Hall of Fame
In 1995, Carl Poelker was hired to revive a McKendree football program that had not played a game in more than four decades. Over the next 17 years, Carl and the members of his coaching staff molded the Bearcats’ program into one of the top programs in the nation, both athletically and academically.
From the time he first led McKendree back onto the football field at the beginning of the 1996 season to his retirement after the 2012 campaign, Carl guided the Bearcats to 117 victories. At the time of his induction, Carl is the all-time leader in wins and winning percentage (.657) in program history. In 31 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he amassed 205 victories, and won nearly 70 percent of his contests.
During his 17 years at McKendree, Carl led the Bearcats to nine appearances in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football Championship Series. That included an NAIA post-season berth in 1997, which was just the second season following the revival of the football program. The most memorable of those post-season appearances came in 2002, when the Bearcats won a school-record 11 games and reached the national semifinals for the first time in team history. For this accomplishment, Carl was named the 2002 NAIA National Coach of the Year.
As a member of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest League, McKendree collected seven league championships under Carl’s watch. He led the Bearcats to undefeated MSFA records in 2004 and again in 2009. Carl was a two-time MSFA Midwest League Coach of the Year honoree. While at McKendree, Carl coached 14 NAIA All-Americans and 69 players who received first-team All-Conference accolades.
Carl was at the helm of the Bearcats’ program as it began its transition towards NCAA Division II membership. He led McKendree through its first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play in 2012. Six Bearcat players received GLVC post-season honors in the team’s inaugural year as league members.
In the classroom, McKendree was just as accomplished thanks to Carl’s leadership. A total of 25 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 72 individual Academic All-MSFA honorees were produced by the Bearcats’ program. In 2012, a total of 23 McKendree student-athletes collected Academic All-GLVC honors. The McKendree football team also boasted a graduation rate of better than 98 percent for players who completed all four years in the program during Carl’s tenure.
