:Northwest Missouri State Bearcats
{{more citations needed|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox college athletics
| name = Northwest Missouri State Bearcats
| logo = Northwest Missouri State Bearcats logo.svg
| logo_width = 150
| university = Northwest Missouri State University
| association = NCAA
| conference = The MIAA
| division = Division II
| director = Andy Peterson
| location = Maryville, Missouri
| teams = 14
| stadium = Bearcat Stadium
| basketballarena = Bearcat Arena
| mascot = Bobby the Bearcat
| nickname = Bearcat
| pageurl = https://bearcatsports.com/
| altlogo = 200px
}}
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 Athletics Association in 1912 and has remained in the conference ever since. From their founding until 1937, they competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). From 1937 to 1957, they competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics before joining NCAA Division II.
Northwest has appeared in ten Division II football title games (winning six) since 1998. The men's basketball team appeared in an AAU title game in 1930, and won the Division II title in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Sports sponsored
File:MIAA logo for Northwest Missouri.svg
| class="wikitable" | |
| {{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Northwest Missouri State Bearcats|Men's sports|Women's sports}} | |
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Football | Soccer |
| Tennis | Softball |
| Track and field{{sup|1}} | Tennis |
| Track and field{{sup|1}} | |
| Volleyball | |
| colspan="2" style="{{NCAA secondary color cell|Northwest Missouri State Bearcats}}" | {{small|{{sup|1}} – includes both indoor and outdoor}} |
= Football =
{{main|Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football}}
The Bearcats have appeared in ten NCAA Division II national title games (and won six) since going 0-11 in Mel Tjeerdsma's first season in 1994.{{cite web |url=http://bearcatsports.com/sports/2014/2/18/fb_record_yearbyyear.aspx?id=5|title=Northwest Missouri State University - Football Year by Year Results|work=bearcatsports.com}}
= Basketball =
== Men's basketball ==
{{main|Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball}}
Northwest has won four national titles (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) and appeared in another two Elite Eights (2002, 2004).{{cite web |url=http://bearcatsports.com/sports/2014/5/22/mbb%20ncaa%20tournament.aspx?id=103|title=Northwest Missouri State University - MBB NCAA Postseason History|work=bearcatsports.com}} Northwest was ranked #1 in 2020 going into the playoffs to defend its title but the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspressnow.com/sports/college/area_colleges/division-ii-tournament-miaa-spring-sports-canceled-due-to-coronavirus/article_49314aae-64a5-11ea-abae-4bcdfaa6957c.html|title=Division II tournament, MIAA spring sports canceled due to coronavirus}}
== Women's basketball ==
Head coach Michael Smith finished his second season at Northwest Missouri State after the 2014–15 season, with a total record of 18–37.{{cite web|url=http://bearcatsports.com/staff.aspx?staff=26&path=wbball|title=Northwest Missouri State University - Staff Directory|work=bearcatsports.com}} Since 1971, the women's basketball team has a combined record of 667–533.{{cite web |url=http://bearcatsports.com/sports/2014/5/22/wbb%20coaching%20records.aspx?id=108|title=Northwest Missouri State University - Women's Basketball Coaching Records|work=bearcatsports.com}}
= Softball =
The Bearcat softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1975.{{cite book|title=A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series|first1=William|last1=Plummer|first2=Larry C.|last2=Floyd|year=2013|publisher= Turnkey Communications Inc.|location= Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States|isbn=978-0-9893007-0-4}}
Facilities
= Bearcat Stadium =
{{main|Bearcat Stadium}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.nwmissouri.edu/onlinemuseum/university/stadium/index.htm|title=Northwest Museums|author=Northwest Missouri State University|work=nwmissouri.edu}} 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 =
{{main|Bearcat Arena}}
The Arena is in Lamkin Activity Center, a part of the Ryland Milner Complex and is located between Bearcat Stadium on the west and the Martindale Gymnasium and the Robert P. Foster Aquatic Center on the east.{{cite web |url=http://bearcatsports.com/sports/2014/5/7/bearcat%20arena.aspx|title=Northwest Missouri State University - Bearcat Arena |work=bearcatsports.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}