Just days after the likes of Deion Sanders and Shannon Sharpe made their way into football
legend status, members of the ten Ohio Athletic Conference football teams and the media gathered at
the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to vote on the upcoming season. Mount Union, winners of the
last 19 OAC titles, took 23 of 23 first place votes from the media and nine out of 10 first place votes from
the coaches.

The media poll followed with Ohio Northern, Baldwin-Wallace, Otterbein, John Carroll, Capital,
Heidelberg, Muskingum, Marietta, and Wilmington. The coaches poll went Mount Union, Ohio
Northern, Baldwin-Wallace, Otterbein, Heidelberg, Capital, John Carroll, Muskingum, Marietta,
Wilmington.

Below is a team-by-team outlook for the 2011 season.

University of Mount Union Purple Raiders: What can be said? 22 overall and 19 straight OAC titles.
Head coach Larry Kehres has 49 letterwinners returning and 18 overall starters. Quarterback Neal
Seaman is back for his, believe it or not, junior year. Had he stayed healthy in last year’s playoffs, the
Purple Riders would’ve almost certainly taken home their 12th National Championship. Mount always
seems to have a quarterback that you think graduated, but is somehow still on the roster; i.e. Seaman,
Kurt Rocco. Until someone actually knocks the Purple Raiders off, it’s their conference to lose.

Ohio Northern Polar Bears: Since Head Coach Dean Paul has led the charge up in Ada, his teams have
won at least six games in conference five out of seven years. Look for 2011 to be more of the same. The
team finished 10-2 last year, and made it to the second round of the Division III playoffs, one of the best
in ONU history. They bring back 47 letterman however; they do however have to replace two-time All-
American Brent Donley, who essentially was a human wrecking ball (1,560 yards, 15 TDs). Also up for
grabs this season is the QB position. However being senior heavy, especially on the offensive line and
linebacker core, the Polar Bears will be gunning for the post-season in 2011.

Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets: BW is a team I think could really go above and beyond their
expectations for the upcoming season. The team has 10 of 11 starters returning on offense that went 7-
3 overall. Senior tailback Tim Miker and Junior QB Ryan O’Rourke, who combined for more than 2,100
yards last year, will be the focal point of the spread offense that the Yellow Jackets run. BW also plays
six of their games at home this year, where they are 147-31-2, including an October 15 match-up with
ONU.

Otterbein Cardinals: Otterbein has quietly been pretty successful over the past handful of years, going
23-8 since 2008. Although All-OAC running back Colton Coy is gone, the offense is solid with 3 seniors
and one junior on the line, and mouthful of a QB in Austin Schlosser. Schlosser completed 56 percent of
his passes last year and notched 14 TDs. The Cardinals only have four games in Westerville this season,
and open up the campaign against Gallaudet in Washington D.C. on September 3.

Heidelberg Student Princes: Year in and year out the ‘Berg is an offensive power house. However in
2010, like head Coach Mike Hallett said on Media Day, “We weren’t very good on defense.” Last season
the team scored over 100 points in a span of three games, and lost everyone. The offense will have to
replace all-everything Wide Receiver Mike Preston (1,213 yards, 76 receptions) who graduated and
signed as a non-drafted free-agent wide with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. The backbone for the team
will be the offensive line, where everybody returns. The continuity of the line will allow a new QB, either
junior Cody Eden or sophomore Asher Rumple to take over under center, and more than likely run the
offense through running back Germany Woods, who had an outstanding first collegiate year (1,034
yards, 10 TDs).

Capital University Crusaders: Capital is just a few years removed from competing with Mount Union for
the top team in the Ohio Athletic Conference. However they have taken a few steps backwards since
and last year finished 5-5. Gone also are some leaders on the offense and the top linebacker in the
conference in Sam Jacobs. Senior receiver Matt White though should lead the charge for the Crusaders
on offense and is in striking range of leaving as the all-time receptions leader In Capital history. Second
year head coach Henry Stanford will have his team ready to play each week and could surprise a team or
two in 2011.

John Carroll University Blue Streaks: On paper the Blue Streaks look phenomenal. The roster is loaded
with upperclassmen with two and three years of experience. Senior QB Devin O’Brien (1,036 yards, 9
TDs) leads the charge for offense and the defense will lean on C.J. Seitzinger who had 21 tackles in one
game last year, and led the conference with 136 stops. If the seniors play up to their potential and the
team gets a few breaks, coach Regis Scafe’s team could be in the hunt for the post-season, a place they
haven’t been since 2002.

Muskingum University Fighting Muskies: After taking home the OAC coach of the year in 2009, 2010
wasn’t the season Al Logan was searching for. The Muskies are going to be searching for a new QB
before the 2011 season starts. Jake Burns, the talented left-handed QB, graduated from Muskingum as
the all time career leader in passing and total offense. Either sophomore Dalton Smith or junior Seth
Howard, who helped the Fish win their opening game last year against Defiance, will win the spot over.
A good sign for the Muskies is that they get Palmer Smith (4.9 yards per carry) back who missed the
2010 season with an injury. The defense, which ranked fifth last year in total defense, will have to be the
focal point of the team until the offense figures itself out.

Marietta College Pioneers: Last season the Pioneers were in almost every game they played, yet only
managed to win two games. They had six games decided by 14 points or less including three, seven, and
eight point losses. 2011 could be a breakout season for the navy blue and white though. The offense will
operate through three-year starter Andrew Keller (1,891 yards, 9 TDs) who earned All-OAC honorable
mention last season. Gone are All-OAC first team Adam Tate and one of the best WRs in MC history in
Cory Kriechbaum. Also gone from the wide-out position is senior Jahmaal Jones who switched positions
to the secondary. However most of the linebackers and defensive line are back that helped the Pios stay
in game after game in 2010. They also will play six games at the newly renovated Don Drumm Stadium
which Coach Filkovski described as “The best I’ve ever seen for a small school.” The sky truly is the limit
for this team, and 2011 could easily be the best in the four years Coach Filkovski has been there. Keller
had a pretty good mindset on the upcoming season when he said “ I want to go out with something that
Marietta will remember for a long time.”

Wilmington College Quakers: First year head coach Ken Minor did the best he could in 2010, but taking
over a smaller school program in the OAC is not an easy task. Like the Pioneers, the Quakers were in a
handful of games, including a 3-0 loss to Muskingum, but could never get that first victory for Minor.
The Quakers do have some pieces in place, including hometown product sophomore QB Brandon
Arehart who threw for over 1,400 yards in his first year. Taking charge besides Arehart on offense will be
senior fullback Brett McEvory who has been a staple on the blocking end for the Quakers when running
the ball. Will the success Minor has had at the High School level, he should be able to pick up his first
collegiate victory in 2011.

Here, I’ll make it easier.

As you can see, the Pioneers sit in eighth.  Eighth is good though, from the standpoint that you get to make the OAC Tournament.  But the Pioneers need to be careful tonight against the Capital Crusaders.  The Crusaders, who are sixth in the standings, already lost to the Pioneers once this season.  However, Marietta is coming into tonight’s game riding a three-game losing streak against #2 John Caroll, #5 Baldwin Wallace, and #7 Mount Union.

With six conference games left, Marietta is one game ahead of #9 Otterbein.  Otterbein plays #1 Wilmington, and with a loss, could fall two games behind.  Further, if the Pioneers simply beat Capital, Otterbein and #10 Muskingum a second time, then the Cardinals would need to win all of their remaining games.  The Muskies would be eliminated from contention.

As far as the OAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament looks, it could go to either Wilmington or John Carroll, depending on how the conference tournament plays out.  One thing is for sure though:  Wilmington is ranked in the region (not nationally though), and could potentially receive an at-large bid to go dancing if they were to lose to John Carroll.  We’ll monitor the situation at the end of February to see what pans out.

The Pioneers Men’s Basketball team continues their quest for a second straight conference tournament bid tonight when they play Capital at 7:30 PM at Fenton Court in Ban Johnson Arena.  They will then face the #3 Heidelberg Student Princes at Fenton Court on Saturday, scheduled to start around 3 PM (The Women’s Basketball Team plays Saturday at Fenton Court at 1 PM).  For these dates and more, check out the Writing on the Mall Calendar.

The Pioneers (2-5 OAC, 5-8 overall) will take on the Cardinals (2-5 OAC, 4-10 overall) in a battle for the basement.  The top eight teams in the OAC advance to the conference tournament at the end of February.  The Pioneers currently sit in eighth, while Otterbein sits ninth and Muskingum tenth.

Marietta is led by Trevor Halter, who comes into the game scoring over 20 points in his past two games.  He was named OAC Men’s Basketball player of the week after 29 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Muskingum (0-7 OAC, 5-9 overall).  He followed that up with 21 points in a loss to Ohio Northern (5-2 OAC, 7-7 overall).

Otterbein comes into this game off of a victory over Mount Union (3-4 OAC, 5-9 overall), their second conference win of the year.  Senior Brian Pollock had 29 points in their last game, against Mount Union.  The Cardinals did not let the Purple Raiders score a single point from the field for 13 straight minutes, including the first six minutes of the second half.

Come check out your Pioneers tonight at Ban Johnson Arena.  Tip is at 7:30 PM.  Can’t get to Fenton Court?  88.3 WMRT-FM will be broadcasting the game over the air and streaming online at the Marietta Athletics page.

• Roll on, Etta Express – The Pioneers Baseball team was recently selected as the 19th best team in the country.  The pre-season poll, assembled by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, placed OAC for Heidelberg #14 in the polling.  Wooster, the team that won the 2009 Mideast Regional Tournament over Marietta, was ranked #2 in the nation, behind #1 St. Thomas of Minnesota.  The Etta Express will start its season in Memphis, TN over Spring Break.
• New VP Of Student Life – With the retirement of Lon Vickers this last semester, we now welcome Dr. Robert Pastoor, the new Vice President of Student life at Marietta College.  Dr. Pastoor has more than 25 years of experience in student life thanks to time spent at the University of San Diego, Carroll College, and Mount St. Mary’s University.  Dr. Pastoor will start around January 18.
• Do I Hear Whistling? – Don’t forget that the Harlem Globetrotters are stopping in at Marietta College on January 26.  Doors open at 6 PM, and the game starts at 7 PM in Ban Johnson Arena on Fenton Court.  Tickets for Marietta College students, staff, and faculty are $19.  Tickets are $22 for the general public, and can be purchased at any People’s News location in Belpre, Marietta, and Parkersburg.  If you’re more the online type, tickets can be purchased at www.ticketweb.com.
• CUB Events Now Known – Well, they wern’t very public about it, but the College Union Board has dates and times posted for all of their music, comedy, and tournament events for the Spring.  You can find them on our master calendar, along with all the Basketball and Baseball Games and other college events.  CUB’s first musical act of 2010 is The Heyday, a band from Denver that is currently touring the nation.  They are currently allowing their CD to be downloaded for free online, so check it out and come out for the concert.  They’ll be playing Friday the 15 at The Gathering Place at 8 PM.  CUB Comedy kicks of with Mike Winfield on Saturday the 16, also at The Gathering Place, at 9 PM.  As mentioned before, for a full schedule, check out the Writing on the Mall calendar and watch for pieces highlighting the acts.

While it did not beat out all other OAC schools like in the Forbes Poll (Ohio Northern University was second to Taylor University), it did beat out #33 Wilmington College.  No other OAC colleges were ranked.  Marietta was tied for 6th with Cedarville University and Huntington University.

Marietta was also included on the list of schools with International students (9% of campus population), economic diversity (26% of students obtain Pell grants), diversity (index score of .13), and retention (73.2% freshmen retention).

Once again, another ranking of colleges, another great day to be a Pioneer!

Marietta was ranked #112 in the country out of all schools that they ranked (the list is out of 600 schools) and, while not officially, ranked within the top 100 private colleges (I say this because they have a list of all the private colleges in the top 100, which is 89 schools, and since I’m not sure which schools are public or private, we are either in the top 100 or #101). In the state of Ohio, Marietta was ranked 4th (Behind #22 Kenyon, #74 College of Wooster, and #88 Oberlin College).

In the OAC. Capital was the closest ranked to Marietta.  They were ranked #138.  Otterbein was #221, John Carroll was #273, Baldwin-Wallace was #335, Mount Union was #481, and Ohio Northern was #570.  Heidelberg, Muskingum, and Wilmington were not ranked in the Top 600 schools.

For comparison, the highest ranked public college in ohio, Miami University in Oxford, OH, was ranked #331.  The Ohio State University was ranked #361.  Marietta also outranks all colleges listed on the poll from West Virginia, with Bethany College (WV’s highest ranked school) listed at #164.

So in other words, its great to be a Marietta College student.  And if you’re a high school senior looking to attend one of the best colleges in Ohio, you should check out MC.

Check out Marietta College’s Press Release after the jump.

Posted by Tom Perry:

Forbes.com, which is in its second year of ranking U.S. colleges and universities, lists Marietta College in the top 19 percent of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Marietta has moved up 56 spots from a year ago to the 112th Best College. The rankings include 600 of the roughly 4,000 undergraduate institutions. The ranking places Marietta between the Knox College (111) and Bates College (113).

Leading the rankings are the U.S. Military Academy, Princeton, California Institute of Technology, Williams, Harvard and Wellesley.

“It’s always nice to be recognized among the best in the nation. Of course, the real proof of a Marietta College education lies in the overall educational experience that our undergrads receive and what our alumni accomplish in their professional lives,” said David Rhodes, Vice President for Enrollment Management. “It is also important to remember that any assessment can only touch the surface of the excellence of Marietta or any college. However, we are excited to know that Forbes’ rankings recognize we have worked hard to provide a strong fundamental program in the liberal arts, to strengthen our majors, provide internships, enhance our facilities and expand and deepen our faculty in important areas. That is what makes — and will keep — Marietta College strong.”

Forbes describes its rankings methodology as “one that meets students needs. While some college rankings are based partly on school reputation as evaluated by college administrators and on the amount of money spent, we focus on things which directly concern incoming students: Will my courses be interesting and rewarding? Will I get a good job after I graduate? Is it likely I will graduate in four years? Will I incur a ton of debt getting my degree?”

To answer these questions, the staff at Center for College Affordability and Productivity gathered data from a variety of sources. They based 25 percent of the rankings on 4 million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com. Another 25 percent is based on post-graduate success, equally determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in Who’s Who in America, and by salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com. An additional 20 percent is based on the estimated average student debt after four years.

One-sixth of the rankings are based on four-year college graduation rates—half of that is the actual graduation rate, the other half the gap between the average rate and a predicted rate based on characteristics of the school. The last component is based on the number of students or faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships.

The complete Best Public Colleges list can be found here.

Marietta College’s listing can be found here.

Marietta has traditionally done well in rankings, especially among the best in the Midwest for U.S. News and World Report and Princeton Review. Those rankings are schedule to be released later this month

Playing tonight at #4 Adrian College (Start time of 6:50 PM), the #3 Marietta Pioneers will begin the march into what is hopefully a long post-season.  While the Pioneers were unranked for most of the season nationally (they did finish with 10 votes, effectively making them the 35th best team in the nation), they finished with a ranking of 4th in the Mideast Region (but seeded third).  Comparitively, the other OAC team in the tournament (Heidelberg) was ranked #4 in the nation, #1 in the region.

Adrian College was not ranked nationally, but was ranked 6th in the Mideast Region (receiving a #4 seed for the tournament).

The Mideat Region plays in Adrian, Michigan this year, and like the rest of Division 3, features a Double-elimination format.

If Marietta wins tonight’s game, they will play Thursday at 7 PM against the winner of the Wooster/Concordia (Ill.) match-up.  If MC loses, they play at 3:30 PM tomorrow against the winner of the Heidelberg/Rose-Hulman match-up.  Past that, the tournament gets much more cloudy.  But I’ll keep you updated as the tournament progresses.

D3Baseball.com is looking at Heidelberg to advance, but sees Adrian as a possible upset special for the second year in a row.  Hopefully Marietta can put something together here in the post-season.

All Marietta College games can be heard tonight anywhere in the world thanks to an online stream off of the Marietta Athletics site.  There would be two streams if school was still in session, but oh well.

In the other match-ups, #1 OAC (#16 National) John Carroll takes on the #8 OAC seed of Heidelberg, #2 OAC (#11 National) Capital will duel with #7 OAC Mount Union, and #5 OAC Muskingum travels to #4 OAC Wilmington.

All higher-seeded teams will be home for all tournament games.  For Marietta to force opponents to feel the force of the Pioneer home crowd, they’ll have to knock off Ohio Northern and then hope that Capital loses to Mount Union, or beat Capital themselves and hope that the Blue Streaks will have been eliminated as well.  It’s a long shot, but it is tournament time.

The OAC has one guranteed bid to the Field of 59 for the Division 3 National Tournament that goes to the tournament’s winner (as far as I understand).  Capital and John Carroll are poised to make the tournament no matter what, as they are nationally ranked.  That leaves six teams hoping to be the “upset special” that makes the tournament by defeating either (or both teams) and then joining them in the Big Dance.

I’ll have a lengthier preview of the game closer to Wednesday, when the game occurs.  The Pioneers will play at Ohio Northern, and the game should be heard on either Marietta College Broadcasting stations 88.3 WMRT-FM/98.5 WCMO-FM or (more likely) locally-owned and operated 1490 WMOA-AM.  Tip-off should be at 7:20 PM, either way.

The win would put the Pios at 7-8 in the conference, which would mean that Baldwin-Wallace (3-11 Conference, 7-14 Overall) would have to run the table in their four games to at least force a tie.  Marietta currently has the tie-breaker, as they beat B-W earlier in the season.  Moreso, they play again at B-W in a week or so.  But things could come down to the final game of the regular season if Pio Power disappears.

The Pioneers chances are looking good, as far as at least getting an OAC Tournament berth.  The Pioneers play the Muskies at home tonight, then play nationally ranked John Carroll (#18 nationally in most recent poll, #1 OAC, 12-2 Conference, 16-4 Overall) at John Carroll.  The Pios come back home to play Mount Union (5-9 Conference, 11-10 Overall) in a game they should win, then finish off the season with what could be a very interesting game at Baldwin-Wallace.

Baldwin-Wallace plays at Otterbein (2-12 Conference, 4-17 Overall) tonight in what should be a win for them.  They then move on to play at Muskingum.  The good news is that the Yellow Jackets also will hit the brick wall that is John Carroll this season, before heading home to take on Marietta.  A loss in any of these games would automatically qualify the Pios for the OAC Tournament.

The tournament, which is hosted at the various OAC team home courts, will take place before the end of February.  The higher seed of each match-up will host the lower seed, including the championship game.  It will be a rough road for Marietta, if they do make the tournament.  Eventual #1 seed John Carroll or #2 seed Capital (#14 nationally in most recent poll, 11-3 Conference, 18-3 Overall) are both poised to make the NCAA Division Three Tournament, just a question as to whether it is from the OAC’s automatic bid from the conference championship, or via at-large bid due to their national ranking.

However, it is possible that there could be three Ohio Athletic Conference teams in the big tournament this year.  If John Carroll and Capital are both upset in the tournament, the eventual tournament champion would get the automatic bid.  More than likely, both of the nationally-ranked teams would still deserve to get into the tournament.  So yes, we can hope and dream that Marietta could possibly maybe make it to the Big Dance.

Last year, there were 59 teams in the hunt for the NCAA Divison Three Championship.  Two of them were OAC teams, Capial (At-Large Selection) and Heidelberg (Conference Champion).  Capital made it out of the first round with a win over Bethany College (West Virginia), but then lost to Hope College (which made it all the way to the Final Four.  Heidelberg lost to Ohio Wesleyan in the first round (but was eventually taken out by Hope College).  Washington University (St. Louis) eventually went on to defeat Hope College in the Final Four, then win over Amherst College to claim the 2008 Championship.

10.  Recent alumni Harrison Potter (’08) scores a 24 on the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Exam.  That puts him among the top 500 students nationwide.

9.  Men’s Soccer finishing second in the OAC end-of-season tournament, having a 11-7-3 record overall.

8.  Council for Advancement and Support of Education awarded the college with several awards relating to its magazine and alumni relations programs.

7.  Students attending the Alternative Spring Break in New Orleans got the opportunity to help the city rebuild and appear on television by moving furniture, among other things, for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

6.  Inaugural Facets of Diversity summit was held in 2008.

5.  Students and Faculty from the McDonough Center for Leadership join the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership and U.S. News and World Report to help decide who will be featured in the magazine’s annual America’s Best Leaders Feature.  This was the second year of the partnership.

4.  Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden, former Vice-Presidential Candidate (and current Governor of Alaska) Sarah Palin, and former Presidential Candidate (and current Secretary of State Elect-Designate) Hillary Clinton all visited Marietta.

3.  Dr. Story Musgrave (former astronaut) returns to Marietta for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Anderson-Hancock Planetarium.

2.  Georgia Congressman John R. Lewis gave the commencement speech for the Spring graduation.   He was awarded with an honorary doctorate during the event.

1.  Marietta College continues to move up in rank among area and national colleges and universities.  U.S. News and World Report ranks us 9th among baccalaureate colleges in the midwest region, while The Princeton Review puts the college amongst the top 159 Midwestern Colleges.  Forbes ranks Marietta within the top 30% of schools nationwide.

I think that all in all, the list was very well put together.  Personally, I think that the announcement of the McDonough Center for Leadership being ranked within the top 5 of leadership programs across the nation was pretty big news.  But I can understand why it wasn’t placed, since McDonough already made it for the America’s Best Leaders project.

The college has some great things to look forward to in 2009, including the grand opening of both the Legacy Library and the Anderson-Hancock Planetarium, being the hosts of the  2009 NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Track Championships, and welcoming even more students to the long blue line.