I'll tell you there were over 60 applicants ranging in experience levels. The three finalists were all DCs. One of them was a coach from the WIAC and the other was from the ARC. I'm told Novak has a short list of guys he wants as coordinators/assistants, but I don't know any names.

No merger. No dome.

I said this on the MIAC board, but the new administration at Loras has promised an increased investment into the football program and that it is seen as one of the highest priorities at the college currently.

https://www.d3football.com/notables/2025/12/longtime-st-johns-assistant-to-take-over-at-loras

And there it is. Novak is the home run hire that many associated with the program were hoping for. He comes from a very prestigious program who has seen lots of success and has established and maintained a fantastic culture. Many around Loras have viewed the St. John's program from a far and have longed for even a sliver of the success and buy in from the community that they have.

As with all coaching hires. Only time will tell if it works out.

Quote from: Retired Old Rat on December 18, 2025, 04:21:15 PM

Quote from: DuffMan on December 18, 2025, 03:50:04 PMPotential huge loss in Collegeville as Brandon Novak is rumored to be announced at Loras College head coach (via Twitter).

That really sucks.  Yes, huge loss.  I don't blame him.  He's been kind of stuck where he is and is certainly more than qualified to be a head coach.  Steep hill to climb at Loras.  Hope he's got some guarantees of institutional buy in.

As the board's resident Duhawk I can confirm this to be true as there was an email sent to all alums yesterday introducing him as the new head coach. Everyone in the program and administration feels that it is a home run hire. There is legitimate excitement around the program for the first time in a while.

As for the institutional buy in part... Loras recently got a new president last year and many have stated that football is now a top priority at the College. The president himself told alums at a fundraising event that the handcuffs are coming off the program. The future remains to be seen...

The coach is coming from a very successful program, but not from an ARC school. Think a bit more north than that and of the Catholic variety 

Hearing some rumblings of some potential "Duhawk Magic" 


Working to confirm but if true some excited news coming from Dubuque in the next couple days.

Bethel just got absolutes hosed. No way review is able to call a play dead before it was called dead on the field. Watching NCCs AD and a coach go into that "review tent" would send me over the edge if I was a Bethel fan...

Quote from: doolittledog on December 10, 2025, 10:52:11 AMExpansion news?

What I can tell you is that the conversations are actively ongoing and lots of people in the conference have asked the league office questions and they are being told to essentially stand by for now. Sounds as if the league is being pretty cautious about it. I think it makes the most sense as they do not have to be hasty. I think that the conference is in a stable spot with 8 teams, but that 10 would make the most sense. Rushing into adding teams that don't make sense would only be a bad thing for the league. It is my understanding the league is looking into all ideas of adding current D3 schools and also kicking the tires on some NAIA schools to see if there would be interest.

I'm told that Loras is hoping to have a head coach hired before the end of the year and staff to follow after that. It is obviously more advantageous for Loras to get this done sooner rather than later, as the remaining aspects of the staff must be having a heck of a time putting together a recruiting class. I know that some of the applicants the school has been interested in were/are involved in the playoffs, so that also can slow down potential interviews at this time.

Coaching against Wartburgs defense is infuriating. They are like the guy at the poker table who never raises but always calls. Just sitting there and waiting for you to make a mistake. Only for you to go all in and he's sitting there with a straight flush.

They trust their DL so much and why wouldn't they? They all are incredible at stopping the run and can heat you up if you sit in the pocket too long. They will give you 5-7 yard out and sit routes. The real question is, is there a qb who is good enough to be perfect on these passes and a OC who is willing to keep checking and not try to go all in?

I just hope that Wartburg loses so that the multiple coaches who applied for the Loras HC job are able to interview sooner

With all seriousness these two games should both be great. I think that Wartburg got a bad draw with Wheaton in the second round but I think that the defense is ready for just about any team in the country. I think the game will ultimately be decided between the Wheaton defense and Wartburg's offense. Which of the two "lesser" sides of each team will show up? I think Wartburg pulls it out but it is a one score game.

I think that Coe faces a much more uphill battle. Bethel has shown they are a true force nationally. Coe has challenged themselves in the noncon over the last couple years to their credit but have not been able to break through that barrier.  The familiarity of these two teams I think is a very interesting addition to this match up. I think Coe keeps it close for about 3.5 quarters but Bethel pulls away late and wins by two scores.

I haven't seen a post about the vacancy but I recently ran across the job posting for a new athletic director at UD. Not sure what the background story is there, but they just hired an athletic director in 2022.

https://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/21785808/director-of-athletics

Quote from: Pat Coleman on November 17, 2025, 03:06:30 PMNothing, aside from the availability of the venue. I've heard the price per seat that they want for their venue is a little pricey but who knows.

The ARC has bid on championships previously and has hosted them, pretty well received. Seems like the post-Chuck Yrigoyen administration is just as interested in hosting.

For all we know, maybe they have already bid.

The ARC is hosting the women's basketball final four in Cedar Rapids at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse down town in two years. I am not sure when that bid was placed and if it was done before or after the change in commissioner.

Loras finishes the season with a big win over Luther 45-12 on Saturday. Unfortunately, it will be the last win at Loras for Steve Helminiak as the head coach as he and his staff were informed they will not be returning for the next season. H will leave Loras with a 42-70 overall in his 12 years at the top of the program.

As a former player who played under H, I love that man and wish him nothing but the best. He, and his staff, changed my life for the better and I could not be more thankful for that. I'm told the new administration at Loras has decided to move in a different direction and they are starting the process to look for a new head coach immediately.

Quote from: Fannosaurus Rex on November 05, 2025, 03:02:05 PMI'm glad we are on to numbers because, this being rivalry week and all, I am reminded of the Simpson grad who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. So, when the boy was 18 the dad took him to the Simpson admissions office. The admissions officer said, "we just have one test, what is two plus two?" The boy scratched his head and thought and counted on his fingers and finally he said, "uhhhh, four?" And the dad said, "Ah come on, give him a second chance."

Well I was told once that the admissions test at Loras used to be placing a mirror 3 inches in front of the applicant's face. If the mirror fogged up the young student was granted admission. If it did not fog up they were then accepted at UD. 

The Duhawks, led by third-string QB Jacob Richtman, scored 4 fourth quarter TDs to provide a lot of excitement in Dubuque on Saturday. Unfortunately, a blocked PAT following the last score with 1:11 left in the game sent all of the Loras fans home with an unfortunate taste in their mouths...

I had three large takeaways from the game. The first being that Loras has not had a designated Special Teams Coordinator in at least 7 years. The staff breaks up who coaches which unit, and there is no unifying voice behind special teams. This has been apparent for years by subpar special teams play, but certainly showed in the biggest moments over the weekend with two PATs blocked. The next one is that the Loras offense always seems to start as a cookie-cutter offense that just struggles to move the ball, and then as the year evolves, it turns into a multidimensional offense that plays to its players' strengths. While it is always pleasing to see a team get better during the course of the year, the fact that it has consistently taken 6-7 weeks for the offense to best utilize its players strengths is concerning.

And the last point is one of math and just changing with the times. It has pretty much become common practice that if you are down 14 points late in a football game that upon scoring a TD you should go for two. If you get the two point conversion you are now down 6 points and can win the game with a TD and a PAT. If you do not get it then you will have to score another TD and get the two point conversion the second time. Because the data has shown over time that statistically two point conversion plays are a 50/50 chance, you are statistically probably to get at least one of these chances. If you get the first one you now have set yourself up to win, if you do not get the first one then you are "due" to get the second one. Does it work every time? No. But more often than not the teams you see do it benefit from it. Loras not taking advantage of this cost them the game, and it was something that was completely avoidable.