The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) has announced the updated football schedules for fall.
The NSAA said they will extend the seven-game conference schedule to 9 games this season. This comes in response to the NAIA recently announcing the football season would be condensed from 11 games to just 9.
Waldorf Head Football Coach – Will Finley
Football wasn’t the only sport that took a hit to its schedule. The NAIA, on recommendation from presidents and AD’s, also shortened the seasons for volleyball and soccer.
“The NAIA’s announcement on the reduction of regular-season contests from 11 to 9 signaled a need for us to examine our schedule options for each North Star football program. The uncertainty of some non-conference opponents’ commitment to returning to face-to-face instruction or their own limitations, necessitated a need for us to create a stable 9-game North Star schedule.” – North Star Athletic Association conference commissioner Cory Anderson.
In the release, the NSAA said that all 9 regular-season games will count towards the conference standing and will determine which program will be granted the conference’s bid to the postseason.
Waldorf Head Football Coach – Will Finley
Dickinson State University has earned that automatic bid for the past five seasons. Both Waldorf and Valley City State University have given the Blue Hawks a run in the standing, but DSU has found a way to escape and dominate the conference over the past half-decade.
The seven originally scheduled conference games will stay in place for Waldorf University. The two conference additions for the Warriors are road trips to Mayville State University (N.D.) on September 12th and Valley City State (N.D.) on September 19th. The Warriors will turn around and play the Comets and Vikings again on October 10th and October 17th in Forest City. Under the original NSAA format, each conference school played two other conference schools twice. Under the new format, with the original games staying in-tact, each NSAA member will play four of the other five member schools twice. Dickinson State University will be the lone conference member that the Warriors will only meet once this season. The decision on who plays who twice was determined by who each team wasn’t already playing twice and then by travel distance.
Finley says the Warriors will get an extra week of practice to prepare for the season under this new format. He says that will be helpful with no spring ball to prepare for the upcoming season, his first as a head coach.
Date Opponent Away/Home
Sept. 12 at Mayville State Away
Sept. 19 at Valley City State Away
SEPT. 26 PRESENTATION HOME
Oct. 3 at Dakota State Away
OCT. 10 MAYVILLE STATE HOME
OCT. 17 VALLEY CITY STATE HOME
Oct. 24 at Dickinson State Away
Oct. 31 at Presentation Away
NOV. 7 DAKOTA STATE HOME
