Hall of Fame
Northwest Missouri Football Team
2009 NCAA Division II National Champions
The 2009 Northwest Missouri State football team was one of the most prolific offensive teams in NCAA Division II history en route to claiming the 2009 National Championship. The Bearcats finished the season 14-1 and a perfect 9-0 in the MIAA claiming the program’s 22nd league championship. After falling in the season opener the Bearcats won 14 straight games to claim the title including knocking off Abilene Christian in a re-match of the season opener to avenge their only loss of the season . The offensive numbers continued to pile up for Northwest scoring 632 points on the season, a then-school record. The Bearcats also finished in the top 10 in the nation of seven categories including scoring, pass efficiency , total offense, turnover margin, sacks, passing offense and run defense. The 2009 bearcat senior class never lost an MIAA contest going 36-0 during their careers. Four All-America and five All-MIAA players along with 10 All-Region players emerged from the Northwest team. Included in the list of accolades was the NCAA Division II Receiver of the Year, Jake Soy, the AFCA Coach of the Year, Mel Tjeerdsma, and the Ken B. Jones Award winner for the MIAA Student-Athlete of the Year, Myles Burnsides. For Northwest it gave the program five consecutive championship game appearances, one of two schools at any level to accomplish the feat