BULLDOGS UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH FOOTBALL
Communications Office • Bob Nygaard, Director • University of Minnesota Duluth • Duluth, MN 55812-2496 bnygaard@d.umn.edu • (218) 726-8191 • www.umdbulldogs.com • @umdbulldogs October 18, 2012
BEMIDJI STATE TO BE UMD'S HOMECOMING GUESTS THIS SATURDAY AT MALOSKY STADIUM HUDDLE UP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will look to add another notch to his 37-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home winning streak this Saturday (Oct. 20) when the Bulldogs play host to North Division rival Bemidji State University in their annual Homecoming game. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500 capacity/artificial turf) on the UMD campus. THE RECORDS: UMD, the four-time reigning NSIC champions, is 6-1 both overall and league play this fall while Bemidji State, which has won three straight, sports a 4-3 record. HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Bemidji State stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls. AFCA D2Football UMD No. 7 (tie) No. 9 BSU NR NR THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Beaver matchup will be carried on 1490 The Fan (KQDS-AM) with Jeff Papas handling the play-by-play responsibilities and former University of North Dakota offensive lineman and Superior Stampede assistant coach Gregg Swartwoudt providing color. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing , KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia and at: www.fan1490.com. IIn addition, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games during the 2012 season, including the one Saturday afternoon against Bemidji College. Veteran sportscaster Tom Hansen former long-time UMD defensive coordinator Vince Repesh are scheduled to serve as the on-air talent. The telecast, which is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable, will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at: www.nsic.nmtvsports.com. THE COACH: The numbers certainly speak for themselves. Two NCAA II national championships, five NSIC titles (including the last four in a row), three perfect 11-0 regular seasons, five NCAA II playoff appearances, 96 victories and a .793 overall winning percentage. Bob Nielson has accomplished all this -- and much more -- in his nine-plus seasons of head coaching activity at UMD.
2012 NSIC FOOTBALL STANDINGS Team (Overall) Minnesota State-Mankato (7-0) UMD* (6-1) U of Sioux Falls (6-1) Winona State (6-1) St. Cloud State* (5-2) Wayne State (4-3) Bemidji State* (4-3) Augustana (3-4) U of Mary* (3-4) Northern State (3-4) Upper Iowa (2-5) Southwest Minnesota State (2-5) Concordia-St. Paul (2-5) Minot State* (1-6) Minnesota State-Moorhead* (1-6) Minnesota-Crookston* (1-6)
W 7 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
L 0 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6
PCT 1.000 .857 .857 .857 .714 .571 .571 .429 .429 .429 .286 .286 .286 .143 .143 .143
PF 247 333 221 220 251 176 144 262 184 182 197 188 175 111 105 102
PA 96 165 109 163 182 137 131 190 223 179 250 269 217 228 272 287
*North Division members
Last fall, Nielson directed his charges, which included 15 All-NSIC picks and a quartet of All-Americans, to an 11-3 overall record and a quarterfinal round berth (their fourth in as many years) in the NCAA II playoffs before bowing out to eventual national runnerup Wayne State University. In 2010, the Bulldogs did something no other NCAA II club had ever been able to do – finish 15-0 for a second time. Along the way, UMD brought home the school’s second NCAA II title and third consecutive NSIC crown (a program first), amassing a 10-0 league mark for the third time in as many years. For his efforts, Nielson was bestowed with two of the most prestigious national coaching honors in Division II football – the American Football Coaches Association DII Coach of the Year and the Liberty Mutual DII Coach of the Year awards – in addition to being selected for that same honor by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and the NSIC. Nielson returned to the UMD sidelines in 2008 following a four-season hiatus and proceeded to oversee one of the most impressive oneyear turnarounds in NCAA Division II history, taking a club which had gone 4-6 in 2007
2010 & 2008 NCA A II Champions
and molding it into a national champion. Along the way, his Bulldogs rolled up a 15-0 overall mark (only the third NCAA II team to ever accomplish that feat), set or equaled 50 team and individual records, captured the NSIC title and turned out a whopping nine AllAmericans. He followed that up two years ago by going 11-2 in all games and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA II playoffs. Named the 2008 NCAA II Coach of the Year by American Football Monthly magazine, D2Football.com, and the Football Gazette, Nielson now owns a dazzling 96-25 overall record at UMD (that .793 winning percentage is far and away the best mark in the program’s storied 80-year existence) and is 166-58-1 (.740) in his 20 seasons of coaching at the collegiate level. Nielson, a three-time NSIC Coach of the Year honoree (2010, 2008 and 2002) whose first tour of duty with the Bulldogs ran from 19992003, was officially appointed to his old post on Jan. 3, 2008. (He continues to also serve as UMD’s athletic director, a position he’s held since 2003-04). During his five previous years with the Bulldogs, Nielson helped marshal the UMD program to new heights. In 2002,