Northern Colorado Bears
The Northern Colorado Bears are the athletic teams representing the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors seventeen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field; women's-only soccer, softball, swimming and diving, and volleyball; and men's-only baseball, football, and wrestling. The Bears compete in NCAA Division I, with the football team competing at the FCS level, and most teams are members of the Big Sky Conference. Three Northern Colorado teams have separate affiliations in sports that the Big Sky does not sponsor . The baseball team competes in the Summit League, the women's swimming and diving team is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference, and the wrestling team is a member of the Big 12 Conference. Teams. Softball. From 1969–1979, Northern Colorado participated in all of the first eleven Women's College World Series (WCWS) tournaments ever held and was the only team to do so. The team compiled a WCWS record of 37-22 in those eleven years. In 1974, in its sixth trip to the tournament, the team reached the AIAW championship game (its fifth game in two  days), only to lose to Southwest Missouri State by a score of 14-7. In 1976, the team advanced to the championship game, losing to Michigan State, 3-0. Two years later in 1978, the team reached the title game for the third time, falling to UCLA, also by a 3-0 score. Football. The Northern Colorado Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley, Colorado. The team competes in the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The university's first football team  was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the on campus 8,533 seat Nottingham Field. Northern Colorado made two appearances in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. The Bears defeated Carson–Newman, 23-14 in 1996, and later defeated New Haven, 51-0 in 1997. 1996 II Joe Glenn 12-3 1996 Division II National Championship Carson–Newman 23 14 Florence, AL 1997 II Joe Glenn 13-2 1997 Division II National Championship New Haven 51 0 Florence, AL Total national championships: 2