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BEMIDJI, Minn. —  It may only be the opening week of August, but the initial signs of autumn have already begun to fall on Bemidji State University.  The hours of sunlight are growing shorter each day, average temperatures are beginning to dip from summer highs and student-athletes are returning to campus to gear up for the 2010-11 athletic season.

Tomorrow (Aug. 4) nearly 110 members of the BSU football team are expected to report for fall training camp as the team begins preparations for a 2010 campaign that includes five home contests and features its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) match-up with Augustana College on Sept. 11 and an Oct. 2 tilt versus Upper Iowa University for the its annual homecoming game.

Wednesday has been set aside for players to move into their preseason housing, check out equipment, complete paperwork and participate in team meetings. Thursday the Beavers officially get practice underway with a helmets-only session at approximately 3 p.m. The 140-minute session marks the first of BSU’s 21-practice camp, which leads up to the 2010 opener.

The Beavers will break camp Aug. 21 with BSU returning to its normal 3:50 p.m. practice routine Aug. 22.

Bemidji State, under the direction of Jeff Tesch, who begins his 15th season at the helm of the BSU football program, returns 19 starters from a 2009 squad that posted an 8-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play to finish second in the NSIC North Division, while it was third overall in the league standings.  First-Team All-NSIC quarterback Derek Edholm (Sr., Anoka, Minn.) leads an offense that returns 11 starters from a year ago, while fellow First-Team All-Conference defensive lineman Jordan Lardinois (Sr., New Franken, Wis.) headlines a core of eight which return to the “Gang Green” defense for 2010.

Tesch groups check in day with national signing day as two of the most anticipated events of the football season.

“Reporting day is always one of the most exciting days of the year. You haven’t seen the guys all summer and haven’t seen some of the recruits since the middle of the winter, so it’s good to get those guys back on campus.”

The Beavers, named among USA Today Division II Preseason Top 25, open the 2010 campaign Thursday, Aug. 26 when they travel to Minot, N.D. to battle Minot State University in a nonconference tilt. The 11th annual Beaver Bash is slated for a 7 p.m. start at MSU’s Herb Parker Stadium.

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