Athletics Feature
Q&A with Jim Lyall (continued)
What has been the reaction from the
local community?
“Since January, there hasn’t been a week that’s gone
by where I haven’t been approached by members in
the community, whether they are merchants, businesspeople, or just people on the street. They ask me ‘When
it’s going to happen at Siena Heights? We are really excited and this would be a great situation for the community.’
There’s great community support. They are very excited
about football coming to Siena Heights.”
About Offensive/Recruiting Coordinator
Jeff Hancock:
“I met Jeff Hancock several years ago at the Michigan
football camp, and I could tell at the time he was an
extremely bright young coach. He was very innovative.
I hired him as my offensive coordinator four years ago
and his offenses have been very wide open. They’ve scored
close to 30 points every game, and he’s had a great mix
of being able to run football as well as throw it. The
biggest thing is I’ve seen how our players have bought
into what he’s doing. He teaches football and why we
do things. Not just how, but why. It opens players’ eyes.
He’s been a great teacher, and his offenses have produced
on a consistent basis.”
Conference Call
The Saints were accepted as the 18th member
of the Mid-States Football Association on
May 4, 2010, at the organization’s regular
spring meeting at Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Ill. The MSFA began its
first season of competition in 1994.
Siena Heights is the second National Association of Inter-collegiate Athletics (NAIA)
institution in Michigan to join the MSFA:
Concordia University in Ann Arbor was accepted as a member in January 2010. Both
will compete in the Mideast League, which
also currently includes Malone University
and Walsh University, both located in Canton, Ohio; Marian University in Indianapolis,
Ind.; the University of Saint Francis in Fort
Wayne, Ind.; Taylor University in Upland,
Ind.; Saint Xavier University in Chicago;
Olivet Nazarene; and Trinity International
University in Deerfield, Ill.
“This is outstanding news for our football
program, because there’s nothing like competing in a conference,” said SHU Athletic
Director Fred Smith. “We weren’t sure membership was a possibility for 2012, but were
ecstatic when we heard the news. We are
proud to be a new member of the MidStates Football Association.”
“Competing against institutions in Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois, including in metropolitan areas like Chicago, Indianapolis and Ft.
Wayne really opens up recruiting avenues
for us,” Smith said. “This traditionally has
been one of t