FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[The Man]

Any word on how the search for two teams to fill the non-conference slate next fall are going for St John's? Has anyone heard of any changes in approach that the staff/team will be taking between now & next season to be more competitive?

Have St. John's contact Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays are always looking for top competition.

Jennifer Baker, Director of Athletics
410-516-7490
hopkinsathletics@jhu.edu

[hazzben]

Any word on how the search for two teams to fill the non-conference slate next fall are going for St John's? Has anyone heard of any changes in approach that the staff/team will be taking between now & next season to be more competitive?

Have St. John's contact Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays are always looking for top competition.

Jennifer Baker, Director of Athletics
410-516-7490
hopkinsathletics@jhu.edu

That'd be a great non-con with awesome national appeal.

Huge loss for SJU, they also got the funding to get a top replacement. Great hire for Loras.

[DuffMan]

As much as I'd like to see a home/home with Johns Hopkins, SJU has not shown a willingness to schedule a non-con game that would require a flight, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Boys of Fall]

Good for Novak. A beloved Johnnie who I wish nothing but the best for! Hopefully he will cut his teeth down in Loras and maybe set himself up to be next in line when Gary retires in 2-3 years.

Plenty of qualified coaches still on staff who can fill his shoes on the field, but his personality and energy will be missed.
[/quote]
Agreed in hoping he is just taking this job to get some head coaching experience before coming back when Gary retires.  If my memory serves me correct, he was offered the Stevens Point HC position a year or two ago and turned it down so he's been looking at this for a little while.  Gary himself left the staff for a while to be a head coach (albeit high school) but there is precedent for getting HC experience.  Brandon has never been outside of central Minnesota so hopefully he wants to see what else is out there before finishing up back in Collegeville.

[sjusection105]

Potential 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...

Brandon will bring decades of winning culture with him to Loras. I wish him the best and would welcome him back with open arms if he wants to return when Gary retires.

[repete]

Best of luck to Brandon. That's a huge hole to fill on a number of levels.

[faunch]

Any word on how the search for two teams to fill the non-conference slate next fall are going for St John's? Has anyone heard of any changes in approach that the staff/team will be taking between now & next season to be more competitive?

Have St. John's contact Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays are always looking for top competition.

Jennifer Baker, Director of Athletics
410-516-7490
hopkinsathletics@jhu.edu

2026 Open Dates
https://www.d3football.com/opendates/2026/index

Teams that make sense to me in bold
Week 1
Adrian
Eastern
Heidelberg
Pacific
Roanoke
Stevenson
UW-La Crosse


Week 2
Augustana
Case Western Reserve
Lake Forest
North Central
Schreiner
Wheaton

Lake Forest has been a playoff team but I doubt they would want to travel all the way up to Collegeville for what would likely be a beating. I'm sure SJU would like to host a home opener but I'm guessing SJU fans might travel to Illinois...unfortunately it's the weekend after Labor Day.

[USee]

With WashU dropping out of the CCIW there are a number of CCIW teams with open dates. Typically the CCIW plays a non conference opponent in week 1 OR week 2 and the other date is a bye followed by 9 conference games. WashU's slot comes at different times for CCIW teams so many of them are using that week as a bye and playing in both week 1 and week 2.

Wheaton no longer has an opening in 2026 as they play Mt Union Sept 5 and Albion Sept 12. Their bye is week 8 (the WashU slot). Presumably North Central will travel to Oshkosh in week 1 to fulfill the 2nd part of their home/home commitment from last year so they may well have a week 2 opening. None of the other schools list their future schedules.

[CCIWFan69]

With WashU dropping out of the CCIW there are a number of CCIW teams with open dates. Typically the CCIW plays a non conference opponent in week 1 OR week 2 and the other date is a bye followed by 9 conference games. WashU's slot comes at different times for CCIW teams so many of them are using that week as a bye and playing in both week 1 and week 2.

Wheaton no longer has an opening in 2026 as they play Mt Union Sept 5 and Albion Sept 12. Their bye is week 8 (the WashU slot). Presumably North Central will travel to Oshkosh in week 1 to fulfill the 2nd part of their home/home commitment from last year so they may well have a week 2 opening. None of the other schools list their future schedules.

A home and home with NCC would be fun to watch.  Should help NPI too.

[sjujohnnie]

I didn't think Johns Hopkins would have a chance against River Falls. Blaha went out with looked like a dislocated shoulder of his throwing arm. Now Johns Hopkins has the lead. River Falls fans have to be nervous. The backup freshman QB had only one pass attempt on the season before coming in after Blaha left.

[sjujohnnie]

Blaha came back in on the next series and attempted 3 passes. River Falls went 3 & out. I hope Blaha can be healthy. Would hate to see such an impactful player not able to compete.

[Retired Old Rat]

Looks like Blaha is not going to run other than going out of bounds.  Going to make it tough on River Falls.  (Captain Obvious)

[art76]

I ended up not going to the game. Instead my wife and I volunteered with the Salvation Army this morning and early afternoon handing out free books to families at their annual gift giving event. Have been keeping an eye on the score on my phone - now at home on the old 'puter and see Hopkins is making it a game. Sorry to hear Blaha got nicked.   

[sjujohnnie]

Johns Hopkins certainly looked a lot better than I was anticipating! Knotted up at 41 with around 96 or 97 when River Falls started a drive with under 2 minutes. Blaha had a huge completion that resulted in a go-ahead touchdown. Wildly competitive game!

[sjujohnnie]

No more than finished typing that and Johns Hopkins threw an interception which sealed their defeat. River Falls earns a berth in the Stagg Bowl.