1979 Yale Bulldogs football team

1979 Yale Bulldogs football
Ivy League champion
Conference	Ivy League
Record	8–1 (6–1 Ivy)
Head coach	Carmen Cozza (15th season)
Home stadium	Yale Bowl
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Ivy League football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Yale $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Brown	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Princeton	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Cornell	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Dartmouth	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Harvard	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Columbia	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Penn	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1979 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Bulldogs were led by 15th-year head coach Carmen Cozza, played their home games at the Yale Bowl and finished in first place in the Ivy League with a 6–1 record, 8–1 overall. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	Brown	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 13–12	15,000	[2]
September 29	Connecticut *	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 24–17	21,300	[3]
October 6	Colgate *	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 27–0	18,500	[4]
October 13	Dartmouth	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 3–0	26,000	[5]
October 20	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	W 37–7	7,350	[6]
October 27	Penn	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 24–6	19,852	[7]
November 3	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	W 23–20	18,500	[8]
November 10	at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	W 35–10	22,825	[9]
November 17	Harvard	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT (The Game)	L 7–22	72,000	[10]
*Non-conference game

Roster

1979 Yale Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 7 Rich Diana So QB 6 Dennis Dunn Sr RB 42 Kenny Hill Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 99 John Kelly Jr LB 37 Scott McKenzie Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Carmen Cozza Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

NFL draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

The following Bulldog was selected in the National Football League draft following the season. ^[11]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
9	194	Kenny Hill	DB	Oakland Raiders

References

1. "1979 Yale Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
2. Concannon, Joe (September 23, 1979). "Punt Rush Revives Yale". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 88 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Anderson, Woody (September 30, 1979). "Yale Frustrates UConn Again, 24 to 17". Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Yale Conquers Colgate, 27 to 0". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. October 7, 1979. p. S8.
5. Concannon, Joe (October 14, 1979). "Yale Bottles Up Dartmouth Attack". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 50 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Concannon, Joe (October 21, 1979). "Yale Keeps Rolling Along, 37-7". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Shister, Gail (October 28, 1979). "Quakers Try a 'Surprise,' but Yale Enjoys the Party". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 9-D – via Newspapers.com.
8. Visser, Lesley (November 4, 1979). "Miracle Catch Keys Yale's 700th Win". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Bruns, John (November 11, 1979). "Yale Shows Princeton Who's No. 1". The Home News Sunday . New Brunswick, N.J. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Concannon, Joe (November 18, 1979). "Harvard Gets Up, Yale Goes Down, 22-7". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 71 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 11, 2025.