University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2007
- Class:
- 1997
1997 Football Team - Head Coach Joe Glenn
The 1997 Northern Colorado football team won the second-straight team national championship in school history, shutting out New Haven 51-0 for the title (Dec. 13, 1997). Coached by Joe Glenn, the team won the North Central Conference Championship en route to a 13-2 overall record and had nine players earn All-American honors over the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The team played all four of its playoff games on the road, rising to the challge, defeating Pittsburg State 24-16, Northwest Missouri State 35-19 and Carson-Newman 30-29 before winning the whole kit-and-caboodle 51-0 over New Haven in Florence, Ala. The team won its final nine games of the season and in the final regular season game against North Dakota, senior running back Billy Holmes broke the school's single-season rushing record with 1,093 yards, becoming the first Bear to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Inducted in 2007.
Team Members: Chad Ansell, Bryan Applewhite, Ed Bendokas, Donovan Brown, Brad Bunting, Ryan Burkholder, Lennis Campbell, Cliff Casco, Mark Chicarelli, Joshua Ching-Pickett, Steve Cotham, Wes Daniels, Kunta Duncan, Nathan Eastin, Noland Eastin, Faraj Elmagbari, Dean Grable, Keith Grable, Jeremy Guddat, Andy Haase, Brian Heil, Jamie Heiner, Jason Heinrich, Dylan Hockett, Billy Holmes, Mark Holte, Mark Jeffries, Dirk Johnson, Martin Jones, Andy Klatt, Kris Kovel, Heath Kucera, Justin Lanham, Nicolas Lopez, Brian Lusk, Matt Markley, Drew Masten, John May, Corte McGuffey, Dillan Micus, Jeff Miller, Chad Niesent, Justin Noyes, Dominic Pallone, Don Plutt, Nathan Rice, Ryan Richards, Paul Robertson, Colin Runge, Mike Schauer, Brian Scott, Aaron Smith, George Smith, Carlos Tarin, Lenny Vaughn, Brandon Vogt, Todd Weibel, Tashe Williams, Andrew Wimbs, Scott Zimmerman, Omar Zuniga.Coaching Staff: Joe Glenn (Head Coach), Mike Breske (Defensive Coordinator), Kay Dalton (Offensive Coordinator), Larry Adams, Rod Dobbs, Mart
