North Central Football: At last, national champions

“THE ENTIRE ALUMNI BASE IS SUPER PROUD!”

Nick Zec ‘81, Ricky Schwartz ‘80, Tim Peraino ‘82

THE NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE AND NAPERVILLE COMMUNITIES UNITED TO SUPPORT AND CELEBRATE A LONG-AWAITED NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN NCAA DIVISION III FOOTBALL. TROPHY NUMBER 40 CAPPED OFF A YEAR THAT RESULTED IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS NUMBER 38 ( INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD) AND 39 ( WOMEN’S TRIATHLON). For generations of Cardinal football alumni, a trip to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to play for the Division III National Championship was something that could only be imagined. That long journey made the 2019 season all the more memorable, said Nick Zec ’81.

“As we watched the semifinals, we were waiting anxiously to book our tickets to Houston from Tampa,” said Zec. “Ricky (Scwartz ’80) and Pat (Calhoon ’78) were on board and we were going not only for ourselves but for all of our football brethren and alumni who could not be at this historic event. [It was a] very proud moment in our lives.”

He added that the game experience embodied the immense pride of the “football family that gave us lifelong memories, lifelong friends and a brotherhood.”

Al Martineck ’88 and his football buddies—Mark Browning ’88, Ricky Rodriguez ‘88 and Tim Peck ’86—first talked of going to a national championship game in 2013 when North Central lost in the semifinals to Mount Union. “We said then if the team made it, we’d go,” said Martineck, and the former teammates made good on their promise.

For Martineck, the high points were reconnecting with fellow players and witnessing the excitement of people like Rick Spencer, vice president for institutional advancement, and Jim Miller ’86, athletic director. “It was fun to see a big smile on his face.”

Carlos Barba ’90 said this was the dream of every player in the program and described his feelings with one word: pride. “I never realized how touched I could be, being there with guys I played with, great players who came before me and even better players after me. This will forever be a lifetime highlight!”

Kam Kniss ’07 recalls when making the playoffs his junior and senior years were huge accomplishments. “Just to get there was a big step,” said Kniss, an Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who was recruited by former head coach John Thorne. Flash forward to 2019. Kniss remembers well the excitement of watching the Cardinals claw back into the Mount Union game in the third quarter. “There was a point where we said, ‘This is happening!’”

Peter Mann ’14, Alex Mann ‘14 and their father John booked tickets as soon as the Cardinals won the semifinal game. “(As a player) I bought into the program and learned everything I could,” said Peter Mann. “We were always in the top 10 but we couldn’t break into that next tier. It was so awesome to see John and Jeff Thorne and the many alumni who are older, younger and my age, supporting the team.”

HOW BEHIND-THE-SCENES PLANNING HELPED THE CARDINALS GAIN AN EDGE IN TEXAS

As athletic director, Jim Miller ‘86 wears many hats. For the playoff games and Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, he assumed the role of chief logistics officer and travel coordinator. “I couldn’t ask the coaches to do the logistics and put the itinerary together,” he said. “I wanted the coaches to focus on coaching.”

Miller coordinated meals, transportation and hotel accommodations for 59 student-athletes and 13 staff members traveling to Texas via air charter. That included inputting names and birthdates for the plane tickets; calculating the weight of the travelers and equipment to ensure the aircraft could handle it all; arranging ground transportation; and, with the assistance of team chaplain Gary Ireland, planning meals for some very hungry individuals. It didn’t all go perfectly to plan, like the time the fast food caterer forgot to include chicken sandwiches as part of the team’s chicken sandwich boxed lunches.

Plus, Miller had to contend with the fact that the NCAA reimburses Division III football programs for a maximum of 68 people (rostered players and coaching staff) at a rate of $95 per day. All costs beyond that were the responsibility of North Central. “Each institution can decide how they want to do it and we wanted to do it right,” said Miller. “Most importantly, we had support from the College leadership.”

GENEROUS DONORS COME TO THE RESCUE

Several senior non-roster players missed traveling to the semifinal game due to financial limitations. The College didn’t want that to happen for the Stagg Bowl. North Central decided to aim high. Not only would it send the remaining seniors to the Stagg Bowl, it would also send the marching band, student fans, cheer and dance teams, and WONC-FM broadcasters—creating a home field advantage miles away from home. To do this, the College would need to cover additional airfares and book three charter buses at $11,000 each.

After the semifinal game, an email fundraising campaign later that weekend asked alumni and other friends for $50,000 to cover the cost of transporting, feeding and lodging students and chaperones. By kickoff on Friday, members of the Quarterback Club and hundreds of other alumni and friends had exceeded that ambitious goal by pledging $85,000.

“The campaign succeeded far beyond our dreams because so many people gave whatever they could,” said Adrian Aldrich ‘02, executive director of development and alumni affairs. “In many cases, those donors had already given to the North Central Fund or the Quarterback Club. They went above and beyond because they believe in our students and the experience the College gives them.”

Tim Janecek ’11

Eric Stuedemann ’06

Shane Dierking ’14/M ’16

Brad Spencer ’04

ALUMNI COACHES BRING LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE TO LONG-AWAITED CHAMPIONSHIP

For the assistant coaches, the victory was not only a historic win but a personal one. That’s because the Cardinals’ full-time assistant coaches are all alumni of the program: Brad Spencer ’04, assistant head coach/ offensive coordinator; Shane Dierking ’14/M ’16, defensive coordinator; Eric Stuedemann ’06, offensive line coach/assistant director of strength and conditioning; and Tim Janecek ’11, defensive line coach.

“It’s hard to put into words the feeling of winning a national championship,” said Stuedemann, declaring the 2019 season the most exciting year of coaching in his life. “I immediately felt joy for our players. It’s hard to put into words the time and sacrifice that goes into it. I then thought of all the players who came before to help this 2019 team reach the pinnacle.”

Spencer, who joined the Cardinals’ staff soon after graduation, practically grew up at the College, as did his brother Tyke Spencer ’06. When deciding to return to his alma mater as a coach, Brad Spencer said that coach Jeff Thorne was his reason for taking the job. “He really got me more interested in the strategy of the game and the leadership aspect,” said Spencer.

After repeated playoff appearances over the years, the realization that the Cardinals would come home victorious was unforgettable. “For a year we get to have confidence that we were the best team in the country,” said Spencer.

Nick Shepkowski ’08 of WSCR-AM 670 The Score lives like a fan again Radio producer and host combines work with loyalty to alma mater like never before

When Nick Shepkowski ’08 first came to North Central College, football championship dreams were restricted to the NFL season. “I was a freshman in the fall of (2004) when beating Augustana late in the year was a huge deal; it felt like winning a Super Bowl,” Shepkowski recalled.

The Cardinals’ first nine-win season and Division III playoff appearance occurred during Shepkowski’s sophomore year, followed by a playoff victory a season later. Working toward his calling in sports radio, Shepkowski reported on the team’s improvement while on staff at WONC-FM 89.1. His desire to follow the team’s success continued past graduation as he interned and found full-time work at The Score. While his penchant for living and dying with every play waned, Shepkowski’s loyalty never did.

“North Central going on their run was a dream being realized,” Shepkowski said. “To see how far the program has come in that time ... I loved it.”

As the hype built, Shepkowski could sense something special was coming—and he played a part in expanding the story’s national reach. The playoff run came at an opportune time for North Central, as other area football teams were wrapping up sub-par seasons—giving North Central a chance to grab the Chicago area football spotlight.

“Had the Bears been a 12-win team and getting ready for the playoffs, it would have been different,” he said. “That said, North Central was still a great story.”

Shepkowski has covered spring training baseball, Stanley Cup finals, NFL playoffs and even the World Series, but nothing he’s worked on for The Score has had quite the personal connection of this championship win. “The domination was unreal.”