Women’s Soccer (11:30 Class)

Ok so our team name is formally known as Team Awesome. We decided to research the history behind women’s soccer here at Bowling Green State University. Myself included (Nate Dudzik), Shawn Weimer, and Brennan Tilow all really didn’t know what sport we wanted to do at first. However, Brennan knew some players on the women’s team and we decided to go with that. I played soccer before switching to basketball and Brennan has been around soccer as well so it wasn’t like we didn’t have any knowledge going into the project. Women’s soccer didn’t begin in BG until the late 1990’s, so we didn’t have that much history to present on. However, noting the 1999 gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team, women’s soccer has had a place in U.S. history. Our presentation will start in 1997 when it first began at BGSU, and end with our current team in 2010 and the direction that head coach Andy Richards is taking our women’s soccer program.

Since the program is fairly new, it wasn’t all that difficult to obtain certain facts. However, certain media guides didn’t include a lot of women’s soccer until the 00’ decade. We didn’t have that much difficulty finding people to do our interviews. I was able to contact the first and former head coach for BGSU’s women’s soccer (i.e., Tom Piccirillo, above), Brennan was able to interview one of the girls that he knows on the team, and Shawn was able to interview former goalkeeper Erika Flanders. The only thing that we really are having difficulty on is finding enough information to truly suffice what we want to present. Unlike other major sports here, there really aren’t that many sources that have the history of women’s soccer like football or basketball. Media guides have sadly been some of our best sources, besides the interviews.

Members of this Group include: Nate Dudzik, Brennan Tilow, and Shawn Weimer

BGSU Women’s Track and Field (11:30 TR Class)

In first hearing about the centennial project our History and Philosophy class would be conducting, our group thought the project seemed very difficult and almost impossible to complete. As time went on and we narrowed down what BGSU sport we wanted to look further into it became very clear on how truly interesting and fun this assignment could be. With two of our group members both having a background in running track and field (Jessica Grant, below) and cross country we decided upon the Bowling Green State University Women’s Track and Field team. We were lucky to have a good selection position in class even though Women’s Track and Field probably was not one of the most popular choices.

In gathering the abundant amount of information through research on the Women’s Track and Field team it was very difficult to find exact dates. But after digging enough and comparing sources we are confident that all our dates and findings are very accurate. As for the start of the Bowling Green State University’s Women’s Track and Field team, it is said they started in 1983. But 1983 just so happens to be the first year the women were affiliated with the NCAA. According to Dr. Parks 1965 was the official date the women started competing with outside competition with the likes of current MAC teams like Kent State and Ohio University. We conducted several interviews with past figures and current figures who have all been or are currently involved it Bowling Green athletics and the information gathered has been amazing to say the least. Such a rich history not only in just Bowling Green State University’s Women’s Track and Field, but in all the sports and events that have been a part of BGSU’s tradition.

Members of this group include: Mike Davis, Jessica Grant, Ryan Harrison, and Kyle Leedy

BGSU Women’s Volleyball History (11:30 Class)

Matthew Wulff is a member of the men’s volleyball club team at BGSU; that was one of the main reasons why we chose this sport to study. Another reason is the fact that the women’s sports are doing a lot better in recent years than the men’s sports. Volleyball has been getting a lot of publicity with the Olympics and college volleyball reaching out to people. The four of have shared a love for sports and enjoy attending games. We all are interested in the history of all BGSU sports. Some areas that we are going to be focusing on are from the 1970s to present. We will also be covering when BGSU won the MAC conference championship and went on to the NCAA tournament. We will also be talking about the history of the present coach of the team Denise Van De Walle (Below). The archives in the Jerome Library or utilizing media guides that were provided to us was an effective way to find information along with interviews.

Members of this group include: Matthew Pardee, Samuel Polzin, David Shelmon, and Matthew Wulff

Men’s Basketball (11:30 Class)

As we begin to wind down the centennial project we would like to share some of the information we found while researching the Men’s Basketball team and talk about the overall process. As a group we decided to choose to research the history of the men’s basketball team because we are all avid fans of the game and wanted to learn more about the history of the team at our school. The time periods we focused on ranged from the 1951 team to the more modern teams in men’s basketball history. A difficulty when trying to find information about the history about Bowling Green’s men’s basketball team was that the best years were in the late 1940’s to 1950’s. With the “glory” years being so long ago there weren’t as many media sources to find information about the individuals on these teams.

We were able to interview some very interesting and important individuals in the history of the men’s basketball program. Austin Hunt was able to interview Dr. Crystal “Boo” Ellis (Above Right, shown with Mac Otten) who played during the 1950’s. During that time we learned that Bowling Green was a division one powerhouse who played a schedule across the entire country. Christopher Binckley interviewed former assistant coach Jim Lessig who coached from 1966-68 before moving on to the Cleveland Cavaliers. We learned that Mr. Lessig’s most memorable moment was almost defeating Marquette University in our last NCAA tournament appearance. Mark Chipperfield was able to interview former head coach Jim Larranaga (Below) who coached from 1986-1997 before later leading George Mason to a final four appearance. We learned that during the time he coached the MAC conference as a whole had its greatest success in producing consistent NBA talent.

Members of this group include: Chris Binckley, Mark Chipperfield, and Austin Hunt

Men’s Golf (11:30 Class)

For the Sport Centennial Project our group researched the Men’s Golf program. We chose this sport partly because we had the last pick in the draft and our choices were very limited and also because two of our group members knew members of the team. Men’s Golf has a long history at BGSU, however there is not very much information about the teams throughout the years. The best resource we found was the BGSU Men’s Golf Media Guide from 2008-09 which was the most recent one printed. Some information could also be found in The Key however for many of the earlier years there is no mention of the team at all.

The program went into and out of existence several times in its early years. It began in 1930 and was first coached by Paul Landis. There was no team for the next four years but then it returned in 1935 and 1936. The team then disappeared once again, played a single season in 1941 under new coach Don Cunningham, disappeared again and then returned for good in 1947.

The Men’s Golf team has recorded five MAC Titles throughout its history. They won back-to-back championships in 1972 and 1973. Their other title seasons were 1956, 1978 and 1983. As MAC Tournament Champions the team competed in the NCAA Tournament in these years. The team’s best finish in the NCAA Tournament came in 1973 when they finished twenty-third.

There have been many notable golfers throughout the program’s history. Mike McCullough, John Spengler and Ken Walters (Below) have been inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Spengler (’82) was a letterman in both golf and football, serving as the team’s kicker. During his Junior year he was a First Team All-MAC selection in both sports. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.

McCullough (’68), pictured below, has had more success in professional golf than any other Falcon. He turned pro in 1970 and joined the PGA Tour in 1972. He has played in over 400 events on the tour. He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1996 and has recorded two wins on this circuit. He has earned over $6 million during his professional career. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.

Members of this group include: Spencer Bechstein, Brett Perz, and Jeff Rowan

Men’s Ice Hockey (11:30 Class)

Greetings gang! Our group, which includes Brett Smith, Bryan McHenry, Pat Cola, and Tony Malfara, conducted a research project on the history of Bowling Green State University Ice Hockey. We decided to focus on the sport of Ice Hockey because the team holds a lot of history here at BGSU, we all have either played hockey or followed hockey at some point in our lives, and we wanted to learn more about the sport that has been played here at BGSU since 1963. It was in 1963 that the Men’s Ice Hockey program began as a club sport and it officially became a varsity sport in 1969. The first coach of the team was Jack Vivian. We found a lot of information on the BGSU Ice Hockey team, but there were some difficulties in conducting research along the way. Instead of obtaining info online, we took the challenge of looking through the archives and finding additional primary sources instead of just using the internet. We found out that interviewing a current player on the team was a lot easier than trying to get in touch with a former player who lives outside of Bowling Green. The BGSU Ice Hockey team plays in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). This Division I league is one of the most dominant, competitive leagues in the nation. Unfortunately, Bowling Green is not the team they once were. Since winning the National Championship back in 1984, the Ice Hockey team has had several below average seasons. We can only hope that they soon bounce back to the championship team they once were. Roll along!

Members of this group include: Pat Cola, Tony Malfara, Bryan McHenry, and Brett Smith

BGSU Women’s Tennis History (11:30 Class)

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog about the women’s tennis team here at BGSU. The three of us decided to explore and research the history of the women’s tennis team because it is a sport none of us have had much experience with and we wanted to try something new. We were able to interview the current head coach Penny Dean, current player and captain Christine Chiricosta, and former player Deidre Weekley as part of our research.

One of our biggest problems in doing this research was finding people available during the fall season to interview because everyone is very busy at this time of year. We were somewhat limited with time in the end to complete this process but we feel that the interviews went very well and gained an extensive amount of knowledge about the team. The other primary issue was that we had trouble finding when exactly the BGSU women’s tennis team started because there is a discrepancy between the media guide and other sources.

Our project will include the history of BGSU women’s tennis beginning in 1967 through the present time. We will also focus a great amount on the recent years of BGSU women’s tennis as there have been several records broken during this time period.

Members of this group include: Nick Juskewycz, Nick Edwards, and Brad Potts

Men’s Baseball (1:00 Class)

Eight years after Bowling Green Normal College was founded in 1910 a baseball program was started. Since then BG has had a long history of success in the sport starting with the team’s first championship in 1921. Current coach Danny Schmitz has been coaching at the University for 21 years and said BGSU baseball is very proud of its past.
“Well … we are very proud of the history that we have in regards to baseball. We’re proud of the University,” he said.

Schmitz said the team even took the opportunity to share in the Centennial Celebration last spring by playing a Centennial game against Kent State University. Kent is also celebrating it’s centennial.

“Kent wore their throwback grays and we wore the throwback white uniforms, so it was really neat. The players really enjoyed wearing the uniforms …It was fun, It really was,” he said.

Bowling Green State University players are proud of their university and still come back to watch games played today, even when they played back in the 70’s or even before. Some players such as Gary Haas, a Hall of Fame winner and Academic All American played in the 70’s and was a part of the 72’ MAC championship team still visits from time to time and fully supports how the current team is doing: “I think Dan is doing a good job, they have won the MAC three years in a row, not this year, but they won the division not the MAC, Dan does a good, a great job. The baseball team has a lot to look forward to in the coming years especially with a great coach and supportive alumni, the sky is the limit.

Members of this group include: Kyle Miklas, Kevin Murphy, and Becky Tener

Men’s Football (1:00 class)

The game of football is the most popular sport in the United States of America, and it could be argued that college football is the most popular level of the game. This is why we chose Bowling Green State Univesity Football for the Sport Centennial project, as well as all of our interests in this sport. Since last semester’s classes covered the complete history of the sport, we were asked to choose a specific time in history to cover. As a group we decided to research the most recent history of the program which can be dated from 1990-present. The reason we chose this time period is because of the amount of information that is available from these years. As we progressed through the project we found it difficult to contact former players who played at Bowling Green prior to 1990.

While researching football here at BGSU, we found out that there have been many firsts for the program from 1990 to present day. A few of the more interesting ones are: first bowl game win (1991), first and only visit by ESPN’s College Gameday (2003) (Below), and first Big Ten School to play at Doyt Perry Stadium when Minnesota visited BG in 2008. Some other interesting facts that we found were that since 1990 the BG Football team has participated in six bowl games (four wins), had eight All-Americans in the program, and had nine players drafted in the National Football League. These statistics show that BG has been successful in developing great teams, but also great players.

Although this past season was not as successful as recent years, the Bowling Green State University football program has experienced many other great campaigns. Even in the twenty years in which we have focused, the amount of success BG has obtained is quite remarkable for a Mid-American Conference school. We think it is reasonable to say that if the future of BG football is any representation of the past, we are in for many great seasons to come.

Group Members: Tina Byrd, Katie Brown, Andrew Downing

Womens Basketball (1:00 Class)

For the Sports Centennial Project, we were excited to learn about the rich history of Women’s Basketball at BGSU. In particular, we choose to research about this sport due to the recent success and energy it has brought to BGSU athletics: 6 consecutive MAC Championships, NCAA Tournament Appearances, and the highlight of the program, Advancement to the “Sweet 16” in 2007. During the research process, we were able to interview some key players that have been a part of recent success of this program such as: Tamika Nurse, Liz Honegger, and Kate Achter. They were able to give great insight as to what went on during crucial moments as a BGSU Basketball player, as well as reasons why they became so successful.

Kate Achter (Top) and Liz Honegger (Below) in action during 2007 season.

In addition to the recent success, it was also interesting to learn about the history since BGSU Women’s Baskebtall began. We were able to learn a great deal of information about the early days from first hand experience with Sue Hager, one of the first Women’s Basketball coaches at BG. She explained how style of play has changed as well as how the popularity has come a long way in the sport of Women’s Basketball at BGSU. Bowling Green Women’s Basketball started in 1919 as two literary societies playing against each other, which eventually transformed to a low budget intercollegiate sport in 1962.

Throughout its 40+ years in collegiate athletics, BGSU Women’s Basketball has gone through numerous changes in: the recruiting process, style of play, and fan support. Overall, we had a great experience researching on this sport at BGSU and enjoyed seeing how Women’s Basketball has transformed over the last 100 years into one of the top Mid-Major programs in the country!

1919 BGSU Wilsonian women’s basketball team

2010 MAC Tournament Champions!

Members of this Group include: Carrie Bagnoli, Khiry Kelly, and Kelsey Kohlman

Women’s Soccer (1:00 Class)

Though they’re only been around for 13 years, the women’s soccer team here at BGSU has already had some very successful seasons, and is primed to have continued success well into BGSU’s second century of existence. The women’s team has an all time varsity record of 117-130-26 for a winning percentage of .476; they are 60-66-16 in the MAC for a conference winning percentage of.479. They won the MAC regular season title in 2005 and have made nine MAC tournament appearances. They also have two MAC tournament titles and are an impressive 11-6-5 in the MAC tournament overall.

The Women's Soccer team is currently coached by Andy Richards (Above), a native of England, and in his ten seasons as head coach he has posted an overall record of 98-96-22. Our group chose to do our project on the women’s soccer team because even with the short history they have shown a lot of potential and have some stable leadership under Coach Richards. Even though they weren’t our first choice we get to witness the foundation of their program come together and we get to witness the start of something potentially very special. There have already been numerous star athletes come through the program and the team looks more and more promising by the year. Just in the past six years the women have won two MAC tournament titles and have made two NCAA tournament appearances. Even though they are 0-2 in the tournament, they have paved the way for future success by overcoming the program’s overall inexperience. The Falcons seem primed to make a run at dominance in the MAC and to have success for years to come.

Members of Group include: Kyle Hess, Khiry Hills, and David Ryan Mullholand

Women’s Softball (1:00 Class)

Bowling Green State University’s women’s softball team has been around campus for the past 31 years. Although researching the team has proved to be difficult in some aspects due to the lack of records of the team, it has been a very educating experience. Over the course of its history the team has had its share of success both as a team and individually. The team success includes finishing first in the Mid-American Conference in 1988 and 1993. They also were crowned MAC East champions in 2000 and in 2001.
Over the course of history of the Bowling Green State University Softball program there have also been some very impressive individual performances. This includes former Falcons pitcher Vicki Miwa (Above). Miwa is credited with being the first ever softball player to be inducted into the Bowling Green Hall of Fame. She was granted Hall of Fame status after an amazing career as a pitcher for the Falcons. Over her career she became very decorated in honors including second team all region in 1987, and was also a three time first team all MAC player spanning from 1986 until 1988. As one of the most effective pitchers in the history of Bowling Green Softball, Miwa held an astonishing 11 different records at one point in her career while at BGSU.

Throughout the years of BGSU’s softball career the team has had a total of seven different head coaches. Out of these coaches Leigh Ross (Below) had the best career so far. She has the best overall winning percentage out of any coach at .546 and also has had the best MAC winning percentage at .613.

Overall BGSU’s softball team has had its fair share of both ups and downs. Hopefully with some good recruiting and good team play the Falcons Softball team will be able to return to the success it had back under the days of Ross.

Members of this group include: Drew Chenevey, Ian Escher, Matt Konyesni, and Max Lamberson

Women's Swimming (1:00 Class)

We chose women’s swimming because we wanted to choose a women’s sport because all our group members are women but at first we did not know exactly what sport we wanted to do. We knew that the women’s swimming team has had a long and successful history so we wanted to learn more about it. Not many people know about women’s swimming so we wanted to educate more people about the history of the sport at BGSU. Our group also wanted to find a way to relate our ethical project on Title IX and the Centennial project together. We hope that by doing this project we can educate and draw more fans into supporting the very successful women’s swim team.
There were quite a few things that we difficult about finding information about the women’s swim team. Bowling Green did not keep very good records about the history of the sport, so we relied on information that Dr. Spencer provided us and the archives for the majority of our information search. It was time consuming because we had to search through ancient microfilms and yearbooks in order to piece together the data. The yearbooks were not very helpful because they did not give detailed history about the team.

A few interesting facts about the women’s swimming program at BGSU is that it has been around since the 1950’s and has had a total of seven coaches. The newest coach, Petra Martin (Above) was recently hired in August of 2010. The women’s swim team has consistently been one of the top performing teams at the school and their best season was in 1992. Some of the best athletes in history have been Cheryl Patterson, who is 1993 broke two records in the 200 and 400 individual medleys. Alisha Ye broke the 100 backstroke record in 2008, and the 200 backstroke record in 2009. In 2010, Meg Richardson broke three records for the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle records in 2010.

Members of this group include: Rebekah Dyvig, Shamari Hamlet, and Liz Kostelac

Women’s Track & Field (1:00 Class)

When it came time for our group to choose a sport for the centennial project we were eager to select Women’s Track and Field. We were enthusiastic for choosing Women’s Track and Field because we wanted to learn more information about the team and their prolific history. When we began to do research we came across some difficulties in finding adequate information about the team. While searching through the past yearbooks, there were issues with finding valid information that we needed, such as recent coaches, records, and year started. We also struggled with developing an overall record for the team because of the missing information and the immense number of events that track and field have to offer. For many of the years, the team was not even present in the yearbook. This created a predicament because much of the beginning history could not be found. We then searched through the archives of the library and found the missing piece to the puzzle. After this information was discovered our group was ready to dive in head first into the puddle of knowledge that the Women’s Track and Field team had to offer.

Our group had an idea of whom to interview and they were very accessible. After getting in touch with the interviewees the interviews were ready to commence. The interviewees were very enthusiastic about the interviews and supplied supplemental information to us. The interviews gave us a wide variety of the many point of views that will be shared throughout the rest of our paper. With the new information that we have obtained from the interviewees we now have soaked up the puddle of knowledge that is Women’s Track and Field.

Members of this Group include: Saeedah Ahmad, Derek Kuhlman, Bethany Robinson, and Charles Rooney

Women's Volleyball (1:00 Class)

Our group selected women’s volleyball as the team for our centennial project. We didn't have an early choice, but we thought it would be an interesting sport to choose and learn more about due to its rich and fairly modern history. Women’s volleyball has been around since 1976 at BGSU. We expected to find material on the sport rather easily since it is less than 40 years old. This was actually the case and we were able to find all of the information we needed very easily.

We found rosters from the BGSU archives and found a great deal of information from the BGSU Women’s Volleyball Media Guide found online. It contained all the information, statistics, and pictures from every volleyball player that has played at BGSU. We used this information to attempt to contact former great volleyball players to interview. However, this was a difficult process because we were unable to come up with the contact information we needed. Overall, the media guide was a tremendous help to our research for this project.

Women’s volleyball started to thrive in the mid to late 1980s. There have only been three head volleyball coaches at BGSU and the most distinguished of them is Denise Van De Walle (Above). She continues to lead the Falcons today and just recently won her 500th game against the team from up north. BGSU has been home to some of the best MAC players around when it comes to volleyball. We have numerous record holders and championships from years past.

Members of this group include: Eric Arbogast, Alex Aspacher, Phil Kaiser, and John Shifley

Women’s Basketball (11:30 Class)

Our group chose to do our Sport Centennial project on the Women’s Basketball program here at BGSU for several reasons. The program has a rich history and is a very successful and popular team on campus. Members of our team also have personal connections to the sport of basketball and the Women’s team in particular. We knew when we chose Women’s Basketball that we would be able to get a lot out of doing a project about this team, an idea that proved itself as the semester went on.

In our research, we’ve come across more information about the team and its history than we could have ever imagined. We chose a very diverse group of people to interview about their experiences with the program which gave us a lot of information that we never expected. From Jessie Tamerlano, who played on the team as a freshman last year, to former coaches including the first head coach, Sue Hager (Below), we gathered plenty of information that we would never have found or heard about if we didn’t have those interviews.

Sue Hager was able to give us many stories about the time when the program was just starting up, which was around the time that Title IX was implemented. So we were able to not only get stories about the team’s beginnings, but also ones about how different the sport itself was at the time women were first allowed to play. Jessie Tamerlano (Below), on the other hand, provided us just as valuable information about the team as well, but from a current perspective.

We’ve found that there is an incredible amount of information out there on the team, which is obviously a good thing, but can also be bad for putting a project together. We learned that there are disputes about the history and timeline such as what years coaches were here, the overall record, and even the exact year that the program began. Even former coaches dispute the media guides’ information that we found. So that seemed to be our only issue and we think that BGSU should make an effort to try to get an accurate history of the program for future projects like this.

Members of this group include: Maureen Carr, Matt Dittoe, Lindsay Helm, and Tyler Schaefer

BGSU Women’s Track and Field (11:30 TR Class)

In first hearing about the centennial project our History and Philosophy class would be conducting, our group thought the project seemed very difficult and almost impossible to complete. As time went on and we narrowed down what BGSU sport we wanted to look further into it became very clear how truly interesting and fun this assignment could be. With two of our group members both having a background in running track and field and cross country we decided upon the Bowling Green State University Women’s Track and Field team. We were lucky to have a good selection position in class even though Women’s Track and Field probably was not one of the most popular choices.

In gathering the abundant amount of information through research on the Women’s Track and Field team it was very difficult to find exact dates. But after digging enough and comparing sources, we are confident that all our dates and findings are very accurate. As for the start of the Bowling Green State University’s Women’s Track and Field team, it is said they started in 1983. But 1983 just so happens to be the first year the women were affiliated with the NCAA. According to Dr. Parks 1965 was the official date the women started competing with outside competition with the likes of current MAC teams like Kent State and Ohio University. We conducted several interviews with past figures (see Kim Jamison, below) and current figures who have all been or are currently involved it Bowling Green athletics and the information gathered has been amazing to say the least. Such a rich history not only in just Bowling Green State University’s Women’s Track and Field, but in all the sports and events that have been a part of BGSU’s tradition.

Members of this group include: Mike Davis, Ryan Harrison, Jessica Grant, and Kyle Leedy.

Men's Baseball (11:30 Class)

When we received notice that we had to choose a sports team for our Sport Centennial Sport project we immediately knew what team we wanted to do. We chose to do Baseball because not only did we want to learn more about the sport at BG but one of group members Ben Holbert previously played baseball, and Brandon Robinson knows someone who plays for the team now. As we began to start the research for our project, the hardest thing was choosing what team we wanted to do the research on. While doing this we decided to choose the 1970’s team because they won a championship and was one of the best teams here. But while looking for people to interview from this team we could only get in contact with one person Gary Haas (Below).

Baseball at BG was one of the first sports team started on campus. While conducting research we found tons of information on teams' records and championships. We learned a lot of information about the baseball team through each one of our interviews. Overall as a group we did not have any serious problems finding information on the team. We interviewed someone from the 1972 championship team, and current senior on the team, and a previous player who is now a coach.

Members of this group include: Ben Holbert, Brandon Robinson, and Jasmine Travers.

Men’s Hockey (1:00 Class)

Men’s Hockey at Bowling Green State University is a relatively young sport compared to football and basketball; the ice hockey program first began at BGSU in 1969. However, the program has had as much or more success than any other sport at Bowling Green State University. While researching we found it very easy to find information on Men’s Ice Hockey by using media guides, articles, and yearbooks. These resources helped us to find that in the program's short time here it has had a total of seven coaches since the hire of Coach Chris Bergeron (Top Left) last April. Some other important coaches from the program are Jack Vivian who was the first Ice Hockey coach at Bowling Green. Ron Mason (Top Right) and Jerry York (Below ) have also had a major effect on the program by posting high numbers of wins and winning championships.



The Program has struggled as of late and has had a different coach each of the last three seasons. The program's overall winning percent is .539 with a record of 776-645-92. Ice Hockey has also won 9 conference championships--2 in the MCHA and 7 in the CCHA, and one National championship. In 1984 Bowling Green played Minnesota-Duluth for the national championship and came out victorious with a score of 5-4.



Along with winning an NCAA title and 9 conference titles, Bowling Green also has a number of alumni that played or are currently playing in the NHL. A few notable players that excelled at BGSU are Rob Blake (1988), Nelson Emerson (1986), George McPhee (1978), Brian Holzinger (1991), Ken Morrow (1976) and Dan Sexton who attended BGSU in 2007 and 2008, then entered the NHL and currently plays for the Anaheim Ducks. Ken Morrow, and Mark Wells were two individuals who played for Bowling Green and in the 1980 Olympic games. These two players were a part of the United States greatest upset often referred to as “The Miracle on Ice”. The Miracle on Ice is when the United States hockey team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team in dramatic fashion, advancing on to the final game where they then defeated Finland. Players such as Emerson, McPhee, and Holzinger have all had their numbers retired at BGSU.

While working on this project we have enjoyed researching the different aspects of BGSU’s Ice Hockey program’s history and hope to share our knowledge with all BGSU fans.

Members of this group include: Billy McDonough, John O'Shea, and Bobby Shea.

BGSU Men's Soccer (1:00 Class)

When assigned the BGSU Centennial Sports Project, our group instantly knew what sport we wanted to cover. Men’s Soccer was our sport of interest particularly because one of our group members, Mike Greco, not only had an offer to play for this team, but also knew two of the former players as his old soccer trainers. As we began our research, one of our biggest struggles was finding time to go to the Center for Archival Collections since it closes at 5:00 pm every day except Monday and is closed on the weekends. However, once we were able to get there, we were engulfed by plenty of helpful research.

Since the Men’s Soccer team was started in 1965, it can still be considered a fairly “young program” which made information easily accessible and fairly accurate. This being said, we had an easy time conducting research. We were also very fortunate to already know and have contact with two former players, Nicolas Kolliniatis and Fred Degand (Below Left). Mike Greco and Willie Patacsil were able to conduct great interviews with them without any delay of response allowing for us to be more informed on a player’s perspective. Luckily, our third interviewee and first head coach of the Men’s Soccer team, Mickey Cochrane (Below Right), is still active at BGSU in the athletic archives. Jessica Ferguson had the opportunity to meet with and interview Mickey in the archives and also got an incredible interview. We were incredibly fortunate to have access to all of them and very grateful that they were willing to help us.


With these interviews, the research, and the dedication of our group members, we learned an immense amount about the history of the Men’s Soccer teams and program. We also appreciate all the work Dr. Spencer did to prepare us for this project and the help along the way. That being said, this project was very enlightening about the history of all the athletic programs at Bowling Green State University! Roll Along!

Members of this group include: Jessica Ferguson, Mike Greco, and Willie Patacsil.

Item Of The Week - 1961 Mercy Bowl Pennant

We hope you all enjoyed our first installment of Item Of The Week earlier this week. We are pleased to bring you a second installment today. Today we bring you a commemorative pennant from the 1961 Mercy Bowl. The Mercy Bowl was started to honor the memory of the Cal Poly football players who died in a plane crash on their way home from a football game against the University of Toledo. The Falcons would go on to drop the game 36-6 against the Fresno State Bulldogs but more than 33 thousand fans showed up to raise money in memory of the fallen Cal Poly football players.

BGSU's Roger Reynolds hurdles a Fresno State defender during the 1961 Mercy Bowl. Reynolds finished second in receiving yards as he recorded 2 catches for 50 yards during the game.

BGSU Men's Football History (11:30 Class)

Hello all! Team Falcon is proud to present the history of Bowling Green State University football. Football was an easy selection for all of us because three of us (L-R (Below): Dwayne Woods, Caleb Watkins, and Jairus Campbell) play football here at BGSU. Having three of us on the football team here at BG gave us access to more resources that a non-athletic student here at BG would have. The four of us all share a common bond in our passion and love of the game of football and we are all interested in the history of Bowling Green football. We will start our presentation of Bowling Green’s football history in the late 1950’s when the Falcons won the Collegiate Championship. We will conclude our presentation of Bowling Green’s football history with an overview of the recent years of Bowling Green football and a look into what the future may hold.

As for the research that was required for this assignment, the only issues we had were trying to find information about Bowling Green’s football program online. We found that the most effective, yet tedious, way of researching information about Bowling Green’s football history was either going to the archives in the Jerome Library or utilizing media guides that were provided to us. As for interview, none of us had any issues. The three of us that are on the football team have access to a handful of coaches and former players that were very helpful to us. And the last member of our group, who is not on the football team, was able to come in contact with a former Falcon who was on the 1959 Collegiate Championship team.

Members of this group include: Jairus Campbell, Dev Kumar, Caleb Watkins, Dwayne Woods

Item Of The Week - 1940s BGSU Football Jersey

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and you are gearing up for Christmas. We are pleased to present our second installment of the Item Of The Week. In celebration of the completion of the 2010-11 BGSU football season this week were are featuring a 1940s BGSU Football jersey. Those who attended the second Centennial Celebration in October got a chance to see this jersey first hand.

For those of you who follow our blog and happen to be Cleveland Browns fans you may notice that this uniform looks similar to the past and current Browns uniforms. As it has been reported in the past the Browns liked the color design so much they adopted it for themselves. According to Mickey Paul Brown liked the look so much he decided to take it back to Cleveland for the Browns.

Mickey was able to share a couple of good stories that go along with this uniform as well. When the Browns were founded in the 1940s they held their annual training camp at BGSU. For several weeks each summer Browns players and Falcon players shared the same field as each team prepared for their upcoming season. This continued for six years (1946-51) before they moved training camp closer to Cleveland.

Mickey also shared a story with us about the Falcons loosing some of their uniforms while traveling. Luckily the teams equipment manager was able to make a call to the Browns equipment manager and have several uniforms sent to BG for the players to wear.

Item Of The Week - Leslie Dawley Autographed Soccer Ball

As we conclude our work for the semester of the course of the next several weeks we have decided to post pictures of some of the items we have come across during our work and provide some of the back story behind the item. Look for at least one item, if not more, a week. If anyone has any requests for pictures please let us know and we will work to find the item and post a picture as well as the story behind it. A big thank you to Mickey for taking time to give us the history behind each of these items.

Leslie Dawley autographed soccer ball

During the 2002 Mid American Conference Soccer Tournament BGSU freshman women's soccer player Leslie Dawley passed away during play due to an asthma attack. Prior to the game Dawley signed this ball. The BGSU archives keeps this ball in memory of Leslie. Dawley had played well during her freshman campaign recording six assists in just eight games. Lawley broke the BGSU record for consecutive games with an assist when she recorded her fifth assist in as many games on October 25, 2002 against Western Michigan. Lawley had become a clutch player for the Falcons as four of her six assists for the season set up game winning goals for the Falcons. We decided to take this first item of the week post to honor the memory of Leslie.

1961-62 BGSU Women's Field Hockey

Thanks to Nancy L. Haines, 1962 graduate of BGSU, for sending the following photo from the 1961 or 1962 BGSU Women's Field Hockey Team. Below are names that Nancy could remember for members of that team.

Front row (L-R): Donna Eubanks, Liz Embree, Karen Nelson

Back row (L-R): Bev Faulk, Nancy Maneely (sure of that one), Carol Lenz, Don't know, Don't know, Liz Bacso.

If anyone has further information about anyone who played on this team, please email us at: bgsusport@gmail.com

Time To Start The Real Work

After a couple of weeks off while Mickey did some traveling to see his family in Texas we are back at work. Since the Homecoming Event has come and gone we shifted our focus towards cataloging the various items in the archives in Anderson Arena. We have spent several hours going through the contents of the athletic archives as well as the storage room on the second floor of Anderson Arena. Over the course of the last week we have been hard at work sorting through the various artifacts in the archives and logging.

During the course of our work we have found artifacts from some of BGSU’s greatest athletes. Additionally, we have found some artifacts that fans have created and submitted to Mickey as a way to remember the athletic programs at BG. Many of the artifacts that we have been working to catalog detail the athletic story of BGSU. From plans for athletic renovations to milestone artifacts we have found a great deal that paints the picture of the history of athletics at BGSU.

The following is a list of the artifacts we have cataloged to this point.

Mascots & Reagan

Mark Miller

Lacrosse monkey

Helms Foundation Nate Thurmond

Soccer (M) NCAA bid 1992

Sport’s collage

Trio of hockey players

Baseball warm-up jacket

Basketball dunk picture

NWOAA Tennis trophy 1929

1987 Volleyball team photo

Central Collegiate Conference Intermediate Team Trophy 1948’

Puerto Rico Holiday Classic 1996 men’ s basketball 3rd place

4i champion Joe Green inter-state champion 1968

25th anniversary hockey puck Feb 25 1967 - Feb 25 1992

Falcon Keychain

BGSU HPER athletic pin

1983-1984 Softball team photo

1964 Tony Trent baseball photo all-mid American conference first team

Official NCAA track and field guide 1957

Spalding official football guide 1938

1964 winter sports banquet Sam Cooper Nate Thurmond Harold Anderson

1988 MAC Softball championship team photo

1962 NCAA Swimming guide Gary Laprise

Program for eastern Michigan game cover 1986

Coach Mel Brodt picture on scooter 1960-1984

1919 Women’ s basketball photo

Bird Brain stuffed animal 1940s

Mid American Conference 21st annual championship guide 1967 Robert H. Whitacker on front

Golden Triangle invitational 2nd place team

Photo of BGSU athletic personnel no names/date

Volleyball beat Navy

Bowling Green v. Toledo 1969 basketball

Archives 1st floor

Eric White Football

Doyt’ s first staff 1955

Dave Wottle 1972 to Doyt

Old Natatorium

Shirley Spork opening of back 9 at Forrest Creason

1920 Men’ s basketball team

University field plans

Soccer celebration photo 1975

Ball State field hockey ball

Ladies lacrosse/field hockey kilt

Hockey stick

Lacrosse stick

Player pro cards

Bergen – HOF plaque Bob Zimpfer

1930 letter sweater

Falcon Club card collage

Suitcase with logo with items in it

1000 win basketball

MAC pennants

Staff pics – 1964

Promo buttons, ribbons, schedules

Team photos

Old trophies 1920s on

#9 quarterback jersey 1941

Support staff pic and AD pic

Mercy Bowl pic and pennant

Baby Freddie Helen Floyd puppet

Stoned t-shirt 1994

Moyticka photo collage

Ziggy Zoomba Gil Fox and t-shirt

NCAA basketball

1918 yearbook Emerson team

Painted Pig ball pic

Football pants garage

Pics named facilities coaches

Frieda head with lashes

8x10 card SBX sign when football/volleyball #1 in MAC soccer #3 in country

Box trophy cases and photos at home

Box trophy case box garage

Swan pic 1968

Telegram 1st NIT

Cheer sweater

Brass plaque of first four teams dropped

Game programs

Normals or pic of normals

1919 cheer

Dave Wottle cap and pic

Swan club boat and pic

Big photo collage – Sam B’ s (Kaufmans)

Purdue football

Palmo pic

Signed hockey sticker

Falcon Club 1st year

Game day pic

University Field pic

Relay Plate from trophy Sink Wottle Dan Forth

Football boots nail in cleats

Sharpies football

Varsity BG sweater

Cunningham collage

2 all sport collages

Leather (brown) BGSU shield

Lacrosse defensemen on a stick

Mark Miller

3 hockey players trio

All sport collage

Thurmond Helms Award

Reagan with Freddie & Frieda

Basketball dunk #23

NCAA 1992 soccer

Baseball jacket

Freddie Falcon club logo

gray travel jacket

1967 Field Hockey ball Dr. Sue Gavron

1995 Capn Crunch Gymnasitics invitational trophy fifth place

1991-1992 Gymnastics program

Charles Simpson 150th head coaching victory

1985 MAC gymnastics champs NCAA tournament

Old hockey skates

1971 stadium pic

1994 basketball MAC champs signed t-shirt

Golf club

Tennis racquet

Al Sawdy traction splint

Please keep checking back as we will update the list of artifacts that we find. We will also work to provide pictures as well.

Centennial Celebration Part Two

As we recap last Friday’s Centennial Athletic event at Anderson Arena let us start by thanking everyone that came out to the event to show their support and celebrate 100 years of athletics at BGSU. The members of this group that have been working for the past several weeks to prepare for the event and organize the athletic memorabilia are thrilled that so many people took time out of their busy Homecoming schedules to make time for this event. We hope that each of you enjoyed the event as much as we have enjoyed putting the event together. For those who were not able to attend we will recap the event for you and provide some pictures for you as well.

The event was attended by roughly 300 people who were lined up to enter as the doors to Anderson Arena opened at 5:00 p.m. Those who were able to attend enjoyed an evening filled with memories and a historical perspective of BGSU athletics. Those in attendance were able to enjoy the artifacts that we have spent the past several weeks working to assemble. In addition those in attendance viewed the Centennial poster’s that were put together for the Centennial Celebration last year. On a personal note, the members of this group find it very gratifying that these boards were used again. It is our hope that these boards can continue to be a source of historical context of BGSU athletics. On a special note the members of this group would like to thank Dr. Janet Parks for her help improving the poster boards for this year’s presentation.

As alumni made their way around the gym many of them stopped and took the time to thank our group for our work in putting together not only the event but the poster boards. For our group these words of gratitude are appreciated. However, each of us were honored to be a part of this event, to hear the stories that the alumni told, and to once again have the opportunity to share the rich athletic history of BGSU with the alumni and other guests in attendance.

The following pictures are all pictures of the various historical artifacts that were on display during the course of the event.

1994 Team Autographed Women’s Basketball MAC Champions Shirt

Men’s Basketball Trophy from a Puerto Rico Holliday Tournament

Sid Sink’s Olympic qualifier Track and Field warm up

Plaque commemorating the sports no longer played at BGSU

Herb Troyer’s football pants – Member of the original BGSU football team from 1919

Artifacts aside, the night was a great success as BGSU alumni were able to come together and celebrate 100 amazing years of athletic history at BGSU. As one guest said “Tonight is amazing, it is truly a unique chance to come back and really look at the history and take stock of the history that happened while we were here.” Alumni were also treated a special way of saying goodbye to the House That Roars, Anderson Arena, in this its final season.

BGSU athletic archivist Mickey Cochran called the evening a “great success.” We believe that those that were present on Friday night would have a hard time arguing that point. We would once again like to take a moment to thank those who came by the event.

Please continue to check back with our blog as we move forward in our work and begin to catalog the contents of the BGSU athletic archives and prepare for the move to the new athletic archive space in the Stroh Center. Coming in the next week we will have a full list of all of the memorabilia that has been cataloged as well as pictures, and plenty of Mickey’s stories to go along.

Unfinished Work - The Centennial Project continues in 2010

Welcome back everyone. After a Centennial Sport Celebration that went better than any of us could imagine last year we have decided to resume our work in bringing you the history of sports at BGSU again this academic year. This year we have been working with BGSU sport archivist Mickey Cochran to catalog to contents of the athletic department archives. In part we have done this in preparation for this week’s homecoming presentation. Also, our collective efforts will assist the athletic department with their preparations for the new athletic archives in the brand new Stroh Center.

Whether we have been examining old photos, looking through old trophies, or combing through old BGSU paraphernalia this experience has allotted us with the opportunity to steep ourselves in the rich athletic history of BGSU. We have located memorabilia related to BGSU greats such as Jackie Motycka, Sid Sink, and Nate Thurmond. It has truly been a unique experience to see all of this and truly put our hands on the athletics history of BGSU. The fact that few people have this unique opportunity has certainly not been lost on those of us who work with Mickey each week.

As was previously mentioned we have spent a great deal of time preparing for this week’s Homecoming presentation in Anderson arena. During the course of these past weeks we have spent a great deal of time going through the athletic archives and the auxiliary storage spaces to find historical artifacts that represent each of the current and past sports that have been played at BGSU. Many hours have been spent combing through the smallest and hottest spaces in Anderson Arena to find the pieces of history we believe will have the greatest impact on those who attend the presentation this week. We have successfully found memorabilia and photos that provide a visual history of BGSU athletics.

Along the way we have had the chance to hear some great stories about the history BGSU sports. Whether its stories about the Cleveland Browns and the BGSU Football team sharing the same football field, the excitement that emanated around all parts of campus during the Falcon’s magical ranked football season a few years ago, or the stories about some of the greatest athletes that have ever played at BGSU, or the conditions of some of the old athletic facilities these stories have become a bright spot in our week.

Just the same as last year we want to encourage as many people as possible to attend the homecoming festivities this week. In particular please make some time to stop by Anderson Arena to take in the homecoming display and the athletic archives. The event will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Friday night and run through 7:00 p.m. Please join us as we celebrate the final Homecoming in Anderson Arena. Let us all enjoy this weekend where we can truly say we are proud to Falcon Alumni.

Also, please continue to check back with our blog throughout the next several weeks as we continue our work on cataloging the current BGSU athletic archives and help Mickey prepare for the archives move to the Stroh Center. We will have great photos, stories, and other great facts about the history of BGSU athletics.

Vintage BGSU Football Jersey

Centennial Videos

Hello Everyone!
We have finally uploaded two videos from the Centennial Celebration on YouTube. If you were unable to make the event you can see a re-cap of events with commentary as well as the introduction video used at the beginning of the panel discussion.

Enjoy!

Click below for the introduction video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68q_X05rbYY

Click below for the Centennial Celebration video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjpDWZzMT60

A Night to Remember

The BGSU Sport Centennial Program was definitely a night to remember! Below are the speakers and Grad Students who made it a most memorable experience for all who attended. Our thanks to each of them for sharing their memories, time, and wisdom!

Above: Grad students who gave countless hours to make this event a success (Front Row, L-R)--Ryan Gasser, Bryan Gerber, Drew Hall, Gina Cipriano, Bryan Gasser, Bryan Post, Emily Yeatts.
Back Row: Our eminent speakers (L-R) Tom Colaner, Dr. Crystal Ellis, Mike Wilcox, Coach Denise Van De Walle, Prof. Sue Hager, Gary Haas, Jim Lessig (Moderator), and Nathen Eldridge (Grad Student).


Our guest speakers shared their profound stories about the people who have influenced them at BGSU and what it means to reflect on their experiences during this Centennial year.


L-R: Tom Colaner (member of BGSU Football Team that won the 1959 National Championship); Dr. Crystal ("Boo") Ellis (Captain, MVP, and MAC selection for BGSU Basketball Team, 1951-1953, 1955-1957); Mike Wilcox (3-time All-American--1973, 1974, 1975--and member of undefeated 1974 BGSU Lacrosse Team; Coach Denise Van De Walle ("Dean" of MAC Volleyball Coaches, who recently eclipsed 500 wins in 27th season at BGSU); Prof. Sue Hager (Coach of BGSU Women's Basketball Team, 1969-1976; first Women's Athletic Director; and Professor in HPER); Gary Haas (two-time MVP of 1971-1974 Men's Baseball Teams that won over 30 games in one season); and Jim Lessig (former member of Men's Basketball Team, 1957; Assistant Coach, Athletic Director; and Commissioner of the MAC).

See this article in the BG News featuring Q & A with Boo Ellis: http://bgnews.com/sports/ellis-impacts-bg-history/

Above: Dr. Erianne Weight, faculty member in the Sport Management, Recreation and Tourism Division (School of HMSLSL), played an integral role in organizing the event and working with Grad Students. She shares a moment with her daughter Aleah, undoubtedly our youngest visitor at the reception.

At the end of the evening, it had to end, but not before capturing this photo of two of BGSU's elite stars of the Men's Basketball teams of the 1940s and 1950s.

Above: Mac Otten, 1949 All-American, and Boo Ellis, who played with Mac's younger brother in the 1950s. One of the most touching moments of the evening was when Moderator Jim Lessig pointed out that Mac was in the audience and Boo acknowledged him by standing to applaud. The two met up at the end of the evening and were the last to leave Olscamp... well, almost the last:-)

My name is Nancy Spencer and I am also a faculty member in the Sport Management Division (School of HMSLS). It was my privilege to work with the undergraduate students, graduate students, and Dr. Weight. I just wanted to say one more Thank you to all those who helped to make this experience so memorable!

To the Speakers: We are so grateful that you were willing to sacrifice your time to come and share with us about your experiences at BGSU.

To Erianne: You don't know how you made my day when you innocently asked if you could help! Your expertise, input and friendship were invaluable. This would not have happened without you!!

To the Grad Students: You all worked so hard from the beginning of this project to the end. I wonder if Drew Hall and Nathen Eldridge could envision what this would end like when you agreed to Co-Chair the event back in December. And I am sure this project brought new meaning to the phrase "Variable Credit" to all of the grad students who wanted to get "hands-on" experience in putting together an event. It was a pleasure to work with all of you: Gina Cipriano, Nathen Eldridge, Bryan Gasser, Ryan Gasser, Bryan Gerber, Drew Hall, Bryan Post, and Emily Yeatts.

To the Undergrad Students in "History & Philosophy of Sport:" Thanks to all of you who contributed so much in terms of research--collecting rosters, articles, and photos, not to mention spending hours in the Archives at the Library, and interviewing former BGSU athletes. Your enthusiasm for this project made it all worthwhile!

I would be remiss if I did not thank the Archivists at the Library who were inundated with requests from students who worked on this project. Thank you for all your help, and next time, I promise to let you know about the assignment beforehand:-)

In addition, thanks to the BG Sports Information Directors who helped students make connections with former and current athletes and coaches: Hannah Archer, Mike Cihon, Ryan Gasser, Jason Knavel, and Dave Meyer.

To all the current and former BGSU athletes and others who agreed to be interviewed (in some cases, on multiple occasions), thanks for generously giving of your time as well. The students shared fascinating stories about speaking with you.

I would also be remiss if I did not thank Greg Christopher and the BGSU Athletic Department for coming on board from the beginning, and working with us to make the connection with Coaches and Athletes. We appreciated your support more than you know.

To Dr. Janet Parks and Ann Bowers, who have been writing a book, Forward Falcons, that documents the history of Women's Athletics (until 1982), we thank you also for your generosity in coming to our classes and sharing the resources from your research by making them available in the Library Archives. We are indebted to you for your many contributions.

To Mickey Cochrane, the achivist of the BGSU Athletics Archives, thank you so much for coming to our classes at the beginning of the semester--for sharing your stories and ideas for speakers, as well as opening the Athletic Archives to students (no more than 5 at a time) during Basketball games.

To Jane Myers, from the Falcon Club, and Peg Schaller from the Alumni Office for providing contact information for former athletes. There were a lot of interviews that would not have happened if not for your digging up and sharing contact information with us.

And finally, I want to thank Dr. Lynn Darby, Director of the School of HMSLS for her generous support of this program, both financial and otherwise. You were on board with us from the beginning and we appreciate that immensely. We also want to thank Dr. Roz Hammond, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, for giving your support as well. We appreciate all that you have done to recognize our efforts. We wish you well in your retirement and will miss you!! Thanks also to Sara Zulch-Smith, whose insights and suggestions were invaluable as we began this project. Thanks also for helping to coordinate things with other events that were happening for the BGSU Centennial celebration.

If you were able to attend the Reception and/or the Panel Discussion, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to post your comments, stories, and photos on the blog. If you have information to add or correct (in case we do this project again:-), please feel free to email me at: nestennisprof@gmail.com

If you were unable to attend, we would still love to hear from you--if you have stories, or would like to contribute information for future reference. It is possible that we may have a display of the posters for the School of HMSLS Homecoming Symposium in the Fall, so stay tuned. (Did I just say that?:-)