Grand Valley State University and Assumption College announced jointly that the Lakers will host the Greyhounds at Lubbers Stadium for Homecoming on October 17th, 2020. The meeting will be the first-ever between the schools on the gridiron. Notre Dame head football coach, Brian Kelly, who holds special ties to both institutions, teamed up with the Lakers and the Hounds to make this special announcement. Kelly played football at Assumption from 1979-1982 and began his coaching career with the Greyhounds as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator (1983-1986). He went on to join the Lakers coaching staff in 1987 as a graduate assistant and became their head coach in 1991. Kelly guided the Lakers to the 2002 and 2003 National Championships, posting a record of 118-35-2 in 13 years.
Grand Valley State is the winningest team in Division II history, sporting a record of 407-148-3 (.732). The Lakers have won four NCAA Division II National Championships, appeared in six title games and advanced to the NCAA playoffs 20 times in the 49-year history of the program. In addition, the Lakers have won 17 conference championships and have an overall league mark of 297-74-3 (.799). Grand Valley State has won 10 or more games 17 times in program history, including 15 since 2001. The Lakers have been ranked in 211 of the last 248 national polls, including 168 weeks in the top 10 and 87 weeks as the number one ranked team in the country. GVSU, the only program in the GLIAC to win at least 12 games three times and make two NCAA DII Semifinal appearances since 2013, currently stand 6-1 overall and are ranked number 16 in the latest AFCA Coaches' poll.
Since the start of the 2014 season, Assumption has more victories than any other NE10 football program with 49. They've also won a pair of NE10 Championships and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2017 (first time in program history – finished the year ranked 9th in the nation). The Hounds posted the three winningest seasons in program history from 2015-17 and won NE10 Championships in 2015 and 2017. This year the program is seeking its seventh consecutive winning season with at least six victories. Assumption is currently 5-2 overall and in first-place in the NE10 with a 4-1 record.
Grand Valley State has played one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, evidenced by squaring off against the likes of perennial playoff contenders West Texas A&M, Indianapolis, Azusa Pacific, Delta State, Edinboro and Colorado State-Pueblo.
