The Southwestern Moundbuilders are the athletic teams that represent
Southwestern College, located in
Winfield, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Stat ...
(KCAC) since the 1958–59 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1902–03 to 1922–23. The Moundbinders previously competed in the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Central Intercollegiate Conference (CIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference that operated from 1928 to 1968. It was less often referred to as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC), particularly towards the begin ...
(CIC) from 1923–24 to 1957–58.
Varsity teams
Southwestern competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and dance.
Accomplishments
The school boasts the following accomplishments:
* 143 KCAC Championships in 10 different sports since 1960
* 15 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes in 2005–06
* SC finished 77th out of nearly 300 NAIA institutions in the United States Sports Academy Directors Cup for all sports in 2006.
* Seven KCAC Championships this past year in Softball, Men's Golf, Men's and Women's Track, Men's Basketball, and Men's and Women's Cross Country.
* NAIA Region IV titles in Men's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Golf to advance to NAIA National competition.
* Men's Basketball won the KCAC Post-Season tournament and advanced to the National Tournament.
* Women's Track and Men's Track each had National Champions in 2004.
* An SC student-athlete was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in 2006.
* Women's Tennis and Women's Cross Country were NAIA Region IV runners-up in 2005–06.
* In excess of 170 NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes since 1981, an honor requiring a 3.5 GPA.
* Women's Basketball advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the 2004 NAIA National Tournament.
* Conference champions in football in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2021.
* Men's and Women's soccer teams advanced to the semi-finals in the 2003 KCAC Post-Season tournament.
Conference affiliations
Cross country and track & field
Without a doubt, Southwestern College Athletics have experienced the most success in Track & Field and Cross Country. Since current head coach
Jim Helmer took over the programs in 1978, the teams have combined for 31 straight men's
KCAC fall running championships 1980–2010. Friends University stopped the streak in 2011 under head coach Brad Peterson. while the men's track and field teams have produced 29 consecutive conference crowns 1983–2010. The women's track & field teams have followed suit with 16 consecutive KCAC Championships under
Mike Kirkland. Since 1978, the Moundbuilders have been awarded seven
NAIA National Champions in men's cross country and track, 81 athletes have earned NAIA All-American status a total of 188 times, and 440 separate athletes have earned All-Conference.
Men's basketball
Southwestern College Men's Basketball began in 1904 with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. Since that time, Southwestern Men's Basketball has appeared in the
NAIA national tournament a total of six times with the most recent appearance in 2006 under head coach Doug Hall. The team won the
national championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
in 1939 and placed third in
1937.
Southwestern shows an all-time record in Men's Basketball of 1246–1019 in its first 101 seasons of play. The school currently competes in the
NAIA as a
Division II school at Stewart Field House (capacity: 1,000) on the Southwestern College campus
Brad Long is often called Southwestern's most famous basketball player, but not for his play on the court at Southwestern. He is best known for his role in the 1986 film ''
Hoosiers'' where he played the character of team captain Buddy Walker.
Golf
Southwestern golf has a rich and compelling tradition. Coached by Brad Sexson and Assistant Coach Tim Jasper, the 2012–2013 Moundbuilder golf team won the KCAC conference championship, that was held at Firekeeper Golf Course, located North of Topeka, Kansas. They were led by all-conference golfers Bobby Wiedner, All- American Shane Gilbert, Justin Churchill, and Seth Bryan. They went on to compete for the National Championship that was held at Creekside Golf Club in Salem, Oregon. Current golfers for the Moudbuilder's include, Shane Gilbert, Jake Henson, Justin Churchill, Kyle Karpe, Seth Bryan, Kyle Branine, Edward Fahnestock, Jonah Powerdistrict, Stephen Venn, and Luke Arneson.
Football
The Southwestern College Moundbuilders football team began in 1903 with 9 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie under coach
J. J. Thiel. Since then the Builders have posted three undefeated seasons: 1913, 1918, and 1967. There has never been a season of Southwestern College Football without at least one victory. As of the 2006 season, the program has produced 40 All-Americans, 13 conference championships, 5 national playoff appearances, and 4 bowl games.
Mascot
Moundbuilders
Southwestern College athletic teams are known as the "Moundbuilders." Since 1927, a ceremony has been repeated every September as the student's assemble at Southwestern. Each student and faculty member, as well as clubs and organizations, place one stone. Often, the rocks are carved or painted to represent the person or organization placing the rock.
[Southwestern College - Winfield, KS](_blank)
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The Jinx
The mascot of Southwestern College teams is the "Jinx"—a black cat. Typically a student is dressed in the costume of a black cat for games.
The legend of "The Jinx" began in the early 1900s. Celebrating an easy victory over arch-rival Fairmount College (now Wichita State University
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
), the students of Southwestern placed a tombstone on Southwestern's campus. The tombstone had a picture of a black cat and the final score of that season's game: 41-3. For the next 14 years the "jinxed" stone stood in defiance as the Moundbuilders won every game against Fairmount.
The players and student body of Fairmount took action. Students made several attempts to remove the stone but each time, the stone was rescued by Southwestern faculty and students.
Finally the Fairmount players sneaked down to Southwestern's campus and stole the tombstone. They then used dynamite to blow it up in a nearby field. The next game all players for Fairmont kept a piece of the stone with them for luck. When that final measure failed to work and Southwestern once again won the game, the frustrated Fairmount players threw down their pieces of the "jinxed" stone and left the field.
According to several eyewitnesses, the Southwestern students picked up the broken pieces and hid them in various places around Southwestern's campus. Legend holds that the pieces still remain hidden throughout the campus.
Some points of the legend differ in facts. The game that began the run was under coach Fred H. Clapp and was played on November 8, 1912 and it was only two years later on October 16, 1914 when head coach Willis Bates
Willis Sherman "Bill" Bates (January 26, 1880 – May 13, 1939) was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head football coach at Fairmount College—now known as Wichita State University—from 1905 to 1908 and at Southwest ...
would lead the Moudbuilders in a 20-0 home loss against Fairmont. However, the two schools played after that for nine games with Southwestern winning five times and the remaining four games ending in a tie. It would not be until Halloween of 1925 when Fairmont College under the leadership of Sam H. Hill would defeat Southwestern again.College Football Data Warehouse
Southwestern College Game By Game Summary (1925–1929)
Players and coaches in professional sports and/or collegiate coaching
*
Vic Baltzell
Victor Leroy Baltzell Sr. (June 20, 1912 – April 1986), sometimes known as both "Dick" and "Vic", and by the nickname "Bullet" Baltzell, was an American football player.
Baltzell was born in 1912 in Soda Springs, Idaho. He attended Hebron ...
, linebacker for the
Boston Redskins
The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...
in 1935
*
Jerry Kill
Gerald R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at New Mexico State University. He played college football at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas from 1979 to 1982. Kill served as the head ...
, former head coach for
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
*
Monty Lewis
Monty Lewis (born January 2, 1963) is an American football coach. Is the head football coach at Winfield High School in Winfield, KS. Lewis served as the head football coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas from 1993 to 2001 and F ...
, current head coach for
Holdenville High School
Holdenville is a city in and county seat of Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,771 at the 2010 census, an increase of 22 percent from 4,732 at the 2000 census.
*
Jay Mack Love
Jay Mack Love Jr. (May 15, 1883 – September 16, 1935) was a college football player and coach who later became a practicing attorney in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Playing career
Love played for the University of Michigan
, mottoeng ...
, member of the National Champion
1904 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1904 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1904 Western Conference football season. In the team's fourth season under head coach Fielding H. Yost, the Wolverines compiled a perfect 10–0 record and ...
References
External links
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{{Kansas Sports