The St. Norbert Green Knights football program is the intercollegiate American football team for St. Norbert College, located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and is a member of the Midwest Conference. St. Norbert's first football team was fielded in 1931. The team plays its home games at the 2,454-seat Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wisconsin.[2]
| St. Norbert Green Knights football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 1931 |
| Athletic director | Cam Fuller |
| Head coach | Dan McCarty 9th season, 66–26 (.717) |
| Stadium | Schneider Stadium (capacity: 2,454) |
| Location | De Pere, Wisconsin |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference |
| Playoff appearances | 13 (NCAA Div. III) |
| Conference titles | 19 2 Midlands Conference 17 Midwest Conference |
| Colors | Green and gold[1] |
| Website | athletics.snc.edu |
The Green Knights have been coached by Dan McCarty since 2015. He was the defensive coordinator until the previous Green Knights coach elected to resign from his position. McCarty previously coached the defense at the University of Wisconsin–Stout.[citation needed]
Coaching history
editSt. Norbert has had 11 head coaches in their history. No teams were fielded in 1943, 1944, or 1945 due to World War II. Additionally, no team was fielded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
| Coach | Seasons | Term | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Malevich | 3 | 1931–1933 | 4 | 9 | 3 | .344 |
| Mickey McCormick | 9 | 1934–1942 | 32 | 26 | 8 | .545 |
| Tom Hearden | 7 | 1946–1952 | 40 | 14 | 0 | .741 |
| Mel Nicks | 7 | 1953–1959 | 28 | 26 | 3 | .518 |
| Howard Kolstad | 19 | 1960–1978 | 96 | 76 | 5 | .556 |
| Larry Van Alstine | 4 | 1979–1982 | 10 | 28 | 0 | .263 |
| Don LaViolette | 11 | 1983–1993 | 59 | 43 | 1 | .578 |
| Greg Quick | 5 | 1994–1998 | 21 | 25 | 0 | .457 |
| Jim Purtill | 15 | 1999–2013 | 130 | 30 | 0 | .813 |
| Steve Opgenorth | 1 | 2014 | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 |
| Dan McCarty | 9 | 2015–present | 66 | 26 | 0 | .717 |
Conference affiliation
edit- Independent (1931–1946)
- Midlands Conference (1947–1953)
- Independent (1954–1983)
- Midwest Conference (1984–2020)
- Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (2021–present)
Championships
editConference championships
editThe Green Knights have won 19 conference championships (15 outright, 4 shared), despite being an Independent for 43 seasons. St. Norbert was a member of the Midlands Conference from 1947–1953, winning two championships in that time, which was tied for the most with Loras College before the conference disbanded. During a 36 season stint in the Midwest Conference, the Green Knights won the championship 17 times.
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Midlands Conference | Tom Hearden | 7–0 | 4–0 |
| 1952 | 6–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 1985† | Midwest Conference | Don LaViolette | 6–2–1 | 6–1 |
| 1987 | 7–3 | 6–1 | ||
| 1988 | 8–2 | 6–0 | ||
| 1989 | 8–3 | 6–0 | ||
| 1999 | Jim Purtill | 9–2 | 9–0 | |
| 2000 | 10–1 | 9–0 | ||
| 2001† | 8–2 | 7–1 | ||
| 2002† | 9–1 | 8–1 | ||
| 2003 | 11–1 | 9–0 | ||
| 2004 | 9–2 | 9–0 | ||
| 2006 | 10–1 | 9–0 | ||
| 2007 | 10–1 | 9–0 | ||
| 2010 | 7–4 | 7–2 | ||
| 2012† | 8–3 | 8–1 | ||
| 2013 | 8–3 | 8–1 | ||
| 2015 | Dan McCarty | 10–1 | 5–0 | |
| 2018 | 10–2 | 5–0 |
† Co-champions
Undefeated regular seasons
editSt. Norbert has finished the regular season undefeated nine times. Of the undefeated seasons, four (1946, 1950, 1952, 1957) were before there was a postseason to determine a champion. In the playoff era, the Green Knights finished the regular season undefeated five times (2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2015) before ultimately losing a game in the playoffs. In 1946, St. Norbert received votes in the final AP Poll to finish the season ranked #29 in all of college football, right behind Northwestern and just ahead of Kentucky.[4]
| Year | Coach | Regular season record | Final record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Tom Hearden | 8–0 | 8–0 |
| 1950 | 7–0 | 7–0 | |
| 1952 | 6–0 | 6–0 | |
| 1957 | Mel Nicks | 8–0 | 8–0 |
| 2000 | Jim Purtill | 10–0 | 10–1 |
| 2003 | 10–0 | 11–1 | |
| 2006 | 10–0 | 10–1 | |
| 2007 | 10–0 | 10–1 | |
| 2015 | Dan McCarty | 10–0 | 10–1 |
Postseason games
editNCAA Division III playoffs
editSt. Norbert has made the NCAA Division III playoff 13 times, with the first appearance being in 1989. The Green Knights have advanced to the second round on two occasions, the first time in 2003 after a double overtime victory over Simpson College by a score of 26–20, and most recently in 2018 after a 31–7 win over Trine University.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | First Round | Central (IA) | L, 7–55 | 8–3 |
| 1999 | First Round | Augustana (IL) | L, 32–39 | 9–2 |
| 2000 | First Round | Central (IA) | L, 14–28 | 10–1 |
| 2001 | First Round | Saint John's (MN) | L, 20–27 | 8–2 |
| 2003 | First Round | Simpson | W, 26–20 2OT | 11–1 |
| Second Round | Saint John's (MN) | L, 13–38 | ||
| 2004 | First Round | Wisconsin–La Crosse | L, 23–37 | 9–2 |
| 2006 | First Round | Wisconsin–Whitewater | L, 17–59 | 10–1 |
| 2007 | First Round | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | L, 20–24 | 10–1 |
| 2010 | First Round | North Central (IL) | L, 7–57 | 7–4 |
| 2012 | First Round | St. Thomas (MN) | L, 17–48 | 8–3 |
| 2013 | First Round | Wisconsin–Whitewater | L, 7–31 | 8–3 |
| 2015 | First Round | Wisconsin–Whitewater | L, 0–48 | 10–1 |
| 2018 | First Round | Trine | W, 31–7 | 10–2 |
| Second Round | Wisconsin–Whitewater | L, 21–54 |
Facilities
editSt. Norbert has hosted the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League for their preseason training camp since 1958, the longest partnership between a professional team and a college in NFL history. During the Covid–19 Pandemic this relationship was put on hold, but the hope for both parties is to have it resume in the near future.[5] In the 1980s and 1990s as many as five other NFL teams used campuses across Wisconsin and Minnesota for training camp in what was known as the Cheese League.
Lambeau Field games
editIn 1982 and 1983, St. Norbert hosted Fordham, Vince Lombardi's alma mater, in two tilts, benefiting the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation at Lambeau Field.[6] The first was held on November 20, 1982 and the second on November 19, 1983. The first game, a 14–10 St. Norbert win, drew 5,119 people. The second game, an 18–9 St. Norbert win, drew 842 people.
References
edit- ^ "Green Knights Identity". Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- ^ "St. Norbert Green Knights". d3football.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ^ "About Football". St. Norbert College. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ^ "1946 Final Football Polls | College Poll Archive". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ "A long standing Packers training camp tradition could return next season". WGBA NBC 26 in Green Bay. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (September 1, 2016). "Lambeau Field Gives Football the Old College Try". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2016.