The NIRA season starts with a bang.

Brown and Quinnipiac likely see themselves as relatively equal and they are battling Saturday. This game could well have a massive impact on the playoffs in November.

Same could be said of Army at Dartmouth. While Dartmouth is probably still a favorite to go far in this league, Army is nicely poised to rebound from a relatively difficult season in 2023. 

Also in D-I, Sacred Heart visits Princeton, Navy hosts Queens, and Harvard hosts Mount St. Mary's. Right now Sacred Heart and Harvard are favored in their games, while Queens at Navy might be a bit more of a tossup. Queens is coming in with a new Head Coach Danny Harlow coming in. 

Princeton opens up their new Haaga House locker room facility at Rickerson Field. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a Haaga House commemorative shirt.

"There is a lot of potential this fall with the solid foundation we have in our returners combined with the mindset and experience of the incoming class," said Head Coach Michelle Reed. "We will be able to expand on our offensive strategies while continuing to display an aggressive and resilient defense. Of course, all of this stems from our culture and continuing to cultivate a people-first environment."

Other Divisions

Newberry at Warren Wilson signals the beginning of Warren Wilson's 15s play. They played 7s last year. That's in DIII. Emory & Henry at Frostburg is in DII and New Haven is at AIC in a game that isn't a standings-counting game on Friday.

Frostburg Head Coach Jeff Horton saw his side get their first win in their opening season. They return 14 players from last season, losing two seniors in Day and Jada Malone.  Seniors Grace Hall and Lydia Hall, and juniors Liberty Cawthorn, Jazlyn Romero, Molly Wentling, and Camryn Wyatt will serve as the returning upperclassmen, while Lauren Dils, Camila Garcia, LaJess Jordan, Isabel Meyer, Ella Rothhaar, Birtukan Sherburne, Abigail Stapleton, and Savannah Whipkey will show for returning sophomores.