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Bridgewater State Bears football

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Bridgewater State Bears football
First season1894
Athletic directorMarybeth Lamb
Head coachJoe Verria
8th season, 45–32 (.584)
StadiumSwenson Field
(capacity: 1,600)
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationBridgewater, Massachusetts
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceMASCAC
Past conferencesNEFC
All-time record335–238–7 (.584)
Bowl record4–5 (.444)
Playoff appearances4 (1999, 2000, 2012, 2016)
Playoff record0–4 (.000)
Conference titles7
RivalriesMassachusetts Maritime (Cranberry Bowl)[1]
ColorsCrimson, white, and black[2]
     
MascotBRISTACO the Bear
Websitebsubears.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

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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

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Championships

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Conference championships

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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

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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

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NCAA Division III playoff games

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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

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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

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Key

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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

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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

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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

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See also

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Notes

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  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

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  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.
  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
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