COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Lenoir-Rhyne’s Cronic selected NCAA Division II national coach of the year

Published Friday, January 11th, 2019

HobbsDailyReport.com HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University head football coach Drew Cronic — who orchestrated the best turnaround in NCAA Division II in his first season with the Bears — has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year. The Bears won 12 games last season after having won three the year before. Cronic left an assistant coaching …

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Lenoir-Rhyne signs 6, including former Newton-Conover player

Published Friday, January 4th, 2019

HobbsDailyReport.com HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University has six mid-year signees for its 2019 football recruiting class, which includes tight end Josh Ramseur of Newton-Conover High transferring in from Elon University. Bears head coach Drew Cronic announced four new players from Georgia and another from Florida. The class includes two defensive backs, a true freshman, two red-shirt freshmen, two juniors and Ramseur. …

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Catch up on Donnie Kirkpatrick’s return to East Carolina

Published Thursday, December 27th, 2018

HobbsDailyReport.com GREENVILLE, N.C. – Catch up on the return of Donnie Kirkpatrick, a former sports star at South Caldwell High and Lenoir-Rhyne University, to East Carolina’s football coaching staff. He’s the son of Don (Red) Kirkpatrick — the first head football coach at South Caldwell when Granite Falls and Hudson were merged in the late 1970s – and his younger …

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Bears’ Cronic wins regional award from national coaching group

Published Tuesday, December 18th, 2018

HobbsDailyReport.com WACO, Tex. – Drew Cronic’s first season as head football coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University caught the eye of his coaching colleagues. On Tuesday, Cronic was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year after LRU won three games in 2017 and 12 this season, the biggest turnaround in NCAA Division II. “It’s great that our …

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS: Valdosta State hammers Lenoir-Rhyne in NCAA Division II battle

Published Saturday, December 1st, 2018

HobbsDailyReport.com VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Bears are done. Valdosta (Ga.) State hammered Lenoir-Rhyne University 61-21 on Saturday in a Super Two Regional football playoff game, leaving LRU 12-2 in its first season under head coach Drew Cronic. The Bears had won 12 straight since falling to West Alabama in Cronic’s debut game. Valdosta State (12-0) scored the game’s first 27 …