The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats football program represents

Southwest Baptist University Southwest Baptist University (SBU) is a private Baptist university in Bolivar, Missouri. It is affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2019, it had a total enrollment of 3,280 stude ...

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 Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletics Association 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 ...

(NCAA). In 2014, Southwest Baptist became a football-only member of the

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) 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. Its thirteen member institutions a ...

and remains a football-only member through the 2018–19 school year, after which it will become a full GLVC member. Prior to this SBU was in 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 ...

from 1988 to 2007 and 2012 to 2013, the rest of the athletic programs are in the MIAA. SBU's home games are played at Plaster Stadium in

Bolivar, Missouri Bolivar is a city and county seat of Polk County, Missouri, United States. As of a 2019 estimate by the U. S. Census Bureau, the city population was 11,067. History Bolivar began as a settlement around Keeling Spring, with the majority of settle ...

History

Southwest Baptist's football program dates back to 1983 when the program went 0–5. Since their inaugural season the Bearcats have played in five conferences and have been an NCAA Division II member since 1986. In 2016, Coach Robert Clardy earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to their first-ever conference title and NCAA National Playoff appearance after finishing the season 10-2 (7-1 GLVC). The 2016 Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the NCAA Division II AFCA poll, and were ranked 22nd in the final poll. SBU broke 13 team records and 15 individual records in the 2016 season, including most wins and most conference wins in a single season, while also recording a record 19 All-GLVC and 10 All-Region honorees. The Bearcats had three All-Americans and finished with the 10th best total offense in the NCAA Division II. In 2018, the team went winless, finishing 0-10 while allowing over 38 points per game on defense.

Head coaching record

Conference affiliations

* 1983–1985 NAIA Independent * 1986–1987 NCAA Division II Independent * 1988–2007

* 2007–2011 NCAA Division II Independent * 2012–2013 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association * 2014–present

Stadium

The Bearcats have played their home games at Plaster Stadium since 1985. Plaster Stadium was named for Robert W. Plaster, the major donor for the project. The current capacity of the stadium is at 3,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwest Baptist football American football teams established in 1983 1983 establishments in Missouri