The Official Site of the Fighting Saints

After 19 years as head coach at Carroll College, Mike Van Diest has led the Fighting Saints to six National Championships, 14 Frontier Conference Championships (including twelve straight titles from 2000-2011) for one of the most dominating runs in college football history. The Saints have posted a 198-48 record (80 percent) during the past sixteen seasons. This includes a Frontier Conference mark of 138-28 for an impressive winning percentage of 83 percent. The Saints have compiled a playoff record of 39-8 over the past fourteen years.
 
This past season, the Saints closed the season winning four of the last five games, but closed with a 4-6 record for the third-consecutive season.
 
Compared to Van Diest’s track record, the last three seasons were aberrations. Carroll College ended the 2014 season ranked No. 1 in the country and reached the NAIA FCS Quarterfinal game, losing a heartbreaker to Southern Oregon University with a tight score of 45-42.  The Saints finished 10-2.
 
By virtue of their 9-1 Frontier Conference mark, Carroll College won its second consecutive Frontier Conference Championship Crown, the 14th championship in 16 seasons.  The Saints were a perfect 5-0 at home in Nelson Stadium during the regular season. 
 
After going 12-2 in 2013 and falling in the national semifinal, Coach Van Diest was honored as the 2013 region five NAIA coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association.
 
In 2011 the Saints reached the National Championship game for the 8th time in the past 10 years and ended the season in second place after losing to St. Xavier 20-24.
 
In 2010 the Saints won their sixth National Championship in the past 9 seasons and the 7th appearance in the title game. The Saints posted a 14-0 record defeating the University of Sioux Falls 10-7 in the championship game. This was the 4th time under Van Diest that the Saints finished with a perfect record, the other seasons were in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
 
During Van Diest’s tenure, Carroll has had the National Player of the Year four times. Tyler Emmert received this award in 2003 and 2005 and in 2008 Owen Koeppen was named Player of the Year. Chance Demarais won the award in 2011.
 
In 2000 and 2001 the Saints finished with a number 3 national ranking. The Saints defense was ranked 11th in 2000, 4th in 2001, 6th in 2002, 5th in 2003 and 3rd in 2004 and number one in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 the Saints defense gave up an average of 5.8 points per contest.
 
While at Carroll College, Van Diest has coached 37 All-Conference linebackers with eight being named First Team All-Americans: Joe Horne (2001), Cory Perzinski (2002), Marcus Atkinson (2003), Gary Cooper (2004, 2005), Seamus Molloy (2006), Owen Koeppen (2007, 2008) and Thomas Dolan (2010) and Sean Blomquist (2013, 2014). Horne, Atkinson, Cooper, Koeppen (twice), Dolan (twice) and Blomquist (twice) were also named Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year. During his tenure as head coach Van Diest has been named Frontier Conference Coach of the Year ten times. In 2003 and 2005 Van Diest was named NAIA National Coach of the Year by the American Football Association as well as the AFCA Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010.
 
Van Diest is a 1970 graduate of Helena High School. His career has included stops at his alma mater, the University of Wyoming (76-79, 91-98), the University of Montana (80-85), the University of Massachusetts - Amhurst (86), and the Big Ten representative, Northwestern University (87-91), as an assistant coach. Van Diest has won titles at Montana (Big Sky Champions, 1982), Wyoming (two Western Athletic Conference Championships and one Pacific Division Championship, 1986) and 14 Frontier Conference Championships at Carroll, as well as the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010 NAIA National Championships. He and his wife Heidi have two sons, Shane, 31 and Clay, 24.