There were no scholarships, little fanfare, sparse crowds and only light attention paid to the tennis teams of Concordia in the 1980s. As Concordia’s 1980-81 yearbook stated in a headline covering that year’s tennis season, “‘CTC has tennis too.” The men’s squad of ’81 finished the campaign with a 1-6 overall dual record as it faded into relative obscurity.
After the Bulldogs then went 3-5 in 1982, expectations were likely low for what Bulldog men’s tennis might be primed to accomplish as the 1982-83 academic year began. That season, Head Coach Charles Krutz led a group of eight in number, just two more players than are needed to fill a tennis lineup.
As Krutz said 40 years later, “They were a great bunch. I never had so much fun coaching.”
Krutz uttered those words while taking the stage at the 2023 Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Members of the team likely never imagined such an honor would be bestowed upon them four decades earlier. Against the odds, something special happened in the spring of ’83 as Krutz’s Bulldogs came together to enjoy an undefeated season that included a Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and runner-up placement in NAIA District XI.
Team members on that NIAC championship squad included Stan Meyer, Mark Cuttler, Mark Hollenbeck, Keith Lewis, David Schultz, Kevin Nast, Dan Delzell and Steve Niermann. Meyer stood out amongst the group and was the team’s No. 1 player. Not just a tennis player, Cuttler starred on the hardcourt for Concordia basketball. At the time, it was much more common for college athletes to compete in multiple sports.
As part of the team’s induction into the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame, Nast provided a detailed account of the progression that led to the success of 1983. Said Nast, “There were no scholarships given to tennis players – there was no recruiting. I still don’t know how we got this team. I have a feeling that our God does though. We had an undefeated season and easily won the conference tournament. Our team got along socially, on and off the court. This has to happen when you have seasons like this.”
Nast was one of the seniors on the ’83 team and knew all too well about the struggles endured during the program’s transformation. Just two years prior to the conference championship season, Concordia won only one match, placed fifth in the NIAC and finished fifth in the district. As the yearbook of ’81 noted, “the strength of next year’s team depends heavily on the abilities of the 1981-82 recruits.” Perhaps the coaches and players believed better days were ahead, but the few outsiders who paid attention to the program were unconvinced.
Despite the lack of any recruiting, the tennis program managed to land high school state champions in Stan Meyer and Keith Lewis and a high school state runner up in Dan Delzell. New to the team in ’83 were Delzell and Mark Hollenbeck. Initially, Krutz ordered his singles lineup in this fashion: Meyer, Delzell, Lewis, Nast, Mark Cuttler and Dave Schultz. When Delzell broke his foot, Krutz slid Hollenbeck into that No. 2 spot and off they skyrocketed. Of course, Meyer anchored the team. Said Nast of Meyer, “Stan is probably the best player Concordia had ever seen and maybe ever will see.”
The 1983 Bulldogs simply made the most of what they had. The resourceful Krutz used a camper as a makeshift “locker room,” sometimes piloted the team to matches on his own plane and built a court on his farmland in order to make up for having only five courts on campus. A 1954 Concordia graduate, Krutz worked as a music faculty member at Concordia College from 1956 through 1996. For Krutz, coaching became a parallel passion.
“I was really sort of the coach in waiting because I only coached when all of the athletic staff members had a full load,” Krutz said. “If somebody didn’t have a full load, they were the tennis coach. To build a dynasty was a little difficult because you never knew when your next tenure as coach would be. Nevertheless, in 40 years at Concordia, I coached about 30 of those years.”
Krutz earned the respect of his players despite his status as a somewhat on-and-off-again head coach. As Meyer wrote, “We would not have achieved these results and won the conference championship without the contributions of every player – a true team effort. The team also had a great culture and chemistry led by Coach Charles Krutz.”
Krutz surely had a way of endearing himself to his players. As part of his speech at the hall of fame ceremony, Krutz told people of the shirt he owns that states, “Love means nothing to a tennis player.” Along those same lines, the 1983 Concordia yearbook reads, “Love was not their game.”
But there certainly is love for the 1983 Concordia men’s tennis team and the circumstances that brought Krutz together with those eight young men. Other members of the team shared thoughts on their Concordia experiences in conjunction with the hall of fame induction.
Wrote David Schultz, “The conference championships in tennis and golf were especially memorable, but the most special aspect was the Christian community that is Concordia. The sense of togetherness is fantastic. My experiences at Concordia as a student and an alumnus after graduation continue to remind me that I am saved by my savior Jesus. What could be more important than that?”
Furthermore, the recognition for that 1982-83 team inspired these Bulldogs for life to recall all that was special about life at Concordia. Added Krutz, “I have many great memories. It was a heck of a lot of fun working with these guys.”
While wrapping up his comments, Nast offered, “Coach Krutz knew tennis. Don’t let him fool you. He’s a great musician, but he knows tennis. He was the only man on campus who could have bridled what we had. As a team, we are humbled to receive this great honor and very proud.”