A contributor from the moment he stepped on campus on the field and beyond, Bernard Verner ’80 was one of the highest-performing components of a potential North Central College rushing offense in the late 1970s.
A starter at offensive guard soon after practice started his freshman year, Verner held that position for four years as the Cardinals established some of the highest rushing yardage totals nationwide at the NCAA Division III level.
“One of my goals was to be able to start as a freshman, and fortunately I was able to do that,” he said.
Verner also proved valuable in the efforts to construct Cardinal Stadium, which involved the efforts of many members of the team. A background in electrical work put him in touch with Larry Gregory ’51, one of the primary driving forces behind the project.
“I had taken electrical shop in high school, so I knew a little about electrical work,” Verner said. “They were asking players if they wanted to come help, so I went down and Larry was running wiring for the stadium and I helped him out.
“It was very interesting because I had never been involved in a large construction project like that, and Mr. Gregory was able to get me summer employment doing electrical work for the next three years.”
The teams Verner played on won 23 of 36 games during his time in uniform, which he attributes to the attention to detail shown by the coaching staff.
“We worked a lot on fundamentals and making sure we understood the plays and our assignments,” he said. “While watching film, we would be told if we did something wrong, but if there was extra effort and you went beyond the call of duty, that was highlighted too, so it pushed you to be even better at what you did.”
After earning All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) honors as a sophomore, Verner became the program’s seventh All-America honoree as a junior despite missing three games due to injury after the Cardinals rushed for then-program records of 2,768 yards and 32 touchdowns in a 6-3 season.
Verner continues to value his student-athlete experience to this day for pushing him beyond his comfort zone.
“Being away from home for the first time in that kind of atmosphere was a challenge,” he said. “Growing up, I had a set of friends from my local neighborhood who I knew would always be there. Meeting and associating with a whole new set of people was challenging sometimes, but it was also rewarding.”
