2017 Northern Colorado Bears football team

2017 Northern Colorado Bears football
2017 Northern Colorado Bears football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	3–7 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Earnest Collins Jr. (7th season);
Offensive coordinator	James Jones (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Larry Kerr (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Nottingham Field
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

Last updated December 14, 2023

2017 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Southern Utah +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 5 Weber State +^	7	–	1	11	–	3
Northern Arizona ^	6	–	2	7	–	5
No. 21 Eastern Washington	6	–	2	7	–	4
Sacramento State	6	–	2	7	–	4
Montana	5	–	3	7	–	4
Montana State	5	–	3	5	–	6
UC Davis	3	–	5	5	–	6
Idaho State	2	–	6	4	–	7
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	3	–	7
North Dakota	2	–	6	3	–	8
Cal Poly	1	–	7	1	–	10
Portland State	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2017 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference.^[2] They finished the season 3–7, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	2:00 p.m.	College of Idaho *	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	W 41–14	3,547
September 9	5:30 p.m.	at No. 16 (FBS) Florida *	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		Cancelled^[a]
September 16	12:00 p.m.	at Colorado *	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	P12N	L 21–41	44,318
September 23	1:00 p.m.	Idaho State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	Pluto TV	W 43–42	5,273
September 30	5:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV	L 20–48	5,107
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at North Dakota	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Pluto TV	L 38–48	10,234
October 21	12:30 p.m.	Montana State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ATTRM ^[3]	L 24–27	5,378
October 28	12:30 p.m.	No. 25 Southern Utah	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	L 14–27	3,869
November 4	7:00 p.m.	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	ELVN	L 21–50	4,612
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	ATTRM^[3]	L 14–44	22,048
November 18	11:30 a.m.	Cal Poly	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	W 42–0	3,650
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^{^[a]}The game between Florida and Northern Colorado, had been rescheduled in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma, but on September 7, both schools agreed to canceled the game completely.

Game summaries

College of Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	0	7	0	7	14
Bears	28	7	3	3	41

At Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	7	7	0	21
Buffaloes	14	14	3	10	41

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	10	7	13	12	42
Bears	10	10	20	3	43

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	13	0	20
Lumberjacks	7	13	14	14	48

At North Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	17	14	0	38
Fighting Hawks	14	14	10	10	48

Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	7	3	17	27
Bears	7	14	0	3	24

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Thunderbirds	13	7	7	0	27
Bears	0	7	7	0	14

At Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	14	7	0	0	21
Hornets	14	6	9	21	50

At Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	7	14
Grizzlies	14	23	7	0	44

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	0	0	0	0
Bears	0	21	21	0	42

Related Research Articles

The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. It consists of 14 full-member universities in Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the nation.

The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2023, full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks represent the University of North Dakota, competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the NCAA Division I's Football Championship Subdivision. From 1973 to 2008, they played in the NCAA's NCAA Division II, winning the national championship in 2001. From 1955 to 1972, they competed in the NCAA's College Division where they participated in and won three bowl games.

The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1963, where it is a founding member. They play their home games on campus in Missoula at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, where they had an average attendance of 26,978 in 2023.

The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The new head coach in 2022 is Jason Eck, who succeeded Paul Petrino (2013–2021).

James Frank McElwain is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Central Michigan University, a position he has held since 2019. McElwain served as the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2015 to 2017, and Colorado State University from 2012 to 2014, where he was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2014. He was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama from 2008 to 2011.

The Northern Colorado Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley, Colorado. The team competes in the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the 8,533 seat Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022, replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons.

The 2015 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 3–5 in Big Sky play to finish in a three way tie for eighth place.

The 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was played on January 7, 2017, in Frisco, Texas. The James Madison Dukes defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 28–14, to capture their second national championship in team history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl</span> College football game

The 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 22, 2016, at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The 20th annual edition of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the game featured the Idaho Vandals of the Sun Belt Conference and the Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. The game's title sponsor was the Idaho Potato Commission. The game began at 5:05 p.m. MST and was broadcast on ESPN College Football. Idaho defeated Colorado State by a score of 61–50.

The 2017 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by first-year head coach Shawn Elliott. The season marked the first in which they played in the newly acquired Georgia State Stadium, a renovated Turner Field with artificial turf and a 22,000 person capacity. The season was the Panthers' fifth in the Sun Belt Conference and eighth since starting football. The Panthers finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in Sun Belt play to finish in fourth place. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl, where Georgia State defeated Western Kentucky for the Panthers' first bowl win in program history.

Jeffrey Michael Linder is an American college basketball coach and current men's basketball head coach at Wyoming. Linder was previously an assistant coach at Emporia State, Midland, Weber State, San Francisco, and Boise State from 2001 to 2016.

The 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears were led by fourth year head coach Kamie Ethridge, played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–7, 15–3 in Big Sky play to win the Big Sky regular season championship. They defeated Montana, Idaho State, and Idaho to win the Big Sky women's tournament for the first time in program history. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, the school's first. As the No. 10 seed in the Lexington region, they lost to Michigan in the first round.

The 2018 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Jody Sears in his fifth and final season as head coach, Sacramento State compiled an overall record of 2–8 with a mark of 0–7 in conference play, placing last out of 13 teams in the Big Sky. The Hornets played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.

The 2019 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place. On November 24, 2019, Earnest Collins Jr. was let go after nine seasons, he finished at Northern Colorado with a record of 28–72.

The 2019 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Troy Taylor, the Hornets compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the Big Sky title with Weber State. Sacramento State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs where, after a first-round bye, they lost to Austin Peay in the second round. The Hornets played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.

The 2019 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 1st-year head coach Chris Ball and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place.

The 2020 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Aaron Best, the Eagles played their home games at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington.

The University of Idaho's football program, nicknamed the "Vandals", began in 1893.

References

↑ "Gameday at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved April 4, 2015. Stadium Capacity: 8,533
↑ "Buffs, Gators Highlight 2017 Schedule". September 15, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
1 2 "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Gameday at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved April 4, 2015. Stadium Capacity: 8,533

[2] "Buffs, Gators Highlight 2017 Schedule". September 15, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.

[tvschedule2017-3] 1 2 "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.

[1]

[2]

[a]

[3]

v t e Northern Colorado Bears football
Venues	Nottingham Field (1995–present)
Culture & lore	Klawz "UNC Fight Song"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897–1898 1899 1900 1901–1904 1905 1906–1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
National championship seasons in bold