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Bemidji State University

Bemidji State Beavers Athletics

Bemidji State Beaver Football Centennial Season Team header graphic featuring “100 Seasons of Beaver Football,” “Centennial Season Team,” and “1926–2026” in green, white and gold.

For 100 seasons, Bemidji State University Beaver Football has been built by the student-athletes, coaches and teams who have worn the Green & White, competed on the field and shaped what Beaver Football means today.

Established in 1926, the program has spent a century creating memories, setting records, developing leaders and leaving a lasting mark on Bemidji State University and the communities its players have called home. Through chasing eras, conferences, traditions and generations of Beavers, the foundation has remained the same: toughness, pride, perseverance and a commitment to something bigger than oneself. 

To celebrate the program's 100th season, Bemidji State Athletics proudly presents the Beaver Football Centennial Team - a collection of 100 players and coaches whose contributions helped define the history of Beaver Football. 

The Centennial Team represents more than statistics, championships or individual accolades. Many of the men listed created a lasting impact on the Beaver Football program, their teams and the legacy for future Beavers to come. Some were record-setters. Some were champions. Some became leaders on and off the field. All played a part in the story of Beaver Football. 

From the early days of the program in 1926 to the modern era, these 100 individuals represent the generations of Beavers who have carried the tradition forward. 

A Difficult Selection

Selecting just 100 players and coaches from a century of Beaver Football was no easy task. With thousands of individuals having worn the Green & White since 1926, there were countless deserving candidates and many who came down to the Final Cut. 

Current Beaver football student-athletes were not eligible for selection to the Centennial Team, while current and former members of the coaching staff were eligible. For today's players, their story is still being written. They have the opportunity to build their own Beaver legacy and, perhaps one day, find their names among the program's all-time greats. 

The Centennial Team is a celebration of those selected, while also recognizing the tremendous number of Beavers who helped build this program over the past 100 years. To everyone who has contributed to Beaver Football: This legacy belongs to you, too. 

One hundred seasons. One hundred stories. One enduring legacy. 

Welcome to the history of Beaver Football. 

Sepia-toned archival photograph of Bemidji State Teachers College’s first football team from 1926, known as the Peds, posed in three rows in early football uniforms with helmets arranged in front. The team is pictured outdoors with a building and trees in the background.
BSTC First Team - 1926 - Head Coach R.E. Mendenhall

A note on our history: Records and statistical information are more limited for the early decades of Beaver Football. For many of the program's earliest standouts, surviving records consist primarily of team rosters, conference honors and All-American selections. These recognitions are preserved here as an important part of the program's history. 

1926–1950 | THE FOUNDATION

Bemidji State football began in 1926 when R.E. Mendenhall organized the college's first team, then known as the Peds. That inaugural squad played four games against local high schools, finishing 1-2-1 and laying the foundation for a program that would span the next century. As the college and community grew, so did Beaver football. The program established a home on the shores of Lake Bemidji, began playing under the lights in 1935 and eventually moved into what is now Chet Anderson Stadium in 1939. Through its first 25 seasons, generations of student-athletes helped establish the traditions, rivalries and pride that would become part of the fabric of Beaver football.

Black-and-white 1950 Bemidji State Teacher's College football team photo showing players and coaches posed in several rows on the field, with helmets lined up in front and the stadium bleachers in the background.
Bemidji State Teachers College Team Photo - 1950 - Head Coach H.J. Erickson

1951–1975 | BUILDING THE TRADITION

The next quarter-century saw Beaver football become an established force in regional college football. Bemidji State developed longstanding rivalries and traditions that remain part of the program today, including battles with Minnesota State University Moorhead, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota Duluth and others. The Beavers claimed the Northern Intercollegiate Conference title in 1959, marking an important championship chapter in program history. Across these 25 seasons, All-Conference and All-American players continued to emerge, carrying the program's reputation forward while competing through an era of changing conferences, opponents and styles of play.

Black-and-white archival photo from 1980 showing Bemidji State football players lined up on the field during a play, with the quarterback preparing to hand off as teammates block and defenders close in.

1976–2000 | A NEW ERA

The final quarter of the 20th century brought both challenges and important milestones for Beaver football. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Bemidji State continued to compete across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest while building rivalries that would become staples of the program. The 1990s closed with a resurgence at Chet Anderson Stadium, including an undefeated home season in 1998 and another in 2000. The 2000 team finished 9-2 and matched the program record for wins, helping set the stage for one of the most successful stretches in Beaver football history.

2021 Football Team Photo
2021 Beaver Football - First NCAA Playoff appearance in program history - Head Coach Brent Bolte

2001–2026 | RAISING THE STANDARD

The 21st century ushered in a new level of success for Beaver football. Building on the resurgence that began in the late 1990s, Head Coach Jeff Tesch guided Bemidji State through one of the most successful stretches in program history. The Beavers produced 15 winning seasons during Tesch's 20-year tenure, including an 11-year streak of winning seasons from 2002-12, and captured the program's first conference championship in more than four decades in 2006. That championship season featured a perfect 8-0 NSIC record and a nationally dominant “Gang Green” defense, establishing a new standard for Beaver football. Tesch's teams continued to compete among the region's best, producing numerous All-Americans and All-Conference selections and memorable victories over nationally ranked opponents. When Brent Bolte took over as head coach in 2016, he inherited that foundation and helped carry it to new heights. Bolte's “Blue Collar” mentality and "Grind the Axe" (meaning Attitude, Execution, Effort) philosophy fueled another defining chapter, highlighted by the 2021 team becoming the first in program history to reach the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Beavers won 10 games in 2021, 2022 and 2024, made four consecutive NCAA postseason appearances from 2021-24 and reached the Division II quarterfinals for the first time in program history in 2024. Across the quarter-century, generations of Beavers have continued to raise the standard, leaving a program in 2026 that enters its Centennial Season with a proud history and an expectation to keep building on it.

THE LEGACY CONTINUES

A century of Beaver football has never been defined by one player, one coach or one team. It has been built year after year by the people who chose to wear the green and white and leave the program better than they found it.

The 100 names celebrated here represent just a fraction of the thousands who have helped shape Beaver football since 1926. And the story isn't finished.

The players taking the field today and in the next 100 years are writing the next chapter. Their names may not be on this Centennial Team… yet. Their opportunity is still ahead of them.

100 seasons are in the books. The next chapter starts now.

Record Book
2026 Schedule
2026 Roster