The St. Norbert Green Knights football program is the intercollegiate American football team for St. Norbert College, located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and is a member of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). St. Norbert's first football team was fielded in 1931. The team plays its home games at the 2,454-seat Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wisconsin.

The Green Knights have been coached by Dan McCarty since 2015. He was the defensive coordinator until the previous Green Knights coach elected to resign from his position. McCarty previously coached the defense at the University of Wisconsin–Stout.

Coaching history St. Norbert has had 11 head coaches in their history. No teams were fielded in 1943, 1944, or 1945 due to World War II. Additionally, no team was fielded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. + Coach Seasons Term Wins Losses Ties Win %Jack Malevich 31931–1933493Mickey McCormick 91934–194232268Tom Hearden71946–195240140.741Mel Nicks71953–195928263Howard Kolstad191960–197896765Larry Van Alstine 41979–198210280Don LaViolette111983–199359431Greg Quick51994–199821250Jim Purtill151999–2013130300Steve Opgenorth12014640Dan McCarty92015–present72320.692

Conference affiliation

Independent (1931–1946) Midlands Conference (1947–1953) Independent (1954–1983) Midwest Conference (1984–2020) Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (2021–present)

Championships

Conference championships The Green Knights have won 19 conference championships (15 outright, 4 shared), despite being an Independent for 43 seasons. St. Norbert was a member of the Midlands Conference from 1947–1953, winning two championships in that time, which was tied for the most with Loras College before the conference disbanded. During a 36 season stint in the Midwest Conference, the Green Knights won the championship 17 times. + Year Conference Coach Overall Record Conference Record1950Midlands ConferenceTom Hearden7–04–019526–04–01985†Midwest ConferenceDon LaViolette6–2–16–119877–36–119888–26–019898–36–01999Jim Purtill9–29–0200010–19–02001†8–27–12002†9–18–1200311–19–020049–29–0200610–19–0200710–19–020107–47–22012†8–38–120138–38–12015Dan McCarty10–15–0201810–25–0 † Co-champions

Undefeated regular seasons

St. Norbert has finished the regular season undefeated nine times. Of the undefeated seasons, four (1946, 1950, 1952, 1957) were before there was a postseason to determine a champion. In the playoff era, the Green Knights finished the regular season undefeated five times (2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2015) before ultimately losing a game in the playoffs. In 1946 St. Norbert received votes in the AP Poll to finish the season ranked #29 in all of college football, right behind Northwestern and just ahead of Kentucky. Year Coach Regular season record Final record1946Tom Hearden8–08–019507–07–019526–06–01957Mel Nicks8–08–02000Jim Purtill10–010–1200310–011–1200610–010–1200710–010–12015Dan McCarty10–010–1

Postseason games

NCAA Division III playoffs St. Norbert has made the NCAA Division III playoff 13 times, with the first appearance being in 1989. The Green Knights have advanced to the second round on two occasions, the first time in 2003 after a double overtime victory over Simpson College by a score of 26–20, and most recently in 2018 after a 31–7 win over Trine University. + Year Round Opponent Result Record1989First RoundCentral (IA)L, 7–558–31999First RoundAugustana (IL)L, 32–399–22000First RoundCentral (IA)L, 14–2810–12001First RoundSaint John's (MN)L, 20–278–22003First RoundSimpson (IA)W, 26–20 11–1Second RoundSaint John's (MN)L, 13–382004First RoundWisconsin–La CrosseL, 23–379–22006First RoundWisconsin–WhitewaterL, 17–5910–12007First RoundWisconsin–Eau ClaireL, 20–2410–12010First RoundNorth Central (IL)L, 7–577–42012First RoundSt. Thomas (MN)L, 17–488–32013First RoundWisconsin–WhitewaterL, 7–318–32015First RoundWisconsin–WhitewaterL, 0–4810–12018First RoundTrineW, 31–710–2Second RoundWisconsin–WhitewaterL, 21–54

Bowl games St. Norbert has twice played in the Lakefront Bowl, which features the teams from the Midwest Conference (MWC) and the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) that places highest in each conference's standings and does not qualify for the NCAA Division III playoffs. St. Norbert has a record of 1–1 in this bowl game. + Year Bowl Coach Opponent Result Record2023Lakefront BowlDan McCartyMonmouth (IL)L 14–217–42024W 20–148–3

Facilities St. Norbert has hosted the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League for their preseason training camp since 1958, the longest partnership between a professional team and a college in NFL history. During the Covid–19 Pandemic this relationship was put on hold, but the hope for both parties is to have it resume in the near future. In the 1980s and 1990s as many as five other NFL teams used campuses across Wisconsin and Minnesota for training camp in what was known as the Cheese League.

Lambeau Field games In 1982 and 1983, St. Norbert hosted Fordham, Vince Lombardi's alma mater, in two tilts, benefiting the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation at Lambeau Field. The first was held on November 20, 1982 and the second on November 19, 1983. The first game, a 14–10 St. Norbert win, drew 5,119 people. The second game, an 18–9 St. Norbert win, drew 842 people.

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