1969 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team

The 1969 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team was an American football team that East Tennessee State University (ETSU) as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. East Tennessee State completed an undefeated season, going 10–0–1 and capturing the OVC championship. This is the only undefeated season and the last conference championship for the program up until 2018. The team capped off the season by defeating Louisiana Tech and future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw in the Grantland Rice Bowl.^[1][2]

1969 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football
OVC champion
Grantland Rice Bowl, W 34–14 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 20
Record	10–0–1 (6–0–1 OVC)
Head coach	John Robert Bell (4th season)
Home stadium	University Stadium
Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 20/16 East Tennessee State $	6	–	0	–	1			10	–	0	–	1
Western Kentucky	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Tennessee Tech	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Morehead State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Murray State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Austin Peay	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Middle Tennessee	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP/UPI small college polls

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	Appalachian State*		University Stadium Johnson City, TN		W 18–16		[3]
September 20	East Carolina*		University Stadium Johnson City, TN		W 7–0	5,500	[4]
September 27	No. 4 Eastern Kentucky		University Stadium Johnson City, TN		W 7–0
October 4	at Western Kentucky		Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 16–7	7,500–7,506	[5][6]
October 11	at Tennessee Tech		Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN		W 30–7
October 18	at Chattanooga*	No. 10	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN		W 17–13		[7]
October 25	Murray State	No. 7	University Stadium Johnson City, TN		T 10–10
November 8	at Morehead State	No. 13	Jayne Stadium Morehead, KY		W 27–7
November 15	Middle Tennessee	No. 17	University Stadium Johnson City, TN		W 27–21	2,000	[8]
November 22	at Austin Peay		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN		W 14–12
December 13	vs. No. 4 Louisiana Tech*	No. 20	BREC Memorial Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Grantland Rice Bowl)	ABC	W 34–14	16,101	[9]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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