Jim Amidon — Wabash President Pat White announced Friday that Erik Raeburn is the Little Giants’ new head football coach.

I applaud the work of the search committee headed by Dean of Students Tom Bambrey for their work in bringing to campus two excellent finalists. The fact that Coe College Coach Raeburn and Whitewater Offensive Coordinator Jim Zebrowski emerged from a field of nearly 100 candidates illustrates the national profile of the position and the Wabash football program in Division III.

I had very little time with both candidates — a 45-minute open forum with members of the Wabash community — but even in those sessions it was clear Wabash couldn’t go wrong with either coach.

Both had Mount Union College pedigrees, offensive coordinator experience, and both had head coaching experience, too.

In choosing Raeburn, Wabash has selected a head coach who will come to Wabash with a good idea of what it takes to recruit excellent student-athletes to a private liberal arts college. He likes the idea of recruiting young men who embrace challenge and rigor, not shy away from it.

At Coe, though, Coach Raeburn was limited in terms of resources to recruit players, yet he still won almost 70 percent of his games in eight seasons in Cedar Rapids. Because he had only two full-time assistants, Coach Raeburn brought in about 35 freshmen each year. In contrast, Wabash typically attracts about 55-60 new recruits.

But here, Raeburn will have additional assistant coaches to help beat the recruiting trail, strong administration backing, and rabid alumni support. Wabash’s three straight North Coast Athletic Conference championships and two playoff appearances in the last three seasons are also important elements in attracting potential Little Giants.

It’s an exciting time at Wabash. Coach Raeburn will have to get busy right away to make up for a lost month of recruiting, but given his past success and the strength of the Wabash program, he should be able to make up for lost time. Assistant coaches Steve House and Jake Gilbert have been working night and day since former coach Chris Creighton’s departure. Having Raeburn in place is a huge next step.

When I spoke to Wabash’s new coach Friday night, the first thing he mentioned was how impressed he was with the fan support at Wednesday night’s basketball game against Wittenberg. Sitting in the bleachers beneath the WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS motto at the east end of the gym, Raeburn got an immediate sense of what the motto means when the Little Giants came from 15 points down to tie the game late in the second half.

I can hardly wait to see what he thinks of Wabash football fans at the home opener at Little Giant Stadium this fall — having 5,000 fans on their feet screaming and cheering on every play ought to blow his mind!

It’s interesting, though, because in my brief phone conversations with Coach Raeburn, I didn’t get the sense he’s all that interested in simply maintaining Wabash’s proud gridiron tradition. Having been a part of Mount Union’s national championship success in the 90s and helping Coe win its first ever league titles positions him to take Wabash to a new level.

His transition to Wabash ought to be quick and smooth. He already knows what it’s like to recruit student-athletes to an academically challenging school, and in Iowa he’s faced the same daunting competition for good Division III players he’ll face here.

Jumping into the recruiting mix with more support than he’s ever had and selling a program steeped in tradition will make him an even more effective and, perhaps, produce even greater results.

The search committee has found a talented new coach to lead the Little Giants, a great new member of our community. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Coach Raeburn and his family to Crawfordsville as we look forward to the next era of Wabash College football.