The 2021 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the

2021 NCAA Division II football season The 2021 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on August 28 and ended December 18 with the Division II ch ...

. The 2021 season was the second for the Rams as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

after joining the conference in 2019. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the 2020 season was canceled. The team was led by 4th year head coach Ernie McCook, and played their home games at

Ram Stadium Ram Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. It is home to the Shepherd University Rams football and lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized ...

in Shepherdstown, WV. On December 17, Junior QB

Tyson Bagent Tyson Bagent is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Shepherd Rams. Early life and high school Bagent grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia and attended Martinsburg High School, where he played football and basketball. H ...

won the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlo ...

, as most valuable player in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

for the 2021 season.

Playoffs

Shepherd advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship as the #2 seed in Super Region 1. In the first round, they hosted Findlay, winning 3831. In the second round against Notre Dame (OH), the Rams won 3834, on a Tyson Bagent 23 yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining. In the quarterfinal round against

Kutztown Kutztown (Pennsylvania German: ''Kutzeschteddel'') is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located southwest of Allentown and northeast of Reading. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 5,012. Kutztown ...

, Bagent threw a 42 yard touchdown pass as time expired, resulting in a 3028 win for Shepherd. Shepherd went on to lose in the semi-finals, 755, against

Ferris State Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

Schedule

Rankings

References

Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

Shepherd Rams football seasons

Shepherd Rams football The Shepherd Rams are the athletic teams that represent Shepherd University (formerly Shepherd College), located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II, Division II intercollegiate sports of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

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