Another View
In St. Paul this Saturday, history will again be made in the MIAC. Hamline (0-2, 2-2) hosts Augsburg (1-1, 3-1) in football action at Klas Field, at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The MIAC’s two most diverse teams, in terms of players and coaching staff, are facing each other in the annual “The Hammer” trophy contest. Both are Skyline Division rivals.
St. Paul-based Hamline has five Black coaches, including six-year Head Coach Chip Taylor, who calls his eight-man coaching staff “the most diverse DIII staff in the country.”
Augsburg, located in the shadow of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, has four Black assistant coaches. According to HC Derrin Lamker’s recent research, Augsburg’s percentage of players of color may be among the highest, if not the highest among all NCAA Division III football teams nationally.
Whether this is true or not is debatable, but the Auggies’ 80 Black players (out of 116 total) is indeed the most in the MIAC, as well as in any Minnesota college or university. Compared to the state’s two Division I schools, Minnesota has 48 Black players and St. Thomas has 34 Black players on their respective rosters this season.
“It’s great progress for the MIAC to have athletic programs being demonstrably more reflective of the diversity seen in and around our campus communities,” Associate Commissioner BJ Pickard told the MSR last week.
Lamker, now in his fourth year at his alma mater, said, “I think it’s awesome. First of all, we’re a team foremost with all the kids, and that’s really cool to see our locker room. Everybody works together, which is so fun to see, from all different parts and backgrounds.”
KiJuan Ware is Augsburg’s defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Two years ago, he was Macalester’s interim head football coach.
“In my stop at Macalester,” admitted the second-year AU assistant coach, “I don’t think I can help those kids over there like I can help these kids over here.” He coached at Macalester for three seasons, first as the Scots’ offensive coordinator in 2019, then as interim HC for the 2021 season.
First-year linebacker Patrick Andry (Rockford, Minn.) stressed, “Just having everybody that’s comfortable to talk to, it’s amazing. I love the atmosphere.”
“I will say this,” continued Ware: “Me growing up as an inner-city kid and knowing what college has done for me, this is a great experience being able to now pay it forward and mentor these young men at this next level.”
Said Pickard, “It’s important that we continue to be a welcoming conference where all our athletes feel safe, seen, and supported.”
“Our big thing is culture,” said Lamker of his 2023 Auggies. “You’ve got to learn others’ culture. If you’re African American, White, whatever, you’re just learning others’ cultures and getting to know what their story is.”
It should not be lost that if Augsburg can break into the MIAC‘s longtime gridiron upper echelon with a majority-Black squad, it will also open more eyes to the importance of diversity.
“There’s always more work to be done in that area,” surmised Pickard. “Our campuses take that responsibility seriously, and it’s wonderful to see schools like Augsburg and Hamline backing up their words with action in assembling staffs to best fit the needs and interests of their student population.”
“I’m excited about it,” concluded Lamker. “I’m embracing it,”
The unbeaten
Four non-HBCU Black head football coaches going into last weekend’s games had unbeaten FBS teams: James Franklin (Penn State), Michael Locksley (Maryland), Dino Babers (Syracuse), and Charles Huff (Marshall). Only Franklin (5-0), Locksley (5-0), and Huff (4-0) go into this weekend unblemished.
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