Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football

Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football
First season1907
Head coachDoug Socha
1st season, 0–0 (–)
StadiumMoretz Stadium
(capacity: 8,200)
LocationHickory, North Carolina
NCAA divisionDivision II
ConferenceSouth Atlantic Conference
All-time record546–467–34 (.538)
Claimed national titlesNAIA: 1 (1960)
Conference titles23 (10 SAC, 8 NSC, 5 CC)
RivalriesNewberry, Wingate, Catawba
ColorsCardinal and black[1]
   
MascotJoe and Josie Bear
Marching bandSpirit of Lenoir-Rhyne
WebsiteLRBears.com

The Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Lenoir–Rhyne University located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir–Rhyne's first football team was fielded in 1907. The team plays its home games at the 10,000 seat Moretz Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.

History

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Conference history

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  • 1954–1969: NAIA
  • 1970–1992: NAIA Division I
  • 1989–present: NCAA Division II

Conference affiliations

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The Bears had no team from 1912–1920 and 1942–1945.

Bowl games

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The Bears have participated in five postseason bowl games, compiling a 3–2 record.[2]

Season Game Date Opponent Result Location
1951 Pythian Bowl December 8, 1951 California (PA) W 13–7 Salisbury, North Carolina
1952 Cigar Bowl December 13, 1952 Tampa L 12–21 Tampa, Florida
1955 Palmetto Shrine December 10, 1955 Newberry W 14–13 Columbia, South Carolina
1959 Holiday Bowl (NAIA) December 19, 1959 Texas A&I L 20–7 St. Petersburg, Florida
1960 Holiday Bowl (NAIA) December 10, 1960 Humboldt State W 15–14 St. Petersburg, Florida

Coaches

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Clarence Stasavich has the most victories as coach of the Bears.

Notable former players

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Year-by-year results

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Year W-L-T 1907 (0-3), 1908 (5-2-1), 1909 (3-5), 1910 (1-2), 1911 (3-3), —-NO TEAM 1912-1920—- 1921 (2-3), 1922 (1-5), 1923 (0-5), 1924 (5-4), 1925 (6-3), 1926 (7-2), 1927 (3-6-1), 1928 (2-6-1), 1929 (4-5-1), 1930 (3-6-1),

1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2005 (5–5), 2006 (3–8), 2007 (2–9), 2008 (3–8), 2009 (5–6), 2010 (7–4), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013* (13–2), 2014* (11–1), 2015 (5–5), 2016 (3–8), 2017 (3–7), 2018* (12–2), 2019* (13–1), Spring 2020 (3-1)

Championship appearances

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The Bears made three appearances in the NAIA championship game during their tenure, winning in 1960, and appeared in the NCAA Division II championship game in 2013.

Year Division Coach Opponent Record Score
1959 NAIA Playoffs Clarence Stasavich Texas A&I Javelinas 10–1 L 7–20
1960 NAIA Playoffs Clarence Stasavich Humboldt State 12–0 W 15–14
1962 NAIA Playoffs Hanley Painter Central State (OK) 11–1 L 13–28
2013 NCAA Division II Playoffs Mike Houston Northwest Missouri State 13–2 L 28–43

Conference championships

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1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013 (13–2), 2014 (11–1), 2018 (12–2), 2019 (13–1)

*denotes co-championship. The Bears won 8 titles in the North State Conference, 5 in the Carolinas Conference, and 9 in the South Atlantic Conference.

References

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  1. ^ "Brand Style Guide". Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
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