The likes of stars Jay Adams, Rachel Battershell, Lane Napier, Camryn Opfer, Josie Puelz, Gage Smith and Grace Soenksen, to name a few, extended their incredible Concordia Bulldogs careers while exercising their options to use the ‘COVID Year’ of eligibility. When sports stood still, along with most of the world, in March of 2020, college athletes were left to wonder what it meant for them. Would spring sport athletes simply lose a full season of eligibility? What about the athletes that came back that fall and winter and had to sit out for parts or all of the next season due to either COVID-19 infection or due to the results of contact tracing and return to play protocols?
Those questions would soon be answered by the NAIA and NCAA. The resulting legislation meant that every collegiate institution across the country would feel the effects. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues into the present day, even as life has mostly returned to normal. The circumstances mean Bulldog fans get one more opportunity to enjoy watching high profile athletes such as Kendal Brigham, Gabi Nordaker and Noah Schutte. By the end of the winter of 2025, that will be all she wrote when it comes to the era of the COVID Year.
How it started
Most people remember how this whole thing started. In March of 2020, the world came to a standstill as government agencies navigated the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sporting bodies across America and the globe began to shut down due to the fear that athletic competition would increase the spread of COVID-19.
Here’s a brief timeline of the happenings within the NAIA:
March 16, 2020 –The NAIA informs its members that the 2020 spring sports season has been canceled. The NAIA also made an immediate ruling in declaring that spring sports athletes would not exhaust any eligibility for the 2020 season that had only just begun. Just days earlier, the NAIA Division II basketball national tournaments were halted in the middle of the first round.
July 28, 2020 – The NAIA’s Council of Presidents (COP) votes to postpone fall national championships to the spring of 2021.
August 20, 2020 – The NAIA announces a ruling that states that fall sport student-athletes who participate in more than 50 percent of competitions in 2020 will be charged with a season of eligibility.
November 4, 2020 – The NAIA reverses its ruling from August 20 and grants a ‘free’ year of eligibility in 2020-21 for fall and winter sport student-athletes. The original 50 percent rule was opposed by 12 of the 19 NAIA conferences (three conferences were divided in their position).
And thus, the door swung open for student-athletes to essentially compete for five full years of competition. A flood of Bulldogs would take advantage of the opportunity over the years to come.
How it went
The COVID Year altered the dynamics when it came to roster construction. Since March of 2020, coaches have worked to ‘recruit’ their fourth-year athletes for one last hurrah. These recruiting wins became just as significant as the ones claimed on the high school circuit. The Bulldog Baseball program may have benefited from the COVID Year more than any other at Concordia. Head Coach Ryan Dupic did not mind reconfiguring his roster plans for program all-time greats like Jay Adams, Ben Berg, Keaton Candor and Jesse Garcia, all of whom stuck around for five years. For those wondering, NAIA all-time home run king Joey Grabanski’s collegiate career came after the COVID eligibility exceptions. Grabanski set new national standards in exactly four full seasons. He then began his professional career this June after signing a contract with the Windy City ThunderBolts.
Said Dupic, “The extra year of eligibility for COVID was very impactful for our program. We had many student-athletes turn the negative into a positive not only athletically, but also academically to finish coursework and take on additional majors or graduate work. Guys like Jake Fosgett, Jay Adams, Jesse Garcia, Keaton Candor, Ben Berg, Caden Johnson, Jacob Lycan, Teyt Johnson, and Nathan Buckallew all continued to pursue their passions and make huge impacts in our program.”
More details on some of the most accomplished five-year Bulldogs of the COVID Year era were laid out here: https://www.cune.edu/athletics/news/case-covid-year-how-bulldogs-are-seizing-opportunity. Incredibly, the All-American linebacker Lane Napier did something that will likely never happen again: earn five First Team All-GPAC awards. His choice to come back in 2021 opened up the floodgates – and plenty more Bulldogs were swept up.
This past 2023-24 academic year, fifth-year Bulldogs Bree Burtwistle and Camryn Opfer led the volleyball team to a national ranking as high as No. 1, Adams kept on raking in his final campaign and distance runner Kylahn Freiberg crushed it on the trails and tracks all year long. Each of these standouts effectively capitalized on an extension to the prime of their athletic careers. All of them were part of special programs that won championships and experienced glory on the national stage. Many ‘COVID year’ student-athletes helped their respective teams enjoy some of the best seasons in the history of their programs.
In the case of Freiberg, she raced to All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track while leading all three teams to top 20 placements on the national stage. Said Freiberg when first discussing her decision to come back in 2023-24, “There were some times last year, before I knew I was coming back for a fifth year, where I was ready to be done. It comes down to the fact that I’ve already done so much in the past and I only get one more chance. Knowing that makes me want to continue seeing how much better I can get. Coming into this year, I wanted my focus to be on being a good teammate and what we can do as a team.”
For those who didn’t already know, the Noah Schutte show will continue for one more year. His presence this coming winter will usher in the end of an era. Ultimately, Schutte just couldn’t leave a year on the table, especially when considering the trajectory of the men’s basketball program.
Said Schutte, “The biggest factor that played a role in my decision to return for an extra year was the idea that not many people get this opportunity to get an additional year. I don’t want to have the regret of wishing I would have come back. The next factor is my teammates and my coaches. This team next year has the potential to do something very special and I have loved my time here at Concordia and I want another year to wear that across my jersey representing them. This group of guys is special and very talented and I’m very anxious to see what we can accomplish in 2024-2025.”
How it ends: 2024-25
Just imagine how Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ben Limback felt when All-American Noah Schutte relayed his intentions to return to the hardwood in 2024-25. Considering Schutte’s level of accomplishment and importance to the program, this development could turn out to be one of Limback’s most significant recruiting victories.
Following a 2023-24 season that saw Limback’s crew share the GPAC regular season title and advance to the NAIA national round of 32, the Bulldogs are dreaming big. The love Schutte felt after spilling the beans to his teammates helped affirm his decision.
“My teammates’ reaction to me announcing my decision to come back was nothing short of pure happiness,” Schutte said. “These guys are my brothers, and I would do anything to be able to play on that court one more year with them. They made sure to let me know how much they wanted me back another year even during the middle of last season. I made sure to focus on last season and live in the present, but they really influenced my decision to come back.”
On the other side of the coin, Kendal Brigham gave Coach Drew Olson and the women’s basketball program good news soon after the 2023-24 season concluded. As Brigham wrote in an Instagram post on March 25, “had so much fun senior year I’m going to be a super senior next year.” With 921 career points to her credit, Brigham will bring a wealth of experience to the 2024-25 backcourt alongside fellow All-GPAC honoree Abby Krieser.
As Brigham explained of her decision, “I think I realized that this is an opportunity that isn’t going to come around again. Getting to play one more year for this University and with the people here really is a huge blessing. More than anything my decision to stay will give me another year to figure some things out. I get to keep learning about what I like and dislike before going out into the ‘real’ world. Also, I’ve always been a big believer in sports teaching us way more than how to score points and win games. I get one final year to let the game teach me lifelong lessons and for that I’m grateful and excited for my last season.”
As another headliner, All-American Gabi Nordaker continues the long line of fifth-year players that have helped maintain the volleyball program as one of the NAIA’s best. The Omaha native Nordaker made the call before the 2023 campaign ended. The announcement came on senior day. As Nordaker said then, “It’s obviously exciting that I get to have another year. For me it’s not as sad, but I am very sad that this is my last year with my teammates I’ve grown up with. That’s been a little rough, but I’m fortunate and lucky that I do get another year with this amazing team.”
There are other Bulldogs who will look to make their mark for a ‘COVID Year’ in 2024-25. Soccer coaches Jason Weides and Nick Smith are bringing back virtually their entire senior classes, for example. Take advantage now because this is it. There will be no more COVID Years moving forward.
A native of Laurel, Neb., Schutte could rise to the top of the program’s all-time scoring list by season’s end, but that’s not why he’s coming back. For most Bulldogs, the pull of one more year of making memories with teammates has been too much to pass up.
As Schutte says, “My goals in life aren’t to break records and have people remember me as just a basketball player. My goal is to have an impact on the people I surround myself with and to be a selfless human being that cares about more than just himself.”