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SATURDAY: The 2013 football season gets underway with a bang when the University of Mary hosts second-ranked and Northern Sun defending champion Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Marauders and Mavericks meet at the MDU Resources Bowl at 2:30 PM on Saturday, September 7.

THE RECORDS
This is the season opener for both teams. In 2012 the Marauders finished 4-7 overall and in the Northern Sun and 1-6 in the NSIC North... The Mavericks advanced to the NCAA semifinals and finished 13-1 overall, including an 11-0 mark in NSIC play and 7-0 in the NSIC South to claim both titles.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders closed out the 2012 season with a 37-36 loss to the University of Minnesota Crookston on the final play of the game... The Mavericks lost 35-19 to Valdosta State in the NCAA semi-finals.

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 4-7 overall in the NSIC and 1-6 in the NSIC North… MSU finished 13-1 overall, 11-0 in the NSIC and 7-0 in the NSIC South.

NEW LOOK
This is the first game for the Marauders in the freshly-named and newly renovated MDU Recources Bowl. With the addition of two locker rooms, U-Mary, along with all the main tenants, now has its own designated locker room that will be decorated in Marauders colors. The $8 million in upgrades also includes a new video board, resurfacing of the track, a reconditioning of the turf, the addition of a training facility and a storage building. The spectator facility on the north side of the field - including concessions, restrooms, ten suites, a pressbox and coaching booths - is scheduled for completion by November 1.

HEAD COACHES
U-Mary's all-time winningest head coach, Myron Schulz owns a record of 97-54 in his 15th season at the helm of the Marauders. Synonymous with Marauders football, Schulz has been a member of U-Mary's coaching staff in 23 of the program's 26 seasons. He has directed the squad to six national tournament appearances and four conference titles. His teams owned a streak of nine straight winning seasons and the Marauders are 73-37 in conference games. Since starting the transition to the NCAA in 2005, U-Mary is 42-43. The Marauders are 28-32 in Northern Sun contests... Minnesota State University, Mankato is led by interim head coach Aaron Keen, who was named the NSIC Coach of the Year and the AFCA regional coach of the year after leading the Mavericks to the NSIC title and the NCAA semifinals. Hired as the MSU offensive cordinator before the 2012 season, Keen was named the interim head coach during fall camp when head coach Todd Hoffner was suspended after getting embroiled in legal issues. Leading up to last year Keen had spent three seasons at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Before that he was the head coach at Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL, for five years and was an assistant coach at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., from 1994-2002. During his time at Illinois College, Keen was 23-27 as a head coach.

FINAL SEASON FOR SCHULZ
Marauders Head Coach Myron Schulz, the man most associated with University of Mary football and the longest-tenured coach in school history, is resigning his head coaching position effective at the end of the 2013 season. Entering his 15th season at the helm of the Marauders football team, Schulz will become a faculty member in U-Mary's Gary Tharaldson School of Business. As U-Mary prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary of Marauders football, Schulz starts his 23rd season as a member of the squad's coaching staff. His 97 wins are more than any other U-Mary head football coach. Schulz directed his teams to four conference crowns and six playoff appearances while posting nine straight winning seasons at the start of his tenure. Schulz will start his teaching duties at the completion of the football season. A search for a replacement will begin later in the fall with hopes to have a new coach in place shortly after the end of the 2013 schedule.

FOLLOW LIVE
MARAUDERS FOOTBALL IS ON THE RADIO! If you can't be at Saturday's game, there are several other ways to follow the Marauders. Rick Anthony and Jeff Groseclose will broadcast the game on KFYR 550 AM. The game is also streamed online at www.kfyr.com.
 
VIDEO STREAMING: Free video streaming of Marauders home and Northern Sun games is available via Stretch Internet at www.GoUMary.com.
 
LIVE STATS: Live stats for this Saturday's game are available online at www.GoUMary.com

MARAUDERS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: Every Sunday, catch highlights of home and away games on Marauders Weekly. Originating from KFYR-TV in Bismarck, ND, the 30-minute Marauders Weekly will air Sunday nights at 10:35 PM following The Night Report across the NBC North Dakota Sports Network (KFYR-TV, KMOT-TV in Minot, KUMV-TV in Williston, and KQCD-TV in Dickinson). Hosted by Sports Director Lee Timmerman with reports from the road by Alec Ausmus, Marauders Weekly can also be viewed online at www.kfyrtv.com/video_marauders.asp.
 
TICKETS: Game tickets for Marauders home games are available at the door. Adult tickets are $8 while seniors, college students and youth 18 years old and younger are $4. U-Mary students with their M-card and children 5 and under are free. The northeast, east and upper southwest ticket booths will be open for Marauders games.

SOUTH SIDE
For the second straight season the Marauders will occupy the south sidelines of the MDU Resources Bowl. The spectator facility being built on the north side - which includes expanded restrooms, increased concessions area, 10 suites and a press/media area - will not be completed until November.
 

THE MARAUDERS-MAVERICKS SERIES HISTORY
The Marauders and the Mavericks are meeting for just the third time. The two teams first squarded off in 2008, the first year that MSU was a member of the Northern Sun. The Mavericks earned a 40-0 win at home. The two squads met again th efollowing season with MSU claiming a 35-14 win over U-Mary in Bismarck. The Marauders opened the scoring when Tyler Steffan caught a 12 yard touchdown pass from Henry Lau in the first quarter. The Mavericks then rolled off 28 straight points before the Marauders got back on the board when Terry Newsome caught another Lau scoring strike.

PAST MARAUDERS-MAVERICKS MEETINGS
2008        Minnesota State 40        U-Mary   0        Mankato, MN
2009        Minnesota State 35         U-Mary 14        Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT MINNESOTA STATE
One of the top teams in the nation last season and projected to be a national title contender, Minnesota State University won its first 13 games of the season until falling to Valdosta State 35-19 in the NCAA semifinals. Nationally in 2012 the Mavericks finished fourth in turnover margin (1.36), seventh in rushing defense (93.21) and total defense (28.593), 14th in scoring defense (17.93), 16th in rushing offense (235.07) and 21st in pass efficiency defense (107.32). MSU returns its top four rushers from a season ago, including sophomore Connor Thomas, who led the team with 938 yards on the ground.
The Mavericks also welcome back senior quarterback Jon Wolf who threw for 1,755 passing yards and 17 touchdowns last season. He also ran for 10 scores. On defense, MSU returns three of its top five tacklers, including junior Kris Fleigle, who boasted a team-high 73 tackles in 2012. The Mavericks also return senior DL Chris Schaudt, who led the team in sacks with 11.5 last season and is considered one of the top players in the country.

LAST SEASON
The Marauders opened last season with three straight wins but injuries to quarterback Craig Bagnell and numerous players on both sides of the ball took its toll as U-Mary went 1-7 down the stretch. Several Marauders earned post-season awards, including DE John Oyloe and WR Elby Pope, both named to the Don Hansen All-Region Team. Additionally, LB Grant Singer and P Tyler Ryan joined Pope and Oyloe on the All-NSIC North first team, OG Ben Kringstad claimed second team honors and LB Mikey Ingemansen, WR Tyler Steffan and PK Ryan garnered honoarable mention honors.   
 
VETERANS
The Marauders return a veteran group in 2013, including 47 letter winners. The team lost just nine seniors off last year's squad. Due to lineup shuffling caused by extensive injuries, 24 Marauders return who saw at least one start last year.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Entering his fourth season as the U-Mary starting querterback, Craig Bagnell has the opportunity to hold all the major career passing records at U-Mary. He is currently in second in passing yardage and completions and fourth in touchdown passes. Another four-year starter and Marauders Hall of Fame quarterback Chris Schwab (1996-99) holds all three of thios marks. Schwab leads Bagnell 7,786 to 6,401 in passing yards, holds a 607 to 505 edge in completions, and threw 73 career touchdown passes to 52 for Bagnell.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS II
John Oyloe also has a chance to Move into the top career slot in tackles for loss and sacks. The senior is second in tackles for loss, trailing Brooks Laber (2001-05) with 38.5. Oyloe is sixth in sacks with 19, a category led by David St. Clair (1998-99) with 30.

STEPPING FORWARD
In his first year in a starting role, WR Elby Pope (Grand Forks, ND) earned all-region and all-conference honors as a sophomore in 2012. He caught 63 passes for 977 yards and seven touchdowns to finish third in the NSIC in pass receptions per game and receiving yardage per game. Additionally, Pope posted 1,527 yards of all pupose yardage,  which was fifth in the league per game. Five times during the 2011 season Pope cracked 100 yards receiving:
9-22-12 vs. Winona State                8 catches -    117 yards - 0 TD
9-29-12 at Minot State                        7 catches -    154 yards - 1 TD
10-6-12 vs. Bemidji State            10 catches -     123 yards - 1 TD
10-27-12 vs. Northern State      7 catches -     109 yards - 1 TD
11-10-12 vs. UMC                                5 catches -  143 yards - 1 TD

BIG PLAY DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator John Kelling directed a high pressure-style defense in his first season with the Marauders. U-Mary led the Northern Sun in sacks in 2012 with 2.82 per game while ranking 20th in NCAA Division II. U-Mary was fourth in the NSIC and 32nd in the NCAA in tackles for loss with 7.5 per game.Three Marauders defenders earned all-conference honors in 2012. Sophomore LB Grant Singer and junior DE John Oyloe garnered first team accolades and senior LB Mikey Ingemansen was named to the honorable mention. Oyloe was third in the NSIC in sacks with 10 and Ingemansen and Singer ranked fifth with six sacks each. Another linebacker, sophomore Troy Guptill, was ninth in sacks with five and ranked sixth in tackles for loss with 14.5.

WELCOME BACK
Three former Marauders coaches are back in the fold this season. Scott Edwards begins his second stint as the University of Mary offensive coordinator in 2013. He initially ran the Marauders offense from 1998-2001, including the first three seasons Myron Schulz was the U-Mary head coach (1999-2001).During Edwards' four seasons at U-Mary, the Marauders compiled a record of 35-9, captured three conference titles and advanced to the NAIA playoffs all four seasons. In addition to coordinating the offensive attack he also coached the Marauders offensive line and tight ends. In the first year Schulz and Edwards worked together as head coach and offensive coordinator in 1999, the Marauders set school single season offensive records in rushing yards (2,729), rushing touchdowns (32), total touchdowns (65) and total points (460). For the last six seasons Edwards was the head football coach at Bret Harte High School in Angels Camp, CA, where he also taught physical education... An offensive lineman on the Marauders 1999 NAIA national semifinal team, Robert Fuller last coached at U-Mary in 2007 after spending five seasons working with the Marauders offensive and defensive lines and tight ends. Fuller has also coached several seasons in the Indoor Football Leage and was the IFL Head Coach of the Year in 2011 for the Fairbanks Grizzlies and 2012 for the Green Bay Blizzard... Jeff Podzimek, who played for the Marauders from 1997-99 and also coached at U-Mary, is reunited with both Fuller and Edwards. Podzimek is coaching the Marauders tight ends this season.

NSIC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM RETURNERS
The Marauders return nine of their 17 2012 NSIC All-Academic Team selections. All nine are starters for the Marauders: Troy Guptill, Kyle Holetz, Nick Jolliffe, Tylar Kist, Michael Mortenson, John Oyloe, Nik Polski, Andrew Richter and Grant Singer.

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