Division III athletes play purely for the love of the game. There is no other reason to play. There are no scholarships, rarely any fame and oftentimes never a shot to play at the next level. At Otterbein College, a few diamonds in the rough have left the small campus in the shadow of Ohio State and shine in the sport that they love to play. Ricardo Lenhart is a recent graduate from Otterbein and is currently playing in the Arena 2 football league for the Louisville Fire. While playing for the Cardinals, Ricardo earned first team All Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) twice, and third team All-Region in 2005. Most teams at any level are hesitant to sign someone from a small school like Otterbein, but Louisville Fire is starting to reap the benefits for taking a chance on Lenhart. "In order to really get a look sometimes as a DIII athlete, you have to put up big numbers and show that you can stand out and are capable of playing with a higher level of competition," said Lenhart. In eight games Ricardo has helped the team to a 5-3 record by grabbing 41 catches for 517 yards. In those 41 catches he has also been able to haul in four touchdowns. "I think I'm having a pretty good year so far, but I know I have a lot of room to improve," said Lenhart. Ricardo is not the only one that has made his presence felt in football. Former Otterbein athlete Matt D'Orazio is arguably the best quarterback in the top-flight Arena League. D'Orazio jumped around from team to team in the beginning of his career and then made his mark by winning the Arena Bowl championship in 2006 with Chicago Rush. D'Orazio was named the Offensive MVP in the championship game that year and also set a team record by completing 231 passes without an interception. At Otterbein D'Orazio holds the records for passing yards (8,770), touchdown passes (73) and total offense. D'Orazio is currently playing for the Philadelphia Soul, where he took over the starting job after the starting quarterback was injured. In D'Orazio's professional career he has completed 993 passes on 1,460 attempts for 11,137 yards and 216 passing touchdowns. He has another chance to make a run for the Arena championship with the Philadelphia Soul, who sit at first place in the AFL with a record of 10-2.
One name that still echos in the Rike center from time to time is Jeff Gibbs. Gibbs led Otterbein to the 2002 division III national championship where he scored an incredible 25 points with 25 rebounds. Some awards that Gibbs earned during his playing time for the Cardinals are three-time All-American and second-team All-Decade. He also was named player of the year in the OAC twice, not to mention in his off time he was an All-American for the Otterbein football team and had try outs with three NFL teams. Most people would assume that an athlete like that, with a seven-foot wing span, would be playing in the NBA, but being from a small school may have put a damper on his chances. Either way Gibbs wasn't going to let being from a small school stop him from playing the sport that he loves. He is currently playing for Ratiopharm Ulm, a professional team in Germany. Athletes at Otterbein have dreams and aspirations to continue their athletic careers after college. One senior that has had an amazing career playing for the Otterbein baseball team, and also carries that dream, is Dan Remenowsky. While playing for the Cardinals, Remenowsky has earned the OAC pitcher of the year award three straight times and has also been All-OAC four times. Remenowsky feels that he is good enough to continue his career and has put in the work to pursue that dream. "No matter what, I'm going to find a place to play this summer or next year," said Remenowsky. If Remenowsky is drafted or signs a professional contract he will not be the only baseball player to leave Otterbein and continue to play. There is a list of 11 baseball players that have gone on to sign contracts with professional teams. "I know I can compete at a very high level, I just have to find that right fit," said Remenowsky. These are just a few athletes from Otterbein that have gone on to play professionally, or hope to. When an athlete makes the choice to come play at Otterbein -or any other small school for that matter-one thing is for sure, it is purely based off of the love for the game and competition. Sometimes that love is enough to drive the hunger inside for more competition and that may just lead athletes to success after college. t&c;
