Northern Colorado Bears football

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Northern Colorado Bears
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2024 Northern Colorado Bears football team
UNC Bears.png
First season1893;132 years ago (1893) [1]
Head coach Ed Lamb [2]
2nd season, 1–22 (.043)
Stadium Nottingham Field
(capacity: 8,533 [3] )
Location Greeley, Colorado
NCAA division Division I FCS
Conference Big Sky Conference
All-time record428–452–27 (.487)
Claimed national titles2 (D-II)
(1996, 1997) [1]
Conference titles12 (D-II)
RMAC - 4
GPAC - 3
NCC - 5 [1]
Rivalries Colorado State
Wyoming
Western Colorado
Colorado School of Mines
North Dakota
Montana State
Portland State
ColorsBlue and gold [4]
   
Website uncbears.com

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 [5] at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893. [6] The team plays its home games at the 8,533 seat [3] Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022, [7] replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons. [8]

Contents

Conference affiliations

Below is the list of conferences in which Northern Colorado has been a member. [1]

Championships

National championships

Northern Colorado made two appearances in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. The Bears defeated Carson–Newman, 23–14 in 1996, and later defeated New Haven, 51–0 in 1997.

YearNCAA DivisionCoachRecordNational Championship GameOpponentResultLocation
1996 II Joe Glenn 12–3 1996 Division II National Championship Carson–Newman W 23–14 Florence, AL
1997 II Joe Glenn 13–21997 Division II National Championship New Haven W 51–0 Florence, AL

Conference championships

YearCoachConferenceOverall recordConference record
1934† John W. Hancock Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 6–16–1
19484–43–0
1969 Bob Blasi 10–05–0
19718–1–15–0
1973† Great Plains Athletic Conference 7–24–1
19748–15–0
19758–15–0
1980 North Central Conference 7–46–1
1997† Joe Glenn 13–28–1
1998†11–28–1
1999†11–28–1
2002 Kay Dalton 12–28–0
Conference Championships12

† Co-champions

Division championships

YearCoachDivision championshipOpponentCG result
1969 Bob Blasi RMAC Plains Adams State W 33–14
1970†N/A lost tiebreaker to Pittsburg State
1971 Western State W 25–15
Division Championships3

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

The Bears appeared in the Division II playoffs nine times with an overall record of 12–7. [1]

YearRoundOpponentResult
1980 First Round
Eastern Illinois
L 14–21
1990 First Round
North Dakota State
L 7–17
1991 First Round
Portland State
L 24–28
1995 First Round
Pittsburg State
L 17–36
1996 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals		Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State
Clarion
Carson-Newman		W 24–21
W 27–26
W 19–18
W 23–14
1997 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals		Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State
Carson-Newman
New Haven		W 24–16
W 35–19
W 30–29
W 51–0
1998 First Round
Quarterfinals		North Dakota
NW Missouri State		W 52–28
L 17–42
1999 First Round
Quarterfinals		Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State		W 34–31
L 35–41
2002 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Central Missouri State
NW Missouri State
Grand Valley		W 49–28
W 23–12
L 7–44

Attendance

Highest attendance

Below is a list of the Bears best-attended home games at Nottingham Field. [1]

Rk.DateOpponentAttendance
Highest attendance
1October 1, 2005Cal Poly9,145
2October 29, 2005Fort Lewis8,561
3October 2, 2010Montana8,105
4September 3, 2005Colorado School of Mines7,554
5October 23, 1998South Dakota7,520
6October 9, 1999Nebraska-Omaha7,499
7November 21, 1998North Dakota7,312
8September 20, 1998Texas State7,246
9October 19, 2002South Dakota7,198
10October 10, 1998South Dakota7,135

As of the 2014 season.

Yearly attendance

Source: [1]

Below is the Bears home attendance by season at Nottingham Field.

SeasonTotalAverageHigh
Northern Colorado Bears
201825,2934,2155,672
201721,9174,3835,378
201624,4774,8955,476
201525,6124,2695,205
201421,0374,2076,348
201323,9903,9984,619
201221,2404,2485,136
201123,4283,9055,692
201027,9195,5848,105
200921,1113,5185,247
200821,6764,3557,246
200720,4414,0886,684
200628,8576,2194,810
200537,5497,5109,142
200427,3704,5626,481
200328,7305,7466,660
200234,8985,8167,198
200126,1534,3595,488
200029,1626,3524,860
199946,5526,6507,520
199840,6905,8137,312
199725,3024,2176,345
199627,2824,5476,318
199525,0674,3647,024

As of the 2015 season.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Head coaching records in FCS

Since moving to the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2006, the Bears have struggled. Their FCS record since 2006 is 35 and 138 as of the 2024 season.

FCS head coaching records

Team FCS record as of the end of 2024 35–138 (.202) [9]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 11, 2024. [10]

20252026202720282031
Chadron State South Dakota at New Mexico at Colorado at Colorado
at Colorado State at Wyoming Houston Christian
at South Dakota Stephen F. Austin
at Houston Christian

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Northern Colorado Record Book" (PDF). Northern Colorado Bears Athletics. December 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Big Sky Champion ed Lamb Named Head Football Coach at Northern Colorado".
  3. 1 2 "Gameday at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved September 4, 2015. Stadium Capacity: 8,533
  4. ↑ UNC Style Guide (PDF). March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Member Institutions". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Northern Colorado Football Weekly Release, September 5, 2015" (PDF). University of Northern Colorado Athletics. p. 2. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Big Sky Champion Ed Lamb named Head Football Coach at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. December 6, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  8. ↑ "McCaffrey will not return as Northern Colorado head football coach". Northern Colorado Bears. November 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ https://uncbears.com/sports/football
  10. ↑ "Northern Colorado Bears Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
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