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 at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team was fielded in 1893. They joined Division I in 2004. The team plays home games at the 8,533 seat Nottingham Field on campus. The Bears announced the hiring of Ed Lamb on December 6, 2022, replacing Ed McCaffrey, who went 6–16 in two seasons.
WWW uncbears.com/index.aspx?p...

Conference affiliations

Below is the list of conferences in which Northern Colorado has been a member.

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.
1996IIJoe Glenn12–31996 Division II National ChampionshipCarson–NewmanW 23–14Florence, AL
1997IIJoe Glenn13–21997 Division II National ChampionshipNew HavenW 51–0Florence, AL

Conference championships

† Co-champions

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

The Bears appeared in the Division II playoffs nine times with an overall record of 12–7.
1980First Round
Eastern Illinois
L 14–21
1990First Round
North Dakota State
L 7–17
1991First Round
Portland State
L 24–28
1995First Round
Pittsburg State
L 17–36
1996First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals		Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State
Clarion
Carson-Newman		W 24–21
W 27–26
W 19–18
W 23–14
1997First 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
1998First Round
Quarterfinals		North Dakota
NW Missouri State		W 52–28
L 17–42
1999First Round
Quarterfinals		Pittsburg State
NW Missouri State		W 34–31
L 35–41
2002First 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.
Rk.DateOpponentAttendance
Highest attendance---
1October 1, 2005Cal Poly9,145
2October 29, 2005Fort Lewis8,561
3October 2, 2010Montana8,105
4September 3, 2005Colorado School of Mines7,554
5October 23, 1998South Dakota7,520
6October 9, 1999Nebraska-Omaha7,499
7November 21, 1998North Dakota7,312
8September 20, 1998Texas State7,246
9October 19, 2002South Dakota7,198
10October 10, 1998South Dakota7,135

As of the 2014 season.

Yearly attendance

Source:
Below is the Bears home attendance by season at Nottingham Field.
SeasonTotalAverageHigh
Northern Colorado Bears---
201825,2934,2155,672
201721,9174,3835,378
201624,4774,8955,476
201525,6124,2695,205
201421,0374,2076,348
201323,9903,9984,619
201221,2404,2485,136
201123,4283,9055,692
201027,9195,5848,105
200921,1113,5185,247
200821,6764,3557,246
200720,4414,0886,684
200628,8576,2194,810
200537,5497,5109,142
200427,3704,5626,481
200328,7305,7466,660
200234,8985,8167,198
200126,1534,3595,488
200029,1626,3524,860
199946,5526,6507,520
199840,6905,8137,312
199725,3024,2176,345
199627,2824,5476,318
199525,0674,3647,024

As of the 2015 season.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Head coaching records in FCS

Since moving to the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2006, the Bears have struggled. Their FCS record since 2006 is 39–146 as of the 2025 season.
FCS head coaching records
Team FCS record as of the end of 2025:

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 19, 2025.
South Dakotaat New Mexicoat Coloradoat Wyomingat Colorado
at WyomingHouston Christian
Northeastern State