WPU Toilet Paper Tradition

The long-standing tradition of throwing toilet paper continued during the men’s basketball game between rivals William Penn and Grand View on Wednesday, February 9th. The gym was packed on both sides with over 500 people ready to launch toilet paper at any second.


Within seven second of the game, toilet paper flew as the first basket was scored by William Penn’s number three, Blake Walker. The Statesmen went on to win the game 50-48 over the Vikings.

The leading scorer and rebounder for William Penn was Alan Douglas with 13 points and nine rebounds, followed up by teammates Wiebe Goodyk with 10 points and Blake Walker with nine points.



The toilet paper tradition has been going on since the early 1980’s, and was originally a war between Central and William Penn. It started back when William Penn was part of the NCAA Division III. Once the Statesmen moved to the NAIA and the Midwest Collegiate Conference, they quickly choose a new rival--the Vikings.

“This is a fun tradition that unites the students and campus,” said Athletic Director Greg Hafner.

Since the 1980’s the Grand View Rivalry has been a close match up as the Statesmen are one game up on the Vikings (18-17 playing record). Coach John Henry was a part of the Penn’s basketball tradition as a player until graduation in 1997, and then joined back to the tradition as a Coach in the 2001-2002 seasons. Coach Henry currently holds a 15-8 record over Grand View.

William Penn men’s basketball is currently 13-14 (5-9 MCC), and will travel to Dubuque, Iowa Saturday, February 12th for a 3 p.m. start against Clarke University.

For more information on the Men’s Basketball team, go to http://www.statesmenathletics.com/sport/12/4.php

Lady Statesmen Remain in Top 25

The newest NAIA National Polls have come out and William Penn University is making their presence known. William Penn is ranked 16th in the nation. Here are the polls:

NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Rating #8 - February 7, 2011
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
(Iowa Institutions bolded)
1. Davenport (Mich.) (15)
2. Northwestern
3. Morningside
4. Sioux Falls (S.D.)
5. Kansas Wesleyan
6. Indiana Wesleyan
7. St. Francis (Ind.)
8. Daemen (N.Y.)
9. Black Hills State (S.D.)
10. Walsh (Ohio)
11. Sterling (Kan.)
12. Ozarks (Mo.)
13. Iowa Wesleyan
14. Cedarville (Ohio)
15. St. Ambrose
16. Northwest (Wash.)
17. Cornerstone (Mich.)
18. Tennessee Wesleyan
19. Briar Cliff
19. Marian (Ind.)
21. Indiana-Southeast
22. Jamestown (N.D.)
23. Mount Marty (S.D.)
24. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
25. William Penn

Others receiving votes: Southwestern (Kan.) 58; Valley City State (N.D.) 45; Montreat (N.C.) 44; Notre Dame (Ohio) 23; Concordia (Ore.) 23; Peru State (Neb.) 15; Saint Thomas (Fla.) 15; Huntington (Ind.) 15; Mount Mercy 14; Concordia (Mich.) 10; Dordt 7; Bethel (Ind.) 7; Milligan (Tenn.) 5; Minot State (N.D.) 4; Union (Ky.) 3; Brescia (Ky.) 3; Holy Names (Calif.) 3; Florida Memorial 1; Indiana Tech 1; Bethel (Kan.) 1; Corban (Ore.) 1.

Lady Statesmen ranked #16

The newest NAIA National Polls have come out and William Penn University is making their presence known. William Penn is ranked 16th in the nation. Here are the polls:

NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Rating #7 - January 31, 2011
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
(Iowa Institutions bolded)
1. Davenport (Mich.) (16)
2. Northwestern
3. Morningside
4. St. Francis (Ind.)
5. Black Hills State (S.D.)
6. Sioux Falls (S.D.)
7. Kansas Wesleyan
8. Indiana Wesleyan
9. Ozarks (Mo.)
10. Daemen (N.Y.)
11. Walsh (Ohio)
12. Sterling (Kan.)
13. St. Ambrose
14. Cornerstone (Mich.)
15. Cedarville (Ohio)
16. William Penn
17. Briar Cliff
18. Northwest (Wash.)
19. Tennessee Wesleyan
20. Iowa Wesleyan
21. Indiana-Southeast
22. Mount Marty (S.D.)
23. Marian (Ind.)
24. Jamestown (N.D.)
25. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)

Others receiving votes: Southwestern (Kan.) 63; Notre Dame (Ohio) 39; Minot State (N.D.) 37; Montreat (N.C.) 37; Peru State (Neb.) 19; Concordia (Ore.) 19; Concordia (Mich.) 14; Huntington (Ind.) 10; Milligan (Tenn.) 8; Valley City State (N.D.) 8; Dordt 7; Brescia (Ky.) 7; Saint Thomas (Fla.) 6; Union (Ky.) 3; Corban (Ore.) 1; Bethel (Ind.) 1; Mount Mercy 1; Indiana Northwest 1; Indiana Tech 1; Florida Memorial 1; Ave Maria (Fla.) 1.

Upcoming Cheerleading Clinic

The William Penn University cheerleading team will be hosting its WPU Lil’ Statesmen Cheer Clinic on Saturday, February 5th.

The clinic, for grades K-5, will be held in the William Penn University gymnasium starting at 9 a.m. followed by lunch at 12 noon (Bring own lunch). The grand finale is a halftime show at 1:45 p.m. during the Lady Statesmen basketball game.

Attendees will receive personalized attention from collegiate coaches and players and will be taught proper mechanics and techniques.

Clinic costs $25 for early registration and $30 at the door. All participants should wear workout clothing and tennis.

For more information, please see the attached flyer or contact William Penn cheerleading coach Jill Thompson at 641-673-1018 or by email at thompsonj@wmpenn.edu

Winter Season Update

Although the winter semester has just begun at William Penn University, the school’s winter athletic season is well underway.

The Lady Statesmen basketball team started the New Year off right, having defeated #12 ranked Iowa Wesleyan in a one point game and then defeating Viterbo 74-60. The team, which is 4-1 in the conference and 12-7 overall, only conference loss is to #9 ranked St. Ambrose University.

As of Dec. 13th the Lady Statesmen were unofficially ranked 26th in the nation receiving 84 votes. William Penn is also ranked high in several NAIA categories, including thirteenth in steals and fifteenth in points and twelfth in total offensive rebounds. Individually, Christa Subbert is ranked fifth in total points and 8th in scoring per game.

The men’s basketball team is currently 1-3 record in conference, and is 9-8 overall. The Statesmen are off to a rough 2011 start with a four point loss to #21 ranked Iowa Wesleyan, and a 80-58 loss to Viterbo last week. The Statesman are currently ranked in a few NAIA categories including fourteenth in overall scoring, third in total offensive rebounds, and tenth in overall steals. William Penn also has two individuals currently ranked: Huzie Hambrite is tenth in steals with 158 and Ryan Wilson is fourteenth in offensive rebounds per game with 3.62. The women’s and men’s basketball teams will next host Clarke on Saturday, January 15 at 1 and 3 p.m.

The Statesmen wrestling squad has also received national recognition early on in the season. In the latest rankings, which came out mid-December, the team was ranked sixth in the central group team ratings. Five Penn wrestlers also qualified individually. Jason Mozley, of Arlington, Texas, and Brandon Smith of Malcom are both ranked sixth in their weight classes. Taylor Louie, of West Covina, Calif., is ranked fifth at 125 pounds, and Joe Range of Burlington is fourth at 165 pounds. Freshman Eric Burgey, from Easton, Pennsylvania, is ranked third in his 149 weight class, and was also ranked in the last coaches’ poll. The Statesmen wrestlers just hosted the William Penn Open, and will be competing this week at home vs. Grand View and at the Central Open.

The bowling season continues through February, and both teams have shown a lot of promise in this inaugural year of competition. The women's team is currently ranked 23rd, which should assure some postseason activity, while the men’s team is ranked 26th overall. Sean Rangel, a sophomore from Omaha, is ranked 18th overall with an average of 207.25.

For more information on the athletic programs at William Penn University, including game schedules and results, visit the website: www.statesmenathletics.com .