THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL… Upper Iowa football kicks off their season against former NSIC foe Concordia, St. Paul at Sea Foam Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2021.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans that can't make it to St. Paul, Minn. for the game in person have several options to follow along in real time. Live stats and a webcast are available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, the game can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/cspbears or through the NSIC Network app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions.
 
ABOUT THE GLVC (Courtesy of GLVC Communications) ...The GLVC is comprised of 14 NCAA Division II member institutions, spanning four Midwest states (Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana). At one point over the past decade, the league grew to 17 members and was the largest athletic conference in the country in any division. Although formed and developed as one of the nation's premier NCAA Division II basketball conferences, the GLVC now sponsors 24 championship sports.


 
INSIDER REPORT ON THE GOLDEN BEARS (Courtesy of CSP Communications) ... "There is a lot of motivation within the CSP football program after a couple challenging years," said CSP's Head Coach Shannon Currier.  "We added 12 transfers to some young starters that are returning from last season. We return seven starters on defense and eight on offense, in addition to all specialists returning. We believe this combination will make a positive impact on the 2023 season." The Golden Bears were voted 11th in the 2023 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll after a 1-10 conference mark last year. They shared their only triumph of the season with Upper Iowa, as both groups defeated Minot State for their only conference win. 
 
QUOTES FROM COACH… "As soon as we completed last season, our kids didn't break stride," said Head Coach Jason Hoskins. "The entire staff began prepping our student-athletes and everyone started putting in the work for next year."
 
"The GLVC is a great league and we are happy to be a part of it," noted Hoskins. "We are an extremely young football team that played 17 true freshmen in the last two years. With a couple seasons under their belts now, the guys are starting to mature and understand what it means to play championship level football." 
 
PRESEASON POLL…The Great Lakes Valley Conference released the 2023 Football Preseason Coaches' Poll and Upper Iowa was selected seventh in their debut campaign with the GLVC.  The Peacock football team closed the 2022 season with a 1-10 mark. Their win came at home against Minot State University as UIU outscored their guests 33-22.  The team is prepped and ready to get back into Harms-Eischeid Stadium this fall under the leadership of fourth-year Head Coach Jason Hoskins. 
 
The University of Indianapolis was voted first in the preseason coaches' poll as the unanimous choice to win the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) football title. 
 
NOTABLE DATES…Mark your calendars, folks, because there are several days to be aware of this football season with the Peacocks. The team's home opener is scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 9 at 3 p.m., which is also Hall of Fame weekend in Fayette. Homecoming is set for Oct. 14 as the Peacocks take on GLVC opponent McKendree University. Lastly, Senior Day is etched in the books for Nov. 11 against Quincy University to wrap up the regular season. 
 
LAST TIME THEY MET… The last battle between these two teams was Sep. of 2021, when Concordia trumped Upper Iowa in a score of 24-6. Concordia-St. Paul got on the scoreboard early in the second period on the team's first interception which was returned to the Upper Iowa 10-yard line. The home team needed just three plays to cover the 10 yards and score the first touchdown of the game. The Golden Bears added a second touchdown prior to half thanks to a five-play, 82-yard drive that was highlighted by a 35-yard pass. CSP took their 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The only score of the third quarter came on a 38-yard field goal by the Golden Bears.
 
The Peacocks got back deep into Golden Bear territory to open the fourth quarter under backup quarterback Marcus Orr, but down 17-0, the Peacocks turned the ball over on downs after failing on a fourth down attempt. Concordia-St. Paul scored their final touchdown on the ensuing possession on the back of a nine-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by a 33-yard pass. Upper Iowa scored their lone touchdown with just under three minutes to play in the game. They went for two after the score, but the pass was incomplete.
 
THE SERIES… The first meeting between the Peacocks and the Golden Bears dates all the way back to Oct. of 2007, when CSP came out on top in a 20-17 final. UIU was winless in the series until 2012 when their first victory was earned by a four-point margin with a final score of 28-24. They had a three-game win streak against Concordia from the years 2015-2018, which included their largest margin of victory 52-20. Upper Iowa has dropped the last three contests (2018-2021, and are in search of breaking the streak in tonight's matchup. 
 
DOWN THE ROAD… Upper Iowa hosts their home opener next Saturday Sep. 9 at 3 p.m. versus Saint Ambrose University.