1987 Maine Black Bears football team

1987 Maine Black Bears football
1987 Maine Black Bears football
Yankee Conference co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 28–31 at Georgia Southern
Conference	Yankee Conference
Record	8–4 (6–1 Yankee)
Head coach	Tim Murphy (1st season);
Captain	Bob Wilder, Steve Violette
Home stadium	Alumni Field
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 Maine +^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Richmond +^	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Connecticut	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
New Hampshire	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Delaware	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
UMass	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Boston University	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Rhode Island	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1987 Maine Black Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of Maine as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first season under head coach Tim Murphy, the Black Bears compiled a 8–4 record (6–1 against conference opponents), tied for the Yankee Conference championship, and lost to Georgia Southern in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs. Bob Wilder and Steve Violette were the team captains.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	American International		Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 42–23
September 12	at UMass		McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 31–14	11,242
September 19	at Rhode Island	No. 6	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 24–20
September 26	Boston University	No. T–4	Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 33–19
October 3	Towson State	No. 3	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 14–17
October 10	at Northeastern	No. T–16	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 17–21	5,100	^[2]
October 17	Richmond		Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 7–17	8,053	^[3]
October 24	Connecticut		Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 32–28
October 31	at Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 59–56 ^2OT
November 7	No. 6 New Hampshire		Alumni Field Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	W 28–14
November 14	at Illinois State	No. 17	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 37–34
November 28	at No. 6 Georgia Southern	No. 13	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 28–31 ^OT
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

The following Black Bear was selected in the 1988 NFL Draft after the season.^[4]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
6	160	Rob Sterling	Defensive back	Philadelphia Eagles

^ "2019 Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine. 2019. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
^ Bob Monahan (October 11, 1987). "Rodriguez directs NU past Maine, 21-17". The Boston Globe. p. 76.
^ "Bears keep sliding". Sun-Journal. October 18, 1987. Retrieved November 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.

v t e Maine Black Bears football
Venues	Alfond Sports Stadium (1947–present) Fitzpatrick Stadium (alternate)
Bowls & rivalries	1965 Tangerine Bowl New Hampshire: Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket
Culture & lore	Black Bear Sports Network
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 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