Official 2011 New Balance UW-Whitewater Fan Apparel now available on-line

Hey UW-Whitewater football fans – official 2011 Warhawk football fan apparel is now available on-line through Jerry Davis Sports.

Among the New Balance apparel is: team polo shirts, short sleeve solid polo shirts, long sleeve solid polo shirts, crew neck sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts, short sleeve and long sleeve power tops, sweat pants, long sleeve high heat jacket, fleece blanket, and much more.

Most apparel is available in purple, white, and black.

Catch the excitement of Warhawk football on game-day by wearing official New Balance Warhawk apparel.

To order your 2011 UW-Whitewater football apparel online CLICK HERE

Warhawks place five on Inside Wisconsin Sports' Division III Preseason All-State Team

QB Matt Blanchard, Whitewater - Two WIAC quarterbacks averaged more yards per game than Blanchard, but no one was more efficient. No one was even close. Blanchard tossed 21 touchdowns and threw just one interception in 2010. Sometimes it was just too easy; in a win over River Falls, he was 10-for-10 passing with three touchdowns. Amazingly, the Warhawks were able to rely on Lee Brekke, not Blanchard, during the postseason after a hand injury ended Blanchard's campaign. Now fully healthy, Blanchard is ready to build off last season's success.

RB Levell Coppage, Whitewater - After averaging 150.5 yards per contest in 2010, Coppage now has 5,675 career rushing yards. If he remains healthy, there is no reason to think he won't end his stay at Whitewater as Division III's all-time leading rusher. As if that isn't a big enough endorsement, Coppage has proven to be the nation's premier big-game back. He gained almost 1,000 yards in the team's five playoff games last fall, and in the championship win over Mount Union, he carried 39 times and scored three times. Few players in Wisconsin state football history have put together a career worthy of comparison.

OL Logan Allemand, Whitewater - What list would be complete without a player from Whitewater? The Warhawks lost two All-WIAC members from last year's line (Matt Weber and Robbie Ustruck) but few doubt the team will be able to reload. Allemand stands 6-foot-3 and weighs close to 300 pounds. The senior will use that size to help create holes for the country's most respected rushing offense.

DL Louissant Minett, Whitewater - Three Warhawk defensive linemen made the WIAC's first or second team last year. Minett was left out in the cold despite finishing second in the conference with 8.5 sacks. Against La Crosse the freshman had two and a half sacks, collecting 17 sack yards. Minett is now a leader for a unit that's been mostly rebuilt.

LB Greg Arnold, Whitewater - Whitewater loses a top linebacker in Lane Olson, but returns a player just as promising in Arnold. Not only did he average 5.2 tackles as a junior last season, but Arnold led all WIAC linebackers in sacks (seven). Recently, Arnold was named to the Division III preseason All-America team, so it's clear he belongs on this squad.

** Inside Wisconsin Sports' Division III Preseason All-State Team consists of players from all of Wisconsin's Division III football programs. The team was selected in May by a panel of IWS staff.

Meet UFC lightweight fighter Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at August 12th Cure 54 Fundraiser for Art Gutierrez

The Cure 54 Foundation is pleased to announce that mixed martial arts (MMA) fans will be able to meet XYIENCE team athlete and UFC lightweight fighter Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in conjunction with the Cure 54 raffle-auction for Art Gutierrez, the former UW-Whitewater student-athlete who is currently battling stage-3 colo-rectal cancer.

Pettis, a Milwaukee native and fan favorite, will be signing autographs at the New Ale House in New Berlin (16000 West Cleveland Avenue, New Berln, Wis.)on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The event coincides with UFC® on Versus 5: that takes place Sunday, Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee that will feature Pettis’ teammate Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy facing Chris Lytle in a welterweight bout. It will be the first UFC event hosted in Milwaukee.

Pettis (11-2-0) is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo who started his martial arts career at the age of 5. He captured the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Lightweight title in December 2010. Since the UFC and WEC merged in late 2010, he is the last fighter to hold that title.

In addition to his WEC title, Pettis’ has earned accolades as 2010 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year from Sherdog, an MMA news source. He also earned WEC bonuses for Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night. Pettis quickly gained a huge fan following for his pizzazz both inside and outside of the octagon, earning him the nickname “Showtime.” During his 2010 WEC title fight, Pettis performed a unique move and coined the “Showtime Kick” by using the cage as a lateral springboard to launch a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s face in the final minute of the fight. That moment was recognized by ESPN as a 2010 Top 10 Highlight Reel. It was also featured on CNN and has been viewed over two million times on YouTube.

Pettis had drawn a huge fan following for his pizzazz both inside and outside of the octagon, earning him the nickname “Showtime.” During his 2010 WEC title fight, Pettis performed a unique move and coined the “Showtime Kick” by using the cage as a lateral springboard to launch a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s face in the final minute of the fight. That moment was recognized by ESPN as a 2010 Top 10 Highlight Reel. It was also featured on CNN and has been viewed over two million times on YouTube.

Once again, Milwaukee's own Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, will be signing autographs at the Cure 54 Fundraiser for Art Gutierrez at New Berlin Ale House on August 12th from 5:30 to 6:30 to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Come out to see him and support a fantastic cause! Doors open at 5:00 and live auction begins at 6:30. Bring your friends!

Voice's Monday Morning Random Thoughts

• The calendar has turned to August 1st. That means the “dog days of summer” have started and UW-Whitewater football preseason practice is just two weeks away.

• You know football season is close when Warhawk Nation is already talking about making the trip to La Crosse for the September 3rd season opener against the rival Eagles.

• I had the chance to be a co-host of KOOL 106.5’s Sportsline show with Gary Douglas Saturday morning. We had Hawk head coach Lance Leipold on live for 22 minutes. To listen to a podcast of the program CLICK HERE

• I posted on Warhawkfootball.com overnight an invitation for Warhawk fans making the week-two trip to Franklin, Indiana to attend an official UW-Whitewater Alumni Association pregame gathering at the Williard in Franklin.

• I’m bummed that Lane Olson was not signed to an NFL undrafted free agent contract. Maybe the UFL for Lane????

• I put up a new Voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com readers poll yesterday. The question: Do you favor purple or black jerseys for UWW games at Perkins Stadium. As of 6:30 this morning (Monday) Black has a slight lead over Purple. Vote Now!

• Please join us on Friday August 12th at the New Berlin Ale House for a benefit for Art Gutierrez in his battle with cancer. Doors open at 5:00 pm and the auction begins at 6:30 pm. Auction items include sports memorabilia, hotel stays, gift certificates, weekend getaways, golf packages, and much more.

• I will continue to blog in regards to the CURE 54 fundraiser for former Warhawk linebacker Art Gutierrez – Once a Warhawk, Always a Warhawk!

• I’m heading to Green Bay today for a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association gathering at Lambeau Field. I’ll get to see my WFCA Hall of Fame plaque at Lambeau for the first time then attend Packer’s practice tonight. It will be the first day in full pads for the World Champions. In the words of New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott – “Can’t Wait!”

In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Women - "Stay Cool!" Go Hawks!

Be a real program backer - join the UW-Whitewater Quarterback Club

From the desk of UW-Whitewater football head coach Lance Leipold...

On behalf of the UW-Whitewater football program I would like to encourage your membership and participation in the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Quarterback Club. It is our commitment to provide a family atmosphere for our players, to help them develop personally and to continue our level of championship play.

The recent success of our program is well documented. We also talk about our tradition and our program being “POWERED BY TRADITION”. As the head coach it is my opinion that the Quarterback Club is the Power behind the Tradition! Thanks in no small part to the contributions and volunteer efforts of the Quarterback Club, we enjoy some of the finest facilities, equipment, and fan atmosphere in Division III Football. Maintenance of this status and achievement of our future goals would be difficult without these efforts.

As we all know, operating a football program with 100 student-athletes is a difficult task today with increasing operational costs and technological needs. Your participation at any level ensures opportunities for our players to grow in all aspects of their lives and become the type of young men UW-Whitewater can be proud of. Together we can continue the outstanding tradition of Warhawk Football.

You can make a difference and help sustain the level of excellence that Warhawk Football has achieved and that we all enjoy. Please join the UWW Warhawk Quarterback Club TODAY! Your contribution is tax-deductible if your check is made payable to the UW-Whitewater Foundation and will be used exclusively for UWW Football projects. If this is not a concern, your check may be made payable to: Whitewater Quarterback Club.

The 2011 Warhawks look forward to seeing you at Perkins Stadium this fall. Thank you very much for your support.

To access the 2011 Quarterback Club application form CLICK HERE

New Poll Question: Do you favor purple for black home jerseys?

Voiceseyeonfooball.blogspot.com has a new poll question for Warhawk fans to consider.

The UW-Whitewater football team has several home uniform combinations to choose from for its games played in Perkins Stadium.

Purple or black jersey - what color do you prefer? The poll question is located in the upper right portion of the blog.

Vote now - PURPLE or BLACK?

Just a reminder - offical UW-Whitewater game jerseys are now on sale. The jerseys are available through Milwaukee Sporting Goods. Purple, black and white customized (name and number) are available.

Order online today and you should have your personalized jersey in time for the Warhawks' home opener vs. Campbellsville (Kentucky) September 17th at Perkins Stadium.

For more information or to order your Warhawk jersey CLICK HERE

By the way, last week's poll question asking readers how excited they are about the Warhawk football team opening training camp had a near unanimous answer. All but one respondent said they were VERY EXCITED about the Hawks getting 2011 underway.

Go Warhawks!