Northern Colorado Bears

Athletic teams representing University of Northern Colorado

Northern Colorado Bears

University| University of Northern Colorado
Conference| Big Sky (primary)
Summit League (baseball)
WAC (women's swimming and diving)
Big 12 (wrestling)
NCAA| Division I (FCS)
Athletic director| Darren Dunn[1]
Location| Greeley, Colorado
Varsity teams| 17
Football stadium| Nottingham Field
Basketball arena| Bank of Colorado Arena at Butler–Hancock Sports Pavilion
Baseball stadium| Jackson Field
Softball stadium| Gloria Rodriguez Field
Soccer stadium| Jackson Stadium
Other venues| Butler-Hancock Swimming Pool (swimming and diving)
Mascot| Klawz the Bear
Nickname| Bears
Fight song| "UNC Fight Song"
Colors| Blue and gold[2]

Website| uncbears.com

The Northern Colorado Bears are the athletic teams representing the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors seventeen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field; women's-only soccer, softball, swimming and diving, and volleyball; and men's-only baseball, football, and wrestling. The Bears compete in NCAA Division I, with the football team competing at the FCS level, and most teams are members of the Big Sky Conference.[3] Three Northern Colorado teams have separate affiliations in sports that the Big Sky does not sponsor. The baseball team competes in the Summit League, the women's swimming and diving team is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference, and the wrestling team is a member of the Big 12 Conference.

## Sports sponsored

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### Individual teams

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Men's sports  | Women's sports

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Baseball | Basketball
Basketball | Cross Country
Cross Country  | Golf
Football | Soccer
Golf  | Softball
Track & Field  | Swimming & Diving
Wrestling  | Track & Field
| Volleyball

#### Basketball

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Main articles: Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball and Northern Colorado Bears women's basketball

### Football

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Main article: Northern Colorado Bears football

The 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 at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the on campus 8,533 seat Nottingham Field.

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

Total national championships: 2

### Softball

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Big Sky Conference logo in Northern Colorado's colors

From 1969 to 1979, Northern Colorado participated in all of the first eleven Women's College World Series (WCWS) tournaments ever held and was the only team to do so.

The team compiled a WCWS record of 37–22 in those eleven years. In 1974, in its sixth trip to the tournament, the team reached the AIAW championship game (its fifth game in two days), only to lose to Southwest Missouri State by a score of 14–7.[4] In 1976, the team advanced to the championship game, losing to Michigan State, 3–0. Two years later in 1978, the team reached the title game for the third time, falling to UCLA, also by a 3–0 score.

## Non-varsity sports

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* University of Northern Colorado Rugby Football Club

## References

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1. ^ "UNC Bears Staff Directory". Retrieved June 22, 2015.
2. ^ UNC Style Guide (PDF). March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
3. ^ "Member Institutions - Big Sky Conference".
4. ^ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Northern Colorado athletics.

* Official website

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University of Northern Colorado

Academics|

* Monfort College of Business
* Colorado School of Public Health (joint program with UC and CSU)

Athletics|

| Teams|

* Baseball
* Men's basketball¨
* Fighting Whites
* Women's basketball
* Football
* Rugby

|

Venues|

* Bank of Colorado Arena
* Jackson Field
* Nottingham Field

Student life|

* The Crucible
* The Mirror

Related|

* Hank Brown
* Edward W. Hardy

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

Big Sky Conference

Full members|

* Eastern Washington Eagles
* Idaho Vandals
* Idaho State Bengals
* Montana Grizzlies
* Montana State Bobcats
* Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
* Northern Colorado Bears
* Portland State Vikings
* Sacramento State Hornets4
* Weber State Wildcats

Future full members|

* Southern Utah Thunderbirds3
* Utah Tech Trailblazers3

Associate members|

* Cal Poly Mustangs1
* UC Davis Aggies1
* Francis Marion Patriots2

Tournaments|

* Basketball (men's)
* Basketball (women's)
* Soccer (women's)

* 1football
* 2men's golf
* 3joining in 2026–27
* 4leaving in 2026–27

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Western Athletic Conference

Full members|

* Abilene Christian Wildcats
* California Baptist Lancers1
* Southern Utah Thunderbirds1
* Tarleton State Texans
* UT Arlington Mavericks
* Utah Tech Trailblazers1
* Utah Valley Wolverines1

Associate members|

* Air Force Falcons3 4
* Grand Canyon Antelopes3
* Idaho Vandals5
* New Mexico State Aggies5
* Northern Arizona Lumberjacks5
* Northern Colorado Bears5
* Sacramento State Hornets2
* San Diego State Aztecs3
* San Jose State Spartans3
* UNLV Rebels3 4
* UTRGV Vaqueros3 5
* Wyoming Cowboys4

Related topics|

* United Athletic Conference6

* 1leaving in 2026
* 2baseball
* 3soccer (men's)
* 4swimming (men's)
* 5swimming (women's)
* 6football-playing members

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Big 12 Conference

Full members|

* Arizona Arizona Wildcats
* Arizona State Sun Devils
* Baylor Bears
* BYU Cougars
* Cincinnati Bearcats
* Colorado Buffaloes
* Houston Cougars
* Iowa State Cyclones
* Kansas Jayhawks
* Kansas State Wildcats
* Oklahoma State Cowboys
* TCU Horned Frogs
* Texas Tech Red Raiders
* UCF Knights
* Utah Utes
* West Virginia West Virginia Mountaineers

Associate members|

* Fresno State Bulldogs1
* Denver Pioneers2
* Florida Gators3
* San Diego State Aztecs3
* UC Davis Aggies3
* Old Dominion Monarchs4
* Tulsa Golden Hurricane4
* Air Force Falcons5
* California Baptist Lancers5
* Missouri Tigers5
* North Dakota State Bison5
* Northern Colorado Bears5
* Northern Iowa Panthers5
* Oklahoma Sooners5
* South Dakota State Jackrabbits5
* Utah Valley Wolverines5
* Wyoming Cowboys5

Championships and awards|

* Conference champions
* Baseball
* Men's basketball
* Women's basketball
* Football
* Women's soccer
* Softball

History|

* History
* Big Eight Conference
* Southwest Conference
* 1996 conference realignment
* 2010–2013 Big 12 realignment
* 2021–2026 conference realignment

Television|

* Big 12 Now
* Big 12 Network

* 1equestrian
* 2women's gymnastics
* 3women's lacrosse
* 4women's rowing
* 5men's wrestling

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Summit League

Full members|

* Denver Pioneers
* Kansas City Ross
* North Dakota Fighting Hawks
* North Dakota State Bison
* Omaha Mavericks
* Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
* St. Thomas Tommies
* South Dakota Coyotes
* South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Affiliate members|

* Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens2
* Drake Bulldogs3
* Eastern Illinois Panthers5
* Illinois State Redbirds3
* Northern Colorado Bears1
* Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles5
* UMass Minutemen2

Championships|

* Champions (list)

* 1baseball
* 2soccer (men's)
* 3tennis (men's)
* 4golf (men's)
* 5swimming

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