June 18, 2013
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Wire - The WWU Alumni Association
With the success that Western has in all of its programs, it's not surprising the school, despite being DII, has four players active in the NFL and two in the CFL. (By comparison, Central Washington, which still has a football program, has zero in the NFL.)
Matt Overton, Michael Koenen, Junior Aumavae and Will Davis are gearing up to play in the 2013 NFL season, and Ryan Lucas and Calvin McCarty, who play in the CFL, are already starting preseason play.
Even though the football program was dropped as an intercollegiate sport, they are all still Vikings at heart. That doesn't mean it wasn't a blow to all of them when the team was cut, but their time at WWU was deeper than just playing football.
"I still have some bitter feelings in how it was handled, but it's been a few years now and it's settled," Overton said. "I'm happy to see the other sports have success and I get a thrill out of watching the basketball guys on a national stage. I want to come back and still support the school and have a lot of pride when I talk about WWU. It is a great university."
Overton is entering his second season as the Indianapolis Colts' long snapper.
Koenen is entering his ninth season and will play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their punter. Aumavae is a nose tackle for the New York Jets and Davis was drafted by the Miami Dolphins as a cornerback this season.
Ryan Lucas is set to play on the defensive line for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calvin McCarty is a running back for the Edmonton Eskimos.
Lucas and Overton both returned to campus in February of 2013.
"I love coming to Bellingham in general because it was a great place and I have so many memories," Overton said. "Going to WWU was one of the best experiences of my life. It was fun to come back and walk down memory lane."
Aumavae hasn't visited campus since leaving, but said he has nothing but good things to say about the school.
"One of the best things was the alumni and how they were great supporters," Aumavae said. "We have a few guys in the NFL now and that shows you how special the program was because there are schools with 0 guys in it. It's unfortunate that the program is gone, but that's how it happens sometimes and you just have to adapt."
They all have hope that the program will return someday under the right circumstances but for the time being, these guys are playing in the NFL as proud Vikings.
