Notre Dame College Announces 2012 Football Schedule
Friday, January 6th 2012 @ 9:50 AM
The GLIAC’s newest entry -- NDC and the league announced their affiliation in December -- will play an 11-game regular season in the fall, with 10 of those games being conference tilts. The Falcons will likely get their 2012 slate underway with a non-conference game on Sept. 1. That game opponent and other details are yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date.
“We are extremely excited to enter a league that's arguably the best division-II league in the country,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Adam Howard. “The schedule we have lined up is outstanding. It will provide our student-athletes with an opportunity to showcase their talent in a league that's produced over 200 NFL players.”
The Falcons’ GLIAC schedule will begin on Saturday, Sept. 8, with NDC travelling to Allendale, Mich., to take on perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State, a program that has won four national championships since 2000. Notre Dame will then host a pair of Michigan schools -- Northwood and Hillsdale -- on Sept. 15 and 22, respectively.
From that point forward, the GLIAC schedule has the Falcons playing road and home games in alternating weeks beginning with a Sept. 29 road game at Findlay. That contest against the Findlay Oilers will be Notre Dame’s first of seven GLIAC South Division games, with the South Division being an all-Ohio circuit in the GLIAC’s new 16-team North-South alignment. Those South games in order are: Sept. 29 at Findlay, Oct. 6 vs. Lake Erie, Oct. 13 at Tiffin, Oct. 20 vs. Ohio Dominican, Oct. 27 at Malone, Nov. 3 vs. Walsh, and Nov. 10 at Ashland.
The GLIAC’s two-division format -- which includes fellow newcomers Malone and Walsh in the South -- calls for seven division games and three cross-division contests.
Of the 10 GLIAC foes on its 2012 schedule, NDC has faced just two previously -- Malone and Walsh. The Ohio flair to the slate will also be something new for the Falcons, who have faced just seven Buckeye State opponents in years one and two combined (2010-11).
Week five of the GLIAC schedule -- games of Oct. 6 -- is designated by the league as its “rivalry week.” That week finds NDC taking on Lake Erie and most other GLIAC entrants playing their natural geographic rival (Malone vs. Walsh, Findlay vs. Tiffin, etc.).
“We look forward to that rivalry game against Lake Erie,” said Howard. “That game and this schedule as a whole are great steps in building the foundation of our football family.”
Notre Dame went 5-6 in 2011, the program’s second varsity season. NDC’s 2012 GLIAC foes went a combined 48-61 (.441) in 2011. Grand Valley State and Hillsdale posted the top marks among the 10 – both went 8-3.
2012 Notre Dame Schedule of GLIAC Games
Sept. 8 at Grand Valley State (Mich.)
Sept. 15 Northwood (Mich.)
Sept. 22 Hillsdale (Mich.)
Sept. 29 at Findlay
Oct. 6 Lake Erie (GLIAC Rivalry Week)
Oct. 13 at Tiffin
Oct. 20 Ohio Dominican
Oct. 27 at Malone
Nov. 3 Walsh
Nov. 10 at Ashland
