Northwest Missouri Bearcats
Encyclopedia
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats are the athletic teams for Northwest Missouri State University
, located in Maryville, Missouri
. The Bearcats play in the NCAA Division II. Northwest is a founding member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
in 1912 and has remained in the conference ever since. From its founding until 1937 it competed in the Amateur Athletic Union
. From 1937 to 1957 it competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
. In 1957 it joined NCAA Division II. Northwest has appeared in seven Division II football title games (winning three) since 1998. The men's basketball team appeared in an AAU title game in 1930.
The Bearcats have appeared in eight national title games (7 in football and 1 in basketball). It has won three.
The Bearcats have appeared in seven NCAA Division II national title games (and won three) since going 0-11 in Mel Tjeerdsma
's first season in 1994. Bearcat Stadium
built in 1917 is the oldest stadium in NCAA Division II.
Northwest has appeared in one national title and two Elite 8 title games.
Steinmeyer guided Northwest to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2006-07 for just the fourth time in school history. The Bearcats finished
18-12 overall and 10-8 in the tough MIAA conference.
After eight years at the helm, his record stands at .500 (113-113) at Northwest with 473 career victories.
Last season, coach Steinmeyer grabbed his 100th Northwest victory with a 95-82 win against Montana State-Billings on Nov. 30.
Bearcat Stadium (formerly Memorial Stadium and Rickenbrode Stadium)
is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University
Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri
and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school. The Stadium was originally opened in 1917 as Memorial Stadium. It has a capacity of 6,500 and had lights and FieldTurf installed in the summer of 2007.
on the west and the Martindale Gymnasium and the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center on the east.
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....
, located in Maryville, Missouri
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...
. The Bearcats play in the NCAA Division II. Northwest is a founding member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and effective in 2012 in Oklahoma in the Midwestern United States. The conference was formerly known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic...
in 1912 and has remained in the conference ever since. From its founding until 1937 it competed in the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
. From 1937 to 1957 it competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
. In 1957 it joined NCAA Division II. Northwest has appeared in seven Division II football title games (winning three) since 1998. The men's basketball team appeared in an AAU title game in 1930.
The Bearcats have appeared in eight national title games (7 in football and 1 in basketball). It has won three.
Men's
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Women's
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Football
- Main article: Northwest Missouri Bearcats footballNorthwest Missouri Bearcats footballThe Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team has appeared in seven NCAA Division II national title games since going 0-11 in Mel Tjeerdsma's first season in 1994.The Bearcats have made the playoffs in 15 seasons...
The Bearcats have appeared in seven NCAA Division II national title games (and won three) since going 0-11 in Mel Tjeerdsma
Mel Tjeerdsma
Mel Tjeerdsma is a retired American football coach. He served as the head coach at Austin College in Sherman, Texas from 1984 to 1993 and at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri from 1994 until his retirement after the 2010 season. In his 27 years as a head coach, Tjeerdsma...
's first season in 1994. Bearcat Stadium
Bearcat Stadium
Bearcat Stadium is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school....
built in 1917 is the oldest stadium in NCAA Division II.
Men's basketball
- Main article: Northwest Missouri Bearcats men's basketballNorthwest Missouri Bearcats men's basketballThe coach for the Northwest Missouri Bearcats men's basketball team starting in 2009-2010 is Ben McCollum who played on the school's 2002-03 Elite 8 team under long time coach Steve Tappmeyer.-National championship game:...
Northwest has appeared in one national title and two Elite 8 title games.
Women's basketball
Northwest Missouri State University head women’s basketball coach Gene Steinmeyer will begin his ninth season on the bench for the Bearcats and his 24th overall.Steinmeyer guided Northwest to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2006-07 for just the fourth time in school history. The Bearcats finished
18-12 overall and 10-8 in the tough MIAA conference.
After eight years at the helm, his record stands at .500 (113-113) at Northwest with 473 career victories.
Last season, coach Steinmeyer grabbed his 100th Northwest victory with a 95-82 win against Montana State-Billings on Nov. 30.
Bearcat Stadium
is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....
Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...
and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school. The Stadium was originally opened in 1917 as Memorial Stadium. It has a capacity of 6,500 and had lights and FieldTurf installed in the summer of 2007.
Bearcat Arena
The Arena is in Lamkin Activity Center, a part of the Ryland Milner Complex and is sandwiched between Bearcat StadiumBearcat Stadium
Bearcat Stadium is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school....
on the west and the Martindale Gymnasium and the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center on the east.