Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on June 05, 2025, 02:33:44 PMLOL!

Liked it overall - I'd ask Chat to revise it with a tone that reflected that everyone was actually quite happy to see it die.

Not sure I've ever read an obit that said, "Everyone was glad the son of a b***ch is dead!" I wonder how ChatGPT would handle that!

I asked ChatGPT to write an obituary for the MIAC Championship Game. Here's what it gave me:

Obituary: The MIAC Football Championship Game (November 13, 2021 – November 16, 2024)

It is with a mixture of reverence and resignation that we mark the passing of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Football Championship Game, which ran its course from 2021 to 2024. Born out of necessity and competitive spirit, the championship game was both a symbol of renewed structure in Division III football and a showcase of Minnesota grit. It has now joined the annals of college football history—brief, but impactful.

Established in 2021 following the MIAC's reorganization into two divisions (the Northwoods and Skyline), the championship game was created to determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Football Championship. This structure was intended to resolve the long-standing dominance of a few programs while reinvigorating competition across the board. For four seasons, it did just that.

The inaugural championship game in 2021 set a dramatic standard that would prove difficult to match. Played in a swirling snowstorm in Arden Hills, it was an instant classic between two MIAC titans: Saint John's and Bethel. With the game on the line, Saint John's orchestrated a stunning 72-yard drive in the final minutes—eight plays capped by a 4th-and-goal touchdown from the Royals' 3-yard line with just one second remaining. It was a signature moment in MIAC history, steeped in tension, grit, and sheer will.

Yet, as the seasons went on, the championship game never quite returned to that same fever pitch. There were memorable plays and worthy champions, but the magic of that first finale in the snow remained unmatched—a reminder that lightning rarely strikes the same field twice.

Ultimately, shifting conference priorities, logistical challenges, and differing visions for the future led to the quiet sunsetting of the MIAC Championship Game after the 2024 season. There was no grand announcement, no farewell ceremony—just the soft close of a chapter that many will look back on with fondness and perhaps a touch of longing.

The MIAC Football Championship Game is survived by the teams and rivalries it helped elevate, the student-athletes who played with passion under late-autumn skies, and the fans who cheered with mittened hands and loyal hearts. Its legacy will linger on campus fields, in stat books, and in the memories of those who witnessed its brief but brilliant existence.

Requiescat in pace, MIAC Championship Game. You were gone too soon, but you burned bright while you lasted.

Quote from: SagatagSam on June 02, 2025, 12:30:42 PMSome noteworthy items announced for the upcoming season:

Divisional structure officially eliminated and replaced with a true round robin. This was changed already on the MIAC website, but now teams and the conference are making the official announcement.

Games played after the end of daylight savings time (which is the final two weeks of the regular season) will kickoff at noon instead of 1 p.m.

https://gojohnnies.com/news/2025/6/2/football-miac-eliminates-championship-week-sju-to-play-all-nine-conference-opponents-in-2025.aspx

Looking ahead, the Johnnies will play Bethel early in the season in 2025 and 2026. The 2026 game could potentially be SJU's homecoming game as it falls on October 3. If so, it would fall on the 17th anniversary of Russell Gliadon's game winning 49-yard field goal in 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiKMd6jTa-w

The two teams won't meet in a late season showdown until 2027 and 2028.

Some noteworthy items announced for the upcoming season:

Divisional structure officially eliminated and replaced with a true round robin. This was changed already on the MIAC website, but now teams and the conference are making the official announcement.

Games played after the end of daylight savings time (which is the final two weeks of the regular season) will kickoff at noon instead of 1 p.m.

https://gojohnnies.com/news/2025/6/2/football-miac-eliminates-championship-week-sju-to-play-all-nine-conference-opponents-in-2025.aspx

MIAC official conference schedule webpage shows football championship weekend has been eliminated.

Boz Bostrom broke the story on Twitter:
https://x.com/bozbostrom/status/1928650310127358307?s=46&t=mGqTC79GJ1s2EzukNSOUQQ

Quote from: WashedUp on May 15, 2025, 10:59:22 AMThey wouldn't need to find a game, they'd all play each other.  SJU would play St. Olaf week 11, since those two aren't currently scheduled to play.  Carleton would play Concordia, etc.

I 100% support this. Granted, it doesn't help the strength of schedule numbers for those hoping for an at-large bid, but I think the committee has indicated that SOS is not as important anymore. I would much rather go back to a true round robin schedule again.

T-minus three months until players start reporting to campus for fall camp and just under four months until the Johnnies kickoff against Minnesota-Morris on September 13.

What, if anything, do we know about how the MIAC will look in 2025? I have not heard much since this past winter when there was a flurry of transfer activity.

My focus is always SJU, but I'm curious if there has been any noteworthy activity from across the conference.

Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on May 12, 2025, 11:15:55 AM

Quote from: SagatagSam on May 12, 2025, 10:50:38 AM

Quote from: SagatagSam on May 12, 2025, 10:41:32 AMThe MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships were a high drama affair in a slugfest for the top spot.  Bethel eeks out a win by a half point over SJU for their second consecutive outdoor crown. Gustavus puts together just enough to finish fifth and secure its first Durenberger Trophy since the 2003-04 school year (sixth overall).

Johnnies look to shore up these standings next year by securing the return of Tudor Flintham, former Johnnie soccer star who led the Gusties soccer program for seven seasons*, taking home four regular season MIAC crowns, one MIAC Playoff title, five trips to the NCAA tournament (including one Elite Eight appearance in 2022).

*includes 2020 COVID season, so six regular non-COVID seasons

I'm going to claim the SAS championship for BU.  Way to go Royals! (Swimming Adjusted Score)

Augsburg is going to claim 8th on the basis of their WAS (Wrestling Added Score).

Quote from: SagatagSam on May 12, 2025, 10:41:32 AMThe MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships were a high drama affair in a slugfest for the top spot.  Bethel eeks out a win by a half point over SJU for their second consecutive outdoor crown. Gustavus puts together just enough to finish fifth and secure its first Durenberger Trophy since the 2003-04 school year (sixth overall).

Johnnies look to shore up these standings next year by securing the return of Tudor Flintham, former Johnnie soccer star who led the Gusties soccer program for seven seasons*, taking home four regular season MIAC crowns, one MIAC Playoff title, five trips to the NCAA tournament (including one Elite Eight appearance in 2022).

*includes 2020 COVID season, so six regular non-COVID seasons

The MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships were a high drama affair in a slugfest for the top spot.  Bethel eeks out a win by a half point over SJU for their second consecutive outdoor crown. Gustavus puts together just enough to finish fifth and secure its first Durenberger Trophy since the 2003-04 school year (sixth overall).

Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on May 06, 2025, 03:15:02 PMInteresting stuff for off-season reading - thanks!

So bethel really shot themselves in the foot by not sweeping St. Mary's in the last baseball set of games - as I'm pretty sure that would have made them regular season champs - as they'd have been tied with Gustavus on record - but swept them in the 2 game set?

It's an extra point left on the table for sure. But, like in any game, the first quarter matters just as much for the final score as the fourth quarter. I'm sure you could look back at the season and say "man, the basketball performance really killed us."

Or, more importantly for Bethel, not having a swimming and diving program really handicaps them. That's at least a couple of points left on the table.

Gustavus sweeps the first two spring sports championships--Tennis (for the 38th year in a row) and baseball--and leaps to a five point lead in the Durenberger Trophy standings. The only problem is that the Gusties' track and field team is not traditionally strong and the Johnnies and Royals are expected to compete for the outdoor track and field championship.

This one will come down to the wire. Probably no margin of victory more than one point either way. Co-Champions a very real possibility.



The Gusties don't have to win the outdoor championship to take home the Durenberger. Bethel is still in it mathematically (technically, I guess). Here are some scenarios:

Gustavus takes home a share of the Durenberger if:
-Gustavus places fifth or higher; OR
-SJU places no greater than five spots higher than Gustavus AND Bethel places no greater than nine spots ahead of Gustavus

SJU takes home a share of the Durenberger if:
-SJU places at least five or more spots higher than Gustavus AND no more than four spots behind Bethel

Bethel takes home a share of the Durenberger if:
-Bethel places at least five spots ahead of SJU AND nine spots ahead of Gustavus. (unlikely)

My prediction is that Bethel eeks out the outdoor championship for the second consecutive year, Johnnies finish second, and Gustavus is a sixth/seventh place team.

Here are some made up numbers for the likelihood of outcomes:
Gustavus wins outright: 20%
Gustavus and SJU share Durenberger: 65%
SJU wins outright: 15%
Three way tie: <0.001%
Bethel wins outright: <0.000001%

Quote from: DuffMan on April 22, 2025, 01:02:22 PMI can't imagine the mess that would create with transfer credits, etc.

Duff your comment shows your D3 mindset. That line of thinking was thrown out the window years ago at the D1 (and some of the D2 schools/conferences).

"Student"-athletes.

Quote from: DuffMan on April 16, 2025, 09:01:17 AMUM-Morris, Auggie Tech, Mac, Hot Carls, and St. Scholastica at home?  What an awful home schedule.  I'll set the over/under for regular season points given up at Clemens at 7.5.

I was having the same conversation with some of my SJU classmates, and I set the over/under for points allowed by the Johnnie defense at Clemens Stadium at 13.5. With games that lopsided, the Johnnies are bound to give up a garbage TD or two to Auggie or Carleton.

UM-Morris, Scholastica, and Mac are all ripe for the shutout picking.

Quote from: DuffMan on April 12, 2025, 09:43:45 AMMy first meeting with Fr. Don was summer of '99.  I worked on the grounds crew the summer before my freshman year.  Fr. Don was, as always, strolling around campus and socializing.  Rich Froehle introduced us, and Fr. Don, without missing a beat, asked, "Is your dad, Al, who wrestled here in the 70s?"  His ability to remember people was astounding!  He always referred to me as "The Pearl of Sartell." 

Rest in peace, my friend.

My favorite story of Fr. Don meeting the son of an alum involves one of my first SJU friends, Bill, whose dad graduated from SJU in the early 80s. Bill and his dad are practically identical twins. Pictures of his dad in college are indistinguishable from Bill at the same age.

It was at move-in weekend my freshman year. Bill's dad had not been back up to campus much since graduating, but was there helping Bill move into Mary 3. Bill and his family went to the Refectory for lunch and ran into Fr. Don. Bill's dad stopped to re-introduce himself, thinking that Fr. Don probably didn't remember him from 20 years previous. "Hi, Fr. Don, you probably don't remem--"

Fr. Don interrupted him and, without missing a beat, shakes his hand and says: "Blatzheim. Rice Street, Saint Paul." Then Fr. Don turned to Bill, and with a knowing smile and says, "Oh, we're going to have to keep our eye on you."

God broke the mold after making Fr. Don.