1997 Northern Colorado Bears football team

1997 Northern Colorado Bears football
1997 Northern Colorado Bears football
NCAA Division II champion; NCC champion
NCAA Division II Championship Game, W 51–0 vs. New Haven
Conference	North Central Conference
Record	13–2 (8–1 NCC)
Head coach	Joe Glenn (9th season);
Home stadium	Nottingham Field
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 North Central Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 11 Northern Colorado $^	8	–	1	13	–	2
North Dakota	7	–	2	8	–	2
No. 16 North Dakota State ^	7	–	2	9	–	3
Nebraska–Omaha	6	–	3	8	–	3
St. Cloud State	5	–	4	6	–	5
South Dakota	3	–	6	5	–	6
Augustana (SD)	3	–	6	5	–	6
Mankato State	3	–	6	4	–	7
South Dakota State	3	–	6	4	–	6
Morningside	0	–	9	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

The 1997 Northern Colorado Bears football team was an American football team that won the 1997 NCAA Division II national championship.

The team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1997 NCAA Division II football season. In their ninth season under head coach Joe Glenn, the Bears compiled a 13–2 record (8–1 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 489 to 249, and won the NCC championship.^[1] The team advanced to the playoffs and won the national championship by defeating New Haven in the championship game.^[2]

The team played its home games at Nottingham Field in Greeley, Colorado.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	Mesa State*	No. 1	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	W 28–7
September 13	at Western State (CO)*	No. 1	Gunnison, CO	L 13–14
September 20	at Augustana (SD)	No. 15	Sioux Falls, SD	W 49–40
September 27	St. Cloud State	No. 18	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	W 30–27
October 4	North Dakota State	No. 17	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	L 24–28		^[3]
October 11	at South Dakota		Vermillion, SD	W 45–31
October 18	Mankato State		Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	W 31–0
October 25	No. 13 Nebraska–Omaha		Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	W 37–17
November 1	at Morningside	No. 19	Sioux City, IA	W 41–7
November 8	at South Dakota State	No. 13	Brookings, SD	W 17–7
November 15	No. 7 North Dakota	No. 12	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	W 34–7
November 22	at No. 8 Pittsburg State*	No. 11	Carnie Smith Stadium Pittsburg, KS (NCAA Division II first round)	W 24–16
November 29	at No. 3 Northwest Missouri State*	No. 11	Bearcat Stadium Maryville, MO (NCAA Division II quarterfinal)	W 35–19
December 6	at No. 1 Carson–Newman*	No. 11	Jefferson City, TN (NCAA Division II semifinal)	W 30–29
December 13	vs. No. 2 New Haven*	No. 11	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL (NCAA Division II Championship Game)	W 51–0	3,352	^[2]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

References

^ "Northern Colorado Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "N. Colorado 51, New Haven 0". Hartford Courant. December 14, 1997. p. D11 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Air Freeney leads NDSU over Northern Colorado". The Bismarck Tribune. October 5, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] "Northern Colorado Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2021.

[NC-2] "N. Colorado 51, New Haven 0". Hartford Courant. December 14, 1997. p. D11 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Air Freeney leads NDSU over Northern Colorado". The Bismarck Tribune. October 5, 1997. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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[2]

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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 NCAA Division II football champions
1970s	1973: Louisiana Tech 1974: Central Michigan 1975: Northern Michigan 1976: Montana State 1977: Lehigh 1978: Eastern Illinois 1979: Delaware
1980s	1980: Cal Poly 1981: Southwest Texas State 1982: Southwest Texas State 1983: North Dakota State 1984: Troy State 1985: North Dakota State 1986: North Dakota State 1987: Troy State 1988: North Dakota State 1989: Mississippi College (vacated)
1990s	1990: North Dakota State 1991: Pittsburg State 1992: Jacksonville State 1993: North Alabama 1994: North Alabama 1995: North Alabama 1996: Northern Colorado 1997: Northern Colorado 1998: Northwest Missouri State 1999: Northwest Missouri State
2000s	2000: Delta State 2001: North Dakota 2002: Grand Valley State 2003: Grand Valley State 2004: Valdosta State 2005: Grand Valley State 2006: Grand Valley State 2007: Valdosta State 2008: Minnesota–Duluth 2009: Northwest Missouri State
2010s	2010: Minnesota–Duluth 2011: Pittsburg State 2012: Valdosta State 2013: Northwest Missouri State 2014: CSU–Pueblo 2015: Northwest Missouri State 2016: Northwest Missouri State 2017: Texas A&M–Commerce 2018: Valdosta State 2019: West Florida
2020s	2020: No champion 2021: Ferris State 2022: Ferris State 2023: Harding