The Nebraska–Kearney Lopers football program represents the
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska Stat ...
in
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
and competes in the
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 ...
. In 2012, Nebraska–Kearney became a member of the
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...
, and has remained in the league. UNK's home games are played at
Ron & Carol Cope Stadium
Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field is a football stadium located in Kearney, Nebraska, U.S., on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. In 2005, the university named the stadium after Ron and Carol Cope, who were long-time supporter ...
in
Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States.
The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...
.
History
Nebraska–Kearney's football program dates back to 1905 when the program went 0–5–1.
Since their inaugural season the Lopers claim 32 conference championships.
Conference affiliations
* 1916–1927
Nebraska College Athletic Conference The Nebraska College Conference (NCC), known as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference from 1916 to 1926 and later as the Nebraska College Athletic Conference (NCAC), was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1916 to 1976. The le ...
* 1928–1942
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NIAA) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1928 to 1942. The league comprised public state colleges in the state of Nebraska.[Nebraska College Conference The Nebraska College Conference (NCC), known as the Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference from 1916 to 1926 and later as the Nebraska College Athletic Conference (NCAC), was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1916 to 1976. The l ...]
* 1976–1989
Central States Intercollegiate Conference
The Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976 to 1989. It was known to be one of the toughest NAIA c ...
* 1990–1995
NCAA Division II independent
* 1996–2011
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...
* 2012–present:
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:24
Period = from:1905 till:2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:0 left:0 bottom:50 top:0
Colors = id:barcolor value:black
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:NCC value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852)
id:CSIC value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445)
id:NCAA value:rgb(0.10,0.80,0.00)
id:RMAC value:rgb(0.78,0.391,0.654)
id:MIAA value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383)
id:NIAA value:rgb(0.258,0.99,0.921)
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(3,-5) anchor:from fontsize:M
bar:1 color:NCC from:1916 till:1928 text: Nebraska Collegiate
bar:2 color:NIAA from:1928 till:1942 text: Nebraska Intercollegiate
bar:1 color:NCC from:1942 till:1976 text:Nebraska Collegiate
bar:3 color:CSIC from:1976 till:1989 text: Central States
bar:4 color:NCAA from:1989 till:1996 text: NCAA Division II independent
bar:5 color:RMAC from:1996 till:2012 text:Rocky Mountain
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
bar:6 color:MIAA from:2012 till:end text: Mid-America
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:3 start:1908
TextData =
fontsize:L
textcolor:black
pos:(300,25) # tabs:(0-center)
text:"Nebraska–Kearney conference membership history"
Stadium
The Lopers have played their home games at
Ron & Carol Cope Stadium
Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field is a football stadium located in Kearney, Nebraska, U.S., on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. In 2005, the university named the stadium after Ron and Carol Cope, who were long-time supporter ...
since 1939. The current capacity of the stadium is at 5,250.
All-time record vs. current MIAA teams
Official record (including any
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current MIAA opponents as of the end of the 2015 season:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebraska-Kearney Lopers football
American football teams established in 1905
1905 establishments in Nebraska