This past weekend is one to be remembered, as the Big Country and its football legacy book got some big news. All three universities in McMurry, Hardin-Simmons, and ACU emerged as conference champions in their respective conferences.
McMurry
The Warhawks ended their season 7-3 overall and 7-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. They hold the SCAC conference title along with Texas Lutheran who also finished 7-1 in conference play.
McMurry’s program’s success is held within its embodied perseverance and commitment. Head Coach Jordan Neal said this past week, the theme for the team quoted the bible verse 2 Timothy 4:7.
“I have fought the good fight. I’ve kept the faith. I’ve finished the race,” Neal said. “They had faith, and they finished.”
This season for the Warhawks marked the first conference championship since 1983 and its best record since 2012.
McMurry fell just short, however, of post-season play as their co-conference champions head to face Linfield University.
Hardin-Simmons
Meanwhile, the other Div. 3 program in town, Hardin-Simmons set the bar for which post-season play is judged. HSU earned a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed nationally and finished their season with a perfect, 10-0 overall and 6-0 in American Southwest Conference play.
This marks their seventh season making it to the postseason, and their third consecutively under Head Coach Jesse Burleson. However, the team is not letting all the accolades get to them.
“None of us are satisfied and we gotta build on this,” said Burleson. “We are climbing that mountain and it is pretty treacherous, so if you don’t continue to climb it, you’re going to slip back and we definitely don’t want to do that. So we got to continue keeping our foot on the gas and keeping the main thing the main thing”
Nonetheless, their season being such a huge success he admitted, “The future is bright,” Burleson said. “Whatever they throw at us, this team will be ready.”
Although the postseason for most teams starts on the 23rd, for the Cowboys, their season begins in the second round, Nov. 30 as they await the announcement of their opponent this Sunday.
ACU
For ACU, this marks its first conference championship ever in their Div. 1 era, when it beat rival in Tarleton State this past weekend. The Wildcats finished the season 7-1 in the United Athletic Conference.
In that game, they were crowned not only the UAC champions but also the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week, with a stellar drive to win the game with less than two minutes on the clock and no timeouts.
A team built around grit and unification, Head Coach Keith Patterson has preached it being the team’s time to leave a legacy on the program.
“Leave it better than you found it,” said Patterson. “Not only leave the jersey better than you found it, leave the man inside the jersey better. We’re still writing our story.”
And despite the ACU community holding steadfast to the conference win, Patterson emphasized the job is still yet finished.
“We didn’t hold up the championship trophy today,” he said. “We’ll celebrate that after the season’s over.”
It is possible the Wildcats will host their playoff game to start the postseason, they will discover their position in the FCS playoff bracket this Sunday, at 11:30 a.m.
Some key players to watch for each team this postseason
HSU – S Harrison Foster
A team reliant on their defensive presence, just giving up 17.5 PPG, Foster poses a lethal threat to any opponent. This year Foster registered 3 picks this season and 80 total tackles, suiting up for all 10 games for the Cowboys.
ACU – QB Maverick McIvor
McIvor this year has been playing lights out for the Wildcats. This season he leads all of NCAA Div 1. football in total passing yards, with 3604 yards. He is also third in the nation in total passing touchdowns with 28. A lot of firsts happening with him at the realm for the Wildcats. The Texas Tech transfer should be a big proponent looking forward to seeing where ACU lands this year.
A United Big Country
The success of these three programs speaks volumes about the talent and commitment to winning in Abilene as it grows collegiately in athletics.
“This is exciting for the city of Abilene, for all three universities, and for this region of football,” Patterson said.
Abilene is anxiously waiting to perhaps host two playoff games in a couple of weeks- displaying an appreciation for a great football season received in the Big Country.
