When: Saturday, September 24, 6 PM

Where: Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium

About NAU:

Mascot: Stallions

Location: Stafford, TX (Houston Metro Area)

Distance from Commerce: 290 Miles

Enrollment: 600 Students

2021 Record: 5-4 Overall

Conference: NAIA Independent

Head Coach: Kenneth Apande

Overview: This team, and school is a lot like Lincoln University. North American University was actually founded in 2007 and what they did was pretty innovative if you ask me. They took an old Hilton Hotel that was going to be sold, renovated it, remodeled it and created a classroom and administration setting similar to what you might see if you visited the TAMUC Dallas Campus. They took another part of the hotel and created student housing and a cafeteria and food service center. Some might look at it and think, “yeah that is strange” but I would say innovative. By 2010, the school was fully accredited, and by 2013, the school had launched a fully functional athletic department and had joined the NAIA for Basketball. In 2019, they launched a football program.

The Stallions finished 5-4 last year and all of their losses were to Division II or DI FCS schools. They play their home games at Stafford High School’s football stadium but do their best to create a good gameday environment. Yes, they are in the same mode as Lincoln U. They are going to bigger schools to get blasted, collect a check and use that to further their Football program. However, unlike Lincoln U, I have to say I am impressed with the forward thinking approach of the football program. They have a full roster, including redshirts. They have 107 players in their program, a full time set of assistants and support staff. The NAIA granted them membership in football after only 2 seasons, and that is not easy to get.

As far as the game itself, it will be the first home game in almost a month for The Lions. More than likely, the record will be 2-1 heading into that game, but it could just as easily be 1-2 or 3-0. Depends on how well and how focused this team is. It is also Rockwall Community Day, where we welcome friends, students, alums, and families from that beautiful city on Lake Ray Hubbard. This should be one where NAU comes to play hard, but the talent of a premier DII program becoming DI will be too much, and the game will be basically be over at the half, but will get the entire team some practice time at key positions that they would not normally get during the year, because the next week starts SLC play, where The Lions face the team picked to win it all, Southeastern Louisiana and then face McNeese on the road as well in back to back tilts.