1. Foster Field - UNK - Seats around 6,000. If you've watched a Kearney High game, you've been there. Its a beautiful facility. They will need it too. The MIAA is relentless.



2. Bulldog Stadium - Concordia University - The football played there is bad, but the facility is beautiful.



3. Tom Osborne Sports Complex - Hastings College - The Press Box is great, but they need something identifiable on the actual facade. This facility would be the best, but their playing surface needs to be replaced.



4. Elliot Field - Chadron State- The House that Don Beebe built was renovated when Danny Woodhead brought national fame to the school. Its easily the nicest Natural Grass field in the state of Nebraska. I love this pic, because this is what the stadium looks like for roughly 5 months out of the year... lol:



5. Memorial Stadium - Midland University in Fremont - Eh... its spacious, but the Press box looks strange with tan vinyl siding.



6. Cunningham Field - Wayne State- The stadium is decent. I like the new premium seating they added. But overall its too small. I don't think people should be forced to stand at a D-II college football game. The seating capacity of 2,500 is the smallest D-II capacity in the region.



7. Abel Stadium - Nebraska Wesleyan - Stadium design is for lack of a better term.... strange. It's almost like the incline of the stadium steps was built at roughly a 60 degree angle. It almost feels like you are going straight up when you walk up the steps. Press Box is tiny:




8. Simon Field - Doane College - Press Box and Stands leave a lot to be desired. New Field Turf is nice- The quality of football has improved dramatically in the last year though.




9. Oak Bowl - Peru State - The state legislature announced a 7.6 million dollar allocation today to build Peru State a new stadium. They will need it since they're now in the HAAC, the toughest NAIA football conference. At this point though, the Oak Bowl is a terrible venue to watch a bad team play bad football:




Other great venues from our region:

Korver Field - Northwestern College, Orange City, IA - This school has great facilities all around. They are a GPAC school and have a ton of tradition. Routinely get around 5,000 fans for games:




Elwood Oleson Field - Morningside College in Sioux City. This stadium is pretty nice and has a lot of history, but its also TOO big. It seats 10,000, but even if you draw 5,000 people, which is a great crowd for an NAIA game, it still looks empty:



Larry Wilcox Stadium - Benedictine College in Atchison, KS - IMO there is no better place to watch a college football game than this venue. It is an amazing stadium tucked into a gorgeous and historic campus on the bluffs of the Missouri River. They routinely get 5,000 people for games. Amazing football tradition as well. Easily the best Catholic Small College football program in the Midwest.



Liston Stadium - Baker University in Baldwin City, KS - This place produces a very fun Environment. There is a big tailgating tradition here. Also, the team enters the stadium from underneath the stadium, similar to Michigan. So they actually come out onto the field along the 50 yard line.

Peru State lost to Baker and Benedictine last year by a combined score of 102-28. So they have a ways to go before they will ever be competitive in the HAAC.



D-II South Dakota Schools, both in the Northern Sun Conference with Wayne State. Coincidentally, both programs are in Sioux Falls. Both are awesome.

University of Sioux Falls - Former NAIA power has moved to D-II. They already have vastly superior facilities than Wayne State, who's been D-II for decades.



Augustana University - This facility is only two years old. But is fantastic. They used to be a D-II bottom feeder, but two years ago they went to the D-II Semifinals before losing to the eventual National Champs.






NW Missouri State - This place is awesome. Its easy to see why they are most dominant D-II football program in the country over the last 15 years:



Washburn - Yaeger Stadium - I love the design of this place because it sits in a bowl. The press box is awesome:



Missouri Western- There stadium is ok, but there new indoor facility which is now the Preseason Training Camp for the Kansas City Chiefs is amazing.



No other D-II program in the country has an indoor practice facility this nice:




The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, MO is another MIAA school which UNK will need to compete with. This place is impressive:



And last but not least...

I wouldn't call Pitt State in Nebraska's Region. Even though, theyre in Kansas, they're basically on the Oklahoma and Missouri borders. They are a LONG ways south of Nebraska. But their football stadium is Incredible. Pictures don't do it justice. Its a bigger venue than 75% of the FCS stadiums, and their attendance is also higher than most FCS programs. Oh, and they are the reigning NCAA D-II National Champs. Good luck competing with them in the MIAA UNK.... ouch:







I think UNK is going to struggle competing in the MIAA. They have a nice facility, but they really need to make a financial committment to full scholarships like the rest of that league.

Wayne State actually does ok considering they are behind in facilities within the Northern Sun. I actually believe UNK could really become a perennial favorite in the NSIC if they were able to build a new stadium. They do have a great weight room.

Chadron State has found their niche, and they will always be competitive in the RMAC. However, their coach is being investigated by the NCAA. If sanctions come down on the program, there is no telling what could happen to the program.

The Nebraska GPAC schools are holding their own from a facilities standpoint. However, they struggle to consistently compete with Morningside and Northwestern because of the Nebraska D-II's and the MIAA schools coming into SouthEastern Nebraska. The Iowa GPAC schools have a lot more kids to choose from and only one D-II college football team in the whole state of Iowa... and its a terrible program.

Peru State's challenges are simple. Even with the new facility being built, it still won't change the fact they're trying to recruit kids to the middle of pasture surrounded by some cornfields and bordered by a River.

If you're a high school kid and you're being recruited by these schools or have a chance to walk on at NU. My advice to you is the following:

Go where you have the best chance to play football, and choose a school where winning is routine. If you have the chance to play at an FCS school which loses a lot of games or a D-II winner, go to the D-II winner. If you have the chance to play for an NAIA winner or a D-II perennial loser, go to the NAIA school and win. Winning is fun. If you are being recruited by a team which has lost games historically but they have a new coach or a coach you trust can change that school into a winner, then go to that program.

Thanks Cornicator. That was interesting to see all those stadiums.

One of the coolest post I've seen on these boards. Goodjob.

Nice job !!

I, too, think this is one of the best posts on this site. I know there is a helmet project out there where you can see all the different types of Nebraska high school football helmets, which is amazing. How sweet would it be to include a picture of all the stadiums/football fields in Nebraska? I understand it would be a huge task, however, it'd be cool when the project is finished.

Thanks for posting this, Cornicator.

There is a coach in N.E Nebraska that has started collecting photos of high school fields. Has about 100 of them now. They are pretty neat.

Nice job Cornicator!

Regarding WSC.....they did just add a video board to their facility and I believe they are also planning a FieldTurf installation in the very near future.

That's good news for Wayne State. I think they are extremely well coached. It will be interesting to see how Wayne can recruit with the University of Sioux Falls now in their backyard.

Its clearly more expensive to attend school at USF, but they have a tremendous coaching staff, outstanding facilities, and loads of tradition and support.

It will be vital for Wayne to keep kids in state if they want to remain competitive.

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Originally posted by Cornicator:
That's good news for Wayne State. I think they are extremely well coached. It will be interesting to see how Wayne can recruit with the University of Sioux Falls now in their backyard.

Its clearly more expensive to attend school at USF, but they have a tremendous coaching staff, outstanding facilities, and loads of tradition and support.

It will be vital for Wayne to keep kids in state if they want to remain competitive.

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Dan McLaughlin is doing an oustanding job at Wayne State. This fall might be one of his best teams yet.

Thanks for taking the time to put together. This, and the basketball one, were quite enjoyable!!

Great Post! You gotta love the stadiums up in Sioux Falls. I never saw a picture of Peru's Oak Bowl, but it did not look very pretty that is for sure.

Cornicator, quick question?
Did you do this all yourself or did you find it somewhere? And if you did, Hastings College just got brand new turf over the summer and it makes the place look 10x better. Very good list though

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Originally posted by AnyGivenSaturday:
Cornicator, quick question?
Did you do this all yourself or did you find it somewhere? And if you did, Hastings College just got brand new turf over the summer and it makes the place look 10x better. Very good list though

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I did this all by myself, and that's awesome about Hastings receiving new turf. I wasn't aware, thanks for the information.

Hastings is an enigma. They've had some steady success, but should be competing better Nationally, like they were back in the 90's under Cotton and Els. If Hastings wants to consistenly win the GPAC and potentially return to national prominence they will need to show a willingness to accept D-I/JUCO transfers and be more proactive with their national recruiting. Its not a knock on Nebraska kids. Its really a byproduct of population. The top skill players in the state are going to either walk on for the Huskers or choose UNK/Wayne/Chadron.

Hastings needs to branch out and do a better job of recruiting elite small college talent from across the country. Let me explain:

If you have a kid from Grand Island whom throws for 5,000 yards and 60 TD's in his career, UNK, Wayne, and Chadron State will likely be all over the kid. He is a clear D-II talent and will probably be a very productive QB at that level.

Now go out to California. Their might be 35 QB's with similar skills, size, athleticsm, and production. Those kids basically have JUCO options in California, a couple D-III schools with no scholarships, or go play somewhere else in the country.

If a player wants to continue playing in the future, then they will utilize various recruiting services to get their film out to programs across the country.... Not just D-I programs.

A lot of those programs both D-II and NAIA programs will offer. A school like Hastings needs to be more proactive and use their facilities/reputation/ history to their advantage. They have some of the best small college facilities in the country. They also have tremendous academic facilities. Hastings isn't a bad place to live either. You ever been to Marshall, MO or Alva, OK? Those towns inspired the movie Deliverance, and yet Missouri Valley College in Marshall, MO or NW Oklahoma State in Alva, OK routinely send NAIA teams to the playoffs.

My point is Hastings College should be competing for National Championships. Lastly, I know for a fact Hastings has a bigger football budget than every other school in the GPAC. They've been notorious underachievers since Els left.

I like the stadium pictures, and have attended games at many of them. I find it interesting that you claim to know the current football budget of every school in the GPAC, which is not public knowledge, but were unaware that Hastings got new turf before last season which is public knowledge that everyone associated with a GPAC program would have known. By the way, in reference to your comment about the HAAC being the toughest conference in the NAIA, since the formation of the GPAC I believe it has been the most successful conference in the playoffs.

It helps when the GPAC had Sioux Falls. Peru State tried to get an invite to the GPAC but was turned down due to the fact there a public institution. The HAAC conference usually gets three or four teams into the playoffs every year, so its pretty tough. One of the schools I think Baker recently signed a former USC runningback so they will be in the mix as well.

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Originally posted by wildcatfan999:
I like the stadium pictures, and have attended games at many of them. I find it interesting that you claim to know the current football budget of every school in the GPAC, which is not public knowledge, but were unaware that Hastings got new turf before last season which is public knowledge that everyone associated with a GPAC program would have known. By the way, in reference to your comment about the HAAC being the toughest conference in the NAIA, since the formation of the GPAC I believe it has been the most successful conference in the playoffs.

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Without Sioux Falls, the GPAC is not on par with the HAAC Conference. The Frontier, the HAAC, and the Mid States MidEast are the three best conferences in the NAIA. The GPAC is maybe #4 or potentially #5 behind the Mid South.

As for the athletics budgets of the GPAC, those numbers are available at the office of the Postsecondary Education Website. You can search and compare data of all the GPAC programs. Hastings spends more money than any other GPAC program. And I didn't know they were getting new turf. Big deal, now I know:

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Originally posted by iowa351:
It helps when the GPAC had Sioux Falls. Peru State tried to get an invite to the GPAC but was turned down due to the fact there a public institution. The HAAC conference usually gets three or four teams into the playoffs every year, so its pretty tough. One of the schools I think Baker recently signed a former USC runningback so they will be in the mix as well.

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Yeah, I saw Dillon Baxter transferred to Baker University. Baker returns 21 starters including a KU QB transfer. The only spot without a returning starter was Tailback. They were 8-3 last year. I'm guessing they will be very formidable in 2012.

However, Dillon Baxter has been a troublemaker everywhere he's been. It will be interesting to see if he can grow up and put his troubles behind him. Will he try and act all "big time" in the NAIA, or will he stay humble and become a good teammate whom excells at that level?

I would agree the HAAC was tougher last year, but since the formation of the GPAC the playoff record of conference teams is 42-22, HAAC teams are 19-27 in the playoffs during the same time period. If you exclude the schools that left the NAIA (Sioux Falls from the GPAC and William Jewel and Lindenwood from the HAAC) than the totals are GPAC 14-15, HAAC 14-22, so even without Sioux Falls the GPAC has a history of greater success in the post season. Thanks for the link, I now know that in 2010 only 3 HAAC schools spent more on football than Hastings.

Things are always cyclical. It think that's important to consider. And for years the GPAC was not only better than the HAAC, but arguably the top NAIA conference overall. Heck, as recently as 2008 -09, the GPAC was flat out nasty at the top of the league.

Both leagues had elite NAIA programs in Sioux Falls and Lindenwood. Both have moved on to D-II. Sioux Falls has been elite this whole century. Lindenwood only really rose to prominence in the least 4 to 5 years.

The GPAC really never adapted to Sioux Falls and their dominance. Morningside has had some really good teams. But for the most part, they've never been a serious contender for a National Title like Sioux Falls. Hastings and Northwestern always maintained a consistent status quo. They were good, but not elite. They were fringe playoff teams, maybe even good enough to win a playoff game, but not elite.

The HAAC has really evolved the last few years. The rest of the League truly adapted to what Lindenwood was doing on a National level. The HAAC schools didn't know Lindenwood was going D-II until the announcement came prior to the 2010 season. The coaching staffs had already started to adapt their rosters towards being competitive with Lindenwood. They weren't going to just sit back and accept the 50-14 blowouts en route to 2nd place.

I do believe the GPAC did accept that status quo. I could be wrong, but Sioux Falls only lost something like 2 or 3 GPAC games in 12 years. The GPAC schools never gave them much of a challenge. For years, the best teams in the HAAC were never really that much better than the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th teams in the GPAC.

The GPAC is now the same league minus the juggernaut that was Sioux Falls. In the meantime, 4 HAAC teams all upgraded their talent to match Lindenwood. I think now what you have is a much stronger conference at the top.

That's why I really believe the HAAC is better than the GPAC now... at this time. The last two years I've seen three different GPAC teams in person. Morngingside in 2010, and Wesleyan and Concordia both last year. The HAAC has seperated itself from the GPAC compared to four or five years ago when I felt the GPAC was stronger and more fundamentally sound.

But... that doesn't mean things will always be that way. I really like what Doane is doing to their program. Northwestern should be much better in 2012, and Morningside will always win at least 8 games in their sleep. Midland now has one of the top young College football coaches in the country. The league should be able to get better and potentially upgrade Nationally.

I have seen about 45 GPAC games in last five years, but I have not seen most of the HAAC teams play, so my only basis for comparison is performance in the playoffs or head to head. Last year the HAAC teams were more successful in the playoffs, so I will agree the HAAC was better last year, but I am not convinced that one year with more success now makes them the better conference. I find it hard to buy into your line of reasoning that the HAAC is better because they kept up with Lindenwood, while the GPAC was falling behind because the failed to keep up Sioux Falls.

From 2005 to 2010 when Sioux Falls went an amazing 80-4 with 3 national titles two runners-up, they had three playoff losses to Carroll, their only other loss in that time was to Morningside.

It is true that Sioux Falls only lost 5 conference games in the 11 years they spent in the GPAC, but they only lost a total of 13 games in that 11 years and 7 of those were in the playoffs.

Just a little trivia here, but in head to head competition since the formation of the GPAC no conference team is below .500 against HAAC teams, and no HAAC team is above .500 against GPAC teams. In that same period of time Lindenwood went 1-5 against the GPAC, Sioux Falls went 6-0 against the HAAC. (they only played each other once).

I would not count on the HAAC being more successful than the GPAC for two years in a row.

Going to be interesting to see how Sioux Falls competes at the NCAA Division II level against schools like Mankato, St. Cloud, Winona State, Wayne State, Minnesota-Duluth, etc.

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Originally posted by wildcatfan999:
I have seen about 45 GPAC games in last five years, but I have not seen most of the HAAC teams play, so my only basis for comparison is performance in the playoffs or head to head. Last year the HAAC teams were more successful in the playoffs, so I will agree the HAAC was better last year, but I am not convinced that one year with more success now makes them the better conference. I find it hard to buy into your line of reasoning that the HAAC is better because they kept up with Lindenwood, while the GPAC was falling behind because the failed to keep up Sioux Falls.

From 2005 to 2010 when Sioux Falls went an amazing 80-4 with 3 national titles two runners-up, they had three playoff losses to Carroll, their only other loss in that time was to Morningside.

It is true that Sioux Falls only lost 5 conference games in the 11 years they spent in the GPAC, but they only lost a total of 13 games in that 11 years and 7 of those were in the playoffs.

Just a little trivia here, but in head to head competition since the formation of the GPAC no conference team is below .500 against HAAC teams, and no HAAC team is above .500 against GPAC teams. In that same period of time Lindenwood went 1-5 against the GPAC, Sioux Falls went 6-0 against the HAAC. (they only played each other once).

I would not count on the HAAC being more successful than the GPAC for two years in a row.

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In my former life, I spent time covering small college football for a couple different media organizations in Nebraska and Kansas. I would wholeheartedly agree the GPAC was stronger than the HAAC for much of the last decade. It was a better league, and the head to head results proved as much.

However, I do believe their has been a power swing over the last 24 to 36 months. The HAAC has become a gauntlet at the top. The top HAAC programs are all now offering the full scholarship allotments of 24.

The level of skill players, and talent along the line of scrimmage is much higher than what that league showcased 5 or 6 years ago, and I believe its moved past the GPAC as a whole.

QB play is one significant reason. The GPAC could learn some lessons from the HAAC about bringing in transfer QB's or recruiting QB's nationally.

Now back to my original point:

I think Hastings must step up to aid the GPAC in their resurgence. Morningside and Northwestern are always going to be good, but the league needs the rest of the league to step up and improve the level of play throughout the league.

Doane made some serious waves last year. If they can continue the momentum, they can completely bring a GPAC title back to a Nebraska team. Doane is able to sign and recruit some kids whom can't get into Hastings. Admissions at Hastings will not make concessions on certain kids just because they play football. I still think they should be better even with those stipulations in place. However, Doane will take a kid whom scores a 17 on his ACT if he can run the football or tackle well. Morningside and Northwestern will also do the same thing.... as will Benedictine, Baker, and Missouri Valley. Mid America Nazarene will take a kid whom can't read.


I think Sioux Falls will be very successful in the Northern Sun. Their coaching staff is incredible and the staff has more experience excelling at the D-II and D-I levels than their time in the NAIA. Head Coach Jed Stugart was the Defensive Coordinator at Northern Colorado when they were a D-II Defensive juggernaut back in the late 90's early 2000's.

UNK is going to suffer if kids like Andy Janovich from Gretna and Ryker Fyfe from GI continue to walk on with the Huskers instead of choosing the Lopers. The MIAA is different animal. It is an absolute beast. A team could go 5-5 in the MIAA and potentially win 80% of the D-II conferences around the country.

I think you need to be careful with juco transfers, they need to be the right kid. A few years ago at a GPAC game I watched a starting QB who came from a juco in California leave the locker room and stand by himself while his team has stayed inside and sang the school fight song and celebrated a victory, he did not act like he was part of the team. I heard he left at semester after his eligibility was used up and never graduated, he was probably not the right guy to lead the team even if he did have the best skills.

Head coach Matt Franzen has done a great job of turning Doane around in the last 5 years after the mess Tommy left him, but if they are ever going to compete for a conference title they have to beat Hastings, which they have not done in 10 years, last year was probably their best chance.

I think Hastings will surprise you this season, last year was Tony Harper's first year as head coach and his offensive coordinator was new to the program, installing a new offense as well. I am sure they planned on RB Dalton Sealy carrying the offense while they broke in a new starter at QB, and instead they lost him for the season in the first game. Without that injury they probably win the Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan games and finish 8-2. They were tied with Morningside at half and just a point behind Northwestern, Harper is a dynamic guy that players like, he will be able to recruit the depth they need to finish those games. You said yourself that they have the best facilities in the conference and under former defensive coordinator Harper their scoring and total defense trailed only Morningside and Northwestern last season, give Harper a year or two to get his own recruits into the program and they will be competing at the level you expect.

That's part of the issue for Hastings. They're certainly good enough to beat a team like Doane, but can't afford horrible losses to teams like Concordia if they want to truly compete for a conference crown.

I use that Concordia loss as example for comparing the HAAC and GPAC. I watched Benedictine beat Concordia 45-0 last year. It looked like Men against Boys as Benedictine outgained CU 442 to 123, and they were playing their 3rd string after halftime.

I do hope Hastings can rebound and become a force again in the GPAC. I'd like to see a Nebraska team become a player again in the NAIA. I'm tired of the Iowa Schools owning the GPAC.

Are some JUCO guys a risk? Of course they are, but then again, the best player to ever play in the GPAC was a JUCO transfer QB named Zo Brown, the former QB at Sioux Falls. There was nothing risky about that kid.

...

Other than soccer, all Hasting College men's programs need a kick in the tail.  Football has been up and down, but is looking promising this year.  Basketball has had few good seasons in the last 10.  Baseball had a good season 2 years ago and fell down last season.  With Jerry Schmutte as AD, maybe the department will get a shakeup. They have facilities but can't be so complacent about recruiting and admissions.

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Originally posted by Capt.Willard:
Other than soccer, all Hasting College men's programs need a kick in the tail.  Football has been up and down, but is looking promising this year.  Basketball has had few good seasons in the last 10.  Baseball had a good season 2 years ago and fell down last season.  With Jerry Schmutte as AD, maybe the department will get a shakeup. They have facilities but can't be so complacent about recruiting and admissions.

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This will be an interesting year for Hastings football. The GPAC is wide open and their coaching staff needs to feed off their early momentum. Another win this week, and they will be ranked.

I feel a lot better about my life now.

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