Thunder

Angola is a town in Indiana, home to Trine University, where the Thunder take the field in navy blue, white, and Vegas gold.

The program began play in 1995 under Dale Carlson, still competing as Tri-State University in the NAIA ranks. That era peaked in 1998 with a run to the semifinals and, in 2001, a Mid-States Football Association Mideast League title. The move to NCAA Division III and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association followed in 2002, placing the Thunder alongside Albion College's Britons, a fixture the two schools have played every year since.

Matt Land took over in 2006 and turned the program into a conference power, winning three straight MIAA championships from 2008 through 2010 with undefeated regular seasons in the first two of those years. Quarterback Eric Watt anchored that run and capped it in 2010 by winning the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III's answer to the Heisman; his number 13 has since been retired. Troy Abbs, who succeeded Land in 2015, kept the standard up, adding MIAA titles and unbeaten regular seasons in 2017 and 2018.

Watt's name still tops the Thunder's passing charts, and Lamar Carswell's 5,364 career rushing yards remain a benchmark for anyone who lines up in the backfield at Trine.