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To say that Dana’s program was troubled would be romanticizing
the situation. There was talk about cutting the sport completely.
At the first practice of camp, 30 potential players showed
up. His assistant coach, working as essentially a volunteer,
died one week before the first game. Everyone wanted Dana to
come play for their Homecomings — the true sign others
think you’re an easy mark. The scoreboard only worked
part-time, but was a full-time hotel for 50 pigeons.
The 1985
Vikings unsurprisingly won only one game. But the determination
of that team to succeed ended the talk of cutting
the program. The next year, 65 players showed up for camp.
That team was 6-4. Dana started receiving fewer requests
to be other school’s guests for Homecoming.
Then, in 1987,
something that had seemed preposterous happened. The Vikings,
87 strong, went 8-2 and played in the national
play-offs. In two seasons, McKillip turned a virtually
extinct team into a national contenter. Not only did Dana stop
getting
Homecoming requests, other schools started dropping Dana
from their schedules completely.
McKillip spent eight years
at Dana as coach and athletic director. He even got a new
scoreboard.
McKillip graduated from McCook (Neb.) High School
in 1947.
Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution that currently
enrolls approximately 600 students. The campus is located on
150 acres overlooking the Missouri River Valley in Blair, Neb.
Dana grants bachelor’s degrees in more than 20 liberal
arts, business, education and pre-professional programs. Dana
is affiliated with the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, and its athletic teams compete in the Great
Plains Athletic Conference.
More information on Dana College can be found on its web site, www.dana.edu.
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For more information contact:
Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu |
