: ''For information on all Mercer University sports, see

Mercer Bears The Mercer Bears are the athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. ...

'' The Mercer Bears football program is the intercollegiate

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team of

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

located in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of G ...

, United States. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

. The team plays its home games at the 10,200-seat Five Star Stadium on the university's Macon campus.

History

Mercer's first football team was fielded in 1891, but the school did not consistently field teams until 1906. The sport was dropped in 1917 and 1918 during U.S. involvement in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, but returned after the war. Until 1924, the Mercer Bears were known as the Mercer Baptists. After the 1941 season, with the beginning of U.S. involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Mercer dropped football again, but did not resume the sport after the war. The program was reinstated after a 72-year hiatus in 2013; the first game was on August 31, 2013, when Mercer defeated (40–37)

Reinhardt University Reinhardt University is a private university in Waleska, Georgia. The university has an off-campus center in Alpharetta and offers some programs in Cartersville, Marietta, and Canton, and online. Reinhardt is affiliated with the United Methodi ...

in front of an overflow crowd of 12,172 at the Moye Complex. Mercer football became nationally ranked in the FCS Coaches Poll in 2022.

Conference affiliations

* Independent (1891–1895) *

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(1896–1937) *

Dixie Conference The Dixie Conference was the name of two collegiate athletic leagues in the United States The first operated from 1930 until the United States' entry into World War II in 1942. The second conference to use the name existed from 1948 to 1954. Dix ...

(1931–1941) * ''No program'' (1942–2012) *

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member ...

(2013) *

(2014–present)

Notable former players

The first secretary of the

Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a religious term usually used to represent a week long event in the summer. History The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894. Sunday school teacher D. T. Miles, who also ...

Department of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

's Baptist Sunday School Department (now

Lifeway Lifeway is a term used in the disciplines of anthropology, sociology and archeology, particularly in North America. History Literature From the mid 19th century, the word was used with the meaning 'way through life' or 'way of life'. It a ...

) was Homer Grice, a prominent Mercer player.

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

player and later

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

coach Bill Alexander called Grice "the meanest and toughest guy I ever ran across on a gridiron." Brothers

Crook Smith Byron Lambert "Consuello" "Crook" Smith (March 21, 1899 – March 3, 1990) was an American college football, baseball, and basketball player and coach inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. He played for Mercer, and, after a shor ...

and

Phoney Smith Joseph Farrar "Phoney" Smith (June 26, 1905 – October 27, 1985) was a college football player and high school coach and athletic director. Mercer University "Phoney" was a prominent halfback for the Mercer Baptists of Mercer University. ...

were both stars for Mercer. Famous University of Georgia football coach

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140– ...

, who led UGA to four

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

titles and two National Championships, played end for Mercer from 1925 to 1928.

Les Olsson Carl Lester Olsson (August 18, 1909 – July 2, 1972) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams ...

, known around Mercer as "Swede," was the only Mercer player from the pre-World War II era to go pro, playing for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

from 1934 to 1938. He was part of the 1937 championship squad.

Year-by-year results

On August 31, 2013, Mercer played its first game since 1941 before an overflow crowd of 12,172 spectators. The Bears' opponent,

, also revived its football program, having last played in 1920. In a thrilling game that saw multiple lead changes, Josh Shutter helped Mercer clinch the victory with a 31-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game. Mercer won 40–37.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer Bears Football American football teams established in 1892 1892 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)