When Muhlenberg travels to Belton, Texas, to play the defending national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor in its season-opening game, two of the top Division III football programmes will meet in a rare non-conference regular-season encounter.
The game will take place in Crusader Stadium on Saturday, September 3 at 6 p.m. CST/7 p.m. EST. Fans of Muhlenberg are invited to watch the event live online or in person to support the Mules.
According to Muhlenberg President Kathleen Harring, “We’re happy that our student athletes have this great opportunity to compete on the national level, one that they have earned through their hard work, devotion, and success both on the field and in the classroom.” I’m particularly appreciative of our supporters and alumni, whose kindness and assistance made this trip possible for our Mules.
Only six Division III schools have won at least eight games each season since 2012: Mary Hardin-Baylor and Muhlenberg. They both have advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in each of the previous three postseasons, making them two of just three programmes (Wisconsin-Whitewater being the third).
In 2021, the Crusaders defeated the reigning champion North Central by a score of 57-24 to win their third national championship in the previous five years. Prior to losing in overtime to 13-time national champion Mount Union, the Mules advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the final 2021 D3football.com poll, Mary Hardin-Baylor was placed first while Muhlenberg was ranked seventh, placing both teams in the top 10. In the 2022 preseason survey, the Crusaders are ranked first, while the Mules are ranked eleventh.
The Mules, who are 35-5 over the last three seasons and have won or shared the Centennial Conference title each time, will meet Mary Hardin-Baylor as the latest in a string of nationally renowned programmes. In addition to recent NCAA quarterfinalists Johns Hopkins, Salisbury, and Delaware Valley, Muhlenberg will have faced every team to win the Division III national championship since 2015 with the addition of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
According to Nate Milne, head coach of Muhlenberg, “coaches, players, fans, we all want to see the greatest teams face each other.” “And we’ll seize the chance. I believe it will benefit us in recruiting because we will be able to say things like, “We’ll travel and play the No. 1 team in the nation.” We are not bothered by it. If you play college football, it’s what you desire. You don’t go to Mary Hardin-Baylor or Muhlenberg College expecting to win 100 to 0. Particularly in a setting like Crusader Stadium, at night, in Texas, they want to play their best.
Football from Muhlenberg has made as far as playing at Cal Lutheran in California in 2001, and in 2018 the squad travelled to Kentucky to play the highly respected Thomas More club.
You should push yourself, Milne advised. “After this first game, both team—Muhlenberg and Mary Hardin-Baylor—will make enormous advances toward what eventually will determine how they are remembered at the end of the season.”
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