Welcome to the Sickos Committee’s Weather, Travel & Football Master Almanac Network aka the SCWTFMAN.

Here at the SCWTFMAN we will attempt to forecast the upcoming 2024 college football season by using our Sickos Committee alert system. We’re going to do this in the Famer’s Almanac style. If you don’t know what a Farmers' Almanac is, basically it provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. We will be applying our forecast to all of Division I in the United States. We’re trying to predict what the upcoming season holds for all Division I teams in college football using our Sickos Committee Weather Alert System.

First we will preview the 129 FCS teams in a conference by conference breakdown over the next coming weeks. Then we will get to the FBS.

Will these previews be long winded and incredibly in depth? No. 

Will these previews be mostly based on “vibes” as assessed by the Sickos Committee weather forecasters? Yes. 

Basically, we’re going to try to assess the team as a Sickos Warning, Watch or Advisory, give you their record last year, provide a little blurb about the team and for the FCS version to possibly advise you of any of their games against the FBS and interesting schedule tidbits. This year we’re also adding a conference specific thing.

For the Pioneer Football league, we’re going to give you the distance to a monument or statue dedicated to pioneers using this Nearest Pioneer Monument.

Pioneer Football League 

Butler

Where: Indianapolis, IN

Last Year's Record: 7–4 (5–3 PFL)

Why Should You Care: They are coached by Mike Uremovich (you-REM-OH-vitch). What a phonetic pronunciation here? You + the band R.E.M. + abbreviation for Ohio + the film Vitch? (had no idea this was a real film before). Prior to Butler, Uremovich was the offensive coordinator at Temple and Northern Illinois under Rod Carey. He’s in his second year at Butler and has gotten them off to a strong start. They also play their games in the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl, aka the Butler Bowl, which started at 36,000 in 1928, was reduced to 20,000 in 1955, dropped to 6,000, then went back to 7,500 (with standing room only) and 5,647 (seated) in 2013. 

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - The Pioneer League is unique as it is a league that doesn’t allow athletic scholarships in football. I'm not sure what to expect from Butler, as they don’t have a Wiki for this year’s team. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They play three D2 or below teams in Upper Iowa, Hanover and VA-Lynchburg in their first four games before the all-Pioneer conference slate. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 8.1 miles - Pioneer Family statue made in 1924. Fountain Square, Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN.

Davidson

Where: Davidson, NC

Last Year's Record: 7–4 (6–2 PFL)

Why Should You Care: Last year, they lost to VMI and then Division II Barton on Wildcat Vision Pay Per View to start 0-2 but rebounded nicely. In 1906, prior to a game against Georgia, the Davidson coaching staff took note of the new rule that made a forward pass a legal play. During the game, the team completed several short passes over the middle and ended up winning 15–0. Fuzzy Woodruff gives the team credit for being the first team in the South to complete a forward pass in his book, "The History of Southern Football." I was just imagining how mad the Georgia coaches were about this forward pass nonsense. Will Muschamp is livid on the sidelines. Also, typing someone named Fuzzy Woodruff is a name I couldn’t pass up. So enjoy your trivia tidbit about Davidson being the first to complete a pass in “Southern” Football. 

Sickos Forecast:  Warning - Anyone who lost a pay-per-view game against a Division II school last year gets a Warning in our book. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): The opening to this season is wild, at Georgetown, then home against DII Catawba, NAIA Post and Presbyterian. If they get past Georgetown, they could be 4-0, and we’d likely not know how good they are by the end of September. Maybe we could call them September Davidson? 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 146 Miles - Massengil Memorial Monument, 1937. Winged Deer Park, Johnson City, TN.

Dayton

Where: Dayton, OH

Last Year's Record: 4–7 (2–6 PFL)

Why Should You Care: The Alma Mater of the Commish’s Dad. Two Division III National Titles in 1980 and 1989. Twelve conference titles in the PFL since 1993, but the last one was in 2015. Hall of Famer Chuck Knoll, Five-Time Black National Championship winner at Southern Pete Richardson, and Super Bowl winner Jon Gruden played here. Dayton has some football history, and they have been solid but haven’t made the FCS playoffs since 2015. (Bring back this helmet Dayton)

Sickos Forecast:  Warning - They are led by second year coach Trevor Andrews, who played defensive back for Dayton in 1994–1997. They went 8-3 in 2022 but fell to 4-7 in 2023. Do they bounce back, or is this the new normal? 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They start at home against the Red Flash of St. Francis, go travel to our beloved Indiana State Sickomores and then welcome in a football team called Ave Maria from NAIA. Could they be 3-0 before conference play starts? 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument:  27.8 Miles - Madonna of the Trail, 1928. National Road Commons Park, Springfield, OH.

Drake

Where: Des Moines, IA

Last Year's Record: 8–4 (8–0 PFL)

Why Should You Care: Won the PFL last year but was rewarded with a trip to North Dakota State. They got out to a 3-0 lead, but then proceeded to lose 66-3. The Dakotas were not kind to them at all, South Dakota State beat them 70-7, and North Dakota beat them 55-7. Also, they had a rough off-season of being involved in the Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef memes. However, they are a feisty bunch and could contend for the PFL title again. They are coached by Todd Stepsis. Yes, I spelled that correctly. 

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - Don’t have much of a read on this team, they should contend for the Conference crown, but their schedule is a bit weird. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): at the Red Field in Eastern Washington in Week 2, at the Dakota Dome against the Coyotes in Week 3, and two long road trips to Presbyterian and Stetson in conference. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 32.7 miles - Madonna of the Prairie / Prairie Woman, circa 1940; erected 1982. Iowa State University College of Education, Ames, IA.

Marist

Where: Poughkeepsie, NY

Last Year's Record: 4–7 (4–4 PFL)

Why Should You Care: The longest tenured coach in the NCAA was at Marist last year, Jim Parady in his 31st season. He retired at the end of the season. Many of you reading this have never known another Marist Head Coach. Amazingly, he never made the FCS Playoffs in his time there, even though he had won four conference championships. They hired a Princeton coach to replace him in Mike Willis. So, they have a Princeton man in Poughkeepsie. 

Sickos Forecast:  Warning - Extremely long-time tenured Head Coach retires, and you have a new coach? I have no idea what to expect here, so that is an automatic warning. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They don’t leave the Northeast until October 5th to play at Davidson, and they take the two longest road trips in the Pioneer, at San Diego October 19th and at Stetson on November 9th. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 117.2 miles - Pioneers Monument / Benediction, 1932. Kingsborough Cemetery, Gloversville, NY.

Morehead State

Where: Morehead, KY

Last Year's Record: 4–7 (3–5 PFL)

Why Should You Care: One of the most common hats you’d see everywhere just because of the name of the school. I don’t even have to post this hat. Also, they play in Jayne Stadium, where all the seats are blue or yellow. I'm just a fan of this stadium. Something draws me to it, and I enjoy looking at it. It seems like it would be a fantastic place to attend a game. 

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - They seem to be middle of the road in the conference and may likely stay there. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): A weird out of conference schedule with D2 and below teams and then FCS playoff teams. They play the Central State Marauders, the Kentucky Christian Knights, then on the road at Eastern Kentucky and at Montana. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 103 Miles - George Rogers Clark Memorial / The First Permanent Settlement of the West / Settlers of the West, 1932. Fort Harrod State Park, Harrodsburg, KY.

Presbyterian

Where: Clinton, SC

Last Year's Record: 4–7 (2–6 PFL)

Why Should You Care: They’re known as the Blue Hose, and the name signifies fierce Scottish warriors. This interpretation also reflects the college's Scottish heritage. Basically, think about William Wallace being their mascot.  Here’s an old logo.

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - They are now two or three years removed from the “Never Punt” coach of Kevin Kelley and slowly seem to be improving. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They play at San Diego on October 5th and at Marist on November 16th. One to the westernmost member and the other to the second northernmost member of the conference.

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 160 miles - Massengil Memorial Monument, 1937. Winged Deer Park, Johnson City, TN.

San Diego

Where: San Diego, CA

Last Year's Record: 4–7 (4–4 PFL)

Why Should You Care: Did you know Jim Harbaugh got his first Head Coaching stop here? From 2004 to 2006, they went 7-4, 11-1 and 11-1. They maintained their strong status, winning 12 total Pioneer Conference titles, with the last one in 2019. Also, they’re all by themselves out in California in this conference. Their nearest in conference state is Iowa! I know it’s not as cool of a fact now since the ACC and Big Ten decided to join them in this weird fact. 

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - Just on the travel alone. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They play their rival Cal Poly to open the season. At North Dakota, at Drake, at St. Thomas, and Dayton are their longest road trips this year. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 19.2 miles - The Pioneers, 2007. Templars Hall, Old Poway Park, Poway, CA.

Stetson

Where: DeLand, FL 

Last Year's Record: 3–8 (1–7 PFL)

Why Should You Care: They are known as the Hatters. *tips cap*

They had football from 1894 to 1957, won the 1952 Tangerine Bowl, stopped football in 1957, but returned in 2013. They are coached by Brian Young in his 4th year, who played for Georgia Southern. He later played briefly in the Indoor Football League (IFL) with the Bismarck Blaze and Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks. His Wikipedia page of coaching stops is a wild eclectic bunch that included stops at the Georgia Force, Grand Rapids Rampage, Louisiana College, Canton Legends, and Mississippi College. 

Sickos Forecast:  Advisory - They were last in the Pioneer, and this schedule seems tough. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): The first two games against Ave Maria and Warner could get them to 2-0, but then the road trips kick in. At Furman, at Harvard, at St. Thomas, then clear across the country to San Diego on November 16. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 171 Miles - Pioneer Family/Pioneer Family Hears A Sound, Is it Bears or Billy Bowlegs?, copper, 1984. City Hall, Sarasota, FL.

St. Thomas Tommies

Where: St. Paul, MN

Last Year's Record: 8–3 (7–1 PFL)

Why Should You Care: The Tommies are still in their transition from Division III, which started in 2021. They’ve only lost 3 games in the Pioneer in the three years they’ve been in FCS. They won the Conference title in 2022. They’re coached by Glen Caruso, who has been there since 2008, and he played center for Ithaca in the mid-1990s. 

Sickos Forecast:  Advisory - They should contend for the conference title even though they can’t make the FCS Playoffs. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): They welcome Northern Iowa on September 7th, and that one should be an under-the-radar banger. They go to Marist on October 12th. From Minnesota to Marist sounds like a regrettable straight-to-Netflix coming-of-age movie, but Tommies vs. Foxes is a fun nickname matchup. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 4.3 miles - Pioneer Woman, 1958. In front of Pioneer Portrait Hall, Minnesota State Fairgrounds, St. Paul, MN.

Valparaiso

Where: Valparaiso, IN 

Last Year's Record: 3–8 (2–6 PFL)

Why Should You Care: Valpo scheduled a game with New Mexico State at the last minute to help the Aggies get to 6-6, and we’re forever appreciative of the Beacons for that move. There was little reason for FCS non-scholarship school Valparaiso to make the trip across the country on short notice to play New Mexico State. NM State paid Valpo $425,000 in order to host a sixth home game and send 20 seniors out with a 65-3 victory in 2022. We’ll never forget that! Also, shout out to their Victory Bell.

Sickos Forecast:  Watch - The schedule sets up nicely, and they could make some noise in the middle of the league. 

Potential Sickos Game(s): At Northern Iowa and at Youngstown State to start, is pretty rough. However, they play a NAIA and DII team after that start. They really don’t travel too far except for their one Florida trip on October 12th to Stetson. 

Distance to a Pioneer Monument: 55.4 miles - The Pioneers, 1930. Michigan Ave. Bridge (DuSable Bridge), Chicago, IL.

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