Tag Archives: North Park University

North Park University Football Seeks Return to Winning Ways of Old, by Mark Erickson

In October 1968, the Viking football team fielded by North Park College (Chicago, IL) highlighted its season with a Homecoming pasting of the North Central College Cardinals (Naperville, IL) by a final score of 104-32!!  (See Homecoming pin) The Vikings finished the season with a winning record of 6-3, and three players from the team …

1987 Men’s Division III Basketball Championship Memories With Pix, by Mark Erickson

Not too long ago I wrote about North Park College’s 1985, senior-laden men’s basketball team’s journey to the school’s FOURTH national championship.  Coach Bosko led that team in his first year after working as the top assistant coach for many years.  Preparing for the 1985-86 season, Bosko now faced fielding his first recruiting class as …

Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols, Recorded at Queen of All Saints Basilica, Chicago, December 1987, Featuring the North Park College Choir, Chamber Singers, and Orchestra, by Michael Smith

Hey kids! I know it’s early for Christmas music. However, a recent post by Nancy Wiebe Mazurowski reminded me of music that is deeply rooted with me, so I bringz to y’all the Festival of Lessons and Carols, recorded at Queen of All Saints Basilica, Chicago, in December of 1987, featuring the North Park College …

Will Energetic Recruiting Give North Park University Football its First Winning Season in 50 Years? by Mark Erickson

My Alma Mater, North Park University (Chicago, IL), used to be a national powerhouse in Division III (non-scholarship) men’s basketball. North Park won national championships in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, and 1987. The hoops’ team fell on very hard times after the release of the head coach who guided the Viking ship to the last …

A Modern Lament, by Mark Erickson

In December 2015 I wrote about evangelical Wheaton College’s decision to suspend Larycia Hawkins, its’ first ever female African American tenured professor due to a seemingly innocuous FB post. Well, the acrimony intensified and now Professor Hawkins will not return. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/07/wheaton-christian-college-professor-larycia-hawkins-muslims-worship-same-god In my EPB post, I referenced a similar trial of a Seminary professor, Fred …

Do We Really Worship the Same God? By Mark Erickson

Wheaton College is a nondenominational evangelical Christian institution located in the Western suburbs of Chicago that maintains a special relationship with the Reverend Billy Graham (currently 97 years old). Wheaton operates the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, The Billy Graham Museum and Archives, and the Billy Graham Scholarship Program. According to a website called First …

From Church Pew to Daley Plaza, the Tragic Descent of Chicago’s Troubled “Sign Guy” by Mark Erickson

This is a sad story about life and mental illness in the great city of Chicago. Approximately 15 years ago, Pastor Arthur A. R. Nelson invited an Iranian immigrant, Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, to worship at North Park Covenant Church, located in Chicago, Illinois. Farhad, an engineer by training, became a Christian and an active church member. …