Thanksgiving and academics have thrown preparation for the Men’s DII finals weekend off a little bit.

All four teams left in the competition - Wisconsin-Whitewater, Minnesota-Duluth, James Madison, and Notre Dame College - had most of last week off due to Thanksgiving.

All of the teams got in a couple of sessions early in the week, but that was about it. The players at Duluth returned to campus early on Sunday and ran through a session Sunday night, while the other programs have packed in extra sessions this week.

The snow has been rough for the northern teams, too. At Wisconsin-Whitewater, the school OK’d for the rugby team to train in the football stadium, which is a turf field and cleared of snow. They did this despite the fact the Whitewater football team is hosting a national quarterfinal game this Saturday and has workouts of its own to worry about.

In addition to all of that, there’s academics to worry about, too. Notre Dame College players will be taking some exams either late Sunday or Monday in South Carolina, proctored by the coaches. Finals start next week at James Madison.

At least, said Head Coach Mark Lambourne, there will be no question where his players are when they aren’t play - they will be studying.

Exams start a week later for Whitewater and Duluth.