The D2 preseason Top 25 is finally out (good thing, with games starting in less than two weeks) and the two teams who played for the National Championship last December are at the top of the poll. The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and the Delta State Statesmen are at number one and two, respectively, with perennial (but now Tjeerdsma-less) football power the Northwest Missouri Bearcats at number three.
The University of Sioux Falls Cougars, a team my readers Continue reading
Filed under college football
The Hutchinson Blue Dragons football team, fresh off last year’s 10-2 campaign and their second consecutive Salt City Bowl victory, are ranked number 6 in the NJCAA preseason football poll. Navarro College, the defending national champions (and not just in football – the Bulldogs won the NJCAA Division 1 World Series in June) have the top ranking. The Butler (KS) Grizzlies, Navarro’s opponent in Continue reading
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The Albany (GA) State Golden Rams, the defending National Champions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) football, are at the top of the Heritage Sports Preseason Poll. Last year Balladeer’s Blog’s readers were treated to many reports on the Golden Rams’ Dirty Blue Defense and Gold Rush O-Line all the way through the regular season into the D2 playoffs. The Fleeces (as I call them for short) were awarded 17 of a possible 20 First Place votes in the poll, with the Continue reading
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PURDUE UNIVERSITY CALUMET PEREGRINES
Location: Hammond, IN
Division: NAIA
Conference Affiliation: Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Major sports: basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country
Site: http://webs.purduecal.edu/athletics/
Comment: Peregrine Falcons are noted for their speed and the people of Peregrine Nation (See what I did there?) know that Continue reading
Filed under Cool names and cool logos
For the last six seasons in a row the Whitewater Warhawks and the Mount Union Purple Raiders have faced each other in the D3 championship game. Proving once again that the football gods love drama, the Yankees and Red Sox of D3 football have split those games 3-3. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that once again UWW and Mt Union are ranked at one and two in the preseason poll. The defending champion Warhawks are at the top of the poll (“Ma” – rimshot) with the Purple Raiders right behind them. No surprise at number three, either. The Wesley Woverines are still playing third banana to the Big Two. Last season even with home field advantage in Continue reading
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As the 2011 season approaches, the West Florida Argonauts men’s soccer team and their women’s volleyball team have been picked to continue their streaks of conference titles. The soccer team has been picked to take their sixth Gulf South Conference title in a row, the volleyball team to take their fourth straight crown.
On the soccer side the Christian Brothers Buccaneers and the Alabama- Huntsville Chargers were picked for Continue reading
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What football fan doesn’t love the coolness of the logo and the name of the Washington and Lee Generals? Here at Balladeer’s Blog that logo is the honorary 27th letter of the alphabet, forming a combined w and l sound like in “bowl” or “knowledge”. The Generals are the defending champions of the Continue reading
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YAVAPAI COLLEGE ROUGHRIDERS
Location: Prescott, AZ
Division: JUCO
Conference Affiliation: ACCAC
Major sports: basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball
Site: http://www.goroughriders.com/
Comment: What better way to kick off Frontierado holiday week than with a college whose teams have a western theme? The name Roughriders always conjures up Continue reading
Filed under Cool names and cool logos, FRONTIERADO
At the Media Day events for the Jayhawk Conference (Unofficial slogan: The greatest concentration of cool-named teams in college sports) the Hutchinson Blue Dragons were picked to finish second, behind perennial nemesis Butler (KS). The Blue Dragons are fresh off a 10-2 season and a Salt City Bowl victory over the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters. Will this be the year they Continue reading
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With the NFL strike officially over Free Agent signings have begun so the time seemed right to look at some of the Free Agents picked up from the divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers.
Since I’m starting with Giovanni Stanley of the Whittier College Poets (one of my Cool-Named Team of the Day entries from awhile back) that’s why the Poets’ logo is featured here. Stanley stayed on the west coast by Continue reading
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