New conference hosts old rivals from UIS’ days as Sangamon State

November 19, 2008
By Robert Jackson
Sports Editor   

In a weird way, moving onto NCAA Division II for the men’s soccer program is like moving back into the glory days of Sangamon State/UIS soccer.

“A great example of that is Rockhurst,” Head Coach Joe Eck said. “We always seemed to play Rockhurst to advance into the national tournament.”

Among other members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which UIS could potentially join within the next two years, Quincy University and Wisconsin-Parkside, also had great rivalries with SSU/UIS throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s.

“QU was king of the NAIA,” Eck said. “They still have more national championships than anyone else. They just had a remarkable run in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”

The rivalry between UIS and QU started, in Eck’s opinion, after the program, in its third year, traveled to Quincy and upset the perennial power in their home stadium.

“They were fine with them always beating us but as soon as we beat them that’s when things got going,” he said.

For both Eck and senior midfielder Adam Findley, the team may be unable to add to the national championships the team collected, but there is still a way to continue the legacy on the field.

“(The previous teams) just played with passion and heart,” Findley said. Findley says the recruits Eck brings in continue that tradition by being known for their hard work more so than their talent.

“We’re just a blue-collar team,” he said.

Eck and Milton Tennant, the assistant head coach, would bring up past teams as motivation for their current teams. Though for Eck, he realized there is a fine line in reminding the teams of expectations and also dwelling in the past. For motivation against the Harris-Stowe State Hornets, Eck told the team of an SSU squad that traveled to Minnesota.

“There was probably three inches of snow on the field—and you had people in parkas warming up…,” Eck joked. “When game time came all they did was shovel off the sidelines, blew the whistle, and said ‘Play.’”

The team managed a 2-2 record against future GLVC opponents. The two wins came against Saint Joseph’s, who finished 3-7-2 in the GLVC, and against the University of Missouri Science and Technology, who finished 4-4-4 in the GLVC.

“I think it shows we’ll be right in the middle of the pack in the GLVC,” Eck said. Findley appreciated the two wins but wished the Prairie Stars could have played the top teams in the GLVC like Rockhurst, Northern Kentucky, or Drury.

Although UIS will end a nearly 40 year relationship with the NAIA, Eck felt with the addition of new sports and the size of the campus now, the transition to Division II is now the right time.

“For what SSU was the NAIA was a great partnership,” Eck said. “If you look at the NAIA now though it is mostly small, private colleges with a religious base. Most of the small public universities our size are Division II.”