2008 Woodie Awards
A season on the road
SIUE club football takes its season to three big-name competitors
Zachary Groves
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Sports
SIUE Club Football, a once stay-at-home team, is taking its show on the road this season.
After several months of communicating with fellow club teams Xavier University, Marquette University and Miami University of Ohio, the Cougars have established a Midwest Club League competition.
Club President and quarterback Kevin Nesselhauf said with Campus Recreation Assistant Director and Club Adviser Keith Becherer's help, the team started working with the fellow schools to form the Midwest Club Football League.
"They contact each other in club sports," Nesselhauf said of Becherer and the other club organizations. "We kind of all got connected ... through Xavier."
Former club president and current assistant coach Jon Shumaker said the three clubs are hard to read competitively, especially since Miami, like SIUE, is taking baby steps as a club team.
"It's going to be interesting," Shumaker said. "At this point, we really don't know what to expect competition level, organization or anything like that, but it's going to be a learning experience."
SIUE hits the road for the first time Oct. 20, stopping in Cincinnati for its game against Xavier.
The club squad will then head north to Milwaukee for a game against Marquette Oct. 27 and head back to Cincinnati Nov. 4 for a matchup against Miami.
The Cougars come off a 2006 campaign where they picked up their first-ever win, 20-6, against the Decatur Bears in October. Shumaker said that for a team still growing, the victory was a memorable one.
"The good thing about it is winning that last game we ended the season on a high note," Shumaker said.
One of the major changes the team made in the off-season was assembling a coaching staff that can focus on the playbook without the need to put on a helmet.
Former wide receiver Tom King traded in his cleats for a clipboard as the team's new head coach. Shumaker and Doran Miller will help coach the offense and defense on the sidelines.
After several months of communicating with fellow club teams Xavier University, Marquette University and Miami University of Ohio, the Cougars have established a Midwest Club League competition.
Club President and quarterback Kevin Nesselhauf said with Campus Recreation Assistant Director and Club Adviser Keith Becherer's help, the team started working with the fellow schools to form the Midwest Club Football League.
"They contact each other in club sports," Nesselhauf said of Becherer and the other club organizations. "We kind of all got connected ... through Xavier."
Former club president and current assistant coach Jon Shumaker said the three clubs are hard to read competitively, especially since Miami, like SIUE, is taking baby steps as a club team.
"It's going to be interesting," Shumaker said. "At this point, we really don't know what to expect competition level, organization or anything like that, but it's going to be a learning experience."
SIUE hits the road for the first time Oct. 20, stopping in Cincinnati for its game against Xavier.
The club squad will then head north to Milwaukee for a game against Marquette Oct. 27 and head back to Cincinnati Nov. 4 for a matchup against Miami.
The Cougars come off a 2006 campaign where they picked up their first-ever win, 20-6, against the Decatur Bears in October. Shumaker said that for a team still growing, the victory was a memorable one.
"The good thing about it is winning that last game we ended the season on a high note," Shumaker said.
One of the major changes the team made in the off-season was assembling a coaching staff that can focus on the playbook without the need to put on a helmet.
Former wide receiver Tom King traded in his cleats for a clipboard as the team's new head coach. Shumaker and Doran Miller will help coach the offense and defense on the sidelines.
Be the first to comment on this story