With the last few drops of summer gone, students are moving back into their apartments, houses and residence halls in anticipation for another year of higher learning.
The football team has been back on campus for much longer and is gearing up for another perfect season. The Warhawks are currently riding a 45 game winning streak – the best current streak among any division in NCAA college football.
Head coach Lance Leipold is 72-3 in his five-year career, winning four out of five national championships and three consecutive titles. It’s safe to say that the ’Hawks are the “top dog” of NCAA Division-III football.
What else is there to accomplish? Hardware will never get old at UW-Whitewater, but it remains to be seen if a larger challenge isn’t on the horizon for the football program. It won’t be long before Leipold’s name starts surfacing in connection with vacant D-I head coaching jobs. Although it’s important to note UW-Whitewater is his alma mater.
Bo Ryan, the current head basketball coach for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, won three national championships with UW-Platteville before moving on to UW-Milwaukee and eventually UW-Madison.
Dominance on any level does not go unnoticed.
Which brings us to question whether or not UW-Whitewater has outgrown D-III. Perkins Stadium is the largest D-III football stadium in the country, UW-Whitewater is among the largest D-III schools by enrollment and the athletic facilities exceed D-III quality.
The only thing standing in UW-Whitewater’s way of moving up a division is money. When and if we will have the funds to make the leap remains to be seen.
Big things are happening at Perkins Stadium every Saturday, but bigger things are ahead for a program that is powered by tradition. Chances are the ’Hawks will be in the hunt for another National title this season.
Will we be hunting for a D-II national title ten years from now? Will Coach Leipold still be wearing Warhawk purple? Time will tell, but for now, it seems as if the ‘Hawks have reached the pinnacle: a dynasty.
