Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football

The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team has appeared in seven NCAA Division II national title games (and won three) since going 0-11 in Mel Tjeerdsma's first season in 1994.

The Bearcats have made the playoffs in 15 seasons. They have also won or shared 23 MIAA titles.

Northwest plays its games at Bearcat Stadium, built in 1917, and the oldest NCAA Division II stadium still in use. The field was expanded to 6,500 seats and a video screen was added in 2003 after Tjeerdsma began his run.

It plays its games with Pittsburg State University at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead. Pittsburg has made four national title appearances since 1991. The Oct. 17, 2002 game was witnessed by 26,695—the largest number in MIAA history.

Its best attended local home game was 10,805 on Oct. 2, 2010 against Missouri Western in the Northwest Missouri-Missouri Western football rivalry.

Conference
Northwest was one of the original 1912 organizers of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. It has not played in any other conference. The conference headquarters until 1997 was in the Maryville, Missouri home of its first commissioner Ken B. Jones. In 1997 it moved to Overland Park, Kansas and has subsequently moved to Kansas City.

1998
In 1998 the Bearcats won the NCAA Division II national football championship by going 15-0—the first time in history a Division II school won 15 games and the first time a Northwest school won a team national championship in any sport.

1999
In 1999 Northwest defeated Carson-Newman College 58-52 in four overtimes to defend the title. The game was the longest in NCAA football playoff history in number of extra periods, surpassing six contests that were extended by three overtimes. The broadcast analyst on ESPN called it the best college football game he'd ever seen. The game solidified ESPN's interest in Division II football, prompting ESPN to cover the semi-final games.

2005
In 2005 the Bearcats were a Cinderella team, ranked 22nd at the start of the playoffs, but they won all of their playoff games on the road until reaching the finals against Grand Valley State University. Northwest led the game until the closing minutes and still almost pulled the game out. The Cinderella nature of Northwest coming from 22nd to challenge the #1 team in the final has been evoked as a weakness of the Bowl Championship Series, where such a run would be impossible.

2006
In the 2006 regular season the Bearcats went undefeated at 11-0. It was during their third playoff game, a game played against Bloomsburg University, that ESPN-U televised the game live from Maryville. This was the first nationally televised game from Bearcat Stadium. The game was also the first time that temporary lights (provided by ESPN) were used at Bearcat Stadium, (its lights were removed in 1977.) The Bearcats went 3-0 in the playoffs, thus earning a rematch against the Grand Valley State University Lakers at the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in Florence, AL, on December 16, 2006. The Bearcats fell to GVSU 17-14 after turning the ball over four times during the game.

2007
In the 2007 regular season the Bearcats went 9-1. Their only loss was to the #1 University of Nebraska at Omaha, who went 12-0 in the regular season. The Bearcats received a first round bye. In the second round, they faced #3 West Texas A&M University at Bearcat Stadium, and won with a final score of 56-28. In the quarterfinals the Bearcats traveled to Chadron, Nebraska to face #1 Chadron State College. Xavier Omon lead the Bearcats to a 26-13 victory by rushing for a personal best 309 yd. The Bearcats faced their long-time post-season rivals Grand Valley State University in the semifinals. Both Grand Valley and Northwest were #2 seeds in their respective regions, but the NCAA stated that due to Northwest's strength of schedule, Northwest would receive the home game. The game was broadcast from Bearcat Stadium on ESPN2; this was the second nationally televised game from Bearcat Stadium. The game was close through the third quarter. At the beginning of the fourth quarter Northwest lead the close contest, 17-16. But after a Northwest interception that produced a touchdown, and a 98 yd Xavier Omon touchdown run, the Bearcats prevailed with a final score of 34-16, ending Grand Valley's NCAA record-setting 40-game winning streak. The Bearcats lost to #8 Valdosta State University in the NCAA Division II national football championship at 12pm (Eastern) on Saturday December 15, 2007 in Florence, Alabama; the game was broadcast on ESPN2.

2008

 * Main articles: 2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs and 2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game

In 2008 the Bearcats played in their fourth consecutive national title game and lost to Minnesota-Duluth which had a 15-0 season. Northwest has never lost a championship by more than seven points.

2009

 * Main articles: 2009 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs and 2009 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game

In 2009 the Bearcats made its fifth consecutive national title appearance. No NCAA team in any division has ever done that. The Bearcats which were ranked #2 going into the playoffs received a first round bye. In the second round they avenged their only loss of the season by defeating Texas Abilene. In the closest game of the playoffs they defeated Central Washington University (ranked #1 at the time) in the quarterfinals by rallying in the second half and then blocking a Central Washington extra point in the closing seconds. In the semifinals it defeated University of California of Pennsylvania to qualify for its third meeting in the finals with Grand Valley.

Post season results
At the conclusion of the November 24, 2012, game Northwest is 36-14 in post season play. It has been in the playoffs every year since 2004 and is 25-8 in that string.

Coaching death
On June 5, 2011 Bearcats head coach Scott Bostwick died of an apparent heart attack in Maryville. The 49-year-old Bostwick had been named head coach of the Bearcats in December, 2010 following the retirement of longtime coach Mel Tjeerdsma. Bostwick had been on the Northwest coaching staff since 1994, and most recently had served as defensive coordinator under Tjeerdsma. In 2007 had been voted the American Football Coaches Association Division II Assistant coach of the year.

Notable players and coaches

 * Josh Baker - National Football League tight end for the New York Jets.
 * Chris Greisen - Quarterback for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. NFL quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
 * Tony Miles - Canadian Football League wide receiver; school's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
 * Xavier Omon - NFL running back with the Denver Broncos.
 * Michael Peterson - Undrafted free agent tight end. Former player with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.
 * Jamaica Rector - National Football League wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals.
 * Mel Tjeerdsma - Northwest's national champion winning coach, and most winning DII post-season coach with 22 victories.
 * Dave Tollefson - National Football League defensive end for the New York Giants.
 * Seth Wand - National Football League offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders.
 * Steve Williams - National Football League defensive tackle for the New England Patriots.