Northern Colorado Bears football

The Northern Colorado Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley, Colorado. The team competes in the Big Sky Conference^[5] at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893.^[6] The team plays home games at the 8,533 seat^[3] Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022,^[7] replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons.^[8]

Northern Colorado Bears
2025 Northern Colorado Bears football team
First season	1893; 132 years ago (1893)[1]
Head coach	Ed Lamb[2] 2nd season, 1–22 (.043)
Stadium	Nottingham Field (capacity: 8,533[3])
Location	Greeley, Colorado
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Big Sky Conference
All-time record	428–452–27 (.487)
Claimed national titles	2 (D-II) (1996, 1997)[1]
Conference titles	12 (D-II) RMAC - 4 GPAC - 3 NCC - 5 [1]
Rivalries	Colorado State Wyoming Western Colorado Colorado School of Mines North Dakota Montana State Portland State
Colors	Blue and gold[4]
Website	uncbears.com

Conference affiliations

Below is the list of conferences in which Northern Colorado has been a member.^[1]

• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1923–1971)
• Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1975)
• NCAA Division II independent (1976–1979)
• North Central Conference (1980–2002)
• Great West Football Conference (2004–2005)
• Big Sky Conference (2006–present)

Championships

National championships

Northern Colorado made two appearances in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. The Bears defeated Carson–Newman, 23–14 in 1996, and later defeated New Haven, 51–0 in 1997.

Year	NCAA Division	Coach	Record	National Championship Game	Opponent	Result	Location
1996	II	Joe Glenn	12–3	1996 Division II National Championship	Carson–Newman	W 23–14	Florence, AL
1997	II	Joe Glenn	13–2	1997 Division II National Championship	New Haven	W 51–0	Florence, AL

Conference championships

Year	Coach	Conference	Overall record	Conference record
1934†	John W. Hancock	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	6–1	6–1
1948			4–4	3–0
1969	Bob Blasi		10–0	5–0
1971			8–1–1	5–0
1973†		Great Plains Athletic Conference	7–2	4–1
1974			8–1	5–0
1975			8–1	5–0
1980		North Central Conference	7–4	6–1
1997†	Joe Glenn		13–2	8–1
1998†			11–2	8–1
1999†			11–2	8–1
2002	Kay Dalton		12–2	8–0
Conference Championships			12

† Co-champions

Division championships

Year	Coach	Division championship	Opponent	CG result
1969	Bob Blasi	RMAC Plains	Adams State	W 33–14
1970†			N/A lost tiebreaker to Pittsburg State
1971			Western State	W 25–15
Division Championships			3

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

The Bears appeared in the Division II playoffs nine times with an overall record of 12–7.^[1]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1980	First Round	Eastern Illinois	L 14–21
1990	First Round	North Dakota State	L 7–17
1991	First Round	Portland State	L 24–28
1995	First Round	Pittsburg State	L 17–36
1996	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Pittsburg State NW Missouri State Clarion Carson-Newman	W 24–21 W 27–26 W 19–18 W 23–14
1997	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Pittsburg State NW Missouri State Carson-Newman New Haven	W 24–16 W 35–19 W 30–29 W 51–0
1998	First Round Quarterfinals	North Dakota NW Missouri State	W 52–28 L 17–42
1999	First Round Quarterfinals	Pittsburg State NW Missouri State	W 34–31 L 35–41
2002	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Central Missouri State NW Missouri State Grand Valley	W 49–28 W 23–12 L 7–44

Attendance

Highest attendance

Below is a list of the Bears best-attended home games at Nottingham Field.^[1]

Rk.	Date	Opponent	Attendance
Highest attendance
1	October 1, 2005	Cal Poly	9,145
2	October 29, 2005	Fort Lewis	8,561
3	October 2, 2010	Montana	8,105
4	September 3, 2005	Colorado School of Mines	7,554
5	October 23, 1998	South Dakota	7,520
6	October 9, 1999	Nebraska-Omaha	7,499
7	November 21, 1998	North Dakota	7,312
8	September 20, 1998	Texas State	7,246
9	October 19, 2002	South Dakota	7,198
10	October 10, 1998	South Dakota	7,135

As of the 2014 season.

Yearly attendance

Source:^[1]

Below is the Bears home attendance by season at Nottingham Field.

Season	Total	Average	High
Northern Colorado Bears
2018	25,293	4,215	5,672
2017	21,917	4,383	5,378
2016	24,477	4,895	5,476
2015	25,612	4,269	5,205
2014	21,037	4,207	6,348
2013	23,990	3,998	4,619
2012	21,240	4,248	5,136
2011	23,428	3,905	5,692
2010	27,919	5,584	8,105
2009	21,111	3,518	5,247
2008	21,676	4,355	7,246
2007	20,441	4,088	6,684
2006	28,857	6,219	4,810
2005	37,549	7,510	9,142
2004	27,370	4,562	6,481
2003	28,730	5,746	6,660
2002	34,898	5,816	7,198
2001	26,153	4,359	5,488
2000	29,162	6,352	4,860
1999	46,552	6,650	7,520
1998	40,690	5,813	7,312
1997	25,302	4,217	6,345
1996	27,282	4,547	6,318
1995	25,067	4,364	7,024

As of the 2015 season.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

• Reed Doughty
• Vincent Jackson
• Dirk Johnson
• Jeff Knapple
• Bill Kenney
• Corte McGuffey
• Brad Pyatt
• Tony Ramirez
• Aaron Smith
• Loren Snyder
• Dave Stalls
• Frank Wainright
• Jed Roberts
• Herve Tonye-Tonye
• Cedric Tillman
• Brian Scott
• Kyle Sloter

Head coaching records in FCS

Since moving to the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2006, the Bears have struggled. Their FCS record since 2006 is 35 and 138 as of the 2024 season.

FCS head coaching records

• Scott Downing: 9–47
• Earnest Collins Jr.: 19–53
• Ed McCaffrey: 6–16
• Ed Lamb: 1–22 as of the end of the 2024 season

Team FCS record as of the end of 2024 35–138 (.202) ^[9]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of July 1, 2025.^[10]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2030	2031
Chadron State	South Dakota	at New Mexico	at Colorado	at Wyoming	at Colorado
at Colorado State	at Wyoming	Houston Christian
at South Dakota	Stephen F. Austin
at Houston Christian