Bemidji State University head football coach Jeff Teschtoday released the 2012 football schedule as the Beavers are on the field with spring practices underway. BSUhas six home games on the schedule and will play both the new Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference members for 2012-13 in University of Sioux Falls and Minot State University.

With the additions of Sioux Falls and Minot State all 11 games will be NSIC contests this season. The Beavers open the slate on the 2012 seasonat home with Upper Iowa University Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. – the only home night game on the schedule

The Beavers own a 4-0 all-time record against Upper Iowa and are 1-0 in home games against the Peacocks, as they earned a 51-12 homecoming victory in 2010. In the four contests against UIU, the least amount BSU has scored is 44, while allowing an average of16.8 points per game. The Peacocks finished the 2011 season with a 3-8 overall and 2-8 record in NSIC play to finish 12th.

The Beavers’ first road test will come at Minnesota State University, Mankato Sept. 8 with a 6 p.m. start. The contest against the Mavericks will be the first after a two-year hiatus and the 43rd in the all-time series that dates back to 1933. MSU has won thelast two meetings, including a 37-34 overtime victory in Mankato, Minn.in 2009 when the Mavericks were ranked No. 10 in the nation. The Beavers used a 21 point third quarter to own a 31-12 advantage heading into the fourth, but MSU battled back to knot thegame 34-34 before kicking a field goal to win in the first extra session. The Mavericks closed the 2011 season at the Mineral Water Bowl after finishing the season 9-3 overall and 8-2 in conference play for a share of the NSIC Regular Season title.

BSU returns home Sept. 15 to host Wayne State College (7-4, 7-3 NSIC in 2011) at 1 p.m. at the Chet. That date is slated to be the 16th Annual Shrine Game to mark the third time the Beavers have hosted the Wildcats in a Shrine Game, winning both the previouscontests in 1999 and 2002. The teams will meet for the 17th time with BSU trailing in the series 7-9. In the last meeting, then-No. 14 Wayne State visited Bemidji in 2009 and the home crowd was treated to a 21-10 Beaver victory.

Sept. 22 the Beavers will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to battle USF at 1p.m. for just the third time in program history and the first since 1983. In the only contest between the teams in Sioux Falls, BSU lost 14-12 in 1982, then hosted the Cougars in 1983and rolled to a 31-0 victory. In 2011 USF played an independent schedule in preparations to join the NSIC in 2012 and posted a 5-4 overall record with a 4-1 mark at home.

The annual homecoming contest is set for Sept. 29 at 1 p.m., as University of Minnesota, Crookston travels east on Highway 2 for a contest on the gridiron. The Beavers have a strong hold on the all-time series with UMC with a 13-1 record. BSU has won 13 straightagainst the Golden Eagles and are 8-0 in the Hubcap games – a travelingtrophy tradition that began in 2004 to signify the highway rivalry. Last season the Beavers downed UMC 31-12 in the season finale in Crookston, Minn. The Golden Eagles closed the season14th in the NSIC with a 1-10 overall and 0-10 conference mark.  

The Beavers travel back to University of Mary Oct. 6 for a 2:30 p.m. contest. Last season BSU visited Bismarck, N.D. and suffered one of its three losses by the score of 49-21. The loss snapped a three-game win streak against U-Mary and moved the all-time seriesto 3-3 and moved the Beavers to 1-2 in Bismarck. The Marauders finishedthe 2011 season with a 5-6 record and a 4-6 mark in the league.

The third and final loss of the 2011 season came to BSU’s Oct. 13 opponent, Northern State University. The Beavers traveled to NSU last season and fell 14-0 to break a six-game win streak against the Wolves. In 2012, BSU will host the Northern State at 1 p.m.in the annual Lion’s Vision Awareness Game in hopes of protecting an eight-game winning streak against NSU at the Chet. All-time the Beavers and Wolves are knotted 17-17-1 in a history that dates back to 1957. NSUwent 5-6 overall and 4-6 in NSIC play, witha 4-2 NSIC North record.

Most likely the toughest two-game stretch for the Beavers in 2012 will come Oct. 20-27 when they travel to two 2011 NCAA Tournament participants in University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University. First up will be UMD Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. The Beavershad an opportunity for an upset against the then-No. 11 Bulldogs at home last season, but fell in the end 26-23. UMD has dominated the recent series between the Northern Minnesota squads with a 10-game win streak and are 40-10-1 all-time against the Beaversin an all-time series that dates back to 1931. BSU has to travel to Duluth, Minn. next fall, a place where it hasn’t won since 1951 and onlyhas two victories recorded. With an 8-2 conference record, the Bulldogsshared a NSIC Regular Season Championship withSt. Cloud State and Minnesota State, and finished with an 11-3 overall record that brought UMD to the NCAA quarterfinals where it lost to national runner-up Wayne State University (Mich.).

BSU will visit St. Cloud State Oct. 27 for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Huskieswill be looking for revenge after the Beavers posted a 19-14 victory athome against SCSU in 2011. The win snapped a seven-game losing skid against the Huskies and brought the all-timeseries to 17-35-3. BSU lost to St. Cloud State on the road in 2010 by the score of 35-14 and are winless in the last 10 showdowns in St. Cloud(0-9-1), dating back to 1965. SCSU fell to Wayne State (Mich.) 48-38 athome in the first round of the NCAA tournament,making its second consecutive appearance at the tournament. The Huskiesfinished the season with a 9-3 overall record.

The Beavers finish the 2012 campaign at home with a pair of 1 p.m. contests Nov. 3 and Nov. 10 against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Minot State University – two teams Tesch has a combined overall record of 24-5. The Dragons visit Chet Anderson Stadiumfor the second consecutive season. In 2011 the Beavers downed MSU Moorhead 35-10, but trailed 10-7 at half for its lone halftime comeback of the season. Bemidji State has a storied tradition with the Dragons and its 78 all-time meetings (BSU trails, 32-43-3)sits as the largest rivalry at BSU. The two teams will also be playing for the Battle Axe, a traveling trophy that dates back to 1948 and ranksas the second-oldest traveling trophy tradition in NCAA Division II history. The Dragons own a 34-26-3 record inBattle Axe games, but the Beavers hold a 16-15-2 advantage at home. MSUM closed the 2011 season with a 2-9 overall and 1-9 NSIC record.

Minot State has opened the schedule for BSU in the past four seasons, but in 2012 it will close the regular season for the Beavers with a Nov.10 contest at the Chet. The teams have squared off in 13 consecutive seasons with Bemidji State holding a commanding12-1 all-time record. Last season in Bemidji, BSU gave a record crowd of 4,711 a 27-0 victory to cheer about – the third shutout by BSU against Minot State. Playing an independent schedule in 2011, MSU posteda 2-7 overall record and a 1-5 mark on the road.   

The Beavers were ranked in the national poll on three different occasions in 2011 and finished the campaign with an 8-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the NSIC to finish in a three-way tie for fourth in the league standings. The eight-win season marked theeighth time in program history the team had reached eight wins in a season and the sixth time under Tesch. The Beaver offense finished the season averaging 26.8 points per game, while the ‘Gang Green’ defense was one of the best in the conference allowingjust 16.0 points per contest to rank No. 7 in the nation at the end of the regular season.

Bemidji State concludes 2012 spring ball April 19 with the annual Green/White Spring Game at 7 p.m. at Chet Anderson Stadium. The event isfree and open to the public.