2008 FB Media Guide Full Version.qxd - College Football Dvds ...

1999
CONCORDIA ATHLETICS • CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF NCAA DIVISION II & NORTHERN SUN MEMBERSHIP
40
2009
Despite the fact that Concordia has been around for more
than a century, the school is a bit of late starter when it
comes to intercollegiate football.
Football did not make an appearance on campus until 1969, thus
making Concordia a neophyte by Minnesota college football standards.
The key motivator in starting football was the
late John Chiapuzio. Hired by the school in
1965 to coach wrestling and baseball, Chiapuzio
convinced former athletic director Bob
Barnes and school President Dr. W.S. Poehler
that a football program could be started if
enough money was raised in advance.
So it was that, in 1967, approval was given to
start such fund raising activities as car washes
and box socials. The target goal of $8,000 had
to be reached by the end of 1968 to ensure a
team for the 1969 season. Students helped by
allowing their activity fee to be raised -- even
though several of them had graduated by the
time the first game was played.
Chiapuzio was named the team's first head coach. The school
played in the Tri-States Conference with Northwestern (IA), Westmar
(IA), Bethel, Sioux Falls and Yankton.
"John was the wrestling and baseball coach," remembers Barnes,
who was athletic director at Concordia from 1947-83. "He prepared
his teams well. We were always outnumbered but the teams played
hard."
The Early Years --- Growing Pains
the team in rushing both seasons.
The first game was a
rousing success -- a
40-0 victory over
Golden Valley
Lutheran. The Comets
went 4-4 in their initial
campaign and followed
it up with a solid
6-2 record the next
season. The first star
was running back
Mike Bailey, who led
But typical of those early days was the fact that Bailey was actually
recruited to Concordia by Barnes to run track. "Mike was attending
North Hennepin and we ran against him in a meet there," Barnes recalled.
"We got him over here. He was very strong and could run
well. In fact, he went to the Dallas (Cowboys) training camp in 1970
but didn't last long because his eyesight wasn't very good."
There were two early highlights for Concordia. In 1970, the school
traveled to River Forest, Ill., and upset them, 42-30. That same year,
it was arranged for the Comets to travel to Stillwater to play the local
penitentiary team. Concordia won the game but Barnes said the
players might remember something else about the visit.
"We had to dress in a special room with no windows and it was cut
off from everybody else," he said. "Our guys' eyes got very big when
they saw how enclosed everything was."
Chiapuzio coached for three seasons before returning home to his
native Washington. Jack Surridge, the team's successful women's
basketball and softball coach, took over the helm of the team in
1973.
F O O T B A L L H I S T O R Y
GOLDEN BEAR FOOTBALL • GOLDEN BEAR FOOTBALL • GOLDEN BEAR FOOTBALL
The First Team - 1969
Concordia’s
First Coach
John Chiapuzzio
"Jack probably knew line play better than anything else," Barnes
said. "But he had some guys who could really run. We had some
high scoring teams in that period."
LeRoy McBrayer Makes a Name For
Himself --- and CSP Football
Edward LeRoy McBrayer wasted no time in making
a name for himself as a premier running back.
Recruited by the school out of Burns Flat, Okla.,
McBrayer rewrote the Concordia record, rushing
for 4,213 yards and 29 touchdowns during his
decorated four-year career. He played a big role
in leading the 1977 team to a 9-1 record, which
remains tied for the best mark in school history.
At the same time, the Comets were having growing
pains. The school, which numbered about 750
when football was started, was now over 1,000
students. The team moved into the competitive Upper Midwest Athletic
Conference.
"Football was -- and still is -- an expensive sport," Barnes said. "We
weren't a suitcase college then. Most of our players lived in the
dorms. So, you did your own laundry and kept track of your own
stuff."
Concordia had a pair of 6-3 seasons in 1981 and 1982 and then
slid into the middle of the UMAC pack. The mid-80’s featured several
talented players who posted outstanding numbers. But a lack
of depth kept Concordia from challenging for conference honors.
Tom Cross' Era:
Upsets and Big Opponents
Tom Cross took over the reigns of the team in 1987 and brought
with him a 22-year old quarterback named Jim Rubbelke. The former
St. Paul Johnson star had a memorable year, throwing for
2,262 yards (including 404 in a game against Martin Luther), but
the team finished 4-5. Several of Rubbelke's single-season totals
stood for nearly two decades.
Cross played tough non-conference games
(Colorado College, Drake, Grinnell, Dayton)
with little success. His teams won two UMAC
titles and played entertaining, wide open football.
The 1991 season opened with a big surprise
as the Comets beat Augsburg of the MIAC, 14-
10. It was a sign of good things to come. Concordia
used the Augsburg win as a jumping
board and went on to win the conference title.
The season ended on a bizarre note. The Halloween
Blizzard that dumped a record 30
inches of snow onto the Twin Cities in two days
forced cancellation of a game against Dakota
State. The Comets had a non-conference
game scheduled for the next week and couldn't make up the game.
The league hit Concordia with a forfeit.
The Move To NCAA Division II
The Comets become the Golden Bears
Dan O'Brien replaced Tom Cross in 1998 and experienced a season
of highs and lows. Concordia won the opener, 30-0, over Madison
and scored 94 points in victories over Crown and Principia. But
there were also big losses to St. John's (6-63) and Mount Senario
(22-53).
C U G O L D E N B E A R S . C O M / F O O T B A L L
Mike Mularkey
was an assistant
coach in 1993