WHITEWATER — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team’s goal is to win games and compete for the national title, something they’ve done six times in their program history.
With the 2024 season on tap next month, the Warhawks’ goal is to be atop the Division III college football world come December.
“All the opportunities and the dreams, all that is right in front of us. I think our biggest thing is we take this one day at a time,” UW-W football coach Jace Rindahl said at Tuesday’s media day.
Rindahl is going into his second year as head coach for the Warhawks, coming off a 2023 season where Whitewater had two losses: one to their conference rival UW-La Crosse and the other to Wartburg College in the quarterfinals of the D3 playoffs.
With a full season under his belt as head coach, Rindahl is going to use the lessons learned from year one and implement them this season.
“Going into year two I think you just learn off those lessons,” Rindahl said. “The message and how we go about it is the same. For me personally, I want to just be a better communicator, be a little more organized. I think that would be my two biggest things that I have to improve going into year two.”
The offseason is the time to get better for both players and coaches. Players work on their conditioning and perform drills to improve at specific components that will help be a better player compared to the previous season.
“We’ve been working extremely hard all summer,” senior quarterback Jason Ceniti said. “A lot of us are in the area, so we’ve been able to spend an incredible amount of time together over the summer.”
The offseason also acts as a transition period where players become more familiar with the program and mature. Freshman transition into sophomores and see the field more, and sophomores take the leap into upperclassmen, allowing them to become true leaders on the team.
“We played a lot of sophomores last year and they got a lot of game experience,” Rindahl said. “Well now you’re a junior. This is your third year in the program. That young stuff, that immaturity, we can’t use that as an excuse.”
Talent can take a team a long way, but talent with leadership can take that team further.
The Warhawks’ media day featured three of their key seniors: Ceniti, defensive back Kyle Koelblinger and running back Drake Martin.
“Without a doubt this is going to be an exciting season, but it’s because of that group,” Rindahl said.
Ceniti showed his veteran wisdom by distinguishing the difference between expectations and aspirations. The Warhawks are expected to be one of the best teams in the nation, evident by their ranking as the number three team in the preseason d3football.com poll.
Yet, Ceniti and the Warhawks are focused on their own aspirations, and not the expectations that come with being a high-level program.
“This is our last chance to leave a legacy, and so we take that really seriously,” Ceniti said. “It’s also a blessing because there’s no pressure. There’s no expectations that we put on ourselves, just aspirations.”
The Warhawks begin their season with three non-conference opponents, starting with seventh-ranked John Carroll University at Perkins Stadium on Sept. 7 at 1 p.m.
Non-conference games give the Warhawks a chance to find their stride before playing games against their conference opponents in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, known for being one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
Similar to last season, UW-Whitewater’s nonconference opponents are sure to put them to the test. The Warhawks have a Sept. 14 road game against Roosevelt University followed by a Sept. 21 home game against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Rindahl was honest about the quality opponents his team will face in 2024.
“I would prefer not to have really, really good non-conference opponents because you play such challenging opponents in the conference, but that’s just the reality of being at UW-Whitewater, “ Rindahl said.
The Warhawks’ conference schedule kicks off Oct. 5 at home against UW-Oshkosh.
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