Get to Know the OVC - Lindenwood edition

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Get to Know the OVC - Lindenwood University edition

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www.lindenwood.edu

Next up is one of the newest additions to the OVC (and to DI) but is actually the oldest school in the conference...Lindenwood University.

Originally founded as a "girls school" in 1832, Lindenwood is the second oldest school of higher education west of the Mississippi River (behind nearby Saint Louis University). They slowly grew throughout the 1800s and the first half of the 19th century, remaining a "women's college" until 1969, when they changed their name to Lindenwood Colleges, with separate colleges for men and women. They merged into the singular Lindenwood College in 1983 but by 1989, the college was struggling with bankruptcy and had fewer than 800 students.

In the 1990's, school president Dennis Spellman began implementing a series of changes that would turn the school around and fuel an era of expansion which would continue to today. From the mid-1990's to the early 2000's, Lindenwood was the fastest-growing university in the Midwest, and by 2006, when President Spellman died, the university had an endowment of over $50 million. This time period also included a name change to "Lindenwood University". The growth continued with new buildings, athletic facilities improvements, and plans for much larger expansion and enrollment growth. Lindenwood currently has right about 7k students and has an endowment of over $140 million.

LU is located in St. Charles, MO, a city of about 70k people which is a northwestern suburb of St. Louis along the Missouri River. From WIU, driving to Lindenwood takes just under 3 hours to go about 180 miles.

Notable non-athletics alumni include opera singer (and grandmother of Taylor Swift) Marjorie Finlay, television and film director/producer/screenwriter Lee Daniels, and abstract expressionist painter Alice Baber.

Athletics

Image
www.lindenwoodlions.com

Since starting their athletics department in 1970, the Lindenwood Lions have quickly risen up through the levels of college sports. They started in NAIA, taking some time to build a successful athletics program and slowly adding sports and facilities. They won 12 national championships in their time in NAIA: Men's Soccer in 2004; Men's Indoor T&F in 1998, 2005, and 2006; Men's Outdoor T&F in 2003; Wrestling in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009; Men's Volleyball in 2009; and Women's Ice Hockey in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

LU moved to NCAA Division II for the 2013/2014 school year, winning the DII/DIII USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019 as well as the Women's Lacrosse national championship in 2021. In 2022, they moved to Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference.
They currently sponsor a wide array of sports including most of the standard OVC sports:
Men - Baseball, Basketball, Cross Counrty, Football, Golf, Soccer, Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, plus Ice Hockey (Independent), Lacrosse (ASUN), Swimming & Diving (Summit League), Tennis (Horizon), Volleyball (MIVA), and Wrestling (Independent).
Women - Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, SOccer, Softball, Tennis, Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, Indoor Volleyball, as well as Field Hockey (Independent), Gymnastics (MIC), Ice Hockey (CHA), Lacross (ASUN), Swimming & Diving (Summit League), and Wrestling (Independent)

They also sponsor an array of what they call "Student Life Sports" (I assume qualify as "club sports") with Archery, Men's and Women's Bowling, Cheer, Cycling, Dance, Esports, Men's and Women's Ice Hockey (these are different teams from the NCAA DI scholarship-level Hockey teams), Olympic Weightlifting, Roller Hockey, Men's and Women's Rugby, and Shotgun Sports.

Football

Lindenwood football started in 1990 and made it to the NAIA national championship game in 2009. Football was played in NCAA DII from 2011-2019, making the DII playoffs in 2019 and 2021 (2020 season was cancelled due to COVID). Last year, in their first season as a DI school, they put together a record of 7-3 overall (although 3 of those wins were over non-DI schools), and 1-3 in the OVC, beating Murray State, but losing to UT Martin, SEMO, and by 1 point to Tennessee Tech. They finished 5th out of 7 in the OVC last year.

Due to their recent move to DI and the shortness of their football history, WIU has never played Lindenwood in football, however we are scheduled to play our first game against the Lions when we host them on September 16, 2023. Originally this was a H&H agreement that included a return trip (us playing at LU) in 2026, but I'd have to imagine that things will be restructured a bit with that, since we'll likely be playing LU every season now.

DB Pierre Desir (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Desir) is the only Lion who has been drafted in the NFL, going in the 4th round of the 2014 draft to the Cleveland Browns. They've had two undrafted players who played regular season games in the NFL: RB DeDe Dorsey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeDe_Dorsey), and DE Brian Schaefering (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schaefering).

Lindenwood plays in the 6,000 seat Harlan C. Hunter Stadium, which is also home to their Men's and Women's Soccer, Lacrosse, and Rugby teams, as well as their Women's Field Hockey team. It was built in 1976 by the St. Louis Cardinals football team as a training camp location. It was renovated in 2004, improved in 2009, and in 2012 they added a "Student-Athlete Center" behind the north end zone seating. New turf was installed in 2018 and a new video board was added at the beginning of the 2022 football season.

2023 will be the 7th year for HC Jed Stugart, who has helped the team transition to the DI level. Prior to LU, he was the HC at MidAmerica Nazarene (NAIA) and Sioux Falls (DII). He played LB for Azusa Pacific (DII) and started his coaching career at FCS Northern Colorado.

Basketball

In basketball, the Lindenwood men's team has not been in any of the NCAA tournaments, but they did participate in the NAIA tournament in 2000 and 2006. The women's team made the NCAA DII tournament in 2018 and 2019, and made the NAIA tournament in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Last season, the men's team went 11-21 overall and 6-12 in the OVC in their first season as a DI school, finishing 8th in the OVC out of 10 teams. The women's team finished 2-24 overall, 1-17 in the OVC, and was last out of 10 teams.
Neither the WIU Men's or Women's teams have ever played Lindenwood in basketball.

Women's HC Amy Eagan was just named HC about a month and a half ago after spending three successful seasons as the HC of Drury University, winning 3 GLVC championships and being named 2021 WBCA NCAA DII Coach of the Year. She's originally from South Shelby HS in Missouri (just a bit west of Hannibal) and attended and began her coaching career at Truman State.
Men's HC Kyle Gerdeman is entering his 5th year as the HC of the team. He's also originally from Missouri (Wright City), and he attended SEMO, and spent time coaching at Moberly Area Community College (MO), SEMO, and Central Michigan before his time at Lindenwood.

Lindenwood plays basketball, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's wrestling, and women's gymnastics in the 3,270-seat Robert F. Hyland Perfornace Arena, although there has been discussions exploring the possibility of the university aquiring the nearby 10,000-seat Family Arena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Arena)

Other Sports

Last season in the OVC, here's how their various teams finished:
Women's Soccer - 6-8-6 overall, 2-2-4 and 5th out of 9 in the OVC
Indoor Volleyball - 12-17 overall, 8-10 and 7th out of 10 in the OVC
Women's Tennis - 4-10 overall, 1-4 and 5th out of 6 in the OVC
Baseball - 11-41 overall, 6-15 and 9th out of 9 in the OVC
Beach Volleyball - 2-8 overall, 8-14 and 5th out of 6 in the OVC
Softball - 16-32 overall, 8-15 and 7th out of 9 in the OVC
 
 
 
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ST_Lawson wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 11:55 am Get to Know the OVC - Lindenwood University edition

Image
www.lindenwood.edu

Next up is one of the newest additions to the OVC (and to DI) but is actually the oldest school in the conference...Lindenwood University.

Originally founded as a "girls school" in 1832, Lindenwood is the second oldest school of higher education west of the Mississippi River (behind nearby Saint Louis University). They slowly grew throughout the 1800s and the first half of the 19th century, remaining a "women's college" until 1969, when they changed their name to Lindenwood Colleges, with separate colleges for men and women. They merged into the singular Lindenwood College in 1983 but by 1989, the college was struggling with bankruptcy and had fewer than 800 students.

In the 1990's, school president Dennis Spellman began implementing a series of changes that would turn the school around and fuel an era of expansion which would continue to today. From the mid-1990's to the early 2000's, Lindenwood was the fastest-growing university in the Midwest, and by 2006, when President Spellman died, the university had an endowment of over $50 million. This time period also included a name change to "Lindenwood University". The growth continued with new buildings, athletic facilities improvements, and plans for much larger expansion and enrollment growth. Lindenwood currently has right about 7k students and has an endowment of over $140 million.

LU is located in St. Charles, MO, a city of about 70k people which is a northwestern suburb of St. Louis along the Missouri River. From WIU, driving to Lindenwood takes just under 3 hours to go about 180 miles.

Notable non-athletics alumni include opera singer (and grandmother of Taylor Swift) Marjorie Finlay, television and film director/producer/screenwriter Lee Daniels, and abstract expressionist painter Alice Baber.

Athletics

Image
www.lindenwoodlions.com

Since starting their athletics department in 1970, the Lindenwood Lions have quickly risen up through the levels of college sports. They started in NAIA, taking some time to build a successful athletics program and slowly adding sports and facilities. They won 12 national championships in their time in NAIA: Men's Soccer in 2004; Men's Indoor T&F in 1998, 2005, and 2006; Men's Outdoor T&F in 2003; Wrestling in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009; Men's Volleyball in 2009; and Women's Ice Hockey in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

LU moved to NCAA Division II for the 2013/2014 school year, winning the DII/DIII USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019 as well as the Women's Lacrosse national championship in 2021. In 2022, they moved to Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference.
They currently sponsor a wide array of sports including most of the standard OVC sports:
Men - Baseball, Basketball, Cross Counrty, Football, Golf, Soccer, Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, plus Ice Hockey (Independent), Lacrosse (ASUN), Swimming & Diving (Summit League), Tennis (Horizon), Volleyball (MIVA), and Wrestling (Independent).
Women - Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, SOccer, Softball, Tennis, Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, Indoor Volleyball, as well as Field Hockey (Independent), Gymnastics (MIC), Ice Hockey (CHA), Lacross (ASUN), Swimming & Diving (Summit League), and Wrestling (Independent)

They also sponsor an array of what they call "Student Life Sports" (I assume qualify as "club sports") with Archery, Men's and Women's Bowling, Cheer, Cycling, Dance, Esports, Men's and Women's Ice Hockey (these are different teams from the NCAA DI scholarship-level Hockey teams), Olympic Weightlifting, Roller Hockey, Men's and Women's Rugby, and Shotgun Sports.

Football

Lindenwood football started in 1990 and made it to the NAIA national championship game in 2009. Football was played in NCAA DII from 2011-2019, making the DII playoffs in 2019 and 2021 (2020 season was cancelled due to COVID). Last year, in their first season as a DI school, they put together a record of 7-3 overall (although 3 of those wins were over non-DI schools), and 1-3 in the OVC, beating Murray State, but losing to UT Martin, SEMO, and by 1 point to Tennessee Tech. They finished 5th out of 7 in the OVC last year.

Due to their recent move to DI and the shortness of their football history, WIU has never played Lindenwood in football, however we are scheduled to play our first game against the Lions when we host them on September 16, 2023. Originally this was a H&H agreement that included a return trip (us playing at LU) in 2026, but I'd have to imagine that things will be restructured a bit with that, since we'll likely be playing LU every season now.

DB Pierre Desir (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Desir) is the only Lion who has been drafted in the NFL, going in the 4th round of the 2014 draft to the Cleveland Browns. They've had two undrafted players who played regular season games in the NFL: RB DeDe Dorsey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeDe_Dorsey), and DE Brian Schaefering (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schaefering).

Lindenwood plays in the 6,000 seat Harlan C. Hunter Stadium, which is also home to their Men's and Women's Soccer, Lacrosse, and Rugby teams, as well as their Women's Field Hockey team. It was built in 1976 by the St. Louis Cardinals football team as a training camp location. It was renovated in 2004, improved in 2009, and in 2012 they added a "Student-Athlete Center" behind the north end zone seating. New turf was installed in 2018 and a new video board was added at the beginning of the 2022 football season.

2023 will be the 7th year for HC Jed Stugart, who has helped the team transition to the DI level. Prior to LU, he was the HC at MidAmerica Nazarene (NAIA) and Sioux Falls (DII). He played LB for Azusa Pacific (DII) and started his coaching career at FCS Northern Colorado.

Basketball

In basketball, the Lindenwood men's team has not been in any of the NCAA tournaments, but they did participate in the NAIA tournament in 2000 and 2006. The women's team made the NCAA DII tournament in 2018 and 2019, and made the NAIA tournament in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Last season, the men's team went 11-21 overall and 6-12 in the OVC in their first season as a DI school, finishing 8th in the OVC out of 10 teams. The women's team finished 2-24 overall, 1-17 in the OVC, and was last out of 10 teams.
Neither the WIU Men's or Women's teams have ever played Lindenwood in basketball.

Women's HC Amy Eagan was just named HC about a month and a half ago after spending three successful seasons as the HC of Drury University, winning 3 GLVC championships and being named 2021 WBCA NCAA DII Coach of the Year. She's originally from South Shelby HS in Missouri (just a bit west of Hannibal) and attended and began her coaching career at Truman State.
Men's HC Kyle Gerdeman is entering his 5th year as the HC of the team. He's also originally from Missouri (Wright City), and he attended SEMO, and spent time coaching at Moberly Area Community College (MO), SEMO, and Central Michigan before his time at Lindenwood.

Lindenwood plays basketball, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's wrestling, and women's gymnastics in the 3,270-seat Robert F. Hyland Perfornace Arena, although there has been discussions exploring the possibility of the university aquiring the nearby 10,000-seat Family Arena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Arena)

Other Sports

Last season in the OVC, here's how their various teams finished:
Women's Soccer - 6-8-6 overall, 2-2-4 and 5th out of 9 in the OVC
Indoor Volleyball - 12-17 overall, 8-10 and 7th out of 10 in the OVC
Women's Tennis - 4-10 overall, 1-4 and 5th out of 6 in the OVC
Baseball - 11-41 overall, 6-15 and 9th out of 9 in the OVC
Beach Volleyball - 2-8 overall, 8-14 and 5th out of 6 in the OVC
Softball - 16-32 overall, 8-15 and 7th out of 9 in the OVC
 
 
 

 
No description of Lindenwood is complete without mentioning the impact of former Cardinal and first ballot MLB Hall of Famer Lou Brock had on their athletic programs.  They play baseball and softball at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.  Sadly, Lou passed in 2020.  Lou's wife Jaqueline remains a life member on their Board of Trustees.

https://lindenwoodlions.com/sports/2020 ... spx?id=399
 
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So Lindenwood's stadium was built by the Cardinals. I think that's 3 OVC schools who were a training camp site for NFL teams. 
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may know wrote:So Lindenwood's stadium was built by the Cardinals. I think that's 3 OVC schools who were a training camp site for NFL teams. 
Lindenwood’s stadium has also hosted a handful of Rams preseason scrimmages (similar to when we had the Rams hosting the Titans or Bears). They were having their training camp just across the MO River in Earth City at the time.


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meganeck
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I read an article about what is next for the Summit League and Lindenwood was a school mentioned they might go after.
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meganeck wrote:I read an article about what is next for the Summit League and Lindenwood was a school mentioned they might go after.
Possible, but I’m not sure the Summit is that much of a step up for them. Travel for them would be worse. Basketball is about the same. Football would be a big step up if they joined the MVFC in terms of difficulty, which may or may not be a positive at this point. If they’re trying to get more wins and build support, the OVC is better currently. If they want to test themselves against the best, then the MVFC is better.


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