Recalling a heck of a 2012
| Chris Denton got Mount
Union's season off to a running start with two punt returns for
touchdowns in the opening week, and the Purple Raiders' punt return
unit made itself a big part of the team's playoff
success. Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com |
A long time ago, I gave up the idea that I could write a year in review that acknowledges every great moment that affects each and every one of you. If there’s one constant across Division III, whether it be in front of a crowd at the Spotlight on Champions banquet the night before the Stagg Bowl or in a one-on-one conversation on the side of a field where nobody else is really paying attention, we all say we wouldn’t trade our experiences for the world.
While we might not exchange for anything those moments on the field with our brothers, or in the stands with our friends, watching our sons, we certainly can share a few with one another. Each one of us lives the experience differently, and so consider this year in review just a glimpse of what it’s like for the 25,000 D-III football players at the 239 schools that participated in 2012. If you can’t find your school’s name in here, find something you can relate to. We have our differences, yet our common threads, going through it all for the love of the game, busting our humps not for the money or the spotlight, but because something inside drives us to do it.
D-III, you might not realize it, but you’ve come a long way. No longer do you need to beg for airtime or acknowledgement – your brothers carry the torch for you in the NFL on Sundays, proving there’s great non-scholarship football. Your standout moments get picked up by the biggest networks, and shared via social media for all to see.
This season was but a chapter in a larger story, but as you look back on it, here – in the form of numbers, highs and lows, still images and video – are some ways to remember it:
By the numbers
5,975 |
Starting positions in D-III football in any given week, counting the first 22 plus the kicker, punter and longsnapper on 239 teams.
100 |
D3football.com all-Americans, announced on our Stagg Bowl XL pregame show from Salem. It's our 14th season naming an All-American team. In those 14 seasons, we've recognized players from 202 schools.
4 |
Gagliardi Trophy finalists in Salem. Thomas More’s Zach Autenreib is the NCAA’s career interceptions leader....
