rocky mountain college

Tales from the NAIA: Why Bruce Parker was the Greatest Athletic Director I Ever Encountered.

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Last summer on July 2nd the world, the NAIA, college athletics, and most importantly the Parker family, lost a great man. His name was Bruce Parker and he was my friend. At the time when he passed away, I stated on social media that I would give Bruce his due down the road. I’ve always been a bit miffed on how we honor someone when they pass away and then we hear nary a word about them until some posthumous award is given to them or a building is named in their honor.

Bruce and Lisa Parker. Photo from 406MTSports.com

So many people knew, loved, and respected Bruce. If I would’ve written about him last summer my experiences would’ve been lost in the outpouring of love and grief displayed for Bruce. So I am being a bit selfish writing this down the road and wanting people to pay attention to what I have to say. There are a ton of stories I would like to share about Bruce, but for now I want to focus on a few things that made him special and how he helped me personally.

Casey Page of 406MTSports.com wrote a great piece on Bruce. If you need to catch up, here it is: “Bruce Parker, a decorated Montana sports figure who is enshrined in five Halls of Fame for his work as athletic director at Carroll College and then Rocky Mountain College, died after a long fight with diabetes and complications following a kidney transplant. He was 64.”

Bruce understood what I was trying to do when I owned the Victory Sports Network and he saw what it meant to schools, athletes and alumni. He was a trusted advisor to my business and did everything he could to help me grow it into the national media for NAIA athletics. He also understood the struggles that I had with NAIA national office early in my career. I was the young kid poking them in the side all the time. I’d ask them questions they didn’t want to answer and often times did not following their protocols. They didn’t hate me but they didn’t exactly like me. The NAIA tolerated me. Then a moment in November of 2007 changed it all.

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Jason Dannelly’s Predictions for the NAIA Championship Series, October 27, 2013

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This week there is no reason for any pomp and circumstance in this article. Last week I explained just how the NAIA Championship Series works, how teams qualify and briefly looked at some of the history behind the process If you want to know how this all works, check out that article.

The biggest surprise this week was Saint Francis (Ind.) who lost to Robert Morris, 28-24 in Fort Wayne. RMU is an up and coming team with a ton of Chicago talent on their roster. The loss is mostly a surprise due to the location of it coming at home. USF is still my favorite to win the MSFA-Mideast but things have suddenly gotten a bit tighter.

Baker University defeated Missouri Valley, 13-10 also on the road. The loss won’t kill the Vikings postseason chances but it has certainly eliminated the margin of error.

Here’s a look at the conferences this week and who will potentially make the NAIA Championship Series.

CSFL: Bacone defeated Texas College to improve to 6-2 on the season. With their No. 25 ranking they only have to move up five more spots to make the postseason. Langston also won yesterday to improve to 3-4 and remaining undefeated in the conference with the Warriors. If both teams do what they are suppose to do next weekend, we could essentially have a conference championship game on November 9th for the CSFL’s automatic berth to the postseason. Langston will struggle to get to No 20 even if they win out, but it’s not impossible. Right now, Bacone and Langston are the only teams with a shot at the NAIA Championship Series.
Today’s Prediction: Bacone

Frontier: Carroll College and Rocky Mountain continue to separate themselves from the rest of the Frontier with wins this weekend. Carroll is the obvious choice for the postseason with Rocky also looking like a solid seconds choice. However, even though Rocky defeated Dickinson State last weekend, they will have one more loss on their record when the coaches vote on this week’s Top 25 after the Bears had to forfeit on of their earlier victories due to the use of an ineligible player. The two teams need to take care of business this week before they lock horns on November 9th for a potential conference title game. The biggest test will come for the Saints as they take on Southern Oregon in Helena. If the Raiders were to upset the Saints, they would have a great chance at making the postseason.
Today’s Prediction: Carroll College as Champion. Rocky and Southern Oregon with a shot at an at-large.

GPAC: Time to face facts; Morningside is the only team that has proved they absolutely deserve to be in the postseason. Concordia was the next in line before they lost to Doane College this weekend. The loss by the Bulldogs put them at 4-2 in the conference tied with Northwestern and both teams still have to play the nation’s No. 1 team this season. It’s entirely possible Concordia and/or Northwestern upsets the Mustangs, which would jump either team in the ratings and give them a chance at an at-large. But if I was a betting man, I wouldn’t count on it and I’d put my money on Morningside being the lone representative in the NAIA Championship Series.
Today’s Prediction: Morningside.

HAAC: Missouri Valley picked up their first loss of the season making a three-way tie for second place in the HAAC behind Benedictine. The Vikings appear to be the one team that could still spoil the Ravens’ undefeated season as they two will face off Nov. 9th in Marshall, Mo. Baker has quietly had an extremely solid season with their only loss coming to Benedictine. Baker’s major test will come on Nov. 16th against Peru State as the Bobcats are the other one-loss team in the conference. Peru State has the toughest road to the postseason in front of them as they play Missouri Valley this weekend and Baker the final week of the season.  I still expect three teams to make the NAIA Championship Series from the HAAC.
Today’s Prediction: Benedictine and Baker with a tossup between Mo. Valley and Peru State.

Independent: It’s going to take a miracle for someone to make it from the Independents.  Mayville State at 5-3 and Ave Maria at 4-2 have the best records of the group.
Today’s Prediction: No Qualifier.

KCAC: Tabor College and Ottawa are currently in position to make the NAIA postseason but that could change for both teams in the coming weeks. Ottawa still has games against rated teams in two of their final three weeks, which includes a regular season ending game against Tabor. Both Sterling and Friends are in contention to make the postseason if they can win out and get a little help in the ratings. Sterling plays no rated teams the rest of the season giving them the edge over Friends as the Falcons still face off with Ottawa. The KCAC could get royally messed up if Friends beats Ottawa and Ottawa turns around and beats Tabor while Sterling wins out. That would give Sterling the tiebreaker over Friends and the regular season title and possibly get Friends into the postseason. Needless to say, there is still a lot of football to be played in the KCAC. I still feel like Tabor and Ottawa are solid picks but Sterling and Friends are on the verge of making me a believer.
Today’s Prediction: Tabor and Ottawa.

MSC-East:  The University of the Cumberlands remains in control with Lindsey Wilson and Georgetown College knocking on the door. If both teams take care of business the rest of the season, the winner of their game on November 16th will make it to the NAIA Championship Series.
Today’s Prediction: U-Cumberlands and winner of LWC/GT

MSC-West: Reinhardt and Campbellsville are still undefeated in conference play. If either team wins out, they should get into the Top 20 and make the postseason. That might not get decided until Nov. 16th when the two face off. However, the more telling game will likely be Nov. 9th when CU and Faulkner face off. With a 6-2 record and the highest rating in the conference, the Eagles are the most likely team to make it into the postseason on paper. But you cannot sleep on Reinhardt because of their undefeated record with two manageable games left in their regular season.
Today’s Prediction: Faulkner with Reinhardt still having a shot.

MSFA-Mideast: USF loses to Robert Morris and opens up a can of worms in the MSFA-Mideast. USF (Ind.) still controls their own destiny but Marian, USF (Ill.) and Taylor all have one loss in the conference. If the Cougars slip up again this season, we could see a giant mess in this conference’s standings. USF (Ill.) has an outside shot at a postseason berth, but I still think only one team makes it from this conference.
Today’s Prediction: Saint Francis (Ind.).

MSFA-Midwest: Grand View is in control of this conference with an 8-0 record. They should finish the season as champs if they take care of business the next two weeks. There is a huge game this weekend between Saint Ambrose and Saint Xavier in Chicago as the two teams begin jockeying for second position in the conference. Neither SAU or SXU are guaranteed spots in the postseason, but if the loser of their head to head game this weekend wins out then this conference will still see two teams in the NAIA Championship Series.
Today’s Prediction: Grand View, Saint Ambrose and Saint Xavier.

For those of you keeping score, my October 26th prediction for the NAIA postseason looks like this:

  • Central States Football League: Bacone College
  • Frontier Conference: Carroll College and Rocky Mountain
  • Great Plains Athletic Conference: Morningside College
  • Heart of America Athletic Conference: Benedictine, Baker and Missouri Valley/Peru State.
  • Independents: None
  • Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Tabor College and Ottawa University
  • Mid-South Conference East: Cumberlands and winner of LWC/GT
  • Mid South Conference West: Faulkner University
  • Mid States Football Association Mideast: Saint Francis (Ind.)
  • Mid States Football Association Midwest: Grand View, Saint Ambrose and Saint Xavier

The major changes I made this week are eliminating a second team from the GPAC and given some chance to teams that are still undefeated in their respective conferences. By Nov. 9th, there is going to be a pretty clear picture as to who is going to make the NAIA Championship Series. The issue we will start to see is if teams like Reinhardt and Bacone barely make the Top 20. That would mean you essentially would have to be No. 14 in the final ranking or better to make the postseason.

The final three weeks of the NAIA regular season are shaping up like they usually do. We’re going to see some extremely exciting football in the weeks to come and no one can predict just how things will shake out come selection Sunday on November 17th.

NAIA Postseason Prediction from Jason Dannelly: There is still a lot of football to be played. . .

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Recently I was asked if I even follow NAIA football anymore because people haven’t been seeing article and blogs from me lately. Well, I will be the first to tell you that I very much have been following the NAIA each and every week. I still reach out to coaches to see how their team is doing and get their honest opinion on what is happening in their conference.

Many of these coaches I have been talking to and covering since my first year running the then NAIAFOOTBALL.NET, the precursor to the Victory Sports Network. Even though I still get a lot of information from these coaches, most of them turn things around on me and start asking for my opinion on what’s happening in the NAIA.  So with a little prodding from a few coaches for me to get back on the horse I decided this week would be the week I dive back into the world of NAIA football publicly, mostly because I have a lot of coaches who keep asking me random questions about conference in the NAIA.

It’s easy to forget that sometimes a coach in the Mid South Conference doesn’t really have the time to dig into what’s happening in the KCAC, or vice versa, to be able to determine what might happen in the postseason.

In fact, the biggest frustration that most NAIA coaches and fans have each year is trying to decipher the playoff picture. If you haven’t been around the NAIA very long it can be tough to try to figure out if you current No. 17 rating will be enough to get you into the post season if you keep winning. Given the criteria to make the postseason there are situations where a rating like that could get you into the postseason or leave you on the outside looking in.

Before we take a look at everyone’s chances at making it into the postseason, let’s first review the criteria that you must meet in order to make it into the NAIA Championship Series.

For a team to qualify for the postseason they must:

  • Win their regular season conference championship and be rated in the Top 20 of the final NAIA Coaches Poll.
  • If they are not their conference champions, they must be one of the next highest rated teams in the NAIA in order to gain an at large berth.

If you meet the criteria, you receive an “automatic” berth to the postseason. Keep in mind the scenario that a conference champion or the highest rated independent team might not make the postseason because they are not rated in the Top 20 because more often than not, this is the No. 1 gripe behind teams that were left out of the postseason.

With that in mind, the automatic berths in the NAIA Championship Series are awarded to the conference champion (rated in the final Top 20) of these conferences:

  • Central States Football League
  • Frontier Conference
  • Great Plains Athletic Conference
  • Heart of America Athletic Conference
  • Independents
  • Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
  • Mid-South Conference East
  • Mid South Conference West
  • Mid States Football Association Mideast
  • Mid States Football Association Midwest

Essentially, 10 of the 16 spots in the NAIA Championship Series are spoken for by conference champions, leaving 6 at large berths for the next highest rated teams. There have been some years where conference champions were rated No. 16, No. 17 and No. 18 meaning teams rated as high as No. 13 were left out of the postseason with very good records. (William Penn knows what I’m talking about.)

So without further ado, here is a rundown of what everything looks like conference by conference for the NAIA postseason.

CSFL: Bacone is the only team in charge of their destiny to make it into the postseason. The Warriors are 5-2 and currently receiving votes. Their biggest test is Langston the second to last week of the season, the type of loss given the timing of it would knock them out of the postseason. Essentially, if Bacone beats Texas College, Oklahoma Baptist, Langston and Southwestern Assemblies of God, they will be in the postseason. One loss and they are done. If Langston runs the table they will be the outright winner of the CSFL, but with four losses on the season it would be tough for raters to move them into the Top 20 but not unheard of. 
Today’s Prediction: Bacone

Frontier: It’s absolutely crazy how competitive and tough this conference is year after year. Currently, Carroll College and Rocky Mountain are in the conference lead with essentially the conference championship game set for November 9th if both Rocky and Carroll win out. Now, that’s a giant if as teams like Southern Oregon, MSU-Northern and Montana Western all still have a punchers chance at making the postseason. Compound that with the fact Carroll’s only loss this season is to the 2-5 Eastern Oregon Mountaineers. The Frontier is really a “wait and see” conference for another two weeks before you can have any confidence in who will actually make the postseason.
Today’s Prediction: Carroll College as Champion. Rocky with a chance at an at-large.

GPAC: Morningside is the only team I feel comfortable saying will be in the postseason. Up until this weekend, Concordia was in that category but a two point loss to Northwestern has put a some doubt into if they will end the season rated high enough to make it into the postseason and with Doane, Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan on their schedule things will not come easy.  Northwestern might have a shot if they win out, but that would include upsetting Morningside in the final regular season game of the year.
Today’s Prediction: Morningside with possible at large to Concordia.

HAAC: Quite a few teams in the HAAC have an opportunity to make it into the postseason. Benedictine is in the drivers seat but the Ravens will still have to face off with Missouri Valley on November 9th. Regardless of that outcome if both teams win out, they will both be in the postseason. That’s easier said than done for Missouri Valley as the Vikings still have to face off with Baker and Peru State before they play Benedictine. Depending on how the final three weeks shake out, the HAAC will have a minimum of two teams in the postseason and a possibility of four teams. Peru State has had a heck of a season, but they might be the odd man out of the HAAC postseason.
Today’s Prediction: Benedictine, Mo. Valley and Baker.

Independent: Valley City State appeared to have the upper hand until this week’s out of NAIA loss. With a 4-3 record, they have to win out to even have a chance at making the postseason and even with that, they will finish the regular season 7-3. That’s not exactly the type of record that will pop off the screen at raters especially when you’ve lost to Mayville State and Gustavus Adolphus, two teams that a postseason qualifier needs to beat. But even with that said, the Vikings still have the best shot out of any of the NAIA Independents.  Next in line are Webber International, Mayville State and Presentation; none of which are receiving votes in the NAIA poll or have enough quality wins to be considered.
Today’s Prediction: No Qualifier.

KCAC: Tabor College is in the drivers seat with a 6-1 record. Ottawa was in control of their own destiny until their loss this weekend to Sterling College who has now entered the race as a possible suitor for the postseason along with Friends. However, given the ratings and history the only teams I would feel comfortable predicting make the postseason are Tabor and Ottawa. Sterling and Friends need a lot of teams in front of them to lose in order to make the postseason and there are too many games to be played to start figuring the possibility of either of them making the postseason. Two more weeks will make the postseason picture for the KCAC a lot clearer even though the outcome of the November 16th game with Tabor and Ottawa will potentially determine the conference champion.
Today’s Prediction: Tabor and Ottawa.

MSC-East:  The University of the Cumberlands has established themselves as the front-runner of the MSC-East after their victory over Georgetown College last weekend. The Patriots need to keep winning to secure a high seed in the NAIA postseason. They aren’t the type of team that is going to let the bottom drop out of their season and lose a few games at the end of the year. Given the ratings, Georgetown College and Lindsey Wilson are the only teams in any position what-so-ever to make a run at the NAIA Championship Series. LWC should finish 8-2 but their recent loss to Kentucky Christian stings. KCU is 3-1 in the conference, but their 3-4 overall record leaves them with little chance to make the postseason. LWC faces off with Georgetown the final week of the regular season meaning the winner of that game will likely be the only remaining team in the MSC-E to make the postseason.
Today’s Prediction: U-Cumberlands.

MSC-West: From looking at this conference week one and looking at it today, I can only think of one way to describe the race for a conference championship: a mess. Currently Reinhart, a first year program, is in the driver’s seat with a 3-0 conference record, 5-2 overall. Campbellsville is 2-0 in the conference but 3-3 overall while Faulkner is 1-1 in the MSC but 5-2 overall. Both Faulkner and Reinhart control their postseason likelihood if they win out. Keep in mind though, Reinhart plays Cumberlands this week, which will effect their current Top 25 rating. Faulkner does not have an easy road in front of them, but it is manageable with games against Bethel (Tenn), Belhaven, Campbellsville and Kentucky Christian. In terms of ratings and schedule, Faulkner is in the drivers seat with a lot of football still to be played.
Today’s Prediction: Faulkner

MSFA-Mideast: After last weekend’s win, Saint Francis (Ind.) is in control of their division as long as they take care of business the rest of the way. The rest of the conference is a garbled mess of good teams with average records. It’s going to be tough for another team in this conference to move up far enough in the ratings to pick up an at-large berth especially with three losses. Essentially, one of the remaining teams will have to win out in order to make the postseason.
Today’s Prediction: Saint Francis (Ind.).

MSFA-Midwest: Very competitive conference that Grand View is currently in control of at this moment. But don’t sleep on Saint Ambrose who has not lost in the conference yet and have a showdown with GV with Saint Ambrose this coming weekend. The winner will likely win the conference while the loser will probably get an at-large berth. The real question mark will be if SXU can keep winning to finish the season 8-3 and make the postseason. That would mean SXU would need to beat SAU as part of their remaining regular season run, which might put SAU’s postseason into doubt if they lose to Grand View this weekend. However, an SAU win this weekend and a loss later in the regular season to SXU would almost guarantee the MSFA-Midwest gets three teams in the postseason. In other words, there is still a lot of football to be played before I feel too good about my prediction for this conference.
Today’s Prediction: Grand View, Saint Ambrose and Saint Xavier.

For those of you keeping score, my October 19th prediction for the NAIA postseason looks like this:

  • Central States Football League: Bacone College
  • Frontier Conference: Carroll College and Rocky Mountain
  • Great Plains Athletic Conference: Morningside College and Concordia University
  • Heart of America Athletic Conference: Benedictine, Missouri Valley and Baker
  • Independents: None
  • Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Tabor College and Ottawa University
  • Mid-South Conference East: Cumberlands
  • Mid South Conference West: Faulkner University
  • Mid States Football Association Mideast: Saint Francis (Ind.)
  • Mid States Football Association Midwest: Grand View, Saint Ambrose and Saint Xavier

There is a lot of football to be played and if the last month of the season is anything like the previous month of NAIA football most of these predictions will be proven completely wrong. That’s what makes the NAIA so exciting and so fun to cover week after week.

I have been thoroughly impressed this season with Morningside, Cumberlands, Grand View and Benedictine. Each team has shown the type of poise that is needed to make a run at an NAIA national championship while having their own unique headlines to go with their programs. With four weeks remaining in the regular season it will be interesting to see how each team finishes up and the type of momentum they carry into the postseason.

But remember… there’s still a lot of football left to be played.