University of Northern Colorado Athletics
UNC To Honor 1996 National Championship Team
8/12/2026 10:00:00 AM | Football
GREELEY, Colo. – 30 years ago the UNC Bears football team was etched in history forever, winning the school's first ever National Title.
Now 30 years later the first national championship team will be honored at the year's homecoming game against Utah Tech on Sept. 26. The Bears will take the field with a throwback helmet to honor the team.
1996 National Champions
The heart-attack kids of 1996 kept fans on the edge of their seats until the clock struck zero as all three NCAA playoff games were won on the final drive to lead Northern Colorado to its first-ever national football title.
Head Coach Joe Glenn was in his seventh season and led the Bears to a 12-3 overall record and a tie for second-place in the North Central Conference (NCC) with a mark of 6-3. The team averaged 31.1 points per game, while holding opponents to 15.9 a contest.
Senior offensive lineman Tony Ramirez was the most highly decorated player on the team, earning First-Team All-American honors from CoSIDA, AFCA, AP, Football Gazette, American Football Quarterly and C.M. Frank. Defensive back Delano Washington was also a First-Team pick by CoSIDA, Football Gazette and American Football Quarterly, while defensive back/punter Dirk Johnson, who went on to play several seasons in the NFL, earned First-Team honors by C.M. Frank.
The 1996 season started with a shut out of Western State, 43-0 and the offense continued to roll with a 59-14 victory at Mesa State the following week, including putting up 578 yards of total offense. The Bears started NCC play with a 21-6 win over then No. 5 North Dakota, holding its talented rushing attack to just 40 yards. Climbing to No. 5 in the polls, the Bears dropped their first game of the year at South Dakota with a 27-24 overtime loss to the 19th-ranked Coyotes. It was the Bears first-ever overtime game and they played without leading rusher, Billy Holmes.
Senior quarterback Tom Beck carried the team on his shoulders the following game, rushing for three touchdowns and passing for another in a 44-27 win over Minnesota State on Homecoming. The following week, the Bears scored 31 unanswered points for a 38-36 win over North Dakota State. Northern Colorado stumbled the next two weeks, dropping a 15-14 decision at Nebraska-Omaha and falling 30-20 at St. Cloud State. A return to Greeley put the Bears back on the winning track with a 21-6 win over No. 11 South Dakota State, which entered the game tied atop the NCC standings. The win was the 12th straight at home and improved life at Nottingham Field to a perfect 11-0.
Billy Holmes rushed for 224 yards as No. 17 UNC kept its playoff hopes alive with its first conference road victory of the year, a 17-7 win at Morningside. They followed that up with a 41-7 rout of Augustana to secure a second-straight Division II playoff bid.
In the first round of the playoffs at Pittsburg State, Michael Schauer booted a 27-yard field goal with one second remaining to give the Bears their first-ever NCAA playoff victory, 24-21. The Gorillas, ranked No. 8, tied the game with 3:39 remaining, but Beck was 15-for-20 in passing during the game to help lift the Bears to the win.
With 12 seconds remaining in the quarterfinals, Beck found Omar Zuniga alone in the back of the endzone for a two-yard touchdown pass and the 27-26 win over the No. 2 Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State in Greeley.
The following week, the Bears traveled across the nation for a semifinal matchup with Clarion (Pa.). For the second time in as many weeks, Beck connected with Zuniga, this time from 15 yards out with 1:25 to play to give the Bears a 19-18 come-from-behind win over No. 8 Clarion to advance to the finals in Florence, Ala. Washington blocked a potential game-winning field goal by the Golden Eagles with one-second remaining to secure a trip to the finals.
On Dec. 14, Northern Colorado won its first national championship with a 23-14 victory over Carson-Newman. Special teams gave the Bears the lead at halftime after the Eagles knotted the score at 14-14 with 4:31 left. Tony Roberson took the snap on a fake punt to give the Bears a first down at the 19 and Schauer nailed a 42-yarder as the halftime gun sounded. Jim Porter recovered a fumble on the Eagles first drive of the third-quarter to stop a potential scoring drive as Schauer nailed a field goal in the third and fourth-quarters for the victory.
Holmes ended the season with six-straight 100-yard rushing games, finishing with a then-school-record 1,593 yards and Beck concluded his stellar career with 5,151 passing yards, third-most in school history.
Tickets can be purchased through the UNC ticket office online at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849, or in person at the UNC ticket office during normal business hours.
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FOLLOW THE BEARS: For complete coverage of UNC Athletics, check out the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the football team on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Now 30 years later the first national championship team will be honored at the year's homecoming game against Utah Tech on Sept. 26. The Bears will take the field with a throwback helmet to honor the team.
1996 National Champions
The heart-attack kids of 1996 kept fans on the edge of their seats until the clock struck zero as all three NCAA playoff games were won on the final drive to lead Northern Colorado to its first-ever national football title.
Head Coach Joe Glenn was in his seventh season and led the Bears to a 12-3 overall record and a tie for second-place in the North Central Conference (NCC) with a mark of 6-3. The team averaged 31.1 points per game, while holding opponents to 15.9 a contest.
Senior offensive lineman Tony Ramirez was the most highly decorated player on the team, earning First-Team All-American honors from CoSIDA, AFCA, AP, Football Gazette, American Football Quarterly and C.M. Frank. Defensive back Delano Washington was also a First-Team pick by CoSIDA, Football Gazette and American Football Quarterly, while defensive back/punter Dirk Johnson, who went on to play several seasons in the NFL, earned First-Team honors by C.M. Frank.
The 1996 season started with a shut out of Western State, 43-0 and the offense continued to roll with a 59-14 victory at Mesa State the following week, including putting up 578 yards of total offense. The Bears started NCC play with a 21-6 win over then No. 5 North Dakota, holding its talented rushing attack to just 40 yards. Climbing to No. 5 in the polls, the Bears dropped their first game of the year at South Dakota with a 27-24 overtime loss to the 19th-ranked Coyotes. It was the Bears first-ever overtime game and they played without leading rusher, Billy Holmes.
Senior quarterback Tom Beck carried the team on his shoulders the following game, rushing for three touchdowns and passing for another in a 44-27 win over Minnesota State on Homecoming. The following week, the Bears scored 31 unanswered points for a 38-36 win over North Dakota State. Northern Colorado stumbled the next two weeks, dropping a 15-14 decision at Nebraska-Omaha and falling 30-20 at St. Cloud State. A return to Greeley put the Bears back on the winning track with a 21-6 win over No. 11 South Dakota State, which entered the game tied atop the NCC standings. The win was the 12th straight at home and improved life at Nottingham Field to a perfect 11-0.
Billy Holmes rushed for 224 yards as No. 17 UNC kept its playoff hopes alive with its first conference road victory of the year, a 17-7 win at Morningside. They followed that up with a 41-7 rout of Augustana to secure a second-straight Division II playoff bid.
In the first round of the playoffs at Pittsburg State, Michael Schauer booted a 27-yard field goal with one second remaining to give the Bears their first-ever NCAA playoff victory, 24-21. The Gorillas, ranked No. 8, tied the game with 3:39 remaining, but Beck was 15-for-20 in passing during the game to help lift the Bears to the win.
With 12 seconds remaining in the quarterfinals, Beck found Omar Zuniga alone in the back of the endzone for a two-yard touchdown pass and the 27-26 win over the No. 2 Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State in Greeley.
The following week, the Bears traveled across the nation for a semifinal matchup with Clarion (Pa.). For the second time in as many weeks, Beck connected with Zuniga, this time from 15 yards out with 1:25 to play to give the Bears a 19-18 come-from-behind win over No. 8 Clarion to advance to the finals in Florence, Ala. Washington blocked a potential game-winning field goal by the Golden Eagles with one-second remaining to secure a trip to the finals.
On Dec. 14, Northern Colorado won its first national championship with a 23-14 victory over Carson-Newman. Special teams gave the Bears the lead at halftime after the Eagles knotted the score at 14-14 with 4:31 left. Tony Roberson took the snap on a fake punt to give the Bears a first down at the 19 and Schauer nailed a 42-yarder as the halftime gun sounded. Jim Porter recovered a fumble on the Eagles first drive of the third-quarter to stop a potential scoring drive as Schauer nailed a field goal in the third and fourth-quarters for the victory.
Holmes ended the season with six-straight 100-yard rushing games, finishing with a then-school-record 1,593 yards and Beck concluded his stellar career with 5,151 passing yards, third-most in school history.
Tickets can be purchased through the UNC ticket office online at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849, or in person at the UNC ticket office during normal business hours.
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FOLLOW THE BEARS: For complete coverage of UNC Athletics, check out the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the football team on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Tuesday, December 23
Tuesday, December 23
Tuesday, December 23
Tuesday, December 23
