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INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) will host its annual GLVC Football Kickoff event on Friday, July 31, preparing one the nation’s newest NCAA Division II football conferences for its fourth season on the gridiron.
For the second consecutive season, the annual celebration will be held at The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the campus of McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois. This season’s event, which will serve both the league’s media members and passionate fans through several social media outlets, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT.
The “Hett,” as it is commonly referred to on campus, provided the perfect setting for the 2014 GLVC Football Kickoff, which marked the first time the event was held on the campus of a football-playing conference member. The first two gatherings were held at the Millennium Student Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
All nine conference teams will be represented by the head coach and two players at the event.
Three league coaches will take part in their very first GLVC Football Kickoff event, including Saint Joseph’s College head coach Daniel Day, Southwest Baptist University interim coach Robert Clardy, and William Jewell College mentor Shawn Weigel.
Day takes over a Saint Joseph’s ballclub that finished in a four-way tie for second in the GLVC at 5-3 last year. He joined the Pumas as the offensive line coach prior to the 2011 season and was promoted to the head position last December following Cory Sanders’ departure. The 19th head coach in SJC history, Day is set to embark on his initial test with a group that returns 13 starters from an 8-3 team that ranked in the top 20 of NCAA Division II in both rushing (242.6, 15th) and rushing yards allowed (104.0, 17th) last year.
Clardy was recently promoted to the interim position after the resignation of Craig Schuler, who guided Southwest Baptist to a 5-17 record in his two years, including a 4-7 overall effort and a 1-7 mark as first-time GLVC associate members in 2014. Clardy has served many roles in the last eight seasons on the Bearcats’ coaching staff, most recently as the offensive mastermind that saw SBU top the conference and rank seventh nationally in passing last year with 341.3 yards per game.
Weigel took the reins of the William Jewell program in January after the departure of Jerod Kruse, the 2014 GLVC Coach of the Year. Having served as assistant head coach under Kruse for nine years, Weigel inherits a Cardinals team that compiled one of its most successful seasons in school history. Picked to finish last in the 2014 GLVC Preseason Poll, Jewell finished 5-6 overall and in a four-way tie for second at 5-3 in conference action. Three of those five wins came on the road at Truman State University, Missouri S&T, and a season-ending top-25 upset over the University of Indianapolis, which had been unbeaten in its previous 23 conference games since the league began sponsoring the sport in 2012.
Indianapolis head coach Bob Bartolomeo, who in his fifth year guided the Greyhounds to their third consecutive GLVC Championship, is sure to discuss plenty of news regarding the Hounds’ title defense, including the installation of new synthetic turf at Key Stadium.
McKendree’s Mike Babcock and Quincy University’s Tom Pajic, who are back for their third and fourth years, respectively, also have new synthetic surfaces to praise this year. The Bearcats were part of the four-team tie for second at 5-3 last year and turned in a 5-6 mark overall under Babcock. Pajac is bringing his Hawks back to campus after a 6-5 (4-4 GLVC) campaign, which marked the team’s first winning season since 2008.
Also in attendance will be fifth-year head coach Mike Jones of GLVC associate member Lincoln University (2-9, 1-7 GLVC), third-year mentor Tyler Fenwick of Missouri S&T (4-7, 3-5 GLVC) and sixth-year head man Gregg Nesbitt of Truman State (6-3, 5-3 GLVC) – a program that has tied for second in each of its two seasons competing in the league.
On July 22, the GLVC will release its list of player attendees, and launch the official GLVC Football Kickoff website as well as the fan-interactive schedule on July 28.
Media members interested in attending the 2015 GLVC Football Kickoff can apply for credentials by contacting GLVC Associate Commissioner Jeff Smith at
jeff@glvc-sports.org.