Related Links:
Salem Photos (via uwwsports/Instagram)
"Next Stagg Bowl host has a lot to live up to" (D3football.com – April 18, 2017)
As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Perkins Stadium, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Intercollegiate Athletics presents the "Perkins Stadium at 50" series Presented by UW Credit Union, a look at some of the most memorable moments and games in the history of the stadium.
Over a 10-year span, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team played in one city more than any other except Whitewater.
From 2005-14, the Warhawks played nine times in Salem, Va., against Mount Union (Ohio) in the Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III national championship game.
UW-Whitewater's perfect 30-0 record in postseason games at Perkins Stadium during that span allowed the Warhawks to call Salem a second home.
The City of Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rolled out the red carpet for both teams, as it had every year since 1993. The game moved from Salem to rotating sites following Stagg Bowl XLV, the 2017 national championship game. (The 2019 Stagg Bowl, which UW-W played in, was contested in Shenandoah, Texas.)
Salem and the ODAC set the bar for hosting a championship event, engaging the two teams in community service projects, media days and banquets in the days leading up to the game. Staff members of both entities, as well as countless volunteers, hosted a top-notch event, providing Warhawk student-athletes and coaches with memories for a lifetime.
"It was once-in-a-lifetime going down to Salem," former Warhawk Tony Gumina, who played in the 2014 Stagg Bowl, said on a recent Inside Warhawk Athletics podcast. "It was a pretty cool experience. You kind of felt like a celebrity … the experience overall was just absolutely phenomenal.
"Not too many people get to experience that prestigious of an event. That's just something I'll always take it with me. I can remember every single day down there."
UW-Whitewater fans traveling to Salem became accustomed to a first-class experience. Event organizers worked to create a vibrant gameday atmosphere. Bars, restaurants and hotels in the Salem and Roanoke areas became accustomed to welcoming purple-clad fans for a decade.
The Warhawks tallied a 6-3 record playing in the Stagg Bowl in Salem, posting national championships in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014.
See below for a game-by-game look at UW-W's nine national title game appearances between 2005-14.
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2005: Mount Union 35, UW-Whitewater 28
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2006: Mount Union 35, UW-Whitewater 16
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2007: UW-Whitewater 31, Mount Union 21
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2008: Mount Union 31, UW-Whitewater 26
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2009: UW-Whitewater 38, Mount Union 28
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2010: UW-Whitewater 31, Mount Union 21
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2011: UW-Whitewater 13, Mount Union 10
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Video Highlights - "The Making of a Champion"
2013: UW-Whitewater 52, Mount Union 14
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Video Highlights
2014: UW-Whitewater 43, Mount Union 34
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Video Highlights
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