Todd Stepsis has always been known as an optimist but as he gets ready for his first season as the football coach at UNI he knows the hill to climb is a steep one. The Panthers were 3-9 a year ago and face a Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule That is likely to have three of the top four ranked teams in the preseason FCS Poll.

The league hosts its Media Day in Sioux Falls later today (Monday) and Stepsis credits the veteran players for setting the tone during summer workouts.

The Panthers open the season at home on August 30th against Butler.