At best, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are the third-biggest college football program in the state of Arizona. But that doesn’t mean the Lumberjacks aren’t a team worth checking out. Since they play at the FCS level, it’s usually easy to find cheap Northern Arizona football tickets. But the Lumberjacks have always had a competitive program with strong rivalries that keep things interesting. Even at the FCS level, the Lumberjacks have maintained a strong following, keeping last-minute Northern Arizona football tickets in high demand.

On the Frontier

Northern Arizona has had a football program since 1937, although the Lumberjacks didn’t start to take off until the 1950s when they played at the NAIA level. Starting in 1956, head coach Max Spilsbury led NAU (then called Arizona State-Flagstaff) to seven consecutive conference championships in the Frontier Conference. The Lumberjacks had a 48-18-4 record during those seven seasons during a true golden era for the program.

Home in the Sky

In 1970, the Lumberjacks found a permanent home in the Big Sky Conference. While Northern Arizona doesn’t share geography with most teams in the Big Sky, the conference has been a fitting home for the Lumberjacks for several decades, allowing NAU to make the move from Division II to the FCS level in 1978. In the Big Sky Conference, the Lumberjacks have remained a steady program, occasionally working their way to the top of the league, making regular appearances in the FCS playoffs, including the program’s first win in an FCS playoff game in 2003.

Top of the World

The Lumberjacks made headlines in 2021 when they defeated in-state rival Arizona for the first time in nearly 90 years. It was actually Northern Arizona’s third win over an FBS opponent in less than a decade. But because it came against an in-state foe and a power-conference opponent, it was an even more impressive accomplishment and a seminal moment in program history.