Northern Colorado Bears
Big SkyGreeley, CONottingham Field
2026: 3–5 (2–3 Big Sky). Last: beat Cal Poly 28–18 at home. Next: at UC Davis, Saturday, Oct 24, 7 p.m. ET.
- L 29–30Weber State
- L 23–38South Dakota
- L 13–21at Wyoming
- W 23–17Northeastern State
- W 37–13Utah Tech
- L 14–36at Montana
- L 22–31at Eastern Washington
- W 28–18Cal Poly
- Oct 24at UC Davis
- Nov 7at Southern Utah
- Nov 14Montana State
- Nov 21at Northern Arizona
Northern Colorado has played football since 1893 and is officially 456–537–23; 390 of its 1,016 games are in our file. They have won five North Central Conference titles (the last in 2002), plus four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles, three Great Plains Athletic Conference titles, counting shared titles. J.W. Hancock (1932–1937) won more games here than any other coach: 25. The most-played rival is Montana State: 25 meetings, Montana State leads 19–6. This season, they’re 3–5.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 456–537–23 official; 113–270–7 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1223
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 46 · Composite No. 76 in FCS, Oct 17; up 9 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 12 last in 2002
- Seasons
- 56 since 1905, 390 games
2026 season 3–5
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs Weber State | L 29–30 | 49% |
| Sep 5 | vs South Dakota | L 23–38 | 25% |
| Sep 12 | at Wyoming | L 13–21 | 19% |
| Sep 19 | vsNortheastern State | W 23–17 | 45% |
| Sep 26 | vs Utah Tech | W 37–13 | 67% |
| Oct 3 | at Montana | L 14–36 | 13% |
| Oct 10 | at Eastern Washington | L 22–31 | 40% |
| Oct 17 | vs Cal Poly | W 28–18 | 49% |
| Oct 24 | at UC Davis | Preview | 22% |
| Nov 7 | at Southern Utah | Preview | 24% |
| Nov 14 | vs Montana State | Preview | 14% |
| Nov 21 | at Northern Arizona | Preview | 19% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Kenny Lueth752 passing yards, 4 TD (leads Northern Colorado in passing yards)
- Justin Guin516 rushing yards, 4 TD (leads Northern Colorado in rushing yards)
- Trey Olsen29 catches, 502 yards, 3 TD (leads Northern Colorado in receiving yards)
- Brayten Silbor624 passing yards, 2 TD
- Franky Morales43 tackles, 1 INT
- Hudson Voggesser48 tackles (leads Northern Colorado in tackles)
Program strength since 1905
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| J.W. Hancock | 1932–1937 | 25–19–1 |
| William Saunders | 1928–1931 | 12–13–4 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Montana State
6–19 in 25
- 2010 L 35–37
- 2011 L 21–31
- 2013 L 28–35
- 2017 L 24–27
- 2018 L 7–35
- 2019 L 14–45
- 2021 L 7–40
- 2022 L 14–37
- 2024 L 17–55
- 2025 L 7–55
Lost the last 10.
Next: Nov 14
- Wyoming
5–17–2 in 24
- 1937 L 0–33
- 1941 L 6–19
- 1942 L 0–33
- 1946 L 0–7
- 1947 L 14–44
- 1948 L 0–48
- 1949 L 0–103
- 2013 L 7–35
- 2022 L 10–33
- 2026 L 13–21
Lost the last 10.
- Colorado State
0–20 in 20
- 1942 L 6–14
- 1945 L 0–33
- 1945 L 14–25
- 1977 L 10–48
- 1983 L 20–41
- 1986 L 14–46
- 2011 L 14–33
- 2016 L 21–47
- 2024 L 17–38
- 2025 L 17–21
Lost the last 10.
| Opponent | Games | UNCO record |
|---|---|---|
| Montana State | 25 | 6–19 |
| Wyoming | 24 | 5–17–2 |
| Colorado State | 20 | 0–20 |
| Northern Arizona | 18 | 5–13 |
| Sacramento State | 17 | 2–15 |
| Eastern Washington | 16 | 0–16 |
| Colorado School of Mines | 15 | 10–4–1 |
| Western Colorado | 15 | 11–4 |
Rivals the program names: Portland State.
Every opponent (75)
Every program Northern Colorado has played, A to Z, with Northern Colorado’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Abilene Christian 2–2
- Adams State 2–0
- Air Force 0–1
- Arizona State 0–2
- Augustana (SD) 1–0
- BYU 3–6–1
- Cal Poly 2–8
- Camp Russell 1–0
- Carleton 0–2
- Chadron State 4–2
- College of Idaho 1–0
- Colorado 2–10
- Colorado College 1–5–1
- Colorado School of Mines 10–4–1
- Colorado State 0–20
- Colorado State Freshmen 1–0–1
- CSU Pueblo 0–1
- Denver 1–6
- Eastern Washington 0–16
- Florida Atlantic 0–2
- Fort Hays 1–0
- Fort Lewis 1–0
- Hastings State 1–0
- Hawai’i 0–1
- Houston Christian 4–1
- Idaho 2–2
- Idaho State 6–9
- Incarnate Word 0–2
- Iowa 0–1
- Kansas 0–1
- Kearney 3–0
- Lamar 1–1
- Langston 1–0
- Lindenwood 0–1
- Maine 0–1
- Marquette 0–1
- McNeese 0–1
- Michigan State 0–1
- Minnesota State 1–0
- Montana 1–13
- Montana State 6–19
- Nebraska Wesleyan 1–0
- New Mexico 2–0
- New Mexico Highlands 2–0
- New Mexico State 1–1
- North Dakota 0–8
- North Dakota State 1–2
- Northeastern State 1–0
- Northern Arizona 5–13
- Northern Iowa 1–2–1
- Northwestern (OK) 0–1
- Portland State 4–11
- Purdue 0–1
- Regis (CO) 3–2
- Sacramento State 2–15
- Sam Houston 1–1
- San Diego 1–1
- San José State 0–1
- SE Louisiana 1–1
- South Dakota 1–5
- South Dakota State 0–2
- Southern Utah 4–4
- Stephen F. Austin 0–1
- Texas State 1–1
- UC Davis 3–11
- UNLV 0–2
- Utah 0–3
- Utah Tech 1–0
- UTEP 0–2
- Washington State 0–2
- Weber State 1–12
- Western Colorado 11–4
- Western Illinois 0–2
- Western Washington 1–0
- Wyoming 5–17–2
Conference titles
12, counting shared titles- North Central Conference 5
- 1980, 1997, 1998, 1999 (shared), 2002
- Great Plains Athletic Conference 3
- 1973, 1974, 1975
- RMAC Plains 3
- 1969, 1970, 1971
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Great Plains Athletic Conference 1973–1975
- Independent 1976–1979
- North Central Conference 1980–2002
- Independent 2003
- Great West Conference 2004–2005
- Big Sky 2006–2019 and since 2021
- 2003Went independent from the North Central Conference. Source
- 2004Joined the Great West Conference from independence in football. Source
- 2006Joined the Big Sky from independence. Source
Northern Colorado’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 6 since 1972
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
University of Northern Colorado- Enrollment
- 8,869 6,480 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Greeley, Colorado
- Public or private
- Public Research 2
- Founded
- 1889
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $52,231 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3–5 | 2–3 | 1223 | ||||
| 2025 | 4–8 | 2–6 | 1163 | ||||
| 2024 | 1–11 | 1–7 | 1047 | ||||
| 2023 | 0–11 | 0–8 | 1071 | ||||
| 2022 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1133 | ||||
| 2021 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1168 | ||||
| 2019 | 2–10 | 2–6 | 1116 | ||||
| 2018 | 2–9 | 2–6 | 1173 | ||||
| 2017 | 3–7 | 2–6 | 1213 | ||||
| 2016 | 5–5 | 4–4 | 1259 | ||||
| 2015 | 6–5 | 3–5 | 1219 | ||||
| 2014 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1108 | ||||
| 2013 | 1–11 | 0–8 | 1075 | ||||
| 2012 | 0–1 | 1147 | |||||
| 2011 | 0–11 | 0–8 | 1076 | ||||
| 2010 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1174 | ||||
| 2009 | 3–8 | 1–7 | 1162 | ||||
| 2008 | 1–10 | 1–7 | 1075 | ||||
| 2007 | 1–11 | 1–7 | 1045 | ||||
| 2006 | 1–10 | 0–8 | 1072 | ||||
| 2005 | 4–7 | 0–5 | 1214 | ||||
| 2004 | 2–9 | 2–3 | 1179 | ||||
| 2003 | 8–2 | 1316 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–1 | 1137 | |||||
| 1984 | 0–1 | 1139 |
Every season back to 1905 (31 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 0–1 | 1139 | |||||
| 1979 | 0–1 | 1146 | |||||
| 1977 | 0–1 | 1148 | |||||
| 1949 | 0–2 | 1179 | |||||
| 1948 | 0–1 | 1254 | |||||
| 1947 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1158 | ||||
| 1946 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1045 | ||||
| 1945 | 0–3 | 1073 | |||||
| 1942 | 0–2 | 1091 | |||||
| 1941 | 0–2 | 1109 | |||||
| 1940 | 0–1 | 1146 | |||||
| 1938 | 0–1 | 1179 | |||||
| 1937 | 2–6 | 2–4 | J.W. Hancock | 1238 | |||
| 1936 | 5–4 | 4–3 | J.W. Hancock | 1305 | |||
| 1935 | 4–3 | 2–1 | J.W. Hancock | 1296 | |||
| 1934 | 6–1 | 6–1 | J.W. Hancock | 1438 | |||
| 1933 | 4–3 | 3–3 | J.W. Hancock | 1335 | |||
| 1932 | 4–2–1 | 2–2–1 | J.W. Hancock | 1303 | |||
| 1931 | 2–4–1 | 2–4–1 | William Saunders | 1243 | |||
| 1930 | 2–2–3 | 2–2–3 | William Saunders | 1263 | |||
| 1929 | 4–3 | 3–2 | William Saunders | 1263 | |||
| 1928 | 4–4 | 3–4 | William Saunders | 1316 | |||
| 1927 | 2–7 | 1–6 | 1177 | ||||
| 1926 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 1299 | ||||
| 1925 | 2–6–1 | 0–6 | 1174 | ||||
| 1924 | 2–5 | 0–4 | 1154 | ||||
| 1923 | 2–3–1 | 0–2 | 1221 | ||||
| 1920 | 0–1 | 1237 | |||||
| 1918few games on file | 2–1 | 1276 | |||||
| 1917few games on file | 0–4 | 1147 | |||||
| 1905few games on file | 0–2 | 1188 |
Officially 456–537–23 since 1893 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 113–270–7 (390 of its 1,016 games are on file). Our file starts in 1905; the program began in 1893. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1906–16, 1919, 1921–22, 1939, 1943–44, 1950–76, 1978, 1980–82, 1985, 1987–2002, 2020: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.