2004 News
The watershed moment that changed the Wittenberg athletic landscape forever occurred on April 3, 1955, with the most important hiring in the department's illustrious history.
Wittenberg University football standouts Brad Kassner, Jacob Thomas and Will Block earned All-North Region honors, and Kassner went on to earn All-America honors for the second straight year.
The Wittenberg University football team didn't quite reach the highest of highs in 2004, coming up a few defensive stops short of both the North Coast Athletic Conference championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Tigers, however, did have a successful season with a 7-3 record, including a 5-2 mark in the NCAC, good for a second-place tie.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University offensive lineman Brad Kassner has been selected to play for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III All-Star team that will represent the United States against the Mexican National Team in the 2004 Aztec Bowl at 4 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Dec. 11 in Cancun, Mexico.
Another banner fall sports season has reaped rich rewards for 27 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks.
The Wittenberg football team put the wraps on another winning season with a 42-21 home victory over Allegheny last Saturday.
The Wittenberg Tigers close out the 2004 regular season in need of a spark to carry into the offseason. Following a pair of heartbreaking, last-second conference losses at Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster the last two weeks, the Tigers' hopes for a North Coast Athletic Conference championship have been dashed.
The Wittenberg Tigers put together perhaps their most complete game of the 2004 season on Saturday and cruised to a 42-21 victory over the visiting Allegheny Gators. The win, which ended Wittenberg's first two-game losing streak since 1992, capped the Tigers' season at 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, good for a second-place tie with Ohio Wesleyan.
The Wittenberg football team has fallen and, at least for this season, won't be able to get all the way back up.
The Wittenberg Tigers have been in do-or-die mode for several weeks, but after a stunning 28-24 setback at Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday, this young team officially has its collective back to the wall. The entire season comes down to a road date with fifth-ranked Wooster, which comes in a perfect 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
In one of the most exciting football games in school history, the Wittenberg Tigers came up on the short end of a 64-58 overtime decision at the College of Wooster on Saturday. In falling to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Tigers will play a home finale with nothing but pride on the line for the second straight year when they host Allegheny at 1 p.m., Nov. 13.
The Wittenberg Tigers know they must run the table in the North Coast Athletic Conference to accomplish the first two of three annual goals - win the conference title and earn its automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The third major team goal, to win Wittenberg's first national title since 1975 in football and 1977 in any sport, can only be attained if the Tigers can get through the rest of the 2004 regular season unscathed.
The Wittenberg football team, ranked 22nd in the nation, improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference after winning a key game against Wabash College, 49-35, last Saturday.
The Wittenberg Tigers put their season on the line this weekend before what they know will be a house packed to the rafters with fans in Red & White - but one they hope will be boisterously in favor of the home team wearing those colors as opposed to the visiting Wabash Little Giants. Wittenberg, winner of five straight games after a season-opening loss at nationally ranked Capital on Sept. 4, heads into the key North Coast Athletic Conference tilt with a 5-1 overall record, including a mark of 3-0 in the NCAC.
The Wittenberg football team has shown flashes of its traditional form, the form that has brought the program to the top of NCAA Division III's all-time win list and earned five North Coast Athletic Conference championships in the last seven years.
The Wittenberg Tigers have one more week before a season-ending gauntlet that will determine the season's ultimate success or failure. After this week's trip to Hiram, which is 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference after back-to-back shutout losses against teams Wittenberg has handily defeated, the Tigers head home for a Homecoming Weekend date with nationally ranked Wabash.