Springfield, Ohio – Legendary Wittenberg University coach, athletics administrator and professor Dave Maurer would have celebrated his 84th birthday on March 18, 2016, and there is no more fitting way to salute the late National College Football Hall of Famer than to announce the nine current Wittenberg students who have received scholarships in his honor for the 2016-17 academic year.
Tiwaun Atchley, class of 2019 from Columbus, Ohio; Jacob Sampson, class of 2017 from Westerville, Ohio; Jace Barga, class of 2019 from Versailles, Ohio; Blake Nelson, class of 2017 from Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Nick Rittenhouse, class of 2017 from Fort Wayne, Ind.; Loie Greenwood, class of 2019 from Gahanna, Ohio; Kennedy Cook, class of 2017 from Maineville, Ohio; Ethan Raines, class of 2017 from Maineville, Ohio; and Ben Dobrowolski, class of 2017 from Milford, Ohio, were selected to receive financial awards from the Dave Maurer Honorary Scholarship Fund during the 2016-17 academic year. They were chosen from a large pool of applicants to receive scholarships toward their Wittenberg tuition.
The Dave Maurer Honorary Scholarship was created in 2008 to be awarded to a sophomore, junior or senior male student with financial need who has demonstrated such qualities as self-discipline, teamwork, cooperation, self-confidence, pride in accomplishment, competitive spirit, and the ability to deal with adversity. It is a tuition scholarship that may be renewable on an annual basis or may be rotated, per the discretion of the selection committee.
The latest students to receive awards from the Dave Maurer Honorary Scholarship Fund say they are humbled.
“It is truly an honor to be selected as a student who embodies many of the characteristics that made Dave Maurer the coach, teacher and mentor he was in the Wittenberg community,” said Nelson, who is working toward a degree in biology and is also minoring in chemistry and statistics. He plans to attend medical school after graduation. “While this scholarship is a great milestone in my achievements, I look forward to carrying on the hard work and discipline that got me to this point.”
Sampson, who is majoring in mathematics while also pursuing minors in music and economics, offered a similar reaction. He is preparing for a career as an applied mathematician.
“This scholarship represents a reward for years of hard work toward my education,” Sampson said. “It is a recognition that I display the qualities needed to excel in pursuit of my goals, especially academic ones. Receiving this scholarship motivates me to continue my studies with more confidence and hard work.”
Rittenhouse is a finance major with minors in business management and economics. He is a member of the Tiger swimming and diving team, one of several programs Maurer coached during his Wittenberg career.
“Receiving this scholarship is such an honor and a blessing,” he said. “I have been fortunate enough in my time at Wittenberg to get involved in a number of organizations, committees, teams, projects, jobs, etc. Each and every one has changed me and the student experience of so many others for the better.
“While I am grateful to be presented with this scholarship, it has only encouraged me to become an even more active and engaged student in and out of the classroom. It is truly an honor to have been recognized, where often no recognition is needed, as I consider it my way of giving back in support of such an amazing place and what it has done for me.”
For Atchley, receiving the scholarship is an opportunity to carry Maurer’s legacy forward, and he offered thanks to the members of the committee that selected him.
“It is very difficult to describe what receiving this scholarship means to me,” he said. “I have always had big dreams and goals for my life and my education. I have had to overcome many challenges to achieve them, but I knew that anything was possible if I believed in myself and worked hard. Receving the Dave Maurer Honorary Scholarship will allow me the opportunity to overcome yet another challenge with my financial situation and to be able to fully concentrate on my studies at Wittenberg. I am determined to achieve my degree in accounting and business management, and I look forward to a future career as a Certified Public Accountant.”
Barga is also planning to major in finance or business at Wittenberg, and he too sees the scholarship as further motivation to succeed academically and professionally.
“First, I would like to say thanks for choosing me to receive the Dave Maurer Honorary Scholarship,” Barga said. “It is a great honor, and I will try my best to carry Dave Maurer’s legacy on. Receiving this scholarship gives me even more motivation to succeed in my academics.”
Cook is working toward his degree in sport management, Dobrowolski is majoring in communication, Raines is studying physics at Wittenberg, and Greenwood is planning to declare a major in either psychology or business management.
Maurer remains one of the most beloved Wittenberg leaders and mentors in the illustrious history of the university’s intercollegiate athletics program, especially among the student-athletes he guided on and off the field during his 40 years (1955-95) as an athletics administrator, professor and coach of the Tiger football, swimming, track and field, and golf teams.
After more than a decade as an assistant football coach, Maurer took the reins in 1969 from fellow National College Football Hall of Famer, Bill Edwards. Maurer posted a career record of 129-23-3, good for an astounding .842 winning percentage, best among active coaches at that time. His Tiger teams went undefeated three times and won seven Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships in his 15 seasons as head coach, to go along with seven OAC crowns during his years as an assistant coach.
Maurer led the Tigers to two NCAA Division III football national championships as a head coach, in addition to a West Region title in 1969. In addition, the 1978 and 1979 squads finished second in the NCAA Division III Tournament, and he served as assistant coach for two other national title teams in the 1960s. Maurer earned national coach of the year honors twice, district coach of the year four times and conference coach of the year five times. His career culminated with induction into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1991, the first “true” NCAA Division III coach to garner such recognition.
Written By: Ryan Maurer