Southwest Baptist Bearcats football

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Southwest Baptist Bearcats football
SBU wordmark.png
First season1983
Head coach Robert Clardy
9th season, 37–52 (.416)
Stadium Plaster Stadium
(capacity: 3,000)
Year built1983
Field surfaceAstroturf
Location Bolivar, Missouri
NCAA division Division II
Conference Great Lakes Valley Conference
Past conferences Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
ColorsPurple and white
   
Website sbubearcats.com

The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats football program represents Southwest Baptist University in college football and competes in the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). In 2014, Southwest Baptist became a football-only member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and remains a football-only member through the 2018–19 school year, after which it will become a full GLVC member. Prior to this SBU was in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association from 1988 to 2007 and 2012 to 2013, the rest of the athletic programs are in the MIAA. SBU's home games are played at Plaster Stadium in Bolivar, Missouri.

Contents

History

Southwest Baptist's football program dates back to 1983 when the program went 0–5. [1] Since their inaugural season the Bearcats have played in five conferences and have been an NCAA Division II member since 1986. [2]

In 2016, Coach Robert Clardy earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to their first-ever conference title and NCAA National Playoff appearance after finishing the season 10–2 (7–1 GLVC). The 2016 Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the NCAA Division II AFCA poll, and were ranked 22nd in the final poll. SBU broke 13 team records and 15 individual records in the 2016 season, including most wins and most conference wins in a single season, while also recording a record 19 All-GLVC and 10 All-Region honorees. The Bearcats had three All-Americans and finished with the 10th best total offense in the NCAA Division II. [3]

In 2018, the team went winless, finishing 0–10 while allowing over 38 points per game on defense.

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/Playoffs
2015Southwest Baptist4–63–5T-5th
2016Southwest Baptist10–27–1T-1stNCAA Division II 1st Round
2017Southwest Baptist5–54–3T-3rd
2018Southwest Baptist0–100–7
2019Southwest Baptist3–51–4
Southwest Baptist:22-2815-20

Conference affiliations

Stadium

The Bearcats have played their home games at Plaster Stadium since 1985. Plaster Stadium was named for Robert W. Plaster, the major donor for the project. The current capacity of the stadium is at 3,000. [4]

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References

  1. "Southwest Baptist Bearcats College Football Scores, Schedules, and Analytics". college-football-results.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  2. "NCAA Division II football records" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  3. "Southwest Baptist University Athletics - Robert Clardy - 2018 Football Coaching Staff - Southwest Baptist University". www.sbubearcats.com. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. "Plaster Stadium". Southwest Baptist University. Retrieved September 7, 2015.