Stephen Slezak, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor
The fall sports team have been dominant this year at Berry. Football, men’s and women’s cross country, and volleyball have all won the Southern Athletic Association (SAA). Anna Rose and Anna Ayers of women’s cross country qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III national championships. Tucker Wright and Troy Blackwood also secured an invitation to the national championships, representing Berry for men’s cross country. Equestrian finished second at the University of Georgia, tied with the University of Alabama. The women’s soccer team made it to the SAA semifinal where they ended their season.
Berry athletics prides itself on the performance of their teams and the history of winning culture within the programs. Football and cross country are two of the programs that highlight the history of winning culture at Berry.
Tony Kunczewski, head coach of the football team, knows what it takes to win at this level. Kunczewski has a career 82-36 record with an 40-5 record at home.
“When your working at a small college, the most important thing is having the right leadership,” Kunczewski said. “Hiring great coaches, but recruiting is the most important. To create competition is how you sustain success within the team.”
Paul Deaton, head coach of the men’s cross-country team, produces a winning mindset year in and year out. Currently, he has won four straight SAA championships and has coached more than 33 All-SAA runners. Deaton speaks about how he is able to keep sustainable success from year to year.
“The culture gets handed down from one class to the next,” Deaton said. “I don’t mean culture in terms of doing things right, I think it is the belief that you can do it. When you know someone else did it, it seems more achievable to you.”
When teams remain successful over the years, leadership is a very important factor in that. Leadership can come from experience with being on the team for a long period of time or can be when given a captain role on the team.
“It’s not who is the best captain, but which captain has the most support,” Deaton said. “That helps with building a winning culture.”
A team’s culture can greatly impact the way in which a team will perform during the hard times of the season. A strong team culture can help the players persevere and work through the season, which usually helps the number of wins the team will achieve. A weak culture will show when the season takes a bad turn and will be easy to see.
“Our [acronym] is BUILD,” Kunczewski said. “The first is to be accountable to our teammates and one another. We want to understand that we don’t just represent ourselves, but we represent Berry football and Berry as an institution. Unity is the next. We bring guys from all different demographics into a football locker room. Being unified as one is probably the most important. We also talk about win what is important now. Be where your feet are. Then, love the hunt. We find guys that love playing football. If guys are not committed to being successful and putting in the work all year round, then we will not be very successful as a team. The last one is do your job. You have to find your role within the team.”
Deaton takes a different approach to his team’s culture.
“The work ethic and intentionality in what you do, the confidence to believe this will make a difference,” Deaton said. “Even more important, caring for each other. It is entirely possible to do whatever it takes to win and someone else beats you. Working together to see how far we can go and how well we can compete with other winners, what is the best that we can be. A big part of our culture is working together and caring for each other.”
Being able to respond after adversity is crucial for any sport’s success in an athletic season. This year, the Vikings football team experienced major injuries to key players at the beginning of the season. Kunczewski spoke about how those injuries were embraced by the team.
“I am proud of this team because we were never operating at full capacity,” Kunczewski said. “We got our teeth kicked in the second game of the year. To show resiliency the next week and go out on the road and play the number nine team in the country and figure out a way to win, that really compelled us and built some character, showed that we have some toughness.”
The 2024 fall has shown the strength and dedication of Berry’s athletic programs and reinforcing their place as a premier program in the SAA. The success on the field reflects not only their talent but also the strong leadership and cultures built within each program. Berry athletics continues to build a strong athletic presence in division III and serves as a foundation for continued growth and success in the future.