1988-89

August, 1988: Denison football standout Grant Jones is named NCAA College Division Academic All-American of the Year.

March, 1989: Kenyon wins its 10th straight national championship in men's swimming, a feat never before accomplished by any team in any sport or NCAA division. Kenyon's women's swimmers claim their sixth consecutive national crown. Seven NCAC swim teams finish in the top 20 at the national meet.

 

May, 1989: A contingent of Kenyon All-America swimmers meets President George Bush at the White House ... Ohio Wesleyan wins its first NCAC All-Sports title, breaking Wooster's grip on the trophy by taking championships in four of eight spring sports.


1989-90

September, 1989: Earlham and Wittenberg begin playing full NCAC schedules. The NCAC now has nine members spanning three states.

January, 1990: David Warren, president of Ohio Wesleyan and the NCAC, is elected chair of the NCAA Presidents' Commission Division III Subcommittee. In this position, Warren serves as the primary spokesman for Division III.

March, 1990: Oberlin's Ann Gilbert leads the nation in scoring, becoming the third woman in Division III basketball history to average 30 points per game ... Wittenberg wins its first North Coast title, posting a 29-2 record in men's basketball.

May, 1990: Ohio Wesleyan's Keith Rucker and the CWRU duo of Sheila Ballado and Kevin Luthy win individual titles in the shot put, 100-meter hurdles and decathlon, respectively, at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.


1990-91

 December, 1990: Allegheny's football team caps an extraordinary season by claiming the NCAA Division III championship with a 21-14 victory against Lycoming in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. The Gators finish 13-0-1 under the direction of first-year head coach Ken O'Keefe.

January, 1991: Led by Division III Vice President Al Van Wie, the NCAC heads a broad-based group at the NCAA Convention in an effort to eliminate multi-divisional classification in NCAA sports, including the participation of Division I programs in Division III football.

April, 1991: The NCAC institutes the Scholar-Athlete Award, which will annually honor one male and one female student-athlete from each North Coast school for outstanding academic and athletic achievement.

May, 1991: Ohio Wesleyan becomes the first NCAC member to claim three consecutive All-Sports championships.


1991-92

October, 1991: Kenyon's Becky Little is one of 10 finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Little, an All-America swimmer and 1991 magna cum laude graduate, had earlier been named Ohio's Woman of the Year.
 
November, 1991: Oberlin basketball standout Ann Gilbert (at left, center) is named Honda Division III Athlete of the Year. The Honda award is the most notable honor in Division III women's athletics ... Three NCAC men's soccer teams receive NCAA Tournament berths for the second consecutive year. North Coast champ Ohio Wesleyan caps a 22-2 season with a trip to the national semifinals.

December, 1991: The NCAC is instrumental in the formation of the Intercollegiate Officiating Association, an alliance of NCAA Division III institutions that will oversee all aspects of officiating for its membership.

January, 1992: Ohio Wesleyan's Keith Rucker becomes the first Division III football player to participate in the Hula Bowl, an all-star game for outstanding college seniors.

March, 1992: Kenyon runs its string of national swim titles to 13 for men and nine for women. North Coast entries win 27 of 40 events and a total of eight men's and women's squads post top-20 finishes.

May, 1992: NCAC Executive Director Dennis Collins is appointed to the NCAA Council ... Ohio Wesleyan uses six top-three finishes in the spring to overcome a four-point deficit and win its fourth consecutive NCAC All-Sports crown ... A group of 34 recently graduated student-athletes from seven NCAC institutions spend 10 days touring and playing football in Russia. The trip features an exhibition game with the semi-pro Moscow Bears. The NCAC squad posts a 50-0 victory.


1992-93

  September, 1992: Ohio Wesleyan's Keith Rucker {right} becomes the first NCAC player to participate in a regular-season NFL game when his Phoenix Cardinals play at Tampa Bay. Rucker earns a starting role on the defensive line by mid-season.

October, 1992: Denison football coach Keith Piper celebrates his 71st birthday by becoming the 24th coach in NCAA history to record 200 wins and just the 14th to do so at one school. Piper, renowned for employing the single wing, an offensive set that all but disappeared from collegiate and professional football in the early 1950s, reaches the milestone with a 29-24 victory at home against Earlham.

November, 1992: Seven NCAC squads receive invitations to the NCAA Soccer Championships. Ohio Wesleyan's men advance to the national semifinals for the third consecutive season.

January, 1993: Denison President Michele Tolela Myers is elected to a four-year term on the NCAA Presidents' Commission.

March, 1993: Kenyon's Kelley Wilder claims an NCAA indoor track championship in the 1500-meter run. Wilder goes on to win the 1500 at the outdoor nationals, becoming the third woman in Division III history to win both events.

May, 1993: Kenyon gives the NCAC another Division III team title, cruising to the national championship in women's tennis. The Ladies top Gustavus Adolphus, 7-2, in the finals to cap a 25-1 season.