2002 Carroll Fighting Saints football team

2002 Carroll Fighting Saints football
NAIA national champion Frontier champion
NAIA National Championship Game, W 28–7 vs. Georgetown (KY)
Conference	Frontier Conference
Record	12–2 (7–1 Frontier)
Head coach	Mike Van Diest (4th season)
Home stadium	Nelson Field

2002 Frontier Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Carroll (MT) $^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 15 Montana Western ^		7	–	1					9	–	3
Montana Tech		3	–	5					4	–	7
Rocky Mountain		2	–	6					2	–	8
Montana State–Northern		1	–	7					1	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

The 2002 Carroll Fighting Saints football team was an American football team that represented Carroll College as a member of the Frontier Conference during the 2002 NAIA football season. In their fourth season under head coach Mike Van Diest, the Saints compiled a 12–2 record (7–1 against conference opponents) and won the NAIA national championship, defeating Georgetown (Kentucky), 28–7, in the NAIA National Championship Game.^[1] It was the first of six national championships between 2002 and 2010.

The team played its home games at Nelson Field at Helena, Montana.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Rocky Mountain	Nelson Field Helena, MT	W 20–3
September 14	Central Washington*	Nelson Field Helena, MT	L 8–26
September 28	MSU Northern	Havre, MT	W 37–0
October 5	Montana Tech	Nelson Field Helena, MT	W 28–7
October 12	at Rocky Mountain	Billings, MT	W 31–7
October 19	Montana Western	Dillon, MT	W 36–21
October 26	at Eastern Oregon*	La Grande, OR	W 44–13
November 2	MSU Northern	Nelson Field Helena, MT	W 47–14
November 11	at Montana Tech	Butte, MT	W 7–2
November 16	Montana Western	Nelson Field Helena, MT	L 17–35		[2]
November 23	at Dickinson State*	Dickinson, ND (NAIA first round)	W 42–23		[3]
November 30	Southern Oregon*	Nelson Field Helena, MT (NAIA quarterfinal)	W 35–31		[4]
December 7	at Sioux Falls*	Sioux Falls, SD (NAIA semifinal)	W 20–17		[5]
December 21	vs. Georgetown (KY)*	Jim Carroll Stadium Savannah, GA (NAIA Championship Game)	W 28–7	5,878	[6]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

References

1. "2002 National Championship Football". Carroll College. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
2. "Bulldogs bite Carroll". The Independent Record. November 17, 2002. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Saints move on". The Independent Record. November 24, 2002. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Saints rally past SOU". The Independent Record. December 1, 2002. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
5. "On to Tennessee". The Independent Record. December 8, 2002. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tigers title try tackled". The Jackson Sun. December 22, 2002. p. 10B – via Newspapers.com.