Whitewater celebrates second consecutive national title
By the numbers
6
Number of years UW-Whitewater has played Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. Each team has won three times.
Number of years UW-Whitewater has played Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. Each team has won three times.
30
Consecutive wins for the Warhawks, the longest streak in NCAA football.
Consecutive wins for the Warhawks, the longest streak in NCAA football.
10
Points by which Whitewater has beaten Mount Union in each of its three wins.
Points by which Whitewater has beaten Mount Union in each of its three wins.
3.875
The highest GPA of any player in the Stagg Bowl. The honor went to UW-Whitewater junior Jared Kiesow, an elementary education major, who was awarded Friday with the Elite 88 award. He is the first Warhawk to win the Elite 88 award.
The highest GPA of any player in the Stagg Bowl. The honor went to UW-Whitewater junior Jared Kiesow, an elementary education major, who was awarded Friday with the Elite 88 award. He is the first Warhawk to win the Elite 88 award.
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WHITEWATER — No matter how excited you are, don't plan to bump fists with UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer anytime soon.
He's proudly sporting two NCAA Division III championship rings—rings so large they can probably be seen from space.
"I had to work out for two weeks just to be able to lift my arms," the UW-Whitewater administrator said Sunday afternoon during a welcome-home ceremony for the reigning champions.
When Telfer walked onto the Williams Center gym floor to speak to the team Sunday afternoon, he held his fists up for the players to see.
"I've got room for more," Telfer said. "And, by golly, you earned it."
This is the second straight year—and the third time in four years—that the university has held a welcome-home party for its national championship football team. The Warhawks on Saturday beat Mount Union, 31-21, in the 2010 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.
Head coach Lance Leipold said this year's seniors are responsible for maintaining motivation through four trips to the bowl.
"They kept up that hunger, that work ethic, that special effort," Leipold said.
Athletic Director Paul Plinske said the seniors can be confident that their group is "one of the best that's ever walked on to this campus."
Janesville Parker High graduate Matt McCulloch was one of those seniors, although his big sisters, Kallie and Amanda, remember when the cornerback wasn't so big.
"Who played knee football with you when you were tiny?" Kallie McCulloch asked.
The siblings' grandmother, Ann McCulloch, was grinning from ear to ear at her tall grandson, who had two interceptions in Saturday's title win.
"It's a good way for a senior to go out," she said.
Matt McCulloch gave Parker coach Joe Dye and his coaching staff the credit for "setting the foundation" of his successful college football career.
His advice to high school football players who want to be repeat national champions in college? Do what your coaches tell you, even your summer drills, McCulloch said.
"Follow their lead," he said. "They'll point you in the right direction."
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