While Oberlin College is not widely known for all-time records in athletics, teams and athletes from Oberlin Athletics historically have held records and received awards nationally. The Heisman Club, named after 1890s Oberlin football coach John Heisman — who is credited with a central role in modernizing the game as well as leading the Oberlin Yeomen through an undefeated season, is a prime example of Oberlin athletic excellence. The Club’s legacy of award-winners helps to fund development and daily operations for Oberlin Athletics.
Some of Oberlin Athletics’ honors are displayed in the Heisman Conference Room, where meetings with the Review’s Sports staff frequently occur. Among those honors are the prestigious Honda Division III Women Athlete of the Year award, awarded in 1991 to Oberlin women’s basketball player Ann Marie Gilbert, OC ’91, who led the nation in scoring with 31.1 points per game as a third-year. Next to that is an honor for another Oberlin women’s basketball player, Nzinga Broussard, OC ’02, who holds the NCAC record for most steals in a game (13), steals in a season (129 from 2001-2002) and steals in a career (404). A short distance away: an ornate trophy — built almost like a dollhouse — for an early-1900s track meet. Above that, a deflated, slightly greasy-looking leather football dating back to the Heisman era. And, of course, there is an honor for that well-remembered 1892 undefeated Yeomen season.
Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos described honors like these in the context of present-day Oberlin Athletics.
“Our past achievements serve as fuel, not finish lines,” Winkelfoos said in a written statement to the Review. “They remind our current coaches and athletes that they are part of a legacy defined by competitive pursuits, curiosity, and a transformative athletics experience. Past awards spark present ambition. Present ambition shapes future victory. It’s a continuum.”
Through the Heisman Club, Winkelfoos wrote, these historical reminders of the transformative nature of athletics are among the factors that help fund Oberlin Athletics today. The Heisman Club is a network of former Oberlin student-athletes, their families, and other supporters who seek to support sports at Oberlin. The Club’s fundraising supports the budgets of each department, maintains and improves sports facilities, enables hiring and staffing, and improves the student-athlete experience. Winkelfoos noted that the resources also serve to heighten Oberlin’s visibility in competitive recruiting markets.
The operation of the Heisman Club as a funding mechanism is somewhat contingent on the success of Oberlin athletics:
“Typically, when athletics succeeds, alumni engagement grows,” Winklefoos wrote. “When engagement grows, Heisman Club contributions rise. When contributions rise, our programs can strengthen, recruiting efforts can sharpen, facilities improve, and competitive success can accelerate.”
Senior Associate Director of Athletics Creg Jantz added that the Heisman Club also helps Oberlin student-athlete graduates stay connected to each other.
“The Heisman Club offers so much to the Crimson and Gold community, beyond a diverse and extensive network of alumni,” he wrote in a statement to the Review. “It offers career networking and mentorship, regional events that build community, alumni competitions and reunions, [and] opportunities to give back.”
Winkelfoos also noted that contributions to the Heisman Club can have a positive effect on the non-athletics part of Oberlin College.
“Athletics-driven philanthropy can lift an entire institution by sparking engagement, attracting new donors, and translating school pride into mission-driven support,” Winkelfoos said.
John Heisman is a big name in all of American football. Some sports journalists credit him with spearheading the transition between the less structured play-style of the 1800s to the highly specified style of today. He is widely considered to have cemented football at Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia Tech, three big names at the DI level. The highest award for a collegiate football player is named after him. But at Oberlin, he’s firmly a small-town, hometown hero: his name is on our network fundraising for our DIII programs, honors from the 1892 season nestled in with awards for track and field, basketball, swimming, and more for Oberlin men’s and women’s athletes.
