Throughout the month of October, Concordia University, Nebraska athletic teams combined to do something likely never before achieved in the history of the institution – go undefeated for an entire month. Over the 31 days of October 2024, the Bulldog football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball squads went a collective 24-0-1. Throw in the sweep of Briar Cliff Invite championships by the cross country teams on Oct. 5 and a Hastings Invite title for shooting sports on Oct. 6 and you get a whole lot of winning.
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s Concordia Football team set the stage for a thrilling month on Oct. 5 when it scored a 29-17 upset win at No. 2 Northwestern that sent shockwaves rippling through the NAIA landscape. That victory paved the way for the program to post its highest win total since the 2001 GPAC championship season and put the team under consideration for an NAIA postseason bid.
The win in Orange City, Iowa, was one that Daberkow, his staff and players won’t soon forget. As Daberkow told a gathering at the Bulldog Athletic Association Member luncheon three days later, “To have your phones blow up and to have people excited about what’s going on is always fun. Sitting next to Coach (Corby) Osten and Coach (Trent) Laune on the bus ride back, we told the driver to take the scenic route back.”
The winning became contagious as teams guided by coaches Ben Boldt (volleyball), Nick Smith (women’s soccer) and Jason Weides (men’s soccer) followed suit. The volleyball program rode a 10-match winning streak into the postseason and rose as high as No. 2 in the NAIA national rankings. Following an 0-3 start to league play, the women’s soccer program rattled off 10-straight victories and celebrated a national tournament berth. After a string of ties, the men’s soccer program put together a 5-0-1 month of October and later hosted the GPAC tournament title game, one day after the women’s program played in the conference final at Hastings.
Every single Concordia fall sport placed in the top four of the GPAC standings for a second year in a row. Daberkow’s squad (3-0 in October) polished off the regular season with a 45-13 victory at Midland and pulled even for second place in the league standings, a placement loftier than any for the program since that ’01 campaign. In cross country, freshman Vaughn Hendrickson blazed his way to the first individual GPAC title for a Bulldog since 2012. After crossing the finish line in first place, Hendrickson dropped to his knees, clasped his hands together and looked to the sky as if to thank God for the opportunity to relish such a moment.
Indeed, there has been much to be thankful for during a season of giving thanks. As Nick Smith posted on X in response to the unblemished record for October, “Excellence all around. So fortunate to be in a community with success all over the place and working alongside some of the best coaches and athletes around. This is what makes @cunebulldogs special and unique.”
Said Daberkow during a mid-November coaches show interview with 104.9 Max Country, “It’s a great time to be a Bulldog. We have GPAC championship soccer and volleyball games. There are a lot of things going on. There are a lot of things shaking, but it’s a fun time.”
Second-place regular season finishes for both soccer teams and volleyball made for a hectic start to November. Between Nov. 2 and Nov. 13, Concordia hosted seven GPAC postseason games, fully one-third of all 2024 GPAC tournament contests. The strong fall has placed the Bulldogs in prime position to defend its 2023-24 GPAC All-Sports Championship Trophy.
While the football team received disappointing news on Nov. 17 when it learned it had been left out of the NAIA Football Championship Series, Concordia will be represented at NAIA national championship events each day from Nov. 21-23. Bulldog Volleyball enters the national tournament with the belief that it can beat anyone in the country.
Boldt’s bunch has played three matches this season against teams ranked No. 1 in the NAIA – all three contests went to five sets. The Bulldogs outlasted defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan University in five sets back in August and later dropped tension-filled five-setters to top-ranked Northwestern in both the regular season and GPAC championship match.
Said Boldt after the GPAC tournament final in Orange City, “We didn’t quite get it this time, but I don’t feel like our team feels defeated by that. They are motivated to continue to get better. This is just a step in our journey to where we want to go.”
While the fall sports wind down their seasons, Concordia’s winter sports teams have sprung to action. In basketball, squads led by Drew Olson and Ben Limback reached the middle of November with NAIA top 10 rankings. Meanwhile, a new era for Bulldog Wrestling has commenced under Head Coach Josh Watts and Head Coach Matt Beisel’s track & field teams will soon get things started.
Across the board, the standard has been raised. In the month of Dawg-tober, the Concordia Victory Bell worked overtime. It was a dubs only 31 days in Bulldog Nation.
Fall 2024 superlatives
Football
· 3-0 in October.
· 2024 record of 8-2 (most wins for the program since 2001).
· Broke program single season records for total offense (469.7) and scoring offense (38.5).
Men’s Soccer
· 5-0-1 in October.
· 2024 record of 8-3-9.
· Placed second in the GPAC in the regular season and postseason.
Women’s Soccer
· 7-0 in October.
· 2024 record of 13-6-1 (entering national tournament).
· Placed second in the GPAC in the regular season and postseason.
· Qualified for the NAIA national tournament for the fourth time in program history.
Volleyball
· 9-0 in October.
· 2024 record of 24-3 (entering national tournament).
· Ranked as high as No. 2 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Placed second in the GPAC regular season and postseason.
Cross Country
· Vaughn Hendrickson won the GPAC individual championship.
· Teams placed third (men) and fourth (women) at the GPAC Championships.
· Hendrickson qualified for the NAIA national meet along with teammates Keegan Beisel and Trey Robertson.