Bridgewater State Bears football

College football team

Bridgewater State Bears football

First season| 1894; 131 years ago (1894)[a]
Athletic director| Marybeth Lamb
Head coach| Joe Verria
9th season, 49–34 (.590)
Stadium| Swenson Field
(capacity: 1,600)
Field surface| FieldTurf
Location| Bridgewater, Massachusetts
NCAA division| Division III
Conference| MASCAC
Past conferences| NEFC
All-time record| 335-238-7 (.584)
Bowl record| 4-5 (.444)
Playoff appearances| 4 (1999, 2000, 2012, 2016)
Playoff record| 0–4 (.000)
Conference titles| 7
Rivalries| Massachusetts Maritime (Cranberry Bowl)[1]
Colors| Crimson, white, and black[2]

Mascot| BRISTACO the Bear
Website| bsubears.com

The Bridgewater State Bears football team represents Bridgewater State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Bears are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), fielding its team in the MASCAC since 2013. The Bears play their home games at Swenson Field in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[3]

Their head coach is Joe Verria, who took over the position for the 2016 season.[4]

## History

[edit]

Known as Bridgewater Normal, the team played throughout the 1890s and 1920s before being disbanded in 1925.[5] In 1959, athletic director and basketball coach Ed Sweeney announced that football would return as a varsity sport after students voluntarily taxed themselves seven dollars per year to fund the restart of the team.[6]

The team began play in 1960 with a four game schedule.

## Conference affiliations

[edit]

* NAIA independent (1960–1964)
* New England Football Conference (1965–2012)[7]
* Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present)[8]

## Championships

[edit]

### Conference championships

[edit]

Bridgewater State claims 7 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2023.

Year  | Conference  | Overall Record  | Conference Record  | Coach

|
|
|
|

1989 | New England Football Conference | 9–1 | 6–0 | Peter Mazzaferro
1992 | 9–1–1 | 8–0
1997† | 7–3 | 7–1
1999 | 10–1 | 6–0
2000 | 8–3 | 5–1
2016 | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference | 8–3 | 8–0 | Joe Verria
2023† | 7–3 | 7–1

† Co-champions

### Division championships

[edit]

Bridgewater State claims 7 division titles, the most recent of which came in 2008.

Year  | Division  | Coach  | Overall Record  | Conference Record  | Opponent  | CG result

|
|
|
|
|
|

1989 | NEFC South | Peter Mazzaferro | 9–1 | 6–0 | Maine Maritime | W 14–10
1990 | 8–2 | 6–0 | Plymouth State | L 7–26
1991 | 8–2 | 6–0 | UMass Lowell | L 7–10
1998† | NEFC Red | 7–3 | 5–1 | N/A lost tiebreaker to Maine Maritime
1999 | 10–1 | 6–0 | No championship game held
2000† | NEFC Bogan | 8–3 | 5–1 | Salve Regina | W 27–24
2008† | Chuck Denune | 7–3 | 6–1 | N/A lost tiebreaker to Maine Maritime

† Co-champions

## Postseason games

[edit]

### NCAA Division III playoff games

[edit]

Bridgewater State has appeared in the Division III playoffs four times, with an overall record of 0–4.

Year  | Round  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|

1999 | First Round  | Ursinus | L, 38–43
2000 | First Round  | Hobart | L, 0–25
2012 | First Round  | Widener | L, 14–44
2016 | First Round  | Alfred | L, 27–33

### Bowl games

[edit]

Bridgewater State has participated in nine bowl games, and has a record of 4–5.

Season  | Coach  | Bowl  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|
|

1989 | Peter Mazzaferro | ECAC Bowl | Alfred | L 27–30
1992 | ECAC Bowl | RPI | L 25–28
2005 | Chuck Denune | ECAC Bowl | Fitchburg State | W 34–17
2006 | ECAC Bowl | Coast Guard | W 41–22
2007 | ECAC Bowl | Plymouth State | L 21–24
2011 | ECAC Bowl | Alfred | L 10–41
2015 | ECAC Bowl | Carnegie Mellon | L 13–48
2018 | Joe Verria | New England Bowl | Salve Regina | W 34–19
2022 | New England Bowl | Catholic | W 34–24

## List of head coaches

[edit]

### Key

[edit]

Key to symbols in coaches list  General  | Overall  | Conference  | Postseason[A 1]

|
|
|

No.  | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC  | Games coached  | CW  | Conference wins  | PW  | Postseason wins
DC  | Division championships  | OW  | Overall wins  | CL  | Conference losses  | PL  | Postseason losses
CC  | Conference championships  | OL  | Overall losses  | CT  | Conference ties  | PT  | Postseason ties
NC  | National championships  | OT  | Overall ties[A 3] | C%  | Conference winning percentage  |  |
†  | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O%  | Overall winning percentage[A 4] |  |  |  |

### Coaches

[edit]

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards  No.  | Name  | Season(s)  | GC  | OW  | OL  | OT  | O%  | CW  | CL  | CT  | C%  | PW  | PL  | PT  | DC  | CC  | NC  | Awards

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Ed Swenson[12][13] | 1960–1967  | 47 | 14 | 33 | 0 | 0.298 | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –  | –
2  | Peter Mazzaferro[14][15] | 1968–1986, 1988–2004  | 339 | 195 | 137 | 7 | 0.586 | 148  | 82  | 0  | 0.643 | 0  | 4  | 0  | 6  | 5  | 0  | –
3  | Jim Crowley | 1987  | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | 3  | 2  | 0  | 0.600 | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | –
4  | Chuck Denune[16][17] | 2005–2015  | 112 | 75 | 37 | 0 | 0.670 | 55  | 24  | 0  | 0.696 | 2  | 4  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  | –
5  | Joe Verria[18] | 2016–present  | 63 | 37 | 26 | 0 | 0.587 | 48  | 24  | 0  | 0.667 | 2  | 2  | 0  | –  | 1  | 0  | –

## Year-by-year results

[edit]

National champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth

|
|
|
|

Season  | Year  | Head
Coach  | Association  | Division  | Conference  | Record  | Postseason  | Final ranking

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Overall  | Conference
Win  | Loss  | Tie  | Finish  | Win  | Loss  | Tie
Bridgewater State Bears[19]
1960 | 1960 | Ed Swenson | NAIA | —  | NAIA Independent | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1961 | 1961 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1962 | 1962 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1963 | 1963 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1964 | 1964 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1965 | 1965 | NCAA | College Division | NEFC | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1966 | 1966 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1967 | 1967 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1968 | 1968 | Peter Mazzaferro | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1969 | 1969 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1970 | 1970 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1971 | 1971 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | —  | —  | —
1972 | 1972 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
1973 | 1973 | Division III | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 2 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
1974 | 1974 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
1975 | 1975 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–4th | 5 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
1976 | 1976 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 5 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
1977 | 1977 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 5 | 3 | 0  |  | —
1978 | 1978 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 5 | 0  | —  | —
1979 | 1979 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8th | 3 | 5 | 1  | —  | —
1980 | 1980 | 5 | 3 | 1 | T–4th | 5 | 3 | 1  | —  | —
1981 | 1981 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T–7th | 3 | 6 | 0  | —  | —
1982 | 1982 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 1  | —  | —
1983 | 1983 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 5 | 0  | —  | —
1984 | 1984 | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 7 | 0  | —  | —
1985 | 1985 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 5 | 4 | 0  | —  | —
1986 | 1986 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4th | 6 | 1 | 2  | —  | —
1987 | 1987 | Jim Crowley | 4 | 5 | 0 | T–2nd (South) | 3 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
1988 | 1988 | Peter Mazzaferro | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–4th (South) | 3 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
1989 | 1989 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1st (South) | 6 | 0 | 0  | L ECAC North Bowl  | —
1990 | 1990 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st (South) | 6 | 0 | 0  | Division champions | —
1991 | 1991 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st (South) | 6 | 0 | 0  | Division champions | —
1992 | 1992 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 0  | L ECAC Northeast Bowl  | —
1993 | 1993 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
1994 | 1994 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 6 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
1995 | 1995 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
1996 | 1996 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 4 | 0  | —  | —
1997 | 1997 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–1st | 7 | 1 | 0  | Conference Champions | —
1998 | 1998 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st (Red) | 7 | 1 | 0  | Conference Champions | —
1999 | 1999 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1st (Red) | 6 | 0 | 0  | L NCAA Division III First Round | —
2000 | 2000 | 8 | 3 | 0 | T–1st (Bogan) | 5 | 1 | 0  | L NCAA Division III First Round | —
2001 | 2001 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (Bogan) | 3 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
2002 | 2002 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4th (Bogan) | 3 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
2003 | 2003 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3rd (Bogan) | 4 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
2004 | 2004 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (Bogan) | 4 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
2005 | 2005 | Chuck Denune | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2nd (Bogan) | 5 | 1 | 0  | W ECAC Northeast Bowl  | —
2006 | 2006 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2nd (Bogan) | 6 | 1 | 0  | W ECAC North Atlantic Bowl  | —
2007 | 2007 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd (Bogan) | 5 | 2 | 0  | L ECAC North Atlantic Bowl  | —
2008 | 2008 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–1st (Bogan) | 6 | 1 | 0  | Division champions | —
2009 | 2009 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (Bogan) | 5 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
2010 | 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–5th (Bogan) | 3 | 4 | 0  | —  | —
2011 | 2011 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (Bogan) | 5 | 2 | 0  | L ECAC Northeast Bowl  | —
2012 | 2012 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2nd (Bogan) | 6 | 1 | 0  | L NCAA Division III First Round | —
2013 | 2013 | MASCAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0  | —  | —
2014 | 2014 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 3 | 5 | 0  | —  | —
2015 | 2015 | 7 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | L ECAC Legacy Bowl  | —
2016 | 2016 | Joe Verria | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 0  | L NCAA Division III First Round | —
2017 | 2017 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 6 | 0  | —  | —
2018 | 2018 | 8 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | W New England Bowl | —
2019 | 2019 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
Season canceled due to Covid-19
2021 | 2021 | Joe Verria | NCAA | Division III | MASCAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | —  | —
2022 | 2022 | 7 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0  | W New England Bowl | —
2023 | 2023 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | —  | —

## Notable former players

[edit]

* Christopher Dijak – Professional wrestler[20]
* Joe Domingos – Former head coach for Massachusetts Maritime[21]
* Paul Melicharek – Former defensive lineman[22]
* Andrae Murphy – Current head coach for Dean, former defensive back and linebacker[23]
* Joe Verria – Current head coach for Bridgewater State, former defensive tackle[24]

## See also

[edit]

* Bridgewater State Bears

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The program was discontinued in 1925. It was relaunched in 1960; 65 years ago (1960).

1. ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[9]
2. ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "--" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
3. ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[10]
4. ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Historic Cranberry Bowl Enters 41st Edition, November 14, 2019
2. ^ "Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (1971-1972 through present)". Retrieved October 24, 2020.
3. ^ Hanley, Jim. "BSU: THE CRANBERRY BOWL – My Backyard News". Retrieved March 18, 2023.
4. ^ Fenton, Jim. "Joe Verria chased NFL dream after playing at Bridgewater State". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
5. ^ "Bridgewater Normal 8, Boston Latin 4". The Boston Globe. October 7, 1894. p. 6. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
6. ^ Rosa, Francis (December 24, 1959). "Bridgewater Tchrs. To Have Grid Team". The Boston Globe. p. 13. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
7. ^ NEFC Timeline
8. ^ Falcons Drop MASCAC Clash To Bears, October 1, 2022
9. ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10\. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.5-10&rft.pub=NCAA&rft.date=2011&rft.au=National+Collegiate+Athletic+Association+(NCAA)&rft_id=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/Bowls.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Bridgewater+State+Bears+football" class="Z3988">
10. ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
11. ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
12. ^ "Obituary for Edward C SWENSON". The Boston Globe. January 3, 2002. p. 29. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
13. ^ "Clipped From The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. January 20, 2002. p. 256. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
14. ^ Fenton, Jim. "COLLEGES: Bridgewater State's Pete Mazzaferro had a Hall of Fame career". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
15. ^ "American Football Monthly - Attacking Defenses With The Veer". www.americanfootballmonthly.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
16. ^ Staff Reporter. "Bridgewater State football coach charged with domestic assault". Wicked Local. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
17. ^ "Bridgewater State football coach charged with domestic assault". www.boston.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
18. ^ Fenton, Jim. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: New role for Joe Verria at Bridgewater State". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
19. ^ "Football Year-by-Year Records Since 1960". bsubears.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
20. ^ "Dijak finds success at Bridgewater State". Sentinel and Enterprise. November 3, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
21. ^ MMA Inducts Class of 2008
22. ^ Paul Melicharek Garners Pair of Postseason Football Honors, December 5, 2012
23. ^ "Bridgewater St". Bridgewater St. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
24. ^ Joe Verria to Remain Bridgewater State Football Coach, November 10, 2016

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football

Current teams|

* Anna Maria Amcats
* Bridgewater State Bears
* Dean Bulldogs
* Fitchburg State Falcons
* Framingham State Rams
* Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers
* Plymouth State Panthers
* UMass Dartmouth Corsairs
* Western Connecticut Wolves
* Westfield State Owls
* Worcester State Lancers

Former teams|

* Castleton Spartans

Championships & awards|

* All-time standings

Seasons|

* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

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