Hall of Fame
The 1989 Football Team was the first John Carroll program to capture an Ohio Athletic Conference title after the school switched leagues from the Presidents' Athletic Conference prior to the 1989-90 school year.
Under the direction of head coach Tony DeCarlo, JCU had grown from a 2-7 season in 1986 to 5-4 in 1987 and 7-2 in 1988 before capturing the first league title of any kind in 15 years in 1989. That year, the Blue Streaks went 9-2, captured the OAC regular season title, and became the first football team in program history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship.
In their first year as members of the OAC, the Blue Streaks won their first nine games, which included a 31-7 victory over Mount Union that sealed the league crown on the second-to-last weekend of the year. Non-conference wins over Buffalo and Kenyon set the stage for a 7-0 start in league play.
JCU broke nine team records in 1989, the most notable of which was the nine victory threshold. John Carroll's previous high-water mark had been eight wins in 1950.
Both the offense and defense finished the 1989 campaign ranked among the top 25 units in terms of yards in all of Division III. Seven players earned first team All-OAC accolades and four others were named All-American. The coaching staff consisted of Decarlo, Regis Scafe (Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers), Tim Reardon (Defensive Line), Mike Glaser (Outside Linebackers), Kerry Volkmann (Defensive Backs), Rich Nowak (Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line), Tom Ehlert (Offensive Backs), Greg Debeljak (Quarterbacks) and Jim Michals (Receivers).
