With the season now complete, Emporia State Athletic Director Kent Weiser said evaluations of the ESU football team and its progress would begin this week.
ESU finished with seven consecutive losses and a 3-8 record, but the team does return most of its talent next year.
“Coach Wiemers and I will sit down in the next week,” Weiser said, “and discuss the future of our program.”
Wiemers has posted three consecutive losing seasons after leading the Hornets to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Playoffs in 2003. He was named Wilson/MIAA Coach of the Year that season, and the following summer, he was identified in American Football Monthly as one of 10 “Hot” coaches in Division II football.
He also led ESU to a MIneral Water Bowl victory in 2002, helping the team to its first of two consecutive nine-win seasons.
After being picked sixth in the conference, this year’s team never did live up to expectations. The Hornets suffered eight losses in a season for the first time since 1983. The seven conference defeats were also the most ESU has had since joining the MIAA.
“This has been hard,” Wiemers said. “We’ve all been under a lot of scrutiny lately. That goes with it. I understand that. People buy a ticket and want something good to happen. We certainly want to give them better than this. We’ve been trying to.
“I think maybe our development’s a year behind where we thought it would be, but I’m excited about next year’s team.”
The skid started with a 59-57 four-overtime loss to No. 13 Pittsburg State on Sept. 30 at Welch Stadium. Entering the game at 3-1, the Hornets would have likely garnered a national ranking and gained momentum for the rest of the season if they could have pulled out the win.
Instead, things never did get turned around.
ESU came close to victories against both Truman and No. 16 Missouri Western before faltering late. A fumbled snap in field-goal range cost the Hornets a chance at victory in a 14-13 Homecoming loss to Truman, and a blocked field goal that later resulted in a crazy touchdown pass haunted ESU in a 24-12 setback to Western.
Most frustrating, though, might have been the team’s poor effort against rival Washburn two weeks ago. ESU allowed 37 unanswered points in a 37-6 Ichabod victory.
“It was a very frustrating year for all of us to try to get through,” Wiemers said. “We chose this profession. This is what we knew we could get into, and this one of those years you’d like to forget.”
Wiemers is 35-32 overall in his six seasons with ESU. He was the fastest coach to 30 wins in the school’s 112-year history.
Sophomore running back Seville Ko said he still supported Wiemers and hoped to see him back next season.
“He’s the sole reason why I came here. I pretty much committed here blindly without coming to the campus because of him and his integrity,” Ko said. “I back Coach all the way.”