But that day is coming sooner than expected. Or needed, if you're a fan of the Lincoln Blue Tigers.
On Thursday, Lindenwood University announced it was leaving the MIAA conference after this school year. That left a hole in the conference football schedule, one the MIAA needed to fill right away.
Lincoln was the logical replacement. Even if it's not the best thing for the Blue Tigers.
The Blue Tigers have been members of the MIAA in recent years in all their sports but football. Lincoln is one of the conference's best in men's and women's track and field. The Blue Tigers are on the rise in men's basketball.
But football?
The Great Lakes Valley Conference is in reality a Good Lakes Valley Conference when it comes to football. Indianapolis, No. 22 this week, usually holds down one of the spots in the bottom half of the NCAA Division II rankings, but that's about it for the conference when it comes to football programs at the upper level.
The MIAA?
Pittsburg State is No. 8.
Northwest Missouri State is No. 16.
Fort Hays State is No. 18.
And this is not a great year for the MIAA, where Lincoln struggled to find success before leaving for the GLVC. From 2010-13, the Blue Tigers won just three games against MIAA foes before the program moved to the GLVC.
There's reason to believe Lincoln will be plugged into Lindenwood's spot in the MIAA's 2019 schedule. So conference games against schools such as William Jewell and McKendree will be replaced by contests against Central Missouri and Missouri Western.
Lindenwood is the fourth member of the MIAA to leave for the GLVC in recent years. Truman State and Missouri S&T are already full members, while Southwest Baptist will join Lindenwood as a full-time member next season.
It's not difficult to envision the plan head coach Steven Smith and his staff had when they took over last year at Lincoln.
Year 1, figure out what talent there was already on campus and recruit like heck to fill where there were holes. And there were a lot of holes. Wins on the field would be great, but this year, it was more important to win behind the scenes - the classroom, the attitudes, recruiting. Sell the improved facilities at Dwight T. Reed Stadium and the opportunity to be a part of a growing program.
Year 2, hopefully some of those holes are filled on the roster. It's the second season, so the players should be familiar with the system and what's expected of them. You want to see progress in the win column, but fully expect there will be bumps in the road. For example, Saturday's 14-13 Homecoming loss to Quincy.
Year 3, your system should be in place. The days of starting from scratch are behind you, hopefully the bumps are smoother, you're building on the foundation you've built. Instead of one or two wins in a season, a .500 record is an achievable goal.
Well, Year 3 took a turn Thursday. And that turn includes a steep incline.
Lincoln was going to rejoin the MIAA in football sometime in the next few years. I don't know if there was a timetable for Smith and the Blue Tigers program to show success on the field before that move came.
But if there was, Thursday's developments should reset the clock because that job just got increasingly more difficult.