UMC FB Coach Derr Takes Position in Poland

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston football program announced that assistant coach/strength & conditioning coordinator Derek Derr has resigned to take a position as defensive coordinator for the Panthers Wroclaw of the Polish American Football League and the IFAF Europe Champions League.

The Panthers Wroclaw won the PAFL title last season. They are located in Wroclaw, Poland. The team was founded in 2013 by the merger of Giants Wroclaw and Devils Wroclaw. They have competed in the Polish Bowl every season since their founding, winning it twice. The PAFL includes seven teams across Poland.

“Coach Derr did an excellent job coaching his position group this fall,” said Head Coach Mark Dufner. “In addition, he was able to enhance our weight program by utilizing the ideas of some well-known strength and conditioning professionals;  we will be utilizing many of these concepts in our offseason program.  I wish him the best.”

Derr joined the Golden Eagle football staff in July of 2017. His main responsibility was the coordinator of all strength and conditioning efforts for the Minnesota Crookston football program. In addition, he helped coach the running backs, fullbacks and tight ends for the Golden Eagles during the 2017 season. Derr came to Minnesota Crookston after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater Peru State College in Peru, Neb. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for Peru State prior to his arrival at Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles are looking to immediately fill two positions on their staff. They have an opening for an offensive coordinator and a position coach. The position that the assistant coach will have responsibility over will be determined by the specialties of the offensive coordinator that is hired. 

NDSU’s Daniel Polansky Wins NCAA Elite 90 Award

FRISCO, Texas - North Dakota State wide receiver Daniel Polansky won the NCAA Elite 90 Award presented Friday, Jan. 5, at the NCAA Division I Football Championship banquet at the Frisco Conference Center.

The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at each of the NCAA's 90 national championships.  Polansky, a senior from Gatzke, Minn., had a 4.0 GPA and graduated in December with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

An award founded by the NCAA, the Elite 90 recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.

"I definitely learned a lot about time management trying to balance football, school, and also working part-time," Polansky said.  "My strategy was to get done with what I needed to get done, then try and have fun."

Polansky, an all-state performer for Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke in Minnesota nine-man football, is in his fifth year with the NDSU football program.  A mainstay on the special teams units, he has played in 26 career games and has made five receptions in his 13 games this year for the Bison.

He worked about 15 hours per week at John Deere Electronic Solutions, where he will continue to put his NDSU degree to work.  Polansky will stay on with the company as an electronic design engineer after the Bison play for their sixth FCS national championship.

No. 2 seed North Dakota State (13-1) faces top-seeded defending national champion James Madison (14-0) in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Toyota Stadium live on ESPN2.

NDSU's Elite 90 Award Winners
2011 - Amy Anderson, women's golf
2011 - Whitney Carlson, women's outdoor track and field
2013 - Esley Thorton, football
2014 - Carson Wentz, football
2015 - Carson Wentz, football
2016 - Carson Wentz, football
2016 - Clay Ream, wrestling
2017 - Clay Ream, wrestling
2018 - Daniel Polansky, football

UND Hockey to wear special jerseys Saturday

GRAND FORKS, N.D. –The University of North Dakota hockey team will wear special jerseys to commemorate Military Appreciation Night during Saturday’s exhibition game against the United States Under-18 Team at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The home white jersey will feature camouflage lettering and numbering. Each of the game-worn jerseys will be auctioned online at a later date at SiouxShop.com, with all proceeds benefitting the hockey program’s summer school scholarship fund. Additionally, two non-game-worn jerseys, autographed by the entire 2017-18 team, will be silent-auctioned during Saturday night’s game.

The silent auction will take place at the booth located adjacent to Section 116 on the main concourse. Bids will be accepted until 10 minutes remain in the third period.

Saturday’s game gets underway at 7:07 p.m. and general admission tickets remain available. Military personnel can also purchase discounted tickets for $20 each for themselves and up to four dependents. Tickets can be purchased at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena or online at UNDsports.com/tickets.

Lynx Sign Coach Reeve to Extension

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has signed Head Coach Cheryl Reeve to a multi-year contract extension. Reeve has also assumed the role of General Manager and has announced the following updates to the team’s basketball operations staff for the 2018 season: Clare Duwelius has been promoted to Assistant General Manager while Assistant Coaches Shelley Patterson and Walt Hopkins have agreed to multi-year contract extensions. Assistant Coach James Wade remains on staff. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not released. 

“I appreciate Glen Taylor’s confidence in me to continue to lead the Lynx organization,” said Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve. “I’m thrilled with the strong and passionate staff we’ve assembled and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

“I am thrilled to not only have Cheryl back as our Head Coach, but also to have her assume her new role in leading our Lynx basketball operations,” said Lynx owner Glen Taylor. “Cheryl has demonstrated her ability to lead in guiding us to four WNBA championships, and I have complete confidence in her ability to continue to guide our organization. The 2018 season is shaping up to be our most exciting one in Lynx history, as we host the WNBA All-Star Game at Target Center, and return the core of our championship team to make a run at a fifth title.”

Reeve wrapped up her eighth season as Lynx Head Coach in 2017, leading Minnesota to a 27-7 record and its fourth WNBA championship in the last seven years, tying the Houston Comets for the most titles by one franchise in league history. Since taking over in Minnesota, Reeve owns a career 195-77 record, the most coaching wins in franchise history. She was initially named Head Coach on Dec. 8, 2009, replacing Jennifer Gillom.

Under Reeve’s tutelage the Lynx have compiled 195 wins, the most prolific eight-year run in WNBA history. This past season Minnesota registered its sixth 25-win campaign while becoming the first franchise to win 27+ games in a season four separate times. Reeve’s .715 career winning percentage ranks first in league history; she's one of just two coaches to win more than 60% of their games (Van Chancellor, .655).

Reeve becomes the sixth dual Head Coach and General Manager currently in the WNBA, joining Amber Stocks (Chicago), Curt Miller (Connecticut), Pokey Chatman (Indiana), Bill Laimbeer (Las Vegas) and Mike Thibault (Washington). 

Duwelius recently completed her fourth season with the Lynx as Basketball Operations Manager, having been responsible for the day-to-day tasks of the basketball operations department including organizing travel arrangements, scheduling of practices at home and on the road, facility setup for the Lynx and visiting teams, as well handling all uniform and equipment related tasks for members of the Lynx basketball program. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Duwelius graduated from Wayne State (Nebr.) College where she played basketball and earned her degree in Sports Management, and then obtained her Master’s in Business Administration degree from Southwest Minnesota State University.

Patterson enters her eighth season as an Assistant Coach with the Lynx. She provides support in opponent scout preparation and game planning as well as individual player development. Prior to her arrival in Minnesota, Patterson, a 23-year coaching veteran in both the professional and collegiate ranks, worked for three seasons on Brian Agler’s staff in Seattle. Patterson also spent eight years working in different capacities with five WNBA organizations, including the 1999 Houston Comets championship team.

The 2017 season was Wade’s first as an Assistant Coach with the Lynx. In his role with the Lynx, Wade assists with the team’s scouting efforts, talent evaluation, and player development. He joined the Lynx staff after serving as an Assistant Coach with the San Antonio Stars from 2013-16. In 2012, he joined San Antonio as a basketball coaching intern and went on to be hired as an assistant coach in 2013. During his time with the San Antonio, Wade coordinated the Stars’ defense and was responsible for leading individual player development. He also assisted with team development, video breakdown and game planning.

Hopkins completed his first season in Minnesota as an Assistant Coach. He has over a decade of experience as a basketball coach at the professional, collegiate and high school levels. Hopkins worked in the WNBA as the Player Development Coach for the Tulsa Shock (2013) and has also served as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Utah Valley University (2013-14).