The Official Site of the Fighting Saints

Mike Van Diest is the most successful coach not only in Carroll College history, but one of the most impactful coaches in NAIA and college football history.

Van Diest took over the Carroll College Football program in 1999, and led the program to unmatched heights. The Fighting Saints won six NAIA National Championships throughout his tenure, in 2002, '03, '04, '05, '07, and 2010. He claimed a school record 14 Frontier Conference Championships, including a conference-record 12 straight from 2000-2011. He was selected as the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year 10 times, while garnering NAIA National Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2005. The America Football Coaches Association (AFCA) selected him as the National Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Van Diest coached four players who won the NAIA Player of the Year honor; Tyler Emmert (2003, 2005), Owen Koeppen (2008), and Chance Demarais (2011). He finished his truly legendary career with a record of 203-54 (.789 winning percentage), and an NAIA all-time record of 39-8 in the Playoffs. From 2000-2014, his Fighting Saints posted 15 consecutive winning seasons.

In 2017, Van Diest's Fighting Saints boasted the highest GPA in the NAIA (3.22).

In 2019, Van Diest joined former players Tyler Emmert and Casey FitzSimmons, as well as former Carroll Coaches Raymond Hunthausen and Bob Petrino, as one of just five Fighting Saints in school history to be elected into the NAIA Hall of Fame.