University of Saint Francis (Ind.) alum James Bettcher debuts as Arizona Cardinals DC

August 18, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Article by USF Sports Information
GLENDALE, Ariz. — James Bettcher is breaking new ground for a University of Saint Francis alumnus as defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. And as Associated Press writer Bob Baum writes, “Just four years ago, James Bettcher was linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for the University of New Hampshire,” to lead off his article that appears on page 7B of Sunday The Journal Gazette.

And online, ESPN offers up another piece by Josh Weinfuss on the 2002 USF graduate and NAIA All-American who was named Arizona Cardinals DC back in February replacing Todd Bowles who took the head coaching job with the New York Jets. After graduating from USF in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration, Bettcher served under Kevin Donley as an assistant coach for football while serving as head coach of the USF track and field program. He left USF for Bowling Green State University, and also served as an assistant at Ball State and the University of North Carolina, where he impressed defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

“It’s easy to recognize shooting stars,” Arians said when the Cardinals announced Bettcher’s promotion in February. “I know he can coach. There are guys that have jobs for 40 years that shouldn’t have had them. So age has got nothing to do with it. It’s the experience and, like I said, the command of the room is what has always sold me on him.” Continue reading →

Former NAIA Offensive Lineman Cameron Horton Passes Away.

August 14, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

When you cover NAIA football, you definitely meet some characters. Every year it seemed like there was a new player on my radar because of they were reaching out to me or I met them randomly during one of my stops. Cameron Horton was an offensive lineman at the University of Sioux Falls from 2005-2007 and is easily one of the most memorable NAIA football players I was around.

He wasn’t an NFL prospect and he wasn’t some guy that coaches trotted out in front of the media to be a spokesperson for the team. Cam was Richie Incognito before people knew who Incognito was. The only difference being Cam was hilarious. I can’t tell you the amount of times I received Facebook messages from him randomly over the years that made my stomach hurt.

I’m not going to write a long memorial blog on Cam because one of the best writers I have ever met already did that. The link to Matt Zimmer’s article is below.

Also below is the link to the GoFundMe account that was set up by some of Cam’s former teammates to aid in the travel expenses for Cam’s family.

It’s always sad when a person as young as Cam goes before their time. But I’ve always believed that death should be a celebration of a person’s life and given Cam’s personality and our memories of him that shouldn’t be a problem. Please check out the following links.

GoFundMe

Remembering Cameron Horton by Matt Zimmer

Southern Oregon and Marian Tied at the Top of NAIA Coaches’ Poll to Start Season.

August 11, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time since the NAIA moved to one division in 1997, two teams enter the season tied atop the NAIA Football Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Monday. Defending national champion Southern Oregon and national runner-up Marian (Ind.) share the post, with the Raiders grabbing eight first-place votes and 304 points, while the Knights collected five first-place votes and 304 points.

Southern Oregon enters the year looking to build off a historical 2014 campaign that concluded with the Raiders winning their first-ever NAIA national title. Prior to last season, Southern Oregon had never advanced past the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Series.

The Raiders return six starters on offense and seven on defense, highlighted by junior running back Melvin Mason and junior wide receiver Matt Retzlaff. Mason ran for 1,013 yards and 17 touchdowns last season with seven of those scores coming during the playoffs. Retzlaff was a key cog in Southern Oregon’s top-ranked passing attack with 56 catches for 785 yards and six touchdowns en route to Second Team All-Frontier Conference accolades in 2014. Continue reading →

Keshaun Malone Takes Warrior Spirit to NFL

August 11, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

EARTH CITY, Mo. – Keshaun Malone’s confidence is evident in the tone of his voice and his choice of words. Graduating from Bacone College and becoming one of the NAIA’s best defensive linemen during his time playing for the Warriors has prepared him to take on just about anything.

That includes trying to become one of only 53 men who will wear the St. Louis Rams’ jersey in National Football League games this season.

“I think everyone who plays football at the collegiate level wants to get here, no matter if you’re playing in [NCAA] Division I, Division II, Division III or the NAIA. Working hard at Bacone put me in this position,” Malone stated. Continue reading →

ESPN3 to Provide Live Stream of Morningside/Wisconsin-Whitewater Game

August 11, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Sioux City, Iowa – Morningside College’s (Iowa) football game against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Elwood Olsen Stadium will be streamed live on ESPN3.

The contest, slated for a 6 p.m. kickoff, will pit two of the nation’s most prominent football programs in the NAIA and NCAA Division III ranks.

Morningside played in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game and has made 11 consecutive post-season appearances in the NAIA Championship Series for the longest active streak in the nation. Morningside, coming off an 11-2 finish in 2014, has won four consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championships and has a 112-23 record for a .830 winning percentage since the start of the 2004 season. The Mustangs have advanced to at least the semifinals of the NAIA Championship Series each of the last three years. Continue reading →

Ramblings of Jason Dannelly: Nebraska Wesleyan leaving the GPAC

July 24, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

If you follow small college athletics you have no doubt already heard the news that Nebraska Wesleyan is leaving the Great Plains athletic conference and going full-fledged into NCAA Division III.
To be honest I wasn’t sure how much I really wanted to write about this subject. It doesn’t particularly pertaining to NAIA football and it’s really more of a membership issue of the NAIA. But given the fact that the NAIA will be losing a football member I thought I should weigh in briefly on the subject.

My biggest issue with the entire situation is how things played out for the remaining members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. There is no doubt that Nebraska Wesleyan was always a little bit different animal with their dual affiliation in the NAIA and NCAA. In fact for the last 15 years of the Great Plains athletic members in the conference have wondered what Nebraska Wesleyan’s intention would be if they kept their dual affiliation. Continue reading →

Dale Carlson to Take Over the Lindenwood-Belleville Football Program

July 24, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Dale Carlson – Lindenwood Belleville

Belleville, Ill. — Lindenwood University – Belleville and Director of Athletics Scott Spinner have announced the hiring of Dale Carlson as head football coach. Carlson is the second head coach for the Lynx since the inception of the program in 2012 and will take over as Lindenwood-Belleville prepares for its first season in the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA).

Carlson comes to Lindenwood-Belleville after spending last season as the assistant head coach at North Park University. Prior to that, Carlson spent four years (2010-2013) at the helm of Valparaiso University.
As the Lynx continue to build on a young program, they bring in Carlson, who has started programs at both Trine University and Ohio Dominican.

From 1994-2003, Carlson was the first head coach at Trine and held a record of 47-35 before turning his focus to Ohio Dominican, starting that program and staying there until 2010. While at Ohio Dominican, Carlson amassed a record of 36-27. Continue reading →

The Smartest Teams in NAIA Football.

July 16, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Scholar Football Teams Announced.

There is no doubt there is some correlation between having a great football team and a smart football team. Today, the NAIA announced it’s annual “Scholar Teams” list.

In order to make the list the cumulative GPA of a given team must be above a 3.0. Considering most rosters in the NAIA typically have somewhere between 80-100 players, it’s quite a feat when a football team makes the list.

This year SEVEN NAIA football teams garnered the academic award:

St. Ambrose (Iowa) – 3.27

Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) – 3.23

Carroll (Mont.) – 3.22

Taylor (Ind.) – 3.15

Northwestern (Iowa) – 3.10

St. Francis (Ill.) – 3.03

Hastings (Neb.) – 3.00

It should be noted that the MIssouri Baptist women’s tennis team held the highest GPA of all teams participating in NAIA athletics with a 3.94 GPA.

Former William Penn DT Damon Harrison Still Making Headlines with NY Jets

July 15, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Damon Harrison, the former NAIA defensive tackle from WIlliam Penn, continues to make headlines in the NFL. The former waterboy and one year HS player came to William Penn in what has become another success story. NJ.com recently caught up with the former NAIA football player.

by Daryl Slater – NJ.com
Damon Harrison might be the least prominent of the Jets‘ three starting defensive linemen, behind star ends Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson. (Actually, there is no “might” about it.)

But Harrison is still a darn fine player. And he knows it. READ MORE . . .