| 1997 Northern Colorado Bears football | |
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| 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 |
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| Home stadium | Nottingham Field |
| Seasons← 19961998 → | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. The team advanced to the playoffs and won the national championship by defeating New Haven in the championship game.
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 | 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 |
| W 30–27 | ||||
| October 4 | North Dakota State | No. 17 |
| L 24–28 | ||||
| October 11 | at South Dakota | Vermillion, SD | W 45–31 | |||||
| October 18 | Mankato State |
| W 31–0 | |||||
| October 25 | No. 13 Nebraska–Omaha |
| 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 |
| W 34–7 | ||||
| November 22 | at No. 8 Pittsburg State* | No. 11 | W 24–16 | |||||
| November 29 | at No. 3 Northwest Missouri State* | No. 11 |
| 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 | W 51–0 | 3,352 | ||||
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References
- "Northern Colorado Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ "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.
| 1997 Northern Colorado Bears football—NCAA Division II national champions | |
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| Northern Colorado Bears football | |
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| National championship seasons in bold | |