Program eras · J.R. Bishop

The Bishop Era 1982–1995

J.R. Bishop inherited a program that had won five games in three years and left it holding a conference championship. Fourteen seasons, eleven of them winning, and a finish that could hardly have been scripted: 10–1 in 1995, Wheaton's first conference title since 1959 and its first NCAA playoff berth ever, with a playoff win over Wittenberg, after which he stepped down.

Era record
84-47-1
.640 · 14 seasons
Winning seasons
11/14
CCIW titles
1
1995
NCAA playoffs
1
1995
Best season
1995
10-1

Bishop's teams were built to throw. Keith Bishop, his three-time All-American quarterback, led the nation in total offense in three consecutive seasons in the mid-1980s while Wheaton led the nation in passing offense in all three, finishing with 757 completions, 9,406 yards and 70 touchdowns in twenty-seven games. Jim Jorden caught 225 of them, for 3,022 yards, and set conference records for receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns as a senior. Bishop was CCIW Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1995 and AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 1995. He did not leave the building when he left the job — he stayed on the staff as associate head coach and offensive coordinator through the 2005 season, which is to say he helped coach the first decade of the era that followed his own.

The Standard
The Standard The rider carries the W banner onto the field — the poster treatment, stadium lights and all. Wheaton played as the Crusaders from 1930 until the name was retired in 2000, covering the whole of this era. A new illustration made in 2026 in tribute to the nickname, not an archival image — see the Crusader Era.

Head Coaches

1 coach across 14 seasons
CoachYearsSeasonsRecordPct
J.R. Bishop 1982–1995 14 84-47-1 .640

Season by Season

1982–1995
19822-719836-319846-319856-319867-219873-619887-219896-319904-519917-1-119926-319937-619947-2199510-1CCIW Title
YearRecordCCIWHonorsCoach
1982 2-7 2-6 J.R. Bishop
1983 6-3 5-3 J.R. Bishop
1984 6-3 5-3 J.R. Bishop
1985 6-3 6-2 J.R. Bishop
1986 7-2 6-2 J.R. Bishop
1987 3-6 2-6 J.R. Bishop
1988 7-2 6-2 J.R. Bishop
1989 6-3 5-3 J.R. Bishop
1990 4-5 4-4 J.R. Bishop
1991 7-1-1 6-1-1 J.R. Bishop
1992 6-3 5-2 J.R. Bishop
1993 7-6 6-1 J.R. Bishop
1994 7-2 5-2 J.R. Bishop
1995 10-1 7-0 CCIW Champions NCAA Division III Playoffs J.R. Bishop

Turning Points

  1. 1982Bishop arrives; the team goes 2–7 and then never has another losing season under him but one.
  2. 1985Keith Bishop leads the nation in total offense — the second of three straight years.
  3. 1991Bishop is CCIW Coach of the Year after a 7–1–1 season.
  4. 199510–1, the first conference title since 1959, the first NCAA playoff berth, a playoff win over Wittenberg.