QUICK HITS
The Lindenwood football team earned its second straight NCAA DII playoff appearance during its 2021 fall season, finishing with a 9-3 record and another GLVC crown. In just their two seasons as members of the GLVC, the Lions claimed the league title in 2019 and 2021 and went a clean 14-0 in conference play.
 
Drew Seers paced the Lindenwood defense, holding six opponents last fall to 21 or less points, including a pair of nationally-ranked programs. The senior hauled in a ton of postseason accolades, including GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, D2football.com Defensive Player of the Year, and All-America distinction from the Associated Press (AP) and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
 
The Lions won nine straight contests that spanned more than two months, from September 18 to their playoff loss on November 20. During that run, Lindenwood downed No. 18 Truman and UIndy over the course of three weeks to solidify its position in the GLVC standings and Super Region IV rankings.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Kai Ross and Clint Sigg earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors following the 2021 season, with the latter nabbing first-team distinction. Sigg led the Lions with 47 catches, adding 529 yards and three touchdowns from the tight end position, while Ross intercepted six opposing passes and recovered a pair of fumble recoveries as a safety. Both players were named All-GLVC First Team honorees. Arsante Conners was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad, finishing the 2021 season with 28 tackles and five sacks.
 
-  Lindenwood claimed four major awards from the GLVC, with 21 student-athletes named all-conference: Jed Stugart (Coach of the Year), Spencer Redd (Special Teams Player of the Year), Robert Giaima (Freshman of the Year), and Seers (Defensive Player of the Year). Of the 21 All-GLVC selections, 10 were named to the first team, eight to the second team, and three honorable mention. Five players – Grady Daniels, Redd, Ross, Seers, Sigg – were unanimous choices by the league's eight head coaches.
 
- The Lions ranked in the DII top 50 in eight categories, including kickoff return yards (26.24 per return); third-down conversion rate (45.1%); turnover margin (0.67); first downs (249); team passing efficiency (146.72); punt return yards (11.86 per return); scoring offense (32.9 points per game); and passing offense (249.1 yards per game).
 
- Seers ranked second in DII with 132 tackles and sixth with 11.0 tackles per game. In addition to his All-America accolades, the St. Louis native was named a Cliff Harris award finalist and a Harlon Hill nominee.
 
- Lindenwood was award GLVC Player of the Week on seven occasions in 2021, including three times on Defense and twice on Offense and Special Teams. Alex Faddoul (offense), Seers (defense), and Redd (special teams) each earned the weekly award twice, while Ross was voted the league's Defensive Player of the Week once following his three-interception contest against Quincy in October.
 
FINAL NOTES
The 2021 season was Stugart's fourth at the helm of the football program. Following his first two seasons with a combined eight victories, the Lions produced back-to-back nine-win campaigns in the program's final seasons in DII.
 
The football team contributed 25 points to the university's Learfield Director's Cup standings, with Lindenwood currently sitting in 51st. The final standings, which will include spring sport totals, will be released on June 16.
 
With Lindenwood's transition to NCAA Division I beginning with the 2022-23 academic year, the Lions' football program is scheduled to compete in the Ohio Valley Conference with four league games on the docket.

You can check out the entire news cycle from the 2021 Lindenwood football season here.