Northwest Missouri Football
1998 NCAA National Champions
Coming off a 12-1 record the previous season, the Bearcats opened the 1998 season with a convincing 55-16 victory over Midwestern State, and they did not look back. Northwest won its final ten regular season games, including head coach Mel Tjeerdsma’s 100th career victory, to claim the MIAA Championship.
The Bearcats built on that momentum in the playoffs, posting victories against Nebraska Omaha (28-14), defending national champion Northern Colorado (42-17), and Texas A&M-Kingsville (49-34) to advance to the National Championship Game.
Amidst 3,000 Bearcat fans in cold and rainy conditions, Northwest posted a convincing 24-6 victory over Carson Newman to capture the first National Championship in any sport in the history of Northwest Missouri State.
The Bearcats finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record. The 15 wins in one year was the most ever by one team in the history of college football. The 1998 team outscored its opponents by an average of 30 points per game en route to the title.