Few things in life are certain. Of course there are a few inevitabilities, like death, taxes and Northwestern missing out on March Madness. But as we change calendars and ponder our soon-to-be-broken New Year’s resolutions, there are an unusual number of question marks in the NU sports world. Here are the ones Wildcats fans should be most concerned about entering 2008:
– Who will be the new athletic director? Since former AD Mark Murphy announced last month his decision to leave NU for a job as the president and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, the school has been searching for a replacement. Robert Gundlach took over as interim director of athletics on Jan. 1, leaving his post as Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and the Big Ten. But it’s difficult to imagine an interim AD getting much done while the school looks for somebody to fill the position permanently.
Of course the school will have to find an AD who will maintain the school’s sterling academic standards while also working to improve on-field performance. But with the football team looking to fill its offensive and defensive coordinator positions, among other pressing issues, it’s also important that the school names a replacement in a timely fashion.
— Will this be an even tougher year than usual for men’s basketball fans? The men’s squad has never made the postseason under coach Bill Carmody, but this season could be a new low. The Cats won only two games in the Big Ten last season and lost team leader Tim Doyle to graduation. NU has started its conference season 0-2, including a home loss to a mediocre-at-best Penn State team.
The hope is that Kevin Coble works himself back into shape after missing the first nine games of the season to be with his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer, and that freshman Michael Thompson continues to improve as the season progresses. If not, there could be a repeat of the team’s winless Big Ten season in 1999-2000 that led to Carmody replacing Kevin O’Neill as coach. Carmody never seems to be on the hot seat, and the team’s meager recruiting has started to improve in the past couple of years, but it would be tough for anybody to withstand the embarrassment of a winless conference campaign.
– Can the wrestling team match last season’s success without Jake Herbert? Led by Herbert’s national title at 184 pounds, the Cats placed fourth at the NCAA Championships last season, equaling the best finish in program history. But with Herbert taking a redshirt season to train for the 2008 Summer Olympics, it will be up to the rest of NU’s talented roster to pick up the slack. Specifically, seniors Dustin Fox, Ryan Lang and Mike Tamillow will need to earn personal-best finishes at the NCAA Championships to make up for the gaping left open by the dynamic Herbert’s absence.
– Will this be the year the women’s tennis team gets over the hump in the NCAA tournament? Each of the last four seasons, the Cats have made it to the round of 16. But in those four years, they have never made it past the quarterfinals. Last season fifth-ranked NU fell to 12th-ranked UCLA in the round of 16 for the team’s latest disappointing finish. But with all of last year’s team returning, with the notable exception of Alexis Prousis, the Cats will have another good chance to end a season on a high note.
