Changing landscape

CEDAR RAPIDS - Mount Mercy University has become a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough.

Surrounded by Interstate-380, a couple of residential neighborhoods and the northeastern bank of Cedar Lake, if you blink, you just might miss the campus.

But Mount Mercy is on its way to becoming an athletics powerhouse in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, a collection of NAIA schools.

And it's all happening just northeast of downtown.

The past

Less than 10 years ago, the Mustangs were challenging opponents for midlevel positions in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. They were trying to remain on the edge of being a dominant team in the conference.

Athletics Director Scott Reisinger, entering his ninth year, said that before adding athletics scholarships the Mustangs weren't able to compete with some of the best teams in the MCC.

'We were one of seven or eight schools at the time that didn't offer scholarships, even though we had the ability to do so,” Reisinger said. 'We looked at the competitive disadvantage we were at and thought we could recruit the same quality of student-athletes that we have, and that's what we've done.”

Paul Gavin, who has been coaching men's basketball and men's golf at Mount Mercy for 25 years, has seen a transformation.

A 'winning” season for the men's basketball program in the pre-scholarship era was getting to be .500 overall. As time went on, schools with scholarships at their disposal widened the gap between them and the schools without aid.

'For the golf side ... since scholarships, our team has been nationally ranked, on and off, a couple of times,” Gavin said. 'We've been in the top 25 for the past two years and expect our program to be there again.”

In order to accomplish regional and national goals the athletics department had set, Reisinger said something had to be done to improve the quality of student-athletes. With the addition of scholarships, the Mustangs are striving to be an NAIA Division II regional threat.

'We do a good job of finishing in the top half of our conference, but now we're looking to broaden that,” Reisinger said. 'We're looking to be one of the top schools in the region athletically.”

The present

Scholarships are provided to student-athletes with money coming directly from Mount Mercy. The NAIA sets scholarship limits for each school, allowing universities to use those NAIA benchmarks for the amount given to student-athletes.

Gavin said scholarships were 'a godsend” for the university, helping Mount Mercy turn the tables in the MCC and even the NAIA.

'It's pretty evident that they've created a whole new excitement,” Gavin said.

Coaches are trying to get the word out about Mount Mercy. In Reisinger's eight years as AD, student-athlete participation has nearly doubled, going from 160 athletes to more than 300 this school year.

But there is room for improvement.

'We're a small community in a big city, which I think still is an unknown fact,” Gavin said. 'We're still kind of a secret in the city and even more so in the state.”

With athletics on the rise at Mount Mercy, the need for fresh and new facilities is in demand. Gavin summarized the growth of athletics as supply and demand, much like an economic system.

'You've got 13 or 14 varsity programs and other (junior varsity) programs with roster sizes growing,” Gavin said. 'Because of interest in our programs and the availability of scholarships, the facilities need to catch up in terms of capacity.”

The future

To accommodate the athletics interest, Mount Mercy signed a deal in July to build an athletics complex on a site that was once home to Terex Cedar Rapids. The 22-acre lot will provide an outdoor facility for softball, baseball, track and soccer.

Mount Mercy calls the $15 million project 'Home Field Advantage,” providing outdoor athletics at the university a place to call home. It was named Friday the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

Programs now rent facilities around Cedar Rapids for practice and games.

Jack Dahm, a former Iowa head baseball coach, joined the Mustangs as their baseball coach in June. He also was named director of athletic fundraising.

'I've actively started raising money for the facility,” Dahm said. 'It's one of the positive things that drew me here to Mount Mercy.”

The Lavern T. and Audrey Busse Foundation gave a lead gift to support to the softball complex. An endowed softball scholarship will be added along with the contribution from the Lavern T. and Audrey Busse Foundation.

Dahm said with the outdoor facility he'll be able to give his players a home.

'Just being able to practice at a home field that's just two blocks away instead of having to drive 20 minutes,” Dahm said. 'Being able to play home games on campus is huge (and) having night games because there are going to be lights there.

'We want to create a tremendous atmosphere.”

Dahm said times are changing with the new philosophy and outdoor complex.

'I want to build this thing from within,” Dahm said. 'Previously, they got a lot of junior college kids ... but I want to start with kids from the Cedar Rapids and corridor area.”

Recruiting has become a big part of how Dahm plans to change the atmosphere for baseball. In the past, there hasn't been a home to show recruits when they visit. Now 'this is where you'll be playing home games.”

For the past 10 years, Mount Mercy athletics has worked toward becoming a relevant program in the MCC. It now stands at the cusp of the Midwest regional spotlight.

In 10 more years, feel free to blink as you pass by Mount Mercy University.

There's going to be plenty to see.