Iowa’s Only Division II Football Program is tucked away in Fayette, IA, and the university has built Peacock DII football program brick by brick over the past two decades. Upper Iowa was a founding member the Iowa Conference (IIAC now the American Rivers Conference) in NCAA Division III along with Coe, Central, Simpson, Luther, etc. in 1922.
Upper Iowa Football was not a powerhouse Iowa Conference program during the 81 years they were in Division III. In 2003 the Peacocks moved from the Iowa Conference up to NCAA DII and joined arguably one of the best D2 Conferences in the country – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). This NCAA Division II athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in Minnesota and North Dakota is one of the most successful college athletic conferences in the country.
For a program that only had gotten to 8 wins twice (1964 & 1966) in their history moving up a division and then having to drive to Minnesota Duluth and play a state school D2 Power with 9,000 students was a huge challenge.
Head coach Jason Hoskins enters his sixth season, recording his best campaign in Fayette with a 7-4 overall record and 6-2 in league mark in 2024. That is the best season of Peacock Football since the school moved to Division II level in 2003 and only one win short of their all-time win record. I think it’s safe to say the state of Peacock Football is at high tide going into 2025
The program is on the rise and one of the exciting things about the rise of the Peacocks in Northeast, Iowa is they have focused on building their program with Iowa high school athletes.
They have 52 former Iowa High School players on the football roster this fall (108 Total Players). That commitment of their staff to recruit the state of Iowa as the foundation of the program is clear, and it is paying dividends.
The Peacock offense has eight returning players, highlighted by All-GLVC Second Team selections Mante Morrow (WR) and Klay Seehase (OL) from Sumner, Iowa Sumner-Fredericksburg HS.
On the defensive side Upper Iowa returns defensive players this season who earned All-GLVC honors last season, including three second-team honorees – Trevor Thompson (LB) from Ellsworth, Iowa South Hamilton HS, Michael Mulherin (LB) from Cedar Rapids Kennedy HS, Eddie Latanauskas (DL) – and honorable-mention selections Avery Dixon (DB) and Braden Powers (DL) from Denver, Iowa Denver HS.
Upper Iowa 14 starters and 56 letterwinners come back for 2025 and they are picked #3 in the preseason Poll for 2025.
Source: 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) August 1, 2025 Kickoff Conference
The University of Indianapolis was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll as the unanimous choice to win the 2025 GLVC football title. The GLVC football preseason poll picked Upper Iowa to finish 3rd for the fall season.
The outlook for Upper Iowa is bright for 2025 as they come off their best year since jumping to the Division II level in 2003. The move to the GLVC (in 2023) has been a good move for the Peacock Football program, as I think it helps the coaching staff build a fence around Iowa for the only DII program in the state. Schedule wise Drake (FCS) on the road is tough week one contest and South Dakota Mines are both solid teams coming off winning seasons in 2024. The Road games on October 11 against Truman State and to close the season against Conference Favorite Indianapolis will be challenging.
So, when we look at the floor for the Peacocks our SGI team sets the floor at 5 – 6 wins with a ceiling of 8 possibly 9 wins. It’s a fairly wide ceiling and floor but we expect the Peacocks to contend for the GLVC title.
Having a DII football team with 52 Iowa High School players that is having success building a program in Iowa will be fun to cheer for this fall.
The Peacocks open the season at Drake in Des Moines on Thursday Night, August 28th, and I am looking forward to seeing that game in person.
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