Lenoir–Rhyne University is a private Lutheran university in Hickory, North Carolina. It was founded in 1891 and is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Burke–Tarr Stadium is a football stadium located in Jefferson City, Tennessee on the campus of Carson–Newman University.
Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium is an athletic stadium located in Commerce, Texas. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Texas A&M University–Commerce Lions football team, Texas A&M-Commerce Men's and Women's Track and Field, and the Commerce High School Tigers Football team of the Commerce Independent School District. Prior to 1996, the stadium was named "East Texas State Memorial Stadium, and until the end of the 2017 season, it was known as Texas A&M-Commerce Memorial Stadium." The stadium was built in honor of the 78 Texas A&M-Commerce alums and students who fought and died during World War II. The stadium was renamed Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium was formally changed in November 2017 in honor of longtime Lion football coach Ernest Hawkins.
Clarence Stasavich was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Lenoir–Rhyne College—now known as Lenoir–Rhyne University—in Hickory, North Carolina from 1946 to 1961 and at East Carolina College—renamed East Carolina University in 1967—from 1963 to 1969, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 171–64–7. He led Lenoir–Rhyne to the NAIA Football National Championship in 1960. Stasavich was also the athletic director at Lenoir–Rhyne from 1946 to 1961 and East Carolina from 1963 to 1975.
The California Vulcans are the intercollegiate sports teams and players that represent Pennsylvania Western University California, located in California, Pennsylvania. The Vulcans participate in the NCAA Division II in all sports and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in most sports. The school colors are Red and Black. The mascot of California is Blaze the Vulcan.
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The five men's and nine women's varsity teams are called the "Bronchos". The school's identification as Bronchos dates back to 1922, when the wife of football coach Charles W. Wantland suggested it for the school's mascot. The official colors of the teams are bronze and blue, which the institution adopted in 1895. The Bronchos compete in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in all sports except women's rowing, which competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Bronchos have won 22 national championships, with the most recent coming in 2024 as the wrestling program won the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The university's current athletic director is Stan Wagnon, who has served in the position since 2020.
The Hillsdale Chargers are the athletic teams that represent Hillsdale College, located in Hillsdale, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Chargers are currently members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as of 2017. The Chargers had been members of the GLIAC since 1975.
The Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Lenoir–Rhyne University located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir–Rhyne's first football team was fielded in 1907. The team plays its home games at the 10,000 seat Moretz Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
The North Florida Ospreys baseball team represents the University of North Florida in the sport of baseball. The Ospreys compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), in the ASUN Conference (A-Sun). They play their home games in Harmon Stadium on the university's Jacksonville, Florida campus. The Ospreys were founded in 1988 as members of the NAIA. They moved to the NCAA Division II level in 1994, and began their Division I transition in 2006. They became fully eligible at the Division I level in 2010. Most recently, the Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015.
The 2012 Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football team represented Lenoir–Rhyne University in the 2012 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by second-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Moretz Stadium. They were a member of the South Atlantic Conference.
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team represents the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in college football. The team is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bronchos football program began in 1902 and has since compiled over 600 wins, two national championships, and 27 conference championships. As of 2022, the Bronchos are ranked fifth in NCAA Division II for wins. In 1962, the Bronchos went 11–0 on the season and defeated Lenoir–Rhyne University (NC) 28–13 in the Camellia Bowl to claim its first NAIA national championship. Twenty years later, Central Oklahoma defended its home turf and defeated Colorado Mesa University 14–11 in the NAIA national championship game to take its second title and finish the season with a 10–2 record. Despite its rich history in football, Central Oklahoma has struggled beginning in the late 2000s. The program has not participated in the NCAA Division II playoffs since 2003. The Bronchos play their home games at Chad Richison Stadium, a 12,000-seat football stadium built in 1965, and remodeled in 2022. The Bronchos have enjoyed nine undefeated home seasons and are 5–1 in playoff games at Wantland Stadium.
The 2013 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on August 31, 2013, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 21, 2013, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. This was the final championship played in Florence, after twenty-eight straight finals, before the game moves to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats defeated the Lenoir–Rhyne Bears, 43–28, to win their fourth national title.
The 2013 Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football team represented Lenoir–Rhyne University as a member of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) during the 2013 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by third-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Moretz Stadium.
The 1962 NAIA football season was the seventh season of college football sponsored by the NAIA. The season was played from August to December 1962, culminating in the seventh annual NAIA Football National Championship, played this year at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. During its three years in Sacramento, the game was called the Camellia Bowl.
The King Tornado are the athletic teams that represent King University, located in Bristol, Tennessee, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Conference Carolinas (CC) since the 2011–12 academic year. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Mid-East Region of the Division I level. The Tornado previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent from 2009–10 to 2010–11; and in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2001–02 to 2008–09.
Kyle Dugger is an American professional football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Lenoir–Rhyne.
The Keiser Seahawks football team represents Keiser University in college football in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Seahawks are members of the Sun Conference (TSC), fielding its team in the TSC since 2022. The Seahawks play their home games at Keiser Multi-Purpose Field in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The 1960 Lenoir Rhyne Bears football team was an American football team represented Lenoir Rhyne College as a member of the North State Conference (NSC) during the 1960 NAIA football season. In their 15th season under head coach Clarence Stasavich, the team compiled an 11–0–1 record and won the NSC championship. The Bears were ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press small college poll and No. 3 in the final UPI small college coaches poll. The small college polls included both NCAA and NAIA programs. Both polls were issued before the team's post-season victories.
The 1959 Texas A&I Javelinas football team was an American football team that represented the Texas College of Arts and Industries as a member of the Lone Star Conference during the 1959 NAIA football season. The team compiled a 12–1 record, defeated Lenoir Rhyne in the Holiday Bowl, and won the NAIA Football National Championship. It was the first of seven NAIA Football National Championships won by the school.
Doug Socha is an American football coach. He is the head football coach for Lenoir–Rhyne University, a position he has held since 2024. Socha led the Keiser Seahawks to back-to-back NAIA Football National Championship title games in 2022 and 2023: winning in 2023.
