Hope College is honoring the 1953 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion football team at Saturday's home game at Smith Stadium.

Kickoff is 12:00 p.m. against Finlandia University. Tickets can be purchased at the gate. Hope enters with a 3-2 overall record and a 1-1 mark in MIAA play. Finlandia is 0-5 overall and 0-2 against MIAA opponents.

in 1953, the Flying Dutchmen earned Hope's first outright MIAA conference championship with a roster consisting of just 39 players, including a freshman quarterback. Hope went 7-2 overall and 5-1-0 in the MIAA.

With three weeks to go in the regular season and playing on the road at Albion, coach Al Vanderbush's Flying Dutchmen beat the Britons 20-7. This victory gave Hope the lead in the conference standings. The MIAA title was then secured one week later with a 12-7 win over Kalamazoo.

For more information on the historic 1953 season, pick up a copy of Saturday's game program.