Being a part of University of Minnesota Duluth football history isn't exactly a novelty for Ted Schlafke and this fall he'll once again do something which no other Bulldog has ever done before -- serve as a team captain for a third season. Schlafke will share that distinguished responsibility with fellow seniors Nate Baier, Jim Johnson and Tyler Yelk in 2008 when UMD returns to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference following a four-year stay in the now-defunct North Central Conference.

Schlafke, a native of Stevens Point, Wis., has started in all 32 games over the past three years and already has established UMD career records for pass completions (842) and pass attempts (1,364) and his .617 completion percentage is well above the current team mark (.548 by Darrell McKibbon between 1970-73). Last fall, the three-time NCC All-Academic selection became just the second quarterback ever to lead the Bulldogs in rushing (500 yards on 176 carries) and compiled the sixth best total offense average (319.8 yards per outing) of any NCAA Division II player. Schlafke also owns UMD single-game and single-season records for pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards, total offense and total plays.

Baier (BEAR), another in a sizable line of Bloomer, Wis. products who have starred at UMD, rebounded from an injury-plagued sophomore season to earn All-NCC second team honors one year ago. He was the team's starting left offensive guard during the entire 2007 season.

Johnson, who like Schlafke was a member of both the All-NCC (honorable mention) and NCC All-Academic Teams last fall, has been a fixture in the Bulldog defensive secondary the past three seasons. The Little Chute, Wis. native and third-year starting strong safety finished second on the 2007 Bulldog defensive charts for the second year in a row with a career-high 77 total tackles, including 8.5 for loss, and had a team-leading four interceptions as well.

Yelk, the other half of the Bulldogs' dynamic safety duo, has paced UMD in tackles three straight seasons -- a UMD first -- and currently ranks fourth on the team's career defensive charts with 253 stops (which is just 24 stops shy of the school record). Yelk was the only Bulldog to be named to the All-NCC first team last fall and also landed a spot on Don Hansen's Football Gazette's NCAA II All-Northwest Region Team. The 2006 All-NCC second team pick racked up 78 total tackles last season and was also credited with a personal-best three interceptions, one of which he returned 72 yards for a touchdown at Augustana College on Oct. 6

UMD, which concluded 2007 with a 4-6 overall record and tied for fifth place in the NCC standings at 3-5, will kick off its 76th year of intercollegiate football on Aug. 30 at NSIC colleague Concordia University-St. Paul.