Western junior Josh Lider will play football this fall at West Virgina University. // Photo by Keith Diagle // Western Front
After returning from winter break, Western junior Josh Lider and the rest of the football team were told the school was dropping the Western football program.
Lider, originally from Bellevue, was set to graduate from Western in spring 2010, but his plans changed dramatically.
After hearing the news, Lider said he went to work making highlight tapes of his football career at Western and sent them out to coaches.
“They are all trying to find the best fit,” Western head football coach Robin Ross said. “No one ever dreamed that they would have to [pick a different college] again.”
Out of the 80 players, 18 are staying at Western, 41 have transferred or will transfer in the fall and 21 are still looking, Ross said.
Lider admits he was shocked and upset for a week or so, but with friends and family, he was able to move forward.
He recently received a full-ride scholarship to West Virginia University in Morgantown, W. Va., for the 2009-10 academic year. Lider said he will arrive at West Virginia for the summer session to begin classes and training.
A full-ride scholarship includes room and board, books and tuition, Ross said.
“I knew God would have something up his sleeve,” Lider said.
Lider is moving up from Western, a Division II school, to attend West Virginia, a Division I school.
Lider said he wanted to stay in the Northwest to play football but not enough options were available. Only four Division II schools and 16 Division III schools are west of the Rockies.
“When [the football program was dropped], I wanted to open as many doors as possible and knew that [my options] would close as things progressed,” Lider said.
When Western’s football program was cut, Lider initially changed gears and tried out for the Western men’s soccer team. Lider made the cut, but he was still curious about his opportunities in football. Lider said he did not plan to go as far as the East Coast but did some research on the West Virginia Mountaineers anyway.
He said he learned West Virginia’s punter and kicker on roster were freshmen this year, which he felt gave him a better chance at making the team.
“It is amazing how many schools contacted us,” Ross said. “Schools are always looking for talent, and recruiting is a year-long process. West Virginia was looking for someone to kick for them.”
Lider said he sent a highlight film to the coach who responded quickly.
This fall, Lider will be able to play without having to sit out for a season. NCAA regulations state if a players transfer within the division or moves up a division they must sit out. In the event that a program is dropped these regulations do not apply.
Ross said the NCAA regulates transfers so Division I schools do not take players from other teams they missed initially.
“When a program is discontinued, they waive the rules,” Ross said. “Josh can go anywhere without the requirement.”
Antwian Davis, Western's special teams and running backs coach last season, said he is excited for Lider to get out of Washington and experience a new area in his life.
“He’s got a good opportunity in front of him, and he’ll do a good job,” Davis said.
Davis said he has known Lider for two years, during which Lider has been a fierce competitor and hard worker.
Western junior linebacker Caleb Jessup said he agrees that Lider is a hard worker.
“He would go to practice early and stay late,” Jessup said.
Jessup, Western's starting middle linebacker last fall, is also transferring in the fall. Jessup will be joining the Pittsburg State University Gorillas in Pittsburg, Kan., where he also received a full-ride scholarship.
Jessup has only one year of eligibility left, and he said he plans to stay in Kansas for one semester to play football. Jessup plans to return to Western for winter quarter to graduate in the spring.
“[Pittsburg State] was one of the best options,” Jessup said. “They are a Division II powerhouse, and there is the opportunity to win the championship there.”
Pittsburg State is in the playoffs every year and has the most wins in Division II, Jessup said.
Western freshman and offensive lineman Kelly Kurisu said he will be attending the University of British Columbia with a partial scholarship and will play football in the fall.
“I feel like it’s putting me in a better place,” Kurisu said. “They have a better engineering program for my major.”
Kurisu said the University of British Columbia coach approached him after the coach found out the football program had been dropped at Western.
However, transferring is not always easy. Lider said leaving Western would be hard, especially since his younger brother is attending Western in the fall.
“I haven’t done all I wanted to do at Western,” Lider said. “There is Boulevard Park, Mount Baker, camping and biking in Bellingham, and it’s hard to leave in the spring. I absolutely love it here.”
The support of family and friends helped Lider through this transition from the West Coast to the East Coast.
But pressure still weighs on Lider’s shoulders. Lider said he remembers Western coach Terry Todd telling him, “If you don’t like pressure, you should find a different job.”
Thats what kickers live for, Lider said.
“There is definitely a little bit of pressure [playing for a Division I team],” Lid er said. “It’s something to get used to. It’s a different mindset.”
Lider said his father, Kurk Lider, thinks Josh plays better under pressure.
“I am very confident in the coaching that I’ve received, and that coaching is what is gong to give me that chance to compete and do my best,” Lider said.
Lider said his goal was to get a scholarship at Western and was happy to get a partial scholarship.
“I feel blessed that I got this opportunity for a full ride because they are not that common,” Lider said.
Lider is an exercise science major with medical school aspirations, which he said weighed into his decision on where to go to school next year. The other college he was looking at was University of Montana in Missoula, Mont., but the school did not offer the same medical school options that West Virginia did, Lider said.
“I was always talking to my parents, friends and roommates and would bounce ideas off of them,” Lider said. “I have a lot of support.”
No one told Lider which school to choose when he made his decision April 10, after having a chance to talk with family, he said.
“Both his dad and I are proud of the way he went through the process of finding a new way to play football,” said Carol Lider, Josh Lider’s mother. “He learned a lot from the process. It was a real blow when the program was canceled. I’m very excited for him and this opportunity.”
Lider said he not only has the support of his parents, but he also has the support of his two younger brothers who were excited to find out he was going to West Virginia.
Lider said his family plans to purchase a big screen television, so they can see Lider better when he plays.
“I think my brothers are more excited about the big screen television than anything else,” Lider said.
Lider is excited about how his time at West Virginia, but he is confident it will be a good experience.
“I am a strong, hard worker. I can do this,” Lider said. “If it doesn’t work out, I can transfer back [to Western].”
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