With a resounding victory over perennial powerhouse Cal Lutheran on Saturday, a University of La Verne team won its conference title outright and will compete for a national championship — in football.
The Leopards — yes, the Leopards, who had not had a winning season in 10 years, and were 0-9 in ’09 — have sent shock waves across campus and across the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with its 38-21 victory at Ortmayer Stadium. They also earned the conference crown and a berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
La Verne, which improved to 8-1 with the victory, will travel to Minnesota to square off with the University of St. Thomas on Saturday. The Leopards have relied on a gritty run game (262.4 yards per game, 17th nationally) offensively, and a stingy defense (four defensive touchdowns, five interceptions). They have been carried by record-setting running back Travis Sparks-Jackson, who became the school’s all-time leading rusher with 2,861 yards, and counting. This season, Sparks-Jackson has rushed for 1,366 yards (15th), 151.8 yards per game (7th) and scored 18 touchdowns (8th).
Sparks-Jackson will lead the Leopards into Saturday’s game against undefeated St. Thomas (10-0) in Saint Paul, where the temperature is expected to top out at 33 degrees by kickoff.
Conference championships in football have been few and far between at La Verne. The Leopards’ last one came 20 years ago. This team’s success between the lines has helped set a winning tone this fall in the school’s athletic department. The women’s volleyball team and men’s soccer team also earned a trip to the postseason, and the fall athletic season of 2015 may be remembered as La Verne’s best for quite some time.
“What’s great is we’re (winning) the right way,” University of La Verne Director of Athletics Julie Kline said. “We haven’t strayed from our priorities and we will not.”
Kline sits calmly at the center of the swirling excitement with a special sense of satisfaction. That is because the La Verne AD knows that, win or lose, La Verne student-athletes truly are going to emerge winners in the most important arena: academics. La Verne student-athletes have posted a cumulative 3.216 grade-point average since 2010, reflecting Kline’s steadfast approach since she became athletic director seven years ago.
“Our first priority is to develop and care for our student-athletes as people,” Kline said. “The second is academic success. Their playing career will end, but their degree goes on. On the field, on the court, they are as competitive as can be as student-athletes.”
The volleyball team, accustomed to success at the national level, finished regular season play with a 20-8 record, including a 13-3 mark in the SCIAC. Along the way, All-American outside hitter Brittany Yaxley secured her place in the pantheon of greats in the team’s proud history when she became the program’s all-time kills leader, surpassing Crista Jones, who set the school record in 2010.
The men’s soccer team also earned a trip to the postseason with its 11-4-1 conference record. The Leopards found themselves in the championship game of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Saturday and fought gamely before Redlands prevailed, 2-1. La Verne ended the season with a 16-5-1 record, and, perhaps, a new swagger.
“For us not having any experience at all in this kind of environment, we stepped up and we played like at team that’s been here before,” La Verne head coach Trevor Persson said.
For Kline, who made the jump from women’s basketball coach at La Verne to athletic director in 2008, the road to success between the lines has been bumpy at times. But with the level of success this fall, plus the hiring of some talented young coaches and upgraded facilities for all sports, there’s no question the program is on the right track.
“It’s been a journey, but it’s one we’ve built together,” Kline said. “We’ve got some really good people in place and we’re all moving in the same direction. Each year, the program has gotten better and better and created a higher level of interest and excitement about our student-athletes.”