UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State University's season-opening football game against Northeastern State on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. is just 50 days away. The 2025 season marks the 50th anniversary of SVSU's first varsity team from 1975, and the Cardinals also will celebrate their first 50 years of competition.
"Maintaining connectivity with our past is vital to creating and sustaining a vibrant Athletics Department," SVSU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics John Lewandowski said. "We often talk about the importance of celebrating our recent successes in competition and in the classroom, but it is equally important to commemorate our previous teams' and former student-athletes' accomplishments. Our current student-athletes are walking in their footsteps because our alums established a firm foundation for our intercollegiate programs.
"The season opener kicks off a season-long celebration of the first 50 years of Cardinal football. We look forward to welcoming back former coaches and legendary players to serve as honorary game captains. Our ability to link the past to the present is what makes intercollegiate athletics so special, and why Cardinal home football games have become a part of the fall fabric in the Great Lakes Bay Region. I hope our SVSU alumni, fans, and community join in our excitement to make this 2025 season one to remember."
"Our players and coaches alike are excited about the upcoming 2025 season for many reasons," seventh-year SVSU head coach Ryan Brady said. "First, we're looking forward to competing for a GLIAC regular-season championship and pursuing a trip to the NCAA postseason. Second, we're eager to embrace and celebrate our past SVSU teams and football alums. Our players understand that they represent so much more than themselves every time they put on that Cardinal uniform. We have an opportunity to write our own story this season while paying tribute to those football alums who preceded them. That's truly something special."
Led by legendary head coach Frank "Muddy" Waters, then-Saginaw Valley State College defeated Adrian, 29-14, on Sept. 13, 1975, and followed the next weekend with another home field win over Northeastern Illinois, 20-0. In Week 4, the Fighting Cardinals won their first-ever Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference game at Ferris State, 31-28. SVSC finished its inaugural season with a 3-7 record.
To mark the 50th anniversary of SVSU's first varsity team:
• The game program for SVSU's home opener against Northeastern State will be packaged with a reprinted copy from the Sept. 13, 1975, season opener against Adrian College. The set of game programs will be available for $10.
• Members of SVSU's 1975 football team will be introduced during a halftime ceremony.
• A pair of 50th anniversary commemorative logos have been designed in recognition of the first varsity team and the first 50 seasons of competition.
• For the season opener, SVSU will be referred to as the "Fighting Cardinals" on the live radio and live stream broadcasts, as well as PA reads.
• The SVSU Marching Band's halftime performance will feature music from 1975 (50 years ago today).
Throughout the remainder of the 2025 campaign, SVSU Athletics will celebrate the first 50 seasons on SVSUCardinals.com, highlighting the eight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Championships (overall and division titles), eight NCAA Division II postseason appearances, 27 All-Americans, 23 GLIAC major award winners, incredible victories, and individual record-setting performances.
SVSU's 2025 football schedule features seven regular-season home games for the first time since 1977. In addition to the season opener against Northeastern State, the home slate features non-conference opponents Gannon (Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. / Hall of Fame Weekend) and Northwood (Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. / Axe Bowl) as well as GLIAC rivals Northern Michigan (Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. / Homecoming), Roosevelt (Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.), Wayne State (Oct. 25 at 2 p.m.), and Ferris State (Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. / Senior Day & Military Appreciation Game). Cardinal fans may purchase season tickets (general admission priced at $120 each) online at SVSUCardinals.com.
Membership renewals and new applications are being accepted for the reimagined Cardinal Athletics Fund (formerly known as the Cardinal Booster Club). Now, any gift to SVSU Athletics qualifies for membership in the CAF. In addition, former SVSU student-athlete alums will receive benefits at twice their giving level. We encourage you to become a difference-maker by joining the CAF and investing in the lives of our current student-athletes. To renew or become a new CAF member, visit www.svsu.edu/cardsfund.
