Firing Up Beaver Den Thrilled BVU Senior
Noah Schmitt ended his playing career on a high note with the BVU basketball team. Through hard work, 18 wins, and a tribute to teammate Canyon Hopkins, Schmitt's senior season was one to remember.
Noah Schmitt seemingly came out of nowhere for the Buena Vista University Beavers during his senior basketball season. Schmitt, a 6-5 post from Carlisle High School, had only started two games total in his career at BVU prior to this campaign.
As a senior, though, Schmitt started 25 games, averaged 17-plus minutes per contest, scored 148 points and hauled in 101 rebounds as the team exceeded expectations by winning 18 games for a rookie head coach, the highest win total in five seasons.
Schmitt was a big reason. Or, not as big a reason, in a literal sense.
“I lost 30 pounds between my junior and senior year,” he says. “I worked hard over the summer and joined a CrossFit gym. The other big thing was a change in head coaches and coaching philosophy. We needed more post players on the floor in Coach (Trevor) Johnson’s system.”
“I miss being on campus. Every year, you could see that as the weather got warmer the whole attitude on campus would change. We’d play sand volleyball, go fishing, or go bowling.”
Noah Schmitt
The season marked a high point in Schmitt’s collegiate career, as fans turned out, jumping on the bandwagon cheering on a team that started the campaign with a 10-2 ledger. Each evening, Schmitt says, it was a treat to play in front of the raucous Beaver Den.
Basketball also remains a high point for Schmitt for the running mate he lost just prior to their senior season. Schmitt practiced for two straight years against starter and classmate Canyon “Moose” Hopkins, who lost his 14-month battle against Stage 4 Synovial Soft Tissue Sarcoma in October of their senior year. Schmitt proudly switched jerseys, going from his customary No. 34 to wearing Hopkins’ No. 42 during his junior season as a tribute to his BVU buddy. On Senior Parents Night in Siebens Fieldhouse, Schmitt was escorted to center court twice during the ceremony; joined the first time by his parents, Brian and Jane Schmitt; the second time by Monte and Trish Hopkins, the parents of “Moose” as Schmitt carried a portrait of his late teammate.
“Moose and I weren’t roommates at BVU, but were pretty much inseparable,” Schmitt says. “I’ll always have BVU to thank for bringing us together.”
Noah Schmitt’s BVU legacy isn’t confined to the basketball court, however. The environmental science major completed a pair of interesting internships as an undergraduate. In the first, he dove into sustainable farming practices in Pennsylvania, working to convert food product and septic waste into energy at a hydroponic farm enterprise. This year, he spent January working for the Storm Lake Wastewater Treatment plant and parlayed the experience into a part-time job.
After returning home to Norwalk following the closure of BVU’s campus in the wake of a pandemic, Schmitt keeps busy with a final semester of classes while applying for positions in agronomy, wastewater treatment, and with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
“I miss being on campus,” he says. “Every year, you could see that as the weather got warmer the whole attitude on campus would change. We’d play sand volleyball, go fishing, or go bowling.”
And while being at home isn’t where Schmitt saw himself concluding his career as a Beaver, he’s thankful for the memories and friendships he made in a full four-year experience.
“I’m thankful the Science Center had new equipment and great faculty, especially Dr. (Ben) Maas (Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Geology), who is laid back and really understands where students are coming from,” Schmitt says. “But I mainly picked BVU because it had a really friendly atmosphere and the whole basketball team was close. I’ll never forget how fun it was playing in front of our fans this year. It was a great experience.”