Over the last several months coaches at Concordia Ann Arbor have had to deal with uncertainty about the school's future while on the road recruiting.
Back in February, various outlets reported that the school was facing financial difficulties that were likely going to lead to cutbacks of staff and programs, with whispers of the school closing possible as well.
Not an ideal environment for head coach Josh Schumacher, a previous AFCA 35 Under 35 selection who spent two years as the team's defensive coordinator before being elevated to head coach, and his staff to continue recruiting and convincing kids to come play for the Cardinals.
Still, the staff pressed forward, managing to put together a solid class, signing 40 players despite the uncertainty.
However, yesterday the football program received news they'd been dreading.
CUAA announced yesterday that while the school will remain open, they've decided to cut all athletic programs.
The program had their first season in 2011, and took until 2013 for them to get a chance to celebrate their first win. They had their first winning campaign in 2016 and cracked the NAIA top 25 for the first time, and then had a breakout 2017 season.
That season, Schu and CUAA went 9-1, with their only loss coming to the eventual national champion, and punched their ticket to the NAIA playoffs.
They had an even better 2018 season, going 10-3 before losing in the NAIA quarterfinals.
They would go on to win 8 games in 2019, put together a 6-1 season during the COVID season, and then 9-wins (2021), 5-wins (2022) and 7-wins last fall.
Over the years Schumacher and CUAA have been able to reload impressively as coaches have left for other opportunities, many of them going on to land head coaching jobs and opportunities at the Division II and Division I levels and keep momentum going.
After the fall, CUAA will have a talented roster, and some quality coaches looking for landing spots.
Their current staff consists of:
This fall will be an emotional one, with plenty of potential distractions and no shortage of motivation.
Yesterday, as the news came out, Schumacher shared a schedule poster modeled off Avengers: Endgame as they lean into their final season together, which seems more than fitting.
Here's to hoping CUAA puts together a great season that leads to a great run in the playoffs so they can go back to campus and hand a trophy earned by the hard work of a bunch of people connected through football to a leadership team that didn't feel their journey and cause was worth a dollar amount.