Valparaíso is a major city, commune, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the Valparaíso Region, Chile.
The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis, in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Missouri Valley Conference is the fourth-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is an independent Lutheran university with five undergraduate colleges and a graduate school. It enrolls nearly 2,900 students and has a 350-acre (140 ha) campus.
Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their games there since 1931 after moving from Barrio Puerto.
Everton de Viña del Mar is a Chilean football club based in the city of Viña del Mar.
The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports except football, bowling, and men's swimming.
Frederick Charles "Fuzzy" Thurston was an American professional football player who was a offensive guard for the Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Valparaiso.
The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
Mike Gravier is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Hug High School in Reno, Nevada, a position he had held since 2019. Gravier served as the head football coach at Malone College—now known as Malone University—in Canton, Ohio, from 1995 to 1998 and at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia, in 2012. He was also the interim head football coach at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, for the final game of the 2013 season.
The Valparaiso Beacons football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Valparaiso University located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). Valparaiso's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the 5,000-seat Brown Field in Valparaiso, Indiana. Landon Fox has served as the team's head coach since 2019. Valparaiso was known as the Crusaders through the 2019 season.
Dale Carlson is an American football coach and former college player. He served as the head football coach at Lakeland College—now known as Lakeland University—in Plymouth, Wisconsin, from 1987 to 1989, Taylor University from 1990 to 1993, Tri-State University—now known as Trine University—from 1995 to 2002, Ohio Dominican University from 2003 to 2009, and Valparaiso University from 2010 to 2013, and Lindenwood University – Belleville from 2015 to 2016. In 2021, Carlson was the wide receivers coach for the Linemen of the Spring League.
The Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) was a men's college athletic conference in the United States, in existence from 1950 to 1978. It consisted solely of schools in Indiana.
Álvaro E. Betancourt is a Puerto Rican retired international footballer who played as a midfielder. He appeared at the senior level for High Performance FC, Conquistadores de Guaynabo, Bayamón, and Metropolitan FA, split around a two-year stint at Valparaiso University.
The 2013 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dale Carlson and played their home games at Brown Field. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in PFL play to finish in a tie for ninth place.
Jacobi Melius Alton Christiansen was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Valparaiso University from 1929 to 1940 and at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota from 1941 to 1968, compiling a career college football record of 175–92–15. Christiansen's 1964 Concordia team tied with Sam Houston State in the NAIA National title game. Christiansen is one of the few college football coaches to have coached in a stadium named after himself.
The 2017 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They competed in the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in PFL play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. The Crusaders had a winning season for the first time since 2003 and had five league wins for the first time since 1961.
The 2020 Valparaiso University football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Landon Fox and played their home games at Brown Field. They competed in the Pioneer Football League.
