North Park University

I'm pretty familiar with the school, but less so with the baseball program. My daughter looked at NorthPark, and we visited it together. I have many friends who went there and whose kids either attend now or did recently.

My daughter did not end up there, but we liked the school. It is religiously affiliated for sure, but it is not as strict as other Christian colleges. It is quite diverse, and its setting in Chicago makes it so it is easy to take advantage of all Chicago has to offer.

I don't know anything about their baseball program, but the school is very focused on sports. They have a few DIII national championships - I think in Basketball for sure, maybe s****r. A good friend of mine is their most famous basketball alum - Mike Harper, who played NBA for the Blazers and settled in Portland.

For what it is worth, every person I know who went there is a fine person.

Thanks Rob

I live in Chicago and am familiar with most of the schools around here. Also know someone with a son on their baseball team . North Park has not done too well in the last few years ( only won one game two years ago ) but i believe they are on the upswing now and are suppossed to be more competeitive this year. Play in a pretty good conference .

North Park is a pretty good school. Coach Johnson is a young guy that works his tail off up there. He took a team that won one game the year before he got there, and won 14 or 15 the next year. Not great, but you've got to start somewhere. I'm not sure of the indoor facilities, but because they're land locked their athletic field is a combination of football, baseball, and softball that's field turf. But Johnson is a good guy who will take the program to the next level if given a little bit of time and support.

CCKnights couldn't have said it any better about Coach Johnson. He is simply a great guy, who puts in a lot of hours and hard work for his program. His first year there (2006) he was named CCIW Coach of the Year for taking the Vikings to the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 1999. Their indoor facilities are top notch. The Helwig Recreation Center has a full field turf infield as well as batting cages. As for the weight room it has everything that can be offered. The Vikings home field is also field turf and yes is apart of the Football and Softball field as well. North Park competes in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and is a very good DIII conference. Power house teams consist of Illinois Wesleyan, Carthage, and Augustana. If anyone is interested in North Park I would suggest giving Coach Johnson a call, he is always very willing to sit down and chat with recruits.