Editor's note: The University of Northern Iowa baseball program played its final game Saturday after a February decision by university officials to eliminate the program at season's end. Courier sports writer Matt Coss revisits the last 50 years of Panther baseball during a five-part series this week.

Last in a series

CEDAR FALLS - Rick Heller had everything a Division III baseball coach could want at Upper Iowa University.

Facilities. Success. University support.

So when Heller applied to become the next coach at the University of Northern Iowa in 1999, friends and colleagues told him to run away.

"They all said, 'Rick, you've built a good program there, be happy with that and stay,'" Heller said.

Even with the lack of scholarships, limited budget and small salary, Heller wanted an opportunity to compete against the best in college baseball.

There was just one drawback.

"I told Rick (Hartzell, athletic director at the time), 'The thing that scares me the most is there have been rumors for 10 years that baseball is going to get dropped at UNI, and I would feel like the dumbest guy in the world to give up what I have at Upper Iowa and in a few years you come in and drop the program,'" Heller said.

Hartzell, a former UNI baseball player, looked at Heller and replied, "The only thing I can tell you is, if that happens, my resignation will be on the table. Personally, I will never drop baseball. I will resign before I do.'"

After hearing that, the two shook hands and Heller sat in the UNI-Dome parking lot for the next 90 minutes literally "beating his head on the steering wheel," wrestling with the decision.

Finally, Heller took a leap of faith and accepted the job.

Since then, he has directed the program to unparalleled success.

Despite being the only baseball program not fully funded in the rigorous Missouri Valley Conference and playing its first 25 to 30 games of the season away from home because of weather, Heller compiled three seasons of 30 wins or more, including a Valley tournament championship and the school's only NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I member in 2001.

"He does the best you can with what he has," senior Brett Douglas said. "There's not too many coaches who could have done what he has with the limited resources."

Heller has coached three MVC Players of the Year - Ryan Brunner, Adam Boeve and Brandon Douglas - along with Nic Ungs, pitcher of the year in 2001. Heller has had 11 players drafted and many others dabble in professional ball under his watch.

Even in the down years, the Panthers managed to win at least 22 games each season.

"We've never really bottomed out," Heller said. "Every year has been a success in some form or fashion."

Prior to Heller's arrival, UNI had only reached 30 victories in a season once.

"To do it against the people we were doing it against is the key point," Heller said. "We're doing it against teams fully funded and top 25 to top 40 teams in the country.

"To me, it'd be like sticking our football team in the Big 12 Conference with the same exact scholarships and exact money and see how they do. That's what we're doing every year."

Now, it's all come to an end.

After 103 years, the university decided in February to eliminate the program due to budget constraints.

"I don't think there was a day that went by growing up that I wouldn't have loved to be an Iowa Hawkeye," former UNI second baseman and assistant coach Marty Sutherland said. "My time here has totally eliminated all allegiances to (Iowa), and that's not easy to do.

"My time here has totally put this place as No. 1.

"The toughest thing to deal with now, it's almost erasing 10 years of my life, and that's a bitter pill to swallow. It's shaped so much of who you are and it's not around any more."