St. Norbert Green Knights football
First season1931
Athletic directorCam Fuller
Head coachDan McCarty
8th season, 59–23 (.720)
StadiumSchneider Stadium
(capacity: 2,454)
LocationDe Pere, Wisconsin
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceNorthern Athletics Collegiate Conference
Playoff appearances13 (NCAA Div. III)
Conference titles19

2 Midlands Conference

17 Midwest Conference
ColorsGreen and gold[1]
   
Websiteathletics.snc.edu

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]

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.

Coaching history

St. 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 8 2015–present 59 23 0 .720

Conference affiliation

Championships

Conference championships

The 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

St. 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

NCAA Division III playoffs

St. Norbert has made the NCAA Division III playoff field 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

St. 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

In 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

  1. ↑ "Green Knights Identity". Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ "St. Norbert Green Knights". d3football.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ "About Football". St. Norbert College. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  4. ↑ "1946 Final Football Polls | College Poll Archive". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  5. ↑ "A long standing Packers training camp tradition could return next season". WGBA NBC 26 in Green Bay. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  6. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (September 1, 2016). "Lambeau Field Gives Football the Old College Try". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
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