Mystics Football Prepares Athletes this Upcoming Year

The Bismarck State College Mystics Football team has been busy recruiting potential athletes this summer. Head Coach Chris Stutzriem traveled to several camps to promote the team and seek out talent for the Mystics.

“We’re going to, let's say, North Dakota State [University]. They'll host a camp,” Stutzriem said. “Last weekend there were 900 kids there. And so what they do is they bring in other schools, coaches. So there were probably 15 other schools there.”

Stutzriem added that the recruitment camps are a way to evaluate athletes and see their skills firsthand. Attending these camps was his main focus in June.

Right now the Mystics Football team has recruited 45 athletes. Athletes hail from all over the United States, including 18 recruits from North Dakota and others from South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Wisconsin and California. These athletes will not be able to play until the Fall 2027 semester—until then, they will be training, attending classes, and getting used to college life.

“We'll get them on our regular schedule of what it'll be like in 2027,” Stutzriem said. “So we'll have lifting, position meetings, team meetings, special teams meetings. Those are every day. We'll practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then coaches will be on the road at high school football games this fall.”

Stutzriem stated that the goal for the year will be to get the recruits bigger, stronger, and faster to build their foundation for the 2027 season. He also mentioned supporting them in the classroom so they get ahead on their degrees.

Although the goals are set for the year ahead, recruitment has proved to be challenging, considering the fact many recruits will not be able to play until the Fall of 2027.

“They want to go somewhere where maybe they can play right away,” Stutzriem said. “That doesn't happen a lot. You know, there's less than a 5% chance that a freshman plays anywhere he goes.”

To combat this challenge, Stutzriem relies on the BSC campus itself to attract new athletes. The affordable cost of attendance compared to other schools, coupled with the campus culture, are main draws in recruiting athletes who will not play a football game for their first year.

As recruitment continues into the fall, Stutzriem expresses excitement for the upcoming year. His staff, fellow coaches, and the campus administration have all helped with the work in recruiting a football team. 

“I have met some of the faculty members and [other] people on campus, and it's been really good, really, really, really warming and everybody seems to be excited,” Stutzriem said. “So we want to make sure we put the best product we can out there.”

The Mystics Football recruits will arrive in August, starting practices at the [BOWL] and preparing for the challenge of physical training with their sport and gaining mental fortitude when it comes to their academics.

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