By Micah Friez
Published 8:00 am on August 27, 2026
For the first six years of Bemidji State Football, players had no name to claim.
But one day, in 1932, President Manfred Deputy attended a practice and was inspired by the work ethic he witnessed. He remarked that the players were “working hard as beavers,” and called them into a huddle.
Whether caught up in inspiration or reciting a speech planned ages ago, Deputy next delivered a line that would forge the school’s identity forever: “I christen this team the Beavers!”
Right then and there, Bemidji State’s nickname was born. Even Deputy himself likely underestimated the longevity his declaration would carry. Nevertheless, with it has come nearly a century of pride while representing the Green and White.
This fall, as the football program celebrates its 100th season, those Beavers of old can be mighty proud of everything their successors have accomplished to cement Bemidji State as one of the richest in college football lore — all while still working hard as, well, you know.
The splash that started it all
Bemidji State has set itself apart from other programs in many ways. But none rival the greatest Homecoming tradition in college football.
It all began in 1995, when the Beavers started 0-5 and needed a spark. In an attempt to motivate the team and the campus for Homecoming, graduate assistant coach Frank Haege wrote a faux postgame recap of the upcoming game between BSU and defending conference champ Winona State. The article included accounts of how the defense dammed the Warriors and how the offense executed with precision. Haege also threw in the detail that, after the victory, the team jumped into Lake Bemidji in a fit of jubilation.
The article circulated campus during the week leading up to Homecoming. Some readers dismissed it as satire, but others viewed it as prophetic.
True to form of all great underdog tales, the Beavers won the game 25-14. Off went the helmets, and into icy Lake Bemidji went the players and coaches. Everything plunged in — shoes, equipment, jerseys, and all.
“The cold doesn’t matter after victories,” said quarterback Kyle Christianson. “It was a dreary day, but we all felt like the sun was shining on us.”
The Beavers had to wait three years for the next lake jump, but they made their long-awaited return in 1998 and won seven of the next eight Homecomings. They also won 10 in a row from 2010-19, and they’re 23-7 overall in the lake jump era, a far cry from where the team had once been stuck.
“There were some tough years,” said Christianson, who jumped in 1995 and again in ‘98. “There hadn’t been a lot of wins, so I don’t think BSU football was front of mind on campus. But after that first lake jump, a buzz started. People began to notice.”
The lake jump has evolved into a massive production. Fans line up along the shoreline before the game even ends, and fighting for a good vantage point is just as competitive as the action on the field. Soon enough the players arrive, rumbling downhill and splashing into the oh-so-alluring waters.
Once everyone is drenched — including the university president — the team belts out the school song as fans sing along.
“We didn’t have a lot of people there in 1995. I don’t think fans knew that we were going to do it,” Christianson said. “Maybe some guys told their family or their friends or something. But now, people start lining up early. It’s really awesome to see what it’s become. To be part of that start means the world to me.”
A steady build into a national contender
You can come a long way in 100 years. To find proof of that, Beaver Football doesn’t have to look far — just way back.
In 1926, the Bemidji Daily Pioneer detailed why the start of the inaugural season was pushed back deep into fall.
“As this is the first year the Teachers have put out an eleven, the squad was considerably delayed in getting under way,” the Pioneer said. “They had to wait some time before their suits and equipment arrived, as the local mentor could not order it direct, the buying having to go through state channels.”
Bemidji State played four games that year — all against local high schools — and earned their first victory on Oct. 27, 1926, when they defeated Cass Lake 13-0. Fans paid 25 cents for admission.
That game was played on the old football field (often referred to as Diamond Point Field), located just a few feet south from the current stadium. The field ran north-south with sidelines running parallel to the lakeshore. The current stadium was constructed in 1940, funded by a Works Progress Administration federal grant, and was renamed after legendary coach Chet Anderson in 1996. (It even served as the very first home of the Minnesota Vikings, an NFL expansion franchise that held training camp in Bemidji from 1961-65.)
The Beavers installed more traditions over the years, perhaps most notably with the Battle Axe Trophy in 1948. Bemidji State Homecoming chair Ron Smith had acquired the hand-made ancient weapon from New Guinea through a series of trades in the native village of Mount Hagon region, and it soon became the trophy of choice in the Bemidji State-Minnesota State Moorhead rivalry. It’s the second-oldest traveling trophy in Division II history.
The Beavers produced their first NFL player in 1987, when running back Al Wolden played three games for the Chicago Bears during the players strike. Tight end Brian Leonhardt played 16 total games for the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers from 2014-15, scoring BSU’s first NFL touchdown on a 3-yard catch in 2014.
RELATED: Meet the 100 members of Bemidji State's Centennial Season Team
Gunner Olszewski, a 2019 alum, has carved Bemidji State’s greatest NFL career through unconventional channels. Although he was an All-American defensive back for the Beavers, the New England Patriots asked him to convert to wide receiver and signed him as an undrafted free agent. He cracked the roster against all odds and was named an All-Pro First Team punt returner in 2020. He’s now played in 81 combined games for the Pats, Steelers, and Giants, tallying two receiving TDs, two punt return TDs and even one passing TD.
Before turning heads at the pro level, Olszewski also led BSU to its first playoff win — a 36-23 victory over Washburn in the 2016 Mineral Water Bowl. But the golden era of Bemidji State football truly began in 2021, when record-shattering quarterback Brandon Alt ascended and led the team to the first three of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The Beavers won at least one playoff game each year, and they even made a run to the national quarterfinals in 2024.
Players, coaches, and eras come and go. But there are a few common denominators of success. As the first 100 years come to a close, one seasoned coach is ready to lead the program into its next century of play — and Brent Bolte has the same mentality as the players who President Deputy once watched.
“Bolte will never take credit for it, but he’s a huge reason why we were able to take that next step,” said QB-turned-offensive coordinator Jordan Hein. “The day he took over the program, everything changed. We became this blue-collared, hard-nosed football program.”
Sounds a lot like a certain band of Beavers from 1932.
Running in the family
The Acosta name is a heavily repeated one in the Bemidji State record book.
The grandfather of the family tree is Ed Acosta Jr., a 1976 BSU grad who reached Chet Anderson Stadium through a winding road from north New Jersey. He became an All-American for the Beavers, set records, and then watched his son Eddie Acosta III break almost all of them from 1999-2003. Ed’s son Anthony also suited up for Bemidji State in 2003, and now a third generation of Acostas are in youth sports in Bemidji.
“Beaver Football did so much for me and my family,” Ed Acosta said. “When I go, I want my ashes sprinkled over the field. That’s how much it means to me.”
Ed had one year of eligibility remaining when he transferred to BSU, following his coach Don Turner from United States International University in California. After redshirting in 1975, Ed was a weapon at running back who scored 16 total touchdowns and set single-season rushing records for yards, attempts, and scores in 1976.
“Then my kid broke all my records,” Ed deadpanned. “No respect, man.”
Eddie remains Bemidji State’s all-time rushing leader in every major category. He ran for 5,766 yards across four seasons, scoring 64 touchdowns and racking up 100-yard performances 29 times. He finished 10th all-time nationally in rushing yards in Division II and still ranks within the top 20. He was a 2022 inductee to the BSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ed still lives in Bemidji, keeping alive a bygone era of Beaver Football. He remembers playing on real grass — or mud, if it rained — and the small-town crowd that filled Chet Anderson Stadium. And yes, he even remembers his stylish afro that resulted in a helmet-shaped indentation whenever he took it off.
“I wish I had those days back,” Ed said. “The whole family’s sucked into it now, from the grandkids on up. They don’t miss the hockey games, the football games, the Lumberjacks. And I wouldn’t do anything different. I really wouldn’t.”
Like father, like brother
The Acostas aren’t the only family who know a thing or two about generations of tradition within Beaver Football.
John and Jarrett Gronski are another father-son running back duo that has made a significant mark on the program. John, a 2024 BSU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, played for Bemidji State from 1986-89 before cheering on Jarrett from 2021-24. John holds multiple program records and is regarded as one of the best running backs to ever suit up for the Beavers, while Jarrett became a key cog as a member of the winningest class in program history.
So who had it better?
“There’s always some playful banter back and forth,” Jarrett said. “He’s got me with some of the records that he holds, but I get to say that I never missed the playoffs when I played for BSU.”
John has lived two lives at Chet Anderson Stadium, first as a player and again as a parent. He developed deep friendships with teammates the first go around, and then he had a second chance to connect with fellow parents when Jarrett donned the Green and White.
“Every sport has that adage of being a brotherhood or a sisterhood. But it’s true,” John said. “Playing at Bemidji State, the lifelong friendships that you make are special.”
That bond now extends to each other in a unique way.
“He’s my father, but I also get to say he’s my brother. He’s another Beaver Football alum,” Jarrett said. “He never pushed me to go to BSU because he understood that it was my own story. But it’s really cool how it all comes full circle and that I found my home there at Bemidji State.”
They won’t be the last multi-generation success story to come from the shores of Lake Bemidji. But that’s a good thing. The next century has plenty of room for more.
“It’s really crazy to think about 100 years of anything,” Jarrett said. “The continued growth of BSU is truly inspiring. It’s on a national stage, and I believe the program is going to keep rising for the next century.”
And yet, out of 100 seasons so far, John has a pair of four-year stints he holds most near and dear.
“It was a fun eight years,” he said. “You wish it could go on a lot longer, but it was fun.”
This story was featured in the Summer 2026 edition of the BSU Alumni Magazine. To view the entire magazine, click here.
