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| Darryl Wills was an All-American for the Mavericks in 1987 |
Realistically, though, considering the fact that varsity football has been here since 1922, NCAA playoff games are a relatively recent phenomenon. The head coach of the Mavericks beginning in 1983 was Dan Runkle. And after a couple of sub-.500 years, things began to get better. By 1986, Runk’s team won six of its seven games, serving as a portent of what was to come next fall. And what did come next fall was a 9-3 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play for the program’s first North Central Conference championship and, for the first time, a place in the NCAA Division II postseason tournament.
A key player on the 1987 team was Nicollet, Minn., native, Darryl Wills. A two-year starter at free safety for the Mavericks from 1986-87, Wills was second on the team in tackles as a senior with 107 and recorded seven career interceptions over the course of his college career.
A two-time All-NCC pick, Wills was named All-American by the Football Gazette as a senior and in 2013, he was inducted into the Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame.
MavBlog recently checked in with Wills, who lives with his family in Chaska, Minn.
MavBlog: Tell me a little about yourself
Darryl Wills: I’ve been married for 27 years to LizAnn (MSU grad) and we have two childern - Madyson 23 (MSU grad), Dawson 20 – attending Washburn University, where he’s a junior with the men’s golf program. I work for Optum, serving the last 15 years in my current role of SVP Payer Sales.
MavBlog: What was the adjustment like, playing high school football in Nicollet, a small farming town, to the North Central Conference, where you and your teammates were going up against the likes of North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota and South Dakota State every weekend?
DW: Players, as you can imagine, were bigger/faster/stronger and overall, much more skilled. We did have some very good multi-sports athletes like myself from high school, Many of my high school teammates went on to play college sports. A pretty quick adjustment had to be made if you wanted any playing time.
MavBlog: Why did you choose to come play football at MSU and how has your time at MSU impacted where you are today?
DW: I was looking at the University of Minnesota for football, Winona State for basketball, a few other North Central Conference teams also had a slight interest. During the summer/fall of 1983 my dad became very sick and it was determined he had cancer (he is still with us today), so I decided to stay close to home. The number of friendships I still have today are because of MSU which has resulted in doing trips, extending business relationships and lifelong friendships that keep you motivated.
MavBlog: What was it like winning that first conference championship in 1987?
DW: Incredible – we had a very good recruiting class and many of the guys from that year stuck around. It was even more special because it was the first team to accomplish it. Demonstrated that when you put your mind to it and get the team aligned much can be accomplished.
MavBlog: Talk about your head coach Dan Runkle and maybe one thing you learned from him that you still use today. What kind of head coach was he and how did he get players behind him?
DW: Coach Runk taught me how to do your prep work – study your competition – work on all the small things and get to know your teammates.. Coach Runk was a players coach – while he had many rules, he made sure we had a lot of fun along the way and got to know each player as an individual. I use all of those skills today in my sales leadership role in a fortune 6 company.
MavBlog: Talk about Optum, how it got started and what you do there.
DW: I am one of 130,000 employees and been with the company for 15 years and the company started in 1997 as Ingenix. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (320,000 employees) and started as a technology company selling technology/consulting to healthcare organization. I have always wanted to be in healthcare so my career journey has included selling computer hardware & services, disposable medical products to long term care, home care and hospitals. So Optum is culmination of my previous roles where I get to utilize all of my previous experiences and I always wanted to make a bigger impact on peoples lives and healthcare is one great way to do that.
MavBlog: Explain your relationship with former teammate and long-time friend Greg Vonderlippe.
DW: Greg and I have always stayed in touch and been good friends and assisted him in getting into the company about 10 years ago and we still work together today as Greg is part of my sales leadership team. Makes the daily grind much more enjoyable and we get to make the healthcare system work better for everyone together which is pretty cool.
MavBlog: Did you want to stay local in southern Minnesota? If so, why was that important to you?
DW: I live in the Twin Cities/Chaska – I prefer bigger cities and I travel the world. On average I fly about 130,000 miles a year primarily in the United States. I did lead sales for our Life Sciences business for about two years which included a lot of international travel. I will always have a home in Minnesota but looking to move to warmer climate during the winter season.
MavBlog: You’re an inductee into the Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame. What was that experience like?
DW: Humbling. To be recognized by Minnesota State as a team and as an individual – so Hall of Fame twice is off the charts remarkable. Motivates me to take the message of Minnesota State to all of my colleagues and friends. I had my family (LizAnn, Madyson, Dawson), Mom/Dad, my high school principal in attendance when I was inducted, so it was very rewarding and something we could all enjoy together.
MavBlog: Have you been back to Blakeslee Stadium in the last couple of years and how much pride do you take in the success the program is currently experiencing?
DW: Yes, I have been back to Blakeslee and I go to a few games each year and have traveled to watch the Mavericks play in the national championship games along with a few of my teammates. Blakeslee grass is among the best in the country and while the stadium is showing its age – when the ball is “Teed Up” for kickoff the chills still go through the body. The level of talent MSU attracts now I do believe is in place to what we started back in 1987 and many of the teams following have continued that success and taken into higher levels.
Contributed by Brevin Kaiser, Minnesota State Athletic Communications intern.
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