According to a report on Monday from D3 Data (@D3SportsData), Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Crusader Stadium ranks amongst the nation’s toughest places for visiting teams to play at the Division III level.
Focusing in on the stat of “points allowed at home” from 2014-2023, D3 Data found UMHB allowed an average of just 11.9 points per game at Crusader Stadium in that 10-year span. Partly as a credit to The Cru’s exceptional defenses over the last decade and partly due to the home-field atmosphere found in Belton, UMHB’s 11.9 PPG at home is tied with Monmouth (IL) for the lowest average in D-III Football since 2014. Additionally, in that span of time, UMHB is 68-3 inside Crusader Stadium, having not lost more than once at home in any given season.
The Crusaders’ 11.9 PPG at home ranks ahead of fellow D-III powerhouses, including Mount Union (12.0), Linfield (12.2), North Central (13.0), Saint John’s (13.8), and UW-Whitewater (13.8).
UMHB’s remarkable performances in Belton over the last 10 seasons have continually added to the notoriety of Crusader Stadium since its opening in 2013. The 9,118-seat stadium is undoubtedly one of premier venues in Division III football, and The Cru’s impressive record only adds to that. Since 2014, UMHB has hosted 23 playoff games, winning 21 of them, and has never lost a conference home game in the last decade, either.
Attendance remains a strong point in UMHB’s home-field advantage. The Cru have averaged at least 3,000 fans per game (counting only regular season contests) in nine of the last 10 seasons, with the only exception being the Covid-abbreviated five-game campaign in the spring of 2021. Additionally, UMHB has averaged a total of 19,382 fans per season (again, only counting regular season matchups) over the past decade.
The Crusaders kick off another season on Sept. 7 in McKenzie, Tennessee at Bethel University (TN), and host their home opener against Westgate Christian University at 6 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Belton.
