1999 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team

1999 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
Patriot League co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 12–27 vs. Hofstra
Conference	Patriot League
Record	10–2 (5–1 Patriot)
Head coach	Kevin Higgins (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Bottiglieri (2nd season)
Captains	Ian Eason Kevin Joseph Brett Snyder Phil Stambaugh
Home stadium	Goodman Stadium
Seasons ←  1998 2000  →

1999 Patriot League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Lehigh +^		5	–	1					10	–	2
No. 18 Colgate +^		5	–	1					10	–	2
Towson		4	–	2					7	–	4
Bucknell		3	–	3					7	–	4
Lafayette		2	–	4					4	–	7
Holy Cross		2	–	4					3	–	8
Fordham		0	–	6					0	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1999 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh was co-champion of the Patriot League, but lost in the first round of the Division I-AA national playoffs.

In their sixth year under head coach Kevin Higgins, the Mountain Hawks compiled a 10–2 record. ^[1] Ian Eason, Kevin Joseph, Brett Snyder and Phil Stambaugh were the team captains. ^[2]

The Mountain Hawks outscored opponents 478 to 220. Lehigh's 5–1 conference record tied for best in the seven-team Patriot League standings. ^[3] The co-championship represented Lehigh's first back-to-back Patriot title, and its fourth first-place finish of the 1990s.

The Mountain Hawks were ranked No. 19 in the preseason Division I-AA national poll, and remained ranked throughout the year, rising as high as No. 7 and finishing the year at No. 14. Though co-champion Colgate was given the Patriot League's automatic berth in the Division I-AA playoffs, Lehigh earned an at-large berth. Both Patriot League playoff teams lost in the first round.

Lehigh played its home games at Goodman Stadium on the university's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Fordham *	No. 20	Coffey Field Bronx, NY	W 49–7	4,177	[4]
September 18	Monmouth *	No. 17	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 56–10	10,477	[5]
September 25	at Princeton *	No. 15	Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 31–0	20,941	[6]
October 2	Columbia *	No. 12	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 63–13	10,829	[7]
October 9	at Dartmouth *	No. 10	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 30–14	6,109	[8]
October 16	at No. 11 Delaware *	No. 9	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	W 42–35	22,032	[9]
October 23	Holy Cross	No. 8	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 62–8	13,181	[10]
October 30	Towson	No. 7	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 44–39	10,789	[11]
November 6	at Colgate	No. 9	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	L 24–28	6,228	[12]
November 13	at Bucknell	No. 16	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 48–27	3,849	[13]
November 20	Lafayette	No. 14	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA (The Rivalry)	W 14–12	16,000	[14]
November 27	at No. 5 Hofstra *	No. 14	Hofstra Stadium Hempstead, NY (Division I-AA playoffs	L 12–27	6,770	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 7. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
4. Blockus, Gary R. (September 12, 1999). "Lehigh Engineers Rout of Fordham". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. pp. C1, C2 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Denman, Elliott (September 19, 1999). "Lehigh Overpowers Monmouth". Asbury Park Press . Asbury Park, N.J. pp. H3, H18 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Blockus, Gary R. (September 26, 1999). "Lehigh Turns Lights Out on Princeton 31-0". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. pp. C1, C8 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Blockus, Gary R. (October 3, 1999). "Lehigh Sets Marks and Routs Columbia". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Blockus, Gary R. (October 10, 1999). "Unbeaten Lehigh's Routine Win Brings Few Smiles". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. October 10, 1999. p. C15.
9. Tresolini, Kevin (October 17, 1999). "Lehigh Airs It Out Against Hens". Sunday News Journal . Wilmington, Del. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Blockus, Gary R. (October 24, 1999). "Lehigh Slams Holy Cross, 62-8". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C5 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Emotionally Drained Lehigh Tops Towson". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. October 31, 1999. pp. C1, C2 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Blockus, Gary R. (November 7, 1999). "Colgate Grounds Lehigh". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Blockus, Gary R. (November 14, 1999). "Jean's 5 TDs Lead Lehigh's Stampede of Bison 48-27". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Blockus, Gary R. (November 21, 1999). "Lehigh Edges Lafayette 14-12". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Others". Tampa Bay Times . St. Petersburg, Fla. November 21, 1999. p. 18C.
15. Blockus, Gary R. (November 28, 1999). "Engineers Are Down and Out". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.