Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 7,870 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and is the official Missouri State Arboretum. The school is governed by a state-appointed Board of Regents and headed by President John Jasinski.
The Winona State Warriors are the athletic teams of Winona State University, located in Winona, Minnesota. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division II for all sports except for women's gymnastics, which competes in the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association.
Mel Tjeerdsma is a retired American football coach and athletic director at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. He served as the head coach at Austin College in Sherman, Texas from 1984 to 1993 and at Northwest Missouri State University from 1994 until his retirement after the 2010 season. In his 27 years as a head coach, Tjeerdsma compiled a career college football record of 242–82–4. He led the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats to three NCAA Division II Football Championship titles and four additional NCAA Division II titles games.
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area has a long history of sports, which has included national championship teams and championship title events.
Bearcat Stadium is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school.
Bearcat Arena is a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Maryville, Missouri. It was completed in 1959 at a cost of $500,000 and renovated in 1993. It is the home of the Northwest Missouri State University basketball and volleyball teams.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. SDSU is currently a member of the Summit League, the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Big 12 Conference and Varsity Equestrian. The university won numerous conference championships and several national titles including the NCAA College Division national title in men's basketball in 1963 and the NCAA Division II national title in women's basketball in 2003.
The sports teams at the University of Central Missouri are known as the Mules (men) and Jennies (women). They participate in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football program represents Northwest Missouri State University in college football. They participate in Division II sports within the NCAA. The team plays their home games at Bearcat Stadium, located on campus in Maryville, Missouri.
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball team represents Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, in the NCAA Division II men's basketball competition. The team is currently coached by Ben McCollum, who has been at the helm since 2009. The Bearcats currently compete, and are one of two founding members remaining, of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The basketball team plays its home games in the Bearcat Arena on campus.
The Missouri Western–Northwest Missouri State football rivalry between the Missouri Western Griffons football team and Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team is between two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association NCAA Division II rivals that are less than 50 miles apart.
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos, often referred to as Central Oklahoma, Central State or UCO, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The 14 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Bronchos", with a unique use of the letter H. The school's identification as Bronchos dates back to 1922, when the wife of football coach Charles W. Wantland suggested it for the schools 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 will compete beginning in 2020 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Bronchos have won eighteen national championships, with the most recent coming in 2019 as the women's rowing program won the NCAA Division II Rowing Championship. The university's current athletic director is Stan Wagnon, who has served in the position since 2020.
The West Georgia Wolves are the athletic teams that represent the University of West Georgia, located in Carrollton, Georgia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wolves compete as members of the Gulf South Conference for all 13 varsity sports. West Georgia has been a member of the GSC since 1983.
The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats are the sports teams of Southwest Baptist University located in Bolivar, Missouri. They participate in the NCAA's Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The Bearcats had competed in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) since 1986. In 2014, the Bearcats as well as the Lincoln Blue Tigers began competing in the GLVC as a football member-only team.
Scott Bostwick was an American football player and coach. He served as the defensive coordinator at Northwest Missouri State University from 1994 to 2010 under head coach Mel Tjeerdsma, during which time the Bearcats captured three NCAA Division II Football Championships, in 1998, 1999, and 2009. In 2007, Bostwick was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2007. He succeeded Tjeerdsma as head coach following the 2010 season, but died of a heart attack the following June.
The 2013 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2013 NCAA Division II football season. Led by third-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the team finished the regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record. They won their fifth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over Lenoir–Rhyne in the NCAA Division II Championship Game by a score of 43–28. The Bearcats played their home games at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Missouri, which has been the Bearcats' home stadium since 1917.
The 2016 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the Bearcats compiled an overall record of 15–0 with a mark of 11–0 in conference play, winning the MIAA title. They won the program's sixth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over North Alabama in the NCAA Division II Championship Game.
The 2015 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team represented Northwest Missouri State University as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during the 2015 NCAA Division II football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Adam Dorrel, the team finished the regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record. They won their fifth NCAA Division II Football Championship with a win over Shepherd in the NCAA Division II Championship Game by a score of 34–7. The Bearcats played their home games at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Missouri, which has been the Bearcat's home stadium since 1917.
The 2009 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team was an American football team that won the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship.
The 1999 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team was an American football team that won the 1999 NCAA Division II Football Championship.
