Tharp Talks about Hillsdale Job

New Hillsdale Basketball Coach John Tharp spoke with the Wisconsin Radio Network on Wednesday March 28.

Interview

Chargers to Hire Tharp as New Basketball Coach

Chargerblue.com has learned that Lawrence University (Wisc.)'s John Tharp will be named the new men's basketball coach at Hillsdale College. For the second time in a row, athletic director Mike Kovalcik has nabbed a coach from the Division III ranks with a long history of success.

Tharp has spent the last 14 seasons as head coach at Lawrence and developed one of the elite D3 programs in the country.

Midwest Conference Champions - 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006
NCAA Division III National Tournament - 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006
NCAA Division III Elite 8 - 2004
NCAA Division III Sweet 16 - 2004, 2006

2005-2006 season highlights:
25-1 Record - Best record in the country
Perfect 16-0 Midwest Conference season
3rd Consecutive Midwest Conference Title
3rd Consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament Champion
NCAA Division III National Tournament Sweet 16 (2nd time in 3 years)
.852 Winning % over last 3 years - Best of any Division III team in the nation

His 2005-2006 squad finished 25-1 and spent a month ranked number one in the nation.

Read his complete bio at The Lawrence Men's Basketball Webpage.

This single quote from his Lawrence bio states why he should be a good fit for Hillsdale: "When I came to Lawrence, there was an aura that you couldn't win here, you couldn't mix academics and athletics," Tharp said. "We eliminated that thought process immediately."

Looks like I'm Buying Somebody a Shirt

After making a pretty good run, I have hit the pile of also-rans in our Chargerblue.com Bracket Challenge.

I have no idea what Rock Chalk Jayhawk means or why USC can't hold a lead, but this is the last year I put any stock in them.

Thanks to all who participated. Check out the standings here.

CB Bracket Challenge after Day 1

Congrats to Dexter Cardinal who stands alone in 1st place with 15 out 16 correct picks on day one. Old Dominion gave Butler more game than they cared for, but came up short in Dexter's perfect day.

After that comes a whole slew of us in second place who picked 14 of the 16 first day winners. Marching Mavs, Dave in Colorado, Key, RLB82, Iowa Bearcat, and I are one game back.

11 members are 2 games back in 9th place with 13 points.

Nicolet: Mr. Hillsdale Runner-Up

A second place finish in the first ever Mr. Hillsdale pageant netted Charger quarterback Mark Nicolet (the one in the middle) $50 to spend at Chicago Water Grill, but helped raise money for Pi Beta Phi Sorority and Child Abuse Awareness Prevention.

Brandon Muri of Phi Mu Alpha was the winner despite dropping the microphone during the talent portion of the show.

Charger tailback Vinnie Panizzi also participated representing the Delt Sig House.

Full Story from Hillsdale Daily News.

Chargerblue.com Bracket Challenge

Join other D2 football fans from across the country in the Chargerblue.com Bracket Buster Challenge. Pick games the way you would in any office pool and let Yahoo do all of the work. No money, just bragging rights and a swanky Chargerblue.com t-shirt to the winner.


Visit http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/ and click on Join a Group.

You will either need to use an existing Yahoo ID or create one.

When prompted enter 86072 as the group ID. Password is otter (all lower case).

Give your bracket a name. It is that easy.

Michigan All Stars

New Chargers LB Nate English form Hillsdale High School and Bren Berquist a TE from Clarkston are playing in the Michigan High School Football Allstar Game this summer.