By BOB DAVIDSON
Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas Wesleyan president Matt Thompson, standing near midcourt on the floor at Mabee Arena, took the microphone to address the large crowd assembled on the north side.

“We can’t stop winning,” he said, his words met with a roar of approval.

Four words have never said so much.

The excitement on campus – three months in the making – reached a crescendo during Wednesday afternoon’s pep rally that was staged to build support for three KWU teams and an individual competing in NAIA postseason events this weekend.

• It starts Friday with freshman Keori Giron running in the men’s national cross country meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
• The undefeated and No. 6-ranked football team plays Langston (Okla.) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Graves Family Sports Complex.
• The women’s soccer team takes on John Brown at 1 p.m. Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark.
• The men’s soccer team finishes the day with a match against Mid-America Christian (Okla.) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at GFSC.

It’s the high point, so far, of a historic and unprecedented fall sports season at Wesleyan, one few schools have procured.

How successful are the Coyotes? The numbers are nothing short of staggering.

Football, the two soccer teams and the volleyball team have a combined 70-14-2 record – the three playoff teams 50-6-2. The four teams were a combined 43-2-1 against Kansas Conference opponents – a 96 percent winning percentage.

The three postseason entries were 23-0-1 in KCAC play – men’s soccer 12-0, football 10-0 and women’s soccer 11-0-1. Volleyball was 10-2 in conference play before losing to Friends in the conference tournament last weekend.

“That’s just an unbelievable mark and it’s a great credit to the coaches and student athletes,” Director of Athletics Mike Hermann said. “To have three teams go through the conference season undefeated all in the same year, having success at the same time, has created a real snowball effect in our department.

“We saw it weekend after weekend, we had nothing but wins, and it’s been fun to watch our student athletes enjoying themselves and enjoying the fruit of their hard labor. I have to pinch myself every now and then to make sure it’s real.”

For Thompson, a frequent and fervent fan, the success goes well beyond the athletic fields and courts.

The November 2 announcement the nursing program had received full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education drew wide acclaim. More good news came shortly thereafter.

“You put on top of that our music programs have both been invited to KMEA (Kansas Music Educators Association) to perform, which rarely happens to have two from the same school,” Thompson said.

“It’s the total experience, it’s The Power of And that we keep talking about. It’s academic, it’s athletic, it’s fine arts. It really is the gambit of who Kansas Wesleyan really is being highlighted this fall in terms of what’s happening.”

The Coyotes’ success hasn’t gone unnoticed in Salina. Their home football game against Avila on Nov. 3 drew just under 1,600 fans and a bigger gathering is expected Saturday for the first NAIA playoff game in program history.

“I think it’s a moment when the community can have a deep sense of pride in Kansas Wesleyan,” Thompson said. “I feel it when I talk to people in the community, I can’t go anywhere without people stopping and congratulating me about nursing, about what’s happening with the sports programs … there’s a lot of winning happening right now and it sure is fun.”

Hermann has had similar experiences.

“It’s brought great recognition in our community about Kansas Wesleyan,” he said. “I can’t hardly go anywhere without talking about it in Salina, which is great. I love that.

“So many people have come out and connected and supported us as we go into postseason play that frankly haven’t done it, which is great that they’re here. That’s one of our roles, to be than connector between the university and the institution.”

The challenge going forward, of course, is building on the momentum and interest in the community and region while seeking to avoid the old adage “all glory is fleeting.”

“For me that’s the real reward,” Hermann said. “This weekend is great, it would look great for every team to win and continue to play and move forward, but how can we make it a long-lasting deal?

“That’s the challenge with marketing. That’s the opportunity that’s before us, to the make the highs higher and the lows lower so you’re taking advantage of the momentum that’s been created to move things forward as far as you can and get people connected and involved.”

Thompson takes a pragmatic approach. Duplicating this fall’s successes might not be so easy.

“I think you’ve got to be cautious not to over-emphasize this is the new norm in terms of athletic performance,” he said. “A lot of things have broken in our favor. To have a 43-2-1 record – have you ever heard of a school having that record?

“Would I love for it to be new norm? Absolutely. But teams are going to have ups and downs, things are going to happen, the competition changes every year so that’s all part of it.

“I think it gives us all confidence we can do it. What we look for next is how do we keep going, how do we keep challenging ourselves. How do we do this again?”

While celebrating athletics’ successes, Thompson keeps his eye on the bigger picture as it relates to the overall mission. Wesleyan and the KCAC are not know for producing professional athletes.

“Athletics is important but it’s not the most important thing we do,” he said. “It’s really a vehicle for us to teach the life skills, the career skills they want and need to have to be successful after graduation.

“It’s when they combine those with the academic experience they’re getting that’s going to make them very successful. You can look at alums who come through our music and athletic programs and the great careers they’re having and go on to places they never dreamed of.

“That’s why we do athletics. It’s nice for all these other things and it’s great for energy for the campus but if that were the only reason for doing it we have totally wasted our time and money, in my opinion. I’m not downplaying how much I enjoy winning or how much fun this is but that’s a byproduct of doing all these other things right.”

Hermann concurs and points to the Coyotes’ academic accomplishments this season.

“I’ve been as impressed with the success we’ve had academically this fall as I’ve been impressed with what we’ve done on the field,” he said. “Our coaches are really working to move our average team GPA up, we had really good marks at the midterm across the board.

“I think that shows the feeling of excellence, that culture of excellence, is permeating the whole programs.”

Drinkall’s team shattered numerous school and conference records this season, team and individual alike – none more impressive, perhaps, than the 597 points the Coyotes have scored. They’re averaging a whopping 54.3 points per game.

He sees the current successes as a foundation to build on.

“It’s been a pretty good deal for the entire community and the campus,” he said. “The high tide raises all ships.”