North Central, Wheaton coaches advance to new jobs
With success comes a doubled-edged sword for college programs. The more a team wins the more valuable and sought after their coaches become.
Longtime assistants on both the North Central and Wheaton football staffs have taken jobs as head coaches else where. Rod Sandberg from Wheaton and Rick Ponx from North Central accepted the jobs at Whitworth University (Wash.) and Aurora University, respectively.
Both coaches made the announcement Monday night through news releases from their new schools. Ponx is a former assistant head coach at North Central, which is coming off a year that saw the Cardinals advance to the NCAA Division III semifinals before losing 41-40 to perennial favorite Mt. Union.
Ponx worked in the admissions office last season but previously served as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. He has also spent time on the other side of the football as the offensive line coach.
Sandberg has been on the Wheaton staff for 19 seasons in various capacities and before that was a player at Wheaton under coach Mike Swider. The new Whitworth coach has been serving as the defensive coordinator for Wheaton since 2005.
This will be Sandberg’s first football position away from Wheaton since he joined the team as a freshman in 1987. As a defensive back Sandberg was a two-time all-conference player and served as a team captain his senior year.
Swider said the search for Sandberg’s replacement will begin immediately.
North Central: Spencer Stanek may be disappointed with how his senior season ended, but the nation has taken notice of his skills. After leading the Cardinals to their winningest season in program history and only losing by the slimmest of margins in the NCAA semifinals, the Cardinals quarterback has been named an All-America by the AFCA. Stanek was the only quarterback named to the Division III 25-man All-America team. He will leave as the Cardinals#146; most prolific quarterback in school history and have his name on nearly every record in the books. Following this season Stanek set the single-season records for completions, completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He is also the career recordholder at North Central for passing efficiency and completion percentage. Stanek is second on the list for completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns, as well. This is just the most recent of accolades for Stanek following his 2013 season. He was also named to the all-conference team and received the Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year award.