Northern Colorado Bears football

Intercollegiate American football team

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Northern Colorado Bears

| | 2024 Northern Colorado Bears football team

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First season| 1893; 132 years ago (1893)[1]
Head coach| Ed Lamb[2]
2nd season, 1–22 (.043)
Stadium| Nottingham Field
(capacity: 8,533[3])
Location| Greeley, Colorado
NCAA division| Division I FCS
Conference| Big Sky Conference
All-time record| 428-452-27 (.487)
Claimed national titles| 2 (D-II)
(1996, 1997)[1]
Conference titles| 12 (D-II)
RMAC - 4
GPAC - 3
NCC - 5 [1]
Rivalries| Colorado State
Wyoming
Western Colorado
Colorado School of Mines
North Dakota
Montana State
Portland State
Colors| Blue and gold[4]

Website| uncbears.com

The Northern Colorado Bears 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[5] at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893.[6] The team plays its home games at the 8,533 seat[3] Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022,[7] replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons.[8]

## Conference affiliations

[edit]

Below is the list of conferences in which Northern Colorado has been a member.[1]

* Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1923–1971)
* Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1975)
* NCAA Division II independent (1976–1979)
* North Central Conference (1980–2002)
* Great West Football Conference (2004–2005)
* Big Sky Conference (2006–present)

## Championships

[edit]

### National championships

[edit]

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

Year  | NCAA Division  | Coach  | Record  | National Championship Game  | Opponent  | Result  | Location

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1996 | II | Joe Glenn | 12–3 | 1996 Division II National Championship | Carson–Newman | W 23–14 | Florence, AL
1997 | II | Joe Glenn | 13–2 | 1997 Division II National Championship | New Haven | W 51–0 | Florence, AL

### Conference championships

[edit]

Year  | Coach  | Conference  | Overall record  | Conference record

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|
|
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1934† | John W. Hancock | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | 6–1 | 6–1
1948 | 4–4 | 3–0
1969 | Bob Blasi | 10–0 | 5–0
1971 | 8–1–1 | 5–0
1973† | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 7–2 | 4–1
1974 | 8–1 | 5–0
1975 | 8–1 | 5–0
1980 | North Central Conference | 7–4 | 6–1
1997† | Joe Glenn | 13–2 | 8–1
1998† | 11–2 | 8–1
1999† | 11–2 | 8–1
2002 | Kay Dalton | 12–2 | 8–0
Conference Championships | 12

† Co-champions

### Division championships

[edit]

Year  | Coach  | Division championship  | Opponent  | CG result

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1969 | Bob Blasi | RMAC Plains | Adams State | W 33–14
1970† | N/A lost tiebreaker to Pittsburg State
1971 | Western State | W 25–15
Division Championships | 3

## Playoff appearances

[edit]

### NCAA Division II

[edit]

The Bears appeared in the Division II playoffs nine times with an overall record of 12–7.[1]

Year  | Round  | Opponent  | Result

|
|
|

1980 | First Round
| Eastern Illinois
| L 14–21
1990 | First Round
| North Dakota State
| L 7–17
1991 | First Round
| Portland State
| L 24–28
1995 | First Round
| Pittsburg State
| L 17–36
1996 | First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals | Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State
Clarion
Carson-Newman | W 24–21
W 27–26
W 19–18
W 23–14
1997 | First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals | Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State
Carson-Newman
New Haven | W 24–16
W 35–19
W 30–29
W 51–0
1998 | First Round
Quarterfinals | North Dakota
NW Missouri State | W 52–28
L 17–42
1999 | First Round
Quarterfinals | Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State | W 34–31
L 35–41
2002 | First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals | Central Missouri State
NW Missouri State
Grand Valley | W 49–28
W 23–12
L 7–44

## Attendance

[edit]

### Highest attendance

[edit]

Below is a list of the Bears best-attended home games at Nottingham Field.[1]

Rk. | Date | Opponent | Attendance

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|
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Highest attendance
1 | October 1, 2005 | Cal Poly | 9,145
2 | October 29, 2005 | Fort Lewis | 8,561
3 | October 2, 2010 | Montana | 8,105
4 | September 3, 2005 | Colorado School of Mines | 7,554
5 | October 23, 1998 | South Dakota | 7,520
6 | October 9, 1999 | Nebraska-Omaha | 7,499
7 | November 21, 1998 | North Dakota | 7,312
8 | September 20, 1998 | Texas State | 7,246
9 | October 19, 2002 | South Dakota | 7,198
10 | October 10, 1998 | South Dakota | 7,135

As of the 2014 season.

### Yearly attendance

[edit]

Source:[1]

Below is the Bears home attendance by season at Nottingham Field.

Season | Total | Average | High

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|
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Northern Colorado Bears
2018  | 25,293  | 4,215  | 5,672
2017  | 21,917  | 4,383  | 5,378
2016  | 24,477  | 4,895  | 5,476
2015 | 25,612 | 4,269 | 5,205
2014 | 21,037 | 4,207 | 6,348
2013 | 23,990 | 3,998 | 4,619
2012 | 21,240 | 4,248 | 5,136
2011 | 23,428 | 3,905 | 5,692
2010 | 27,919 | 5,584 | 8,105
2009 | 21,111 | 3,518 | 5,247
2008 | 21,676 | 4,355 | 7,246
2007 | 20,441 | 4,088 | 6,684
2006 | 28,857 | 6,219 | 4,810
2005 | 37,549 | 7,510 | 9,142
2004 | 27,370 | 4,562 | 6,481
2003 | 28,730 | 5,746 | 6,660
2002 | 34,898 | 5,816 | 7,198
2001 | 26,153 | 4,359 | 5,488
2000 | 29,162 | 6,352 | 4,860
1999 | 46,552 | 6,650 | 7,520
1998 | 40,690 | 5,813 | 7,312
1997 | 25,302 | 4,217 | 6,345
1996 | 27,282 | 4,547 | 6,318
1995 | 25,067 | 4,364 | 7,024

As of the 2015 season.

## Notable former players

[edit]

Notable alumni include:

* Reed Doughty
* Vincent Jackson
* Dirk Johnson
* Jeff Knapple
* Bill Kenney
* Corte McGuffey
* Brad Pyatt
* Tony Ramirez
* Aaron Smith
* Loren Snyder
* Dave Stalls
* Frank Wainright
* Jed Roberts
* Herve Tonye-Tonye
* Cedric Tillman
* Brian Scott
* Kyle Sloter

## Head coaching records in FCS

[edit]

Since moving to the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2006, the Bears have struggled. Their FCS record since 2006 is 35 and 138 as of the 2024 season.

FCS head coaching records

* Scott Downing: 9–47
* Earnest Collins Jr.: 19–53
* Ed McCaffrey: 6–16
* Ed Lamb: 1–22 as of the end of the 2024 season

Team FCS record as of the end of 2024 35–138 (.202) [9]

## Future non-conference opponents

[edit]

Announced schedules as of August 11, 2024.[10]

2025  | 2026  | 2027  | 2028  | 2031

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Chadron State | South Dakota | at New Mexico | at Colorado | at Colorado
at Colorado State | at Wyoming | Houston Christian |  |
at South Dakota | Stephen F. Austin |  |  |
at Houston Christian |  |  |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "Northern Colorado Record Book" (PDF). Northern Colorado Bears Athletics. December 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
2. ^ "Big Sky Champion ed Lamb Named Head Football Coach at Northern Colorado".
3. ^ a b "Gameday at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved September 4, 2015. "Stadium Capacity: 8,533"
4. ^ UNC Style Guide (PDF). March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
5. ^ "Member Institutions". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
6. ^ "Northern Colorado Football Weekly Release, September 5, 2015" (PDF). University of Northern Colorado Athletics. p. 2. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
7. ^ "Big Sky Champion Ed Lamb named Head Football Coach at Northern Colorado". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. December 6, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
8. ^ "McCaffrey will not return as Northern Colorado head football coach". Northern Colorado Bears. November 21, 2022.
9. ^ https://uncbears.com/sports/football
10. ^ "Northern Colorado Bears Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Northern Colorado Bears football

Venues|

* Nottingham Field (1995–present)

Culture & lore|

* Klawz
* "UNC Fight Song"

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897–1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901–1904
* 1905
* 1906–1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943–1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

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

* v
* t
* e

Big Sky Conference football

Teams|

* Cal Poly Mustangs
* Eastern Washington Eagles
* Idaho Vandals
* Idaho State Bengals
* Montana Grizzlies
* Montana State Bobcats
* Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
* Northern Colorado Bears
* Portland State Vikings
* Sacramento State Hornets
* UC Davis Aggies
* Weber State Wildcats

Championships and awards|

* All-time standings

Seasons|

* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

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