two-time defending conference champion, is projected to win the 2007 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football championship, according to the league’s sports information directors.
