http://cslab.uwlax.edu/~ander_rj/foot/coach.html (Internet on a CD, 07/1998)If Roger Harring listened to the voices of conventional wisdom, he'd be on a serene pond somewhere in God's Country this autumn, trolling for bluegills.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football coach has been called many things in his day but conventional isn't one of them.
At age 64 and with three national championships and one heart attack in his past, Harring seemed to have reached a perfect time to call it a career last December. His Eagles had just won their third national title, with a 36-7 rout of Rowan (N.J.) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
"You always come out of the season feeling tired and so forth, but I honestly never thought about (retirement)," Harring said. "As long as the kids come in with the energy they have, it's fun to be around them. Why should I retire as long as I'm healthy?"
Harring has transcended the title of dean of Wisconsin State University Conference coaches. Now in his 28th season at La Crosse, he is the dean of Division III football.
Harring, who has a 232-62-7 record and national titles in 1985, 1992 and 1995, will, in all probability, pass two other Midwest coaching legends, Bo Schembechler (236 victories) and Woody Hayes (238) this season.
Although his team will be hard-pressed to equal the 1995 dream season without strong-armed quarterback Craig Kusick, recently cut in training camp by the San Francisco 49ers, Harring intends to give it his best shot.
With eight returning defensive starters and an offensive line with four starters back and four players weighing more than 300 pounds, don't count out the Eagles. In pre-season Division III polls, Sports Illustrated ranks La Crosse No. 3 and Street and Smith puts the Eagles at No. 4.
"I'm not a very good predictor, but I always feel we'll be competitive," Harring said. "According to our fitness tests, we're in a lot better shape than we were last year.
"Replacing Craig Kusick isn't going to be easy. Craig was the national player of the year last year, so it's not fair to compare any of our guys to him, but we have some young guys who we hope can step in for him."
The best bet to replace Kusick appears to be Jeff Baker from Watertown. According to Harring, he has a stronger arm but doesn't have the accuracy of his lanky predecessor.
"He can throw the ball further than Kusick, but he's not as accurate," Harring said. "But Craig had pinpoint accuracy."
"We'll probably stick to our formula, throw the ball about one of every three plays. The offensive line should protect pretty well, so we'll have time to develop at quarterback."
The Eagles are in good shape in the offensive line with four starters returning, including All-American candidate Erik Halverson at right guard. He is joined by returning starters Rich Jazdzewski, center Chris Schultz and 6-foot-9, 330-pound jumbo tackle Sam McNeely.
The defense is in good hands, as well, anchored by the likes of All-American tackle Mike Ivey. Senior linebacker Mike Maslowski is another candidate for post-season honors.
As if the La Crosse program didn't have enough going for it, five transfers whom Harring expects to offer immediate help joined the program this fall. Division III transfers can play immediately, unlike Division I transfers who are required to sit out a year.
"The Division III transfer rule helps winning programs," Harring said. "People want to be a part of it.
"Last year was great, but when we started practice this year, I took off my championship ring and put it in my pocket," Harring said. "I said that was last year."
If the Eagles should stumble, it would probably be left up to UW-Stevens Point, UW-River Falls or UW-Whitewater to uphold the conference's honor. The Pointers, who return Tom Fitzgerald, one of the nation's top-rated passers, are ranked 11th nationally by Street and Smith.
Coach John Miech has had Stevens Point on the verge of a breakthrough, going 23-7 the last three years including 8-2 last year, but he is far from satisfied.
"We have a veteran squad who knows what it takes to win week in and week out in this conference, and we have a coaching staff that knows those same things," Miech said.
The key to the Pointers' success may be Fitzgerald, a senior from Spooner.
"Fitzgerald is arguably the best returning quarterback in the conference," Miech said. "When he's clicking, he's very tough to stop."
Stevens Point also figures to have a solid running game with the return of Stan Strama and Nate Harms. Strama led the team with more than 700 rushing yards last season.
River Falls has a big hole to fill with the graduation of quarterback Adam Kowles, the WSUC player of the year. Falcons coach John O'Grady hopes that fifth-year senior Pat Simones can step right in, however.
"He doesn't have the breakaway speed of Kowles, but we're very comfortable with him," O'Grady said about Simones. "How well our offense does depends on how early some of our young linemen come along but we've got some speed in the backfield."
The Falcons' strength appears to be on defense, where nine of 11 starters return.
"I feel very strong about our defense," O'Grady said.
Whitewater figures to have a strong game with the return of Eddie McKennie (123 yards per game), John Damato (83 yards) and Charles Warren (55). Brian Aufdermauer, the back-up quarterback last year, will be pushed by Ty Grovesteen, a transfer from UW-Platteville, for the starting job.
"Brian will start the first game, and Ty will start the second game and we'll make up our mind after that who we will go with," Warhawks coach Bob Berezowitz said.
"You have to pick La Crosse because they're the national champs, but I think the consensus is that the other teams have closed the gap. Nobody feels La Crosse is in a league of its own."
UW-Platteville has gone 5-5 in each of the past two years and coach Jim Kinder, entering his fourth year there, figures it's time to get over the hump. Junior quarterback Forrest Paul, who missed four games because of injury last year, is healthy again and could be the man to take the Pioneers over the top.
Oshkosh figures to have a strong passing game with the return of split end Rob Stoltz, who caught 39 passes for 732 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Sophomore Brian Tomalak, who completed 44 of 83 passes for 904 yards before being injured last year, should be able to get the ball to Stoltz.
UW-Stout coach Ed Meierkort is 9-21 heading into his fourth year and he intends to do something about that record.
"We want more of a San Francisco 49ers-Green Bay Packers look offensively, rather than a Wisconsin Badgers look," Meierkort said. "We look to get more involved in the passing game."
UW-Eau Claire's new coach, Bob Nielson, will have his hands full trying to turn around a program that had just three victories in the past two years and hasn't had a winning season since 1989. In Nielson's previous two stops at Ripon College and Wartburg College, he was a combined 48-22-1.