Miller's Warriors come through

By Jim Rodenbush, D3football.com (posted Sept. 5) 

It’s safe to say Wisconsin Lutheran football coach Dennis Miller will never have to wait this long for a win again.

More than two years after Miller arrived at the tiny Milwaukee college to become the first-ever coach of the Warriors, his team rewarded him Saturday with a 14-0 victory at Rockford.

"I’m the most happy for Dennis," said Wisconsin Lutheran Director of Athletics Skip Noon. "For a football coach to spend two years away from the enjoyment of games, it’s tough."

Face with the challenge of beginning a program from scratch and with kickoff not coming until September 2000, Miller accepted the Warriors’ job in July 1998. At the time, Miller was the head coach of Division II Northern State University in South Dakota and said he made the move for personal and professional reasons.

"I really believe in a Lutheran education for my kids," said Miller. "That opportunity existed in Wisconsin. Starting a football program is such a unique venture. I couldn’t imagine anything more stimulating."

The move meant some time away from the football field for the longtime coach. Miller – who began his career as a high school assistant in 1977 – spent year No. 1 assembling his staff, developing a recruiting protocol and performing such mundane chores as coming up with stationary and letterhead.

Miller brought in 25 players in 1999, year No. 2, but they would see no game action. The group participated in nine structured practices without any competition.

"That was a hard sell," said Miller. "It meant we had to look for players who didn’t need the instant gratification that came with games. There is a great opportunity down the line to go to the playoffs and win conference championships; but realistically that’s not going to be here for a while. I look at the players as pioneers, but they really had to buy into that idea."

All along, Miller has had the backing of the college, which Noon said was looking for ways to increase its male population when it decided to begin a football program.

"It’s been talked about ever since I can remember," Noon said. "It was not a hard sell. We used to be a two-year college. When we became a four-year college (more than a decade ago), we decided at some point that we would like to have football."

Noon knew it was the right time to begin the program when he found his football coach. Noon became an instant fan when he first spoke with Miller.

In Miller, Noon brought in a coach with an extensive collegiate background, including four years as an assistant at his alma mater St. Cloud State in Minnesota, two at Brigham Young University (including the school’s national championship year of 1984) and 12 years as a head coach at Northern State.

"Dennis has come from a great background," said Noon. "To come here from a strong Division II program speaks a lot of his integrity. He’s brought together an exciting young staff."

The 2000 season has meant a return to normal for Miller. The Warriors increased their roster to 43 players and prepared for their first year with a schedule that included fellow newcomer Rockford as well as long established programs, such as traditional power Augustana.

Miller said the Regents were a logical choice on the schedule because both teams are new (the two teams will meet again this season). After that, Miller said he sent out a mailing to the entire NCAA Division III North Region.

"I think we came up with a good schedule," said Miller. "We’ve got the marquee names such as Augustana. Other schools, in terms of the types of colleges they are, are a good matchup for us as well."

The Warriors are off to a 1-0 start thanks to a shutout effort from their defense and a pair of field goals from kicker Andy Rennicke. The team’s lone touchdown came in the fourth quarter when halfback Brian Yerges caught a deflected pass from quarterback Dustin Reynolds and ran in from 16 yards out.

Don’t look for any predictions from Miller on his team’s next game, which comes at 1 p.m. this Saturday at home against Trinity International. The Warriors play their home games at nearby Marquette University.

"The measuring stick you use for a ordinary football team, you can’t use with us," said Miller. "You can’t say that we’ll go out and win x number of games because it’s impossible to predict that the first year out. If the structure of our program is sound and we put our players in the position to be successful … that’s our key for the season."

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