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Road to the Triple Crown

1981 Team

In the 1980-1981 season, Florida Southern College Athletics won three NCAA Division II Championships in Men’s Basketball, Men’s Golf, and Baseball for the first and only time in college history. At the time, a triple crown had been accomplished only four other times before by other schools. Head coaches Hal Wissel, Charley Matlock, Joe Arnold, and Athletic Director Hal Smeltzly helped lead the teams to this historic feat.

Joe Arnold (standing, left) was the head coach of Baseball from 1977 to 1983. By the time he had left, Arnold had accumulated a 316-69 (.821) record, 4 Sunshine State Titles, 6 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II College World Series, and 2 NCAA Division II Championship wins in 1978 and 1981. He also won the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year award in 1978 and 1981 as well. Arnold was inducted into the FSC Hall of Fame in 2003 and the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a player in 2015. His uniform number, #11, has been retired.

Baseball Schedule DAY DATE OPPONENT PLACE TIME Thur. Sept. 25 Manatee JC Marchant Stadium 3:30p.m. Fri. Sept. 26 Valencia JC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Mon. Sept. 29 South Fla. CC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Wed. Oct.1 Valencia JC Away 3:00p.m. Fri. Oct. 3 UNC (2) Away 6:00p.m. Oct. 3 Edison JC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Sat. Oct. 4 UNC (2) Away 6:00p.m. Oct. 4 Florida College (2) Away 12:00p.m. Mon. Oct. 6 Manatee JC Away 3:00p.m. Wed. Oct. 8 South Fla. CC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Fri. Oct. 10 St. Petersburg JC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Sat. Oct. 11 USF (2) Away 12:00p.m. Wed. Oct. 15 South Fla. JC Away 3:00p.m. Thur. Oct. 15 Florida College Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Fri. Oct. 17 USF Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Sat. Oct. 18 Seminole JC (2) Marchant Stadium 12:00p.m. Sat. Oct. 25 Palm Beach JC (2) Marchant Stadium 12:00p.m. Thur. Oct. 30 Valencia JC Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Fri. Oct. 31 FSC Fall Jamboree (South Florida CC, Valencia, Indian River, Seminole, Edison, FSC) Marchant Stadium 8:30p.m. Sat. Nov. 1 FSC Fall Jamboree Marchant Stadium 5:30p.m. 8:00p.m. Fri. Nov. 7 Florida College Marchant Stadium 3:00p.m. Sat. Nov. 8 Seminole JC (2) Away 11:00a.m.
FSC Golfers Aim For National Championship By JEFF BABINEAN Staff Writer The Florida Southern golf team, led by coach Charley Matlock, is preparing to
Captains Selected For New Season LAKELAND – Senior reserve Cesar Odio and junior center John Ebeling have been selected as co-captains for the 1980-81 Florida Southern College basketball season by their teammates. Odio, from Miami, is the veteran of the team, he has averaged 3.5 points per game in his three-year career with the Mocs. Ebeling, a third-team All-American selection in NCAA Division II last year, is just 30 points shy of the 1,000-point mark at Florida Southern. The Trenton, N.J., native led his team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (9.8) last year while breaking the school record for field-goal percentage (64.3 percent). Mocs Coach Hal Wissel said the selection of co-captains, a first in his four seasons at FSC, will be beneficial to the team because one is a starter and the other a reserve. “I’ve always played the same six or seven men through the course of a season,” said the 1980 Division II Coach of the Year. “But, this year, I may go with two teams of five. There’s not much to choose between our sixth and tenth man. This will give us a captain on each team.” “I’m very pleased with the selections,” Wissel continued. “Ebeling has earned the respect of his teammates with his outstanding ability. Odio is respected because he gets the most out of his ability. He can’t run, jump or shoot – he just wins. He’s been our most inspirational player.” “Both men are extremely hard workers. They kill each other in practice.” Each of the four seniors on the squad received votes for captain. John Ebeling Cesar Odio
1980-81 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Coach: Hal Wissel (24-8, 9-1 SSC / T-1 st) - (H: 12-4; A: 9-3; N: 3-1) 11/24 Webber H W 135 64 12/03 Alabama A L 59 73 CITRUS INVITATIONAL (hosted by Florida Southern) 12/05 Samford H W 92 72 12/06 Arkansas-Little Rock H W 91 85 12/09 South Florida H6 L 68 7 4 12/11 Wake Forest A L 73 98 12/18 Florida N1 L 62 72 12/30 Iona A L 68 89 1/03 Long Island Univ. A W 72 71 1/05 Evansville H L 67 73 FLORIDA SOUTHERN FESTIVAL 1/09 Valparaiso H L 79 92 1/10 Northeastern H W 80 75 (OT)
FSC's John Ebeling throwing Basketball
Varsity Baseball Schedule 1981 Date Opponent Place Time Sunday Feb. 8 Palm Beach JC (Exb) West Palm Beach 1:00p.m. Wed. 11 Manatee JC (Exb) Bradenton 3:00p.m. Thurs. 12 Seminole CC (Exb) Henley Field 3:00p.m. Fri. 13 Valencia (Exb) Henley Field 3:00p.m. Mon. 16 South Fla. JC (Exb) Henley Field 3:00p.m Wed. 18 Brevard CC (Exb) Henley Field 3:00p.m Fri. 20 Central Fla. CC (Exb) Ocala 3:00p.m. Mon. 23 Hillsborough CC (Exb) Henley Field 3:00p.m. Wed. 25 University of Tampa Tampa 3:30p.m. Sat. 28 Eastern Michigan (2) Henley Field 1:00p.m. Mon. Mar. 2 Evansville Henley Field 7:30p.m. Tues. 3 Western Michigan Henley Field 3:00p.m. Wed. 4 Ark. (Fayetteville) Henley Field 3:00p.m Thurs. 5 Ark. (Fayetteville) Marchant Stadium 7:30p.m. Fri. 6 Missouri (Columbia) Henley Field 1:00p.m. Sat. 7 Liberty Baptist Henley Field 1:00p.m. Sat. 7 Findlay College Henley Field 4:00p.m.
Black Swan
Men's Basketball team with NCAA Division II National Champions 1981 Banner
The Southern Vol. 94 No. 13 Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida 33802 Mar. 27, 1981 Mocs Claim National Title; “We Are The Champions” (Compiled from a LEDGER story by John Valerino) The Florida Southern College Moccasins, written off by many earlier this season after a sluggish start, captured the school’s, as well as the state of Florida’s, first national basketball championship in Springfield, Mass. Saturday night with a heart-throbbing 73-68 victory over tourney favorite Mount St. Mary’s of Maryland. The Mocs, led by six-foot-eight All-American center John Ebeling’s 29 points, had to fight off a second-half rally by the Mountaineers before they could rightfully claim the national title that they had set out to win at the start of the season. Other Mocs that hit for double-digits were forwards Mike Hayes (14), Felix Tertulien (10), and point-guard Clide Roberson. These players, in addition to super-sub Cesar Odio, will be graduating next month. Perhaps it is a most fitting way to bid farewell. The championship victory has given Florida Southern, Lakeland, Polk County, and perhaps all of Florida a case of “Moc-fever”, which has apparently hit these areas in epidemic proportions. “Tell me, can anything be greater?” asked head coach Hal Wissel, whose regime at Southern has produced a 52-13 mark over the past two years as well as finished of both first and third in the nation. “I’ll tell you,” Wissel said during a post-game celebration, See BASKETBALL on page 6 Head Coach Hal Wissel congratulates center John Ebeling after the Mocs defeated Mount St. Mary 73-68 in the national Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Championship game last Saturday in Springfield, Mass. (Photo courtesy of The Ledger) Moc Center Ebeling Honored as First Team All-American By JAY WILLIAMS Staff Writer When John Ebeling came to Florida Southern three years ago he was a soft-spoken, friendly, easy going type of individual with dreams of winning a basketball national championship – and possibly achieving All-American honors. His dreams are now reality. Last week, John, the Movin’ Mocs 6-7 center from Trenton, New Jersey, was named as a 1981 first team All-American and then guided the Mocs to a national championship. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone many criticized for not having the height to play the demanding position of center in the collegiate ranks. But what John lacks in height, he makes up with heart. Ebeling is the co-captain of this year’s successful edition of the Movin’ Mocs and has smashed the 1700-point mark while at FSC with 1,723 career points. But John can do more than score. For a big man, he is incredibly mobile, as is evident by his 56 assists, 44 blocked shots and 29 steals this season. John also averaged over 10 rebounds a contest, started every game, and played an average of 36 minutes a game. Not bad. Against tough Division I opponents this season John was phenomenal. He scored 19 points and pulled 20 rebounds against the University of Alabama, 34 points and 14 rebounds against Iona College, and 31 points and 15 rebounds while defeating Arkansas-Little Rock. Ebling’s game high came against rivel UCF, as he scored 40 points in the Southeast Regional Championship. No wonder he’s an All-American. John gives a lot of credit for his success to coach Hal Wissel. “Coach Wissel molded me into See EBELING on page 7
FSC Men's Golf 1981 Team
1981 Baseball Team
The Southern Vol. 95 No. 1 Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida 33802 Sept. 25, 1981 Southern Wins Three By TOM STARR Southern Sports Writer 1981 was the year of the Triple Crown at Florida Southern College. The Mocs won an unprecedented three national championships in NCAA Division II competition. The Triple Crown has only been accomplished four other times in Div. II history. FSC is the first to hold three national championships in the major sports: basketball, golf, and baseball. In 1980, the basketball team, led by Head Coach Hal Wissel proved they were one of the best small college teams in the country. They beat many Division 1 teams and made it to the Final Four, but this was not to be the year. The Mocs finished third in the country. In 1981 the Mocs set out to reach the Final Four again, but this time came back with a national championship. The trip to Springfield, Mass. was not an easy one for the Mocs. They had to overcome many difficulties and challenges. Along the way they proved as a team they had what it takes to be true champions. On March 21 the Mocs beat Mount. St. Marys of Maryland, 73-68, in the championship final. In the process, FSC became the first college basketball team in Florida to bring home a national championship. Winning one national championship might have been enough to satisfy most schools, but not FSC. The golf team in 1980 suffered a six-stroke penalty which cost them the national championship by three strokes. This setback left the team disappointed, but not broken. In 1981the golf team traveled to Hartford, Conn. in search of a See THREE on Page 5 Moc baseball coaches Mike Coombs, Frank Cacciatore, and Steve Nichols proudly proclaim the third and final leg of an unprecedented NCAA Division II triple crown for Florida Southern. Basketball coach Hal Wissel’s daughter Sharon boasts the first FSC national championship bumpersticker in Springfield, Mass.