The Grand Valley State Lakers football team represents Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in NCAA Division II football. The team currently competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was once affiliated with the now defunct Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference. The Lakers football team has appeared in six NCAA Division II national title games, winning four championships, since 2001. The team has made the playoffs in 20 seasons. They have also won or shared 17 conference titles.
Dusty Bonner is a former American football quarterback. He was a standout Harlon Hill Trophy winner in 2000 and 2001 while playing for Valdosta State University and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 by the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).
Christopher J. Greisen is a former American football quarterback who played professionally the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys and current coach for West De Pere High School. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He also was a member of the Rhein Fire, Green Bay Blizzard, Dallas Desperados, Georgia Force, Florida Tuskers, Milwaukee Iron, and Virginia Destroyers. He played college football at Northwest Missouri State University.
Germaine Race is a former American football running back. He was originally signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Pittsburg State, earning All-American honors three times. Race played professionally in Austrian Football League (AFL) in 2010.
Garin Higgins is an American football college coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, a position he has held since 2007. Higgins previously served as the head football coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from 2000 to 2004. His Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers finished as runners-up in the NAIA Football National Championship in 2000 and 2003. Higgins worked as co-offensive coordinator at Minnesota State University, Mankato and offensive coordinator at Northeastern State University in 2006.
The Emporia State Hornets are the athletic teams that represent Emporia State University (ESU). The women's basketball and softball teams use the name Lady Hornets. The university's athletic program fields 15 varsity teams in 11 sports all of whom have combined to win 50 conference championships as well as three national championships. Corky the Hornet serves as the mascot representing the teams, and the school colors are black and gold. Emporia State participates in the NCAA Division II and has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) since 1991.
The Emporia State Hornets football program is a college football team that represents Emporia State University, often referred to as "Emporia State" or "ESU". The team competes as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which is a conference in the Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1897 and has fifteen conference titles. On December 15, 2006, former Hornet quarterback Garin Higgins became the team's 24th head coach, following the resignation of Dave Wiemers. Home games are played on Jones Field at Welch Stadium, located on the Emporia State University campus in Emporia, Kansas. In August 2017, Hero Sports named Emporia State the "best football team in Kansas, regardless of division."
The 2008 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on August 30, 2008, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 15, 2008, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs defeated the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, 21–14, to win their first Division II national title.
Eric Czerniewski is an American football quarterback who won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in the NCAA Division II in 2010 in his senior year at the University of Central Missouri.
Will Hall is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi. Hall served as the head football coach at the University of West Alabama from 2011 to 2013 and at the University of West Georgia 2014 to 2016. He also served as offensive coordinator for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2017. He grew up in Mississippi and attended the University of North Alabama where he played quarterback from 2002 to 2003. He won the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2003. He began his coaching career in 2004 and held assistant coaching positions at Presbyterian, Henderson State, Southwest Baptist, Arkansas-Monticello and West Alabama.
Zach Zulli is a former indoor American football quarterback. He played college football for the Shippensburg Red Raiders from 2009 to 2013. Zulli won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in the NCAA Division II in 2012 in his junior year at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
The 2014 Emporia State Hornets football team represented Emporia State University in the 2014 NCAA Division II football season. The Hornets played their home games on Jones Field at Francis G. Welch Stadium, in Emporia, Kansas as they have done since 1937. 2014 was the 121st season in school history. The Hornets were led by head coach Garin Higgins, who finished his 14th overall season, and eighth overall at Emporia State. Emporia State is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Brian Shay is a former American football running back, who played for the Emporia State Hornets from 1995 to 1998. While at Emporia State, Shay broke various NCAA records and was the Harlon Hill Trophy winner in 1998. Shay is one of the all-time rushing leaders in the NCAA Division II.
The 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos completed their regular season undefeated and won the MAC West Division title. The Broncos finished conference play defeating the Ohio Bobcats 29–23 in the 2016 MAC Championship Game, winning the school's first MAC championship title since 1988. WMU received an invitation to the 2017 Cotton Bowl as the highest rated Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff (CFP). It was the first major-bowl appearance in school history. The Broncos also won 10 games in a season for the first time in their 111-year football history. They lost to the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers in the New Years Six bowl game, 24–16.
Luis Francisco Perez is an American football quarterback for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, he played junior college football at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California. He was awarded the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2017 as the best football player in NCAA Division II and led the Lions to their second national championship in football during the 2017 season, their first since 1972. He most recently won the 2023 XFL Championship with the Arlington Renegades. Perez was named MVP of the Championship Game, leading the Renegades to a 35–26 victory over the D.C. Defenders.
Bryce Young is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, setting the school record for most passing yards in a single game (559) and winning several player of the year awards in 2021, including the Heisman Trophy. Young was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Skylar John Thompson is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kansas State and was drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Kasim Ajani Hill is an American former college football quarterback. He played for Maryland, Tennessee, and Rhode Island.
James Zebrowski is an American college football coach. He is the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Kansas; a position he has held since 2023. He was the head football coach for Lakeland College—now knows as Lakeland University—from 2003 to 2006. He also coached for Preble Shawnee High School, Berea High School, Southern Illinois, Millikin, Wisconsin–Whitewater, Northern Illinois, Minnesota, Hamline, and Buffalo. He played college football for Mount Union as a quarterback.
The 2023 Central Missouri Mules football represented the University of Central Missouri as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association during the 2023 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 2nd-year head coach Josh Lamberson, the Mules compiled an overall record of 11–2 with a mark of 9–1 in conference play; sharing the MIAA championship.
