INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) will host its 13th annual GLVC Football Kickoff event on Friday, August 1, setting the scene for the league’s 14th season on the gridiron.
The annual celebration will be held at The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the campus of McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, for the 11th time. This season’s event, which will serve both the league’s media members and passionate fans through several social media outlets, will take place from 11:30 AM to 1:40 PM Central Time.
Located just outside the gates of McKendree’s Leemon Field, “The Hett,” as it is commonly referred to on campus, has been a perfect setting for the GLVC Football Kickoff the past seven seasons, excluding 2020 when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two events in 2012 and 2013 were held at the Millennium Student Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
All nine Conference teams will be represented by a coach and two players.
Ten-time GLVC Champion University of Indianapolis will be represented at this year’s GLVC Football Kickoff by head coach Chris Keevers in his seventh season at the helm. UIndy has compiled a 82-8 record in GLVC play since the league began sponsoring the sport in 2012, including an 8-0 mark to finish as GLVC Champions this past fall season. The Greyhounds have also garnered NCAA Division II playoff bids in nine of the last 12 seasons, including 2024.
Truman State University is led by Kellen Nesbitt who starts his second season as head coach with last year being his first season in the head role. Last year, the Bulldogs went 6-2 in the GLVC to finish tied for second and were 8-4 overall as well as winning the fifth annual America’s Crossroads Bowl, the fourth time in the school’s history.
Upper Iowa University went 7-4 overall and 6-2 in league play to finish tied for second under the guidance of Jason Hoskins. He enters his fifth year guiding the Peacocks this fall in their third year of league membership.
Jason Killday enters his second season at the helm for Quincy University. In his first season in charge the Hawks went 5-4 overall and 5-3 in GLVC action, finishing fourth.
McKendree University enters year two under head coach Jason Rejfek. The Bearcats went 5-6 overall with a 4-4 GLVC record last season.
Jason Ambroson takes part in his second year at William Jewell having led the Cardinals to their best season since 2015 with a 5-6 record and a 3-5 record in the GLVC.
Missouri S&T looks to bounce back from a seventh place finish in the 2024 fall season with a 3-5 league record while going 4-7 overall. The Miners enter the 2025 season under the direction of fourth-year head coach Andy Ball.
Paul Hansen starts year one in charge of Southwest Baptist University after being announced as the new head coach after Robert Clardy stepped down after 10 seasons. Hansen inherits a squad that went 2-8 overall and 1-7 in league play this past fall.
Second-year mentor Moses Harper leads the Blue Tigers to their second season in the GLVC. Lincoln went 1-10 overall and 0-8 in conference play in their inaugural season.
In the coming weeks, the GLVC will release its list of player attendees and launch the official GLVC Football Kickoff website, as well as the fan-interactive schedule.
Media members interested in attending the 2025 GLVC Football Kickoff can apply for access by contacting GLVC Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Communications Noah Stubenrauch at
noah@glvc-sports.org.