1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 30–7 vs Lehigh
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	11–2 (5–1 OVC)
Head coach	Roy Kidd (16th season)
Home stadium	Hanger Field
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Murray State $^	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
No. 3 Eastern Kentucky ^	5	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
Morehead State	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Western Kentucky	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Austin Peay	2	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Middle Tennessee	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Tennessee Tech	0	–	5	–	1			1	–	8	–	2
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They competed as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and played their home games at Hanger Field in Richmond, Kentucky. Head coach Roy Kidd was in his 16th season leading the Colonels.

The team advanced to the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, where they defeated Lehigh, 30–7. ^[1] After the championship win, Governor John Y. Brown Jr. declared the week of January 20–26, 1980, as "EKU National Football Champions Week" in the state. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at Kent State *		Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 17–14	11,045	[3]
September 15	Troy State *		Hanger Field Richmond, KY		W 15–0	15,200	[4]
September 22	at East Tennessee State *	No. 5	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN		L 20–27	9,361	[5]
September 29	Austin Peay	No. 7	Hanger Field Richmond, KY		W 35–10	12,800	[6]
October 6	at Middle Tennessee	No. 7	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN		W 52–10		[7]
October 13	Cal State Fullerton *	No. 7	Hanger Field Richmond, KY		W 33–17	10,100	[8]
October 20	Western Kentucky	No. 3	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (rivalry)		W 8–6	25,300	[9]
October 27	No. 8 Murray State	No. 1	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY		L 7–24	16,000	[10]
November 3	Tennessee Tech	No. 5	Hanger Field Richmond, KY		W 35–0		[11]
November 10	No. 2 Jackson State *	No. 5	Hanger Field Richmond, KY		W 27–21		[12]
November 17	at Morehead State	No. 4	Jayne Stadium Morehead, KY (Old Hawg Rifle)		W 34–7	9,600	[13]
December 8	No. 1 Nevada *	No. 3	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		W 33–30 2OT	5,100	[14]
December 15	vs. No. 4 Lehigh *	No. 3	Orlando Stadium Orlando, FL (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	ABC	W 30–7	5,200	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Lehigh Routed By 30‐7". The New York Times . Associated Press. December 16, 1979. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
2. "1979 Football Team Team of Distinction". ekusports.com.
3. "Kent victim of mistakes". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 9, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Eastern blanks Troy 15 to 0". The Advocate-Messenger. September 16, 1979. Retrieved November 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "E. Tennessee relies on defense and Hutsell to conquer Eastern". The Courier-Journal. September 23, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Eastern Kentucky routs Austin Peay". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 30, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Injuries don't hurt Eastern's offense". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 7, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Eastern Kentucky Rips Fullerton, 33-7". The Los Angeles Times. October 14, 1979. p. III-22. Retrieved February 10, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Eastern hangs on to edge Western by 8–6". The Kentucky Advocate. October 21, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Murray blocks out No. 1 Eastern 24–7". The Courier-Journal. October 28, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Eastern tops Tenn. Tech". The Courier-Journal. November 4, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Eastern wins 27–21 to retain its hopes for playoff berth". The Courier-Journal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved August 1, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Eastern gets record 9-victory season, but getting playoff bid may be harder". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 18, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Flores' overtime kick helps Eastern nip Reno". The Courier-Journal. December 9, 1979. Retrieved September 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
15. Larimer, Terry (December 16, 1979). "Lehigh Routed, 30-7, in Title Game". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.