Three sport Hillsdale star Jerry Schaffer featured in new high school hoops documentary

Before Jerry Schaffer would build one of the finest small town Michigan basketball programs at Three Oaks River Valley, he would star on the gridiron, hardwood and diamond for the then Hillsdale College Dales. Schaffer graduated in 1960 after earning All-MIAA honors in baseball that year.

 In 1966 he launched the River Valley basketball program and went on to win state titles in 1979 with runner-up finishes in 1981 and 1997. His 1988 team made it all of the way Crisler Arena and State semi-finals. That team and Schaffer's legacy is the subject of a recently released documentary from independent film maker and Hamilton High School teacher Mark Behnke.

Mustang Magic: When every Friday Night mattered tells the story of Three Oaks as a place where small town dreams can come true through hard work and dedication. "Sacrifice equals winning and winning equals recognition" was Schaffer's mantra and one the film's main themes. Packed gyms, cardiac comebacks, and a colorful bunch of characters lets us all travel vicariously for an hour and a half back to those memories at our own high schools.

"A legacy is so much more than wins and losses. It is the integrity he coached and taught with for over three decades," Behnke states. "The 1987-1988 teams were extra talented and modeled Schaffer's lesson for the kids in the community."

Mustang Magic may be purchased at MustangMagicMovie.com.

NFL Draft: Hillsdale's Joe Glendening chats with Detroit Free Press

Hillsdale College's senior running back Joe Glendening will be chatting with Detroit Free Press readers at noon Eastern time today (Wednesday).

Glendening capped a historical career this past fall becoming the program's all-time leading rusher. He was a part of Hillsdale's first ever NCAA II playoff appearance in 2009. He helped the Chargers return to the playoffs in 2010 and was a Harlon Hill Regional finalist and GLIAC Player of the Year in 2011. Glendening battled turf toe in 2012 but was still earned team MVP, All-GLIAC, and All-Region honors. During Glendening's career Hillsdale went 34-13 and won three straight GLIAC divisional titles and the 2011 outright GLIAC championship.

Hillsdale wraps up Spring Practice with Sunday final scrimmage

The Hillsdale College Chargers will wrap up their Spring Football season with a scrimmage at 1:00 PM this Sunday. The annual spring game will the 15th practice session, the last allowable by the NCAA. Admission is free. One of the traditions that has developed over the years is the chance to see the incoming recruits introduced during the festivities. We will have a full spring wrap-up next week with a "Way Too Early" preview of the 2013 team.

Former Chargers Mifsud and Karaba to play in tomorrow's Ohio vs. Michigan game

Hillsdale seniors Anthony Mifsud and Ben Karaba will don the royal blue helmet with white Charger bolts one more time tomorrow afternoon when the pair represent Hillsdale College in the Ohio vs. Michigan Senior Bowl. The game is set for 1:00 PM at Fawcette Stadium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. Both will represent Michigan with Mifsud at quarterback and Karaba at DB. The only irony is that Karaba is an Ohio native from Brunswick High School. Game Information

Hillsdale earns NCAA President's award as elite academic - athletic program

Hillsdale.net

MI_Hillsdale  --  Hillsdale Daily NewsHILLSDALE — Hillsdale College has always taken a great deal of pride in its academic success rate.Now the NCAA has placed the school in an elite category in its latest Academic Success Rate survey.Hillsdale College is one of 26 Division II institutions to receive the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence in the time period spanning from 2002-05.During that time frame, 90 percent of Hillsdale College's student-athletes graduated within the time frames outlined by the NCAA. The federal rate for the 2005 entering class of student-athletes was 54 percent, compared to 48 percent for the general student body.The Division II Academic Requirements Committee created the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence to recognize programs achieving long-term academic success. The honor is intended to call attention to those programs and is not intended as a ranking.The Academic Success Rate is a measure that reflects the unique qualities of Division II. It measures graduation rates for virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletically related financial aid. The inclusion of student-athletes who do not receive athletically related financial aid distinguishes the ASR from Division I’s Graduation Success Rate.Active and provisional member institutions when the data were submitted for 2011-12 were eligible for the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence.The Division II Academic Success Rate captures about two-thirds more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate, which does not count incoming transfers, counts outgoing transfers as having not graduated and counts only student-athletes receiving athletically related financial aid. The national four-year ASR average is 72 percent.

Wintry start to Hillsdale's Spring Football Practice

The 2013 Hillsdale College Football team has two of its allotted 15 Spring practices in the books. With ice on the Muddy Waters Stadium Pro-grass surface the team has faced far harsher conditions than anything they endured during the 2012 regular season.

Hillsdale will practice next week at 4:00 PM in full pads on Tuesday the 19th and Thursday the 21st. Both sessions like all Hillsdale practices are open to the public. The team is off the following week for Spring Break and returns to the field on Tuesday April 2. Below is the full schedule with annual Spring Game set for Sunday April 21. All times 4:00 unless noted.

March: 19 (limited contact), 21 (full)
April 2 (no pads), 3 (limited), 5 (full), 7 (2:00 PM), 9 (limited), 11 (full), 13 (scrimmage, 10:00 AM), 15 (limited), 17 (full), 19 (limited), 21 (Spring Game 1:00 PM)

You can't stop the Harlem Shake. You can only hope to contain it.

The Charger Basketball team gets its shake on...