This article was originally published in the February 2026 print edition of The Bark, distributed at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.

The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Football Team finished their 2025 season by making their 13th appearance at the NCAA II postseason championship, their first time since 2021.

The team was seventh in the AFCA and played the first round against Ashland University, resulting in a 32-7 loss and the end of their season. Despite this loss, the Bulldogs excelled this season, achieving many notable feats, including qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in four years, along with their 9-1 regular season record. Additionally, they claimed the NSIC Championship Title — the first time the Bulldogs have won an unshared title since 2012.

Along with their many achievements, the team faced many adversities throughout the season. They started off with a young team featuring a large number of incoming freshmen and new students coming through the transfer portal. They also had a large number of injuries during the course of the season. These concerns initially made some of the coaches worry about the team's cohesiveness before the season started.

“You know, I do feel really good about what we accomplished. I think our team — in some aspects — overachieved,” Head Coach Curtis Wiese said.

“We had a very young team, but they were able to come together, and they may have been one of the most cohesive football teams we've had throughout my time here.”

So the question remains: Why were the Bulldogs so successful this season?

The Bulldogs start their season far before the rest of the student body arrives on campus, with the team required to move to campus at the beginning of August. However, some players live in Duluth the entire summer to train, and this year they had a large number of students choose to sacrifice their summers for the good of the team.

Not only does this keep the players physically in shape when the season comes around, but it also keeps them mentally prepared and helps strengthen the bond between teammates. This is a reason Matt Weerts, senior defensive end and team captain, says is a large part of why the team was so successful this year.

“It was probably the closest team I've ever been on, especially from a relationship standpoint,” Weerts said, “It was those close relationships that I thought brought us to where we were.”

Once the whole team has arrived on campus, it starts what is known as fall camp — three weeks of non-stop practising and weight training. Over the course of the three weeks, the players will typically get only one or two days off from practice, and these practices last all day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to Alex Sylvester, team captain and senior linebacker, fall camp is built to test the players, especially the incoming freshmen, to see if they have what it takes.

“It’s brutal and can be very hard for the freshman when they get up here. That's when you see the most guys quit historically,” Sylvester said, “but nobody quit this year.”

Once the regular season starts, the team moves to a schedule crafted around the school semester. Practice is held most weekdays, weekends are for travel and games, and Sundays are reserved for reviewing game film and recovery lifting.

If that doesn't take up time already, they also have to do lifting and weight training each morning on top of normal practice. Even with a demanding weekly schedule, the coaching staff at UMD works hard to make the work manageable and purposeful.

“You know, I can be really hard on them. Demand perfection basically,” said Luke Olson, linebackers coach and special team coordinator. “But I balance between being really hard on them and always letting them know that I love coaching them, I love being around them, I love them as people, and I’d do anything for them.”

The Bulldogs finished their regular season with a 9-1 record in conference, with the one loss being to Northern State on October 11, right in the middle of the season. While it was a loss, it may have been the final push the team needed to propel them to success towards the end of the season.

“That was a hard part of the season, the defence specifically. You know, we had a sit-down heart-to-heart with Coach Wiese to kind of understand what was going on,” Weerts said. “I think we got complacent halfway through the year, and it was hard to try to come out on the other side of it better. I think we really flipped that switch at the end of the year.”

Even though the work could be gruelling and unforgiving at times, and even though the team experienced some high and low points in the season, the UMD Bulldogs understand the work they must put in to be great players and, more importantly, to be a great team.

“I know football is hard, there's a lot of stress and pressure that weighs on each of us a lot,” Sylvester said, “but absolutely nothing worthwhile comes easily.”

The Ones Who Get It Done: Behind The Scenes of the 2025 Football Season