Honoring the Champions

By By Patrick Bohn, September 24, 2026

Celebrating the 1991 Stagg Bowl-winning football team as it prepares to enter the Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend.

Nick Ismailoff (#11) '92 had a lot to celebrate in 1991, finishing the season with 93 catches for 1,435 yards. (Photo courtesy of Ithaca College athletic communications)

On October 9, the 1991 football team will be the latest squad inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. It’s a fitting honor for the last of Head Coach Jim Butterfield’s three Stagg Bowl-winning teams.

For the players and coaches on that team —many of whom had already been inducted into the Hall of Fame as individuals —there’s an immense sense of pride at being formally honored on the 35th anniversary of their historic season.

“Each team is special in its own way,” said Todd Wilkowski ’92, who was the team’s starting quarterback that year and who shared the QB1 duties with Tom Pasquale ’90 on the 1988 title-winning team. “The 1991 team is the one I’m closest to because I was a senior, and to be alongside them in receiving this is fantastic.

“It’s something that I got to experience as an individual, and it was amazing,” added Wilkowski, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame 2002. “I’m so grateful that everyone on the team with get to feel that as well.”

“We had a camaraderie that you just didn’t see on most other teams.”

Nick Ismailoff '92

“We had a camaraderie that you just didn’t see on most other teams,” said flanker Nick Ismailoff, who was the team’s leading receiver. “I’ve stayed close with some of the guys on the team, and getting the chance to see the rest of them at the ceremony is going to be really special.”

For the team’s coaches and players, induction into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame marks a fitting culmination of a 35-year journey that began with promise in the summer of 1991. Although the Bombers missed the playoffs in 1989 and lost in the first round in 1990, expectations were high as they prepared for the season.

“Our program’s mindset was that we were capable of making it to the Stagg Bowl every year,” said Mike Welch ’73, who was the team’s linebacker coach. “And 1991 was no exception.”

Linebackers coach Mike Welch '73 (left) was one of several experienced assistants who aided Head Coach Jim Butterfield (right). (Photo courtesy of Ithaca College athletic communications)

Armed with an experienced quarterback in Wilkowski, a returning first-team All-American in fullback Jeff Wittman ’93, and loads of talent throughout the rest of roster, the Bombers also boasted an embarrassment of coaching riches.

Aside from Butterfield, who would win 207 games as a head coach and be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, they had experienced assistants such as Welch, who was entering his eighth year, and defensive backfield coach Tim Faulkner, who had been on the staff since 1969.

“Jim, Mike, and Tim are historic figures in this program,” Wilkowski said. “And we had them in their primes. Any team in the country would have killed to have a staff like that. We were so well prepared throughout the season, and that staff was a big reason why.”

“Any team in the country would have killed to have a [coaching] staff like [ours]. We were so well prepared throughout the season, and that staff was a big reason why.”

Todd Wilkowski

Ithaca rolled through their first three games, winning them by a combined score of 144-22, before the toughest stretch of the season arrived: back-to-back games against Division II programs Springfield College and American International College (AIC).

After dropping a 14-10 heartbreaker to Springfield, the Bombers returned home to South Hill Field to face AIC and found themselves trailing 20-10 late in the 4th quarter.

A loss would likely have eliminated Ithaca from playoff contention. But the Bombers, with a battle-tested Wilkowski leading the way, fought back. The senior signal-caller found flanker Jim Slayton ’92 for two touchdowns in the final 3:04, including the game-winner with just 21 seconds to go.

Quarterback Todd Wilkowski '92 ran the Bombers' offense behind a line featuring multiple all-Americans, including center Keith Linsey '93. (Photo courtesy of Ithaca College athletic communications)

For Wilkowski, seeing a “grinder” like Slayton become the hero was special. Though he only caught 12 passes during the regular season, those final two against AIC will live in Ithaca football lore forever.

“That was Jimmy’s game,” he said. “He was always ready to step up into big moments and deliver a catch when we needed it. That win was a full team effort and testament to how resilient we were. it gave us the momentum and drive to finish the season strong.”

Ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak, Ithaca entered the playoffs and dispatched Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), Union College, and Susquehanna University to make their then Division III-record seventh trip to the Stagg Bowl.

The Bombers took on the Dayton University Flyers in the championship game, and for the first time since the AIC contest, found themselves in a precarious position. Trailing 17-6 in the second quarter, the Bombers’ veteran coaches called on their experience and made a change that would alter the course of the game.

“Dayton was completing a lot of passes on us,” Welch said. “So Tim and I got together and he said, ‘What if we just rotate our coverage and bring our safeties down into the area they’re passing it to?’ I looked at him and knew he was onto something.”

Safety Brian Hall '92 helped Ithaca's defense clamp down on opponents. (Photo courtesy of Ithaca College athletic communications)

The adjustment worked and Ithaca’s defense, led by All-Americans Billie Mays Jr. ’93 and Joe Palladino ’92, allowed just three points the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Bombers’ offense took off. Wittman, running behind an offensive line featuring All-Americans Keith Linsey ’93 and Chris White ’92, brutalized the Flyers’ defense, carrying the ball 30 times for 159 yards, routinely running over would-be tacklers in the process.

“I tried to warn their guys —especially the smaller defensive backs —that Jeff was going to hit them, and it was going to hurt,” laughed Ismailoff.

When he wasn’t antagonizing Dayton’s secondary with his mouth, Ismailoff was teaming up with Wilkowski to torch them in the passing game. He caught 10 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns, finishing Ithaca’s four-game playoff run with 39 catches for a then-NCAA playoff-record 599 yards.

“That season really made me appreciate how hard it was to win a national championship. It was a great way to go out.”

Todd Wilkowski '92

All-American fullback Jeff Wittman '93 (#22) powered Ithaca's ground game, rushing for 159 yards in the Stagg Bowl. (Photo courtesy of Ithaca College athletic communications)

The Bombers pulled away for a 34-20 victory, giving Butterfield his third title, and sending Ismailoff, Wilkowski, and senior kicker Matt Sullivan off with their second.

“That season really made me appreciate how hard it was to win a national championship,” Wilkowski said. “It was a great way to go out.”

“The team refused to lose, and they worked so hard,” said Faulkner. “The win was a feather in our cap.”

But although memories of the games were still fresh, what the players and coaches remembered even more fondly was how the team was an embodiment of the culture Butterfield had crafted since arriving at Ithaca in 1967.

“Jim built something so special at Ithaca, and that team was proof,” said Ismailoff. “The character and the quality of the men that came out of that program was unmatched.”

“What Jim did for so many people during his time as head coach is amazing,” Welch said. “Some of the guys on the 1991 team became coaches themselves, and when I became head coach at Ithaca, I’d run into them before their games, and we’d reminisce about the season. It was a special time and I’m glad I was a part of it.”

Be a Part of History

Don’t miss the Cortaca Jug presented by Visions Federal Credit Union. The 67th annual game will take place at Yankee Stadium on November 15, at 1 p.m. Get your tickets now!

Carve Your Legacy

Interested in being the next great Bomber student-athlete? Reach out to a coach for more information.