1979 Ithaca Bombers football team

The 1979 Ithaca Bombers football team was an American football team that represented Ithaca College as a member of the Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC) during the 1979 NCAA Division III football season. In their 13th season under head coach Jim Butterfield, the Bombers compiled an 11–2 record and won the NCAA Division III championship.[1][2]

1979 Ithaca Bombers football
NCAA Division III champion
ICAC champion
Stagg Bowl, W 14–10 vs. Wittenberg
ConferenceIndependent College Athletic Conference
Record11–2 (2–0 ICAC)
Head coach
CaptainBill George, John Laper
1979 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Ithaca $^ 2 –0 –011 –2 –0
Alfred 2 –1 –07 –2 –0
Hobart 2 –1 –04 –5 –0
St. Lawrence 1 –3 –03 –6 –0
RPI 0 –2 –03 –4 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

The Bombers advanced to the 1979 NCAA Division III playoffs, defeating Dubuque (27–7) in the quarterfinals, Carnegie Mellon (15–6) in the semifinals, and Wittenberg (14–10) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the national championship.[2]

Ithaca's 1979 season was part of a school-record 18-game winning streak.[3] The streak commenced on October 27, 1979, and continued through the 1980 regular season, ending with a loss to Dayton in the 1980 NCAA Division III championship game.[2]

Three Ithaca players were named to the NCAA Division III All-America football team as selected by the sports information directors. Senior center and co-captain Bill George and senior linebacker and co-captain John Laper were both named to the first team. Senior running back John Nicolo totaled 880 rushing yards and was named to the second team.[4] Laper led the team with 173 tackles (61 unassisted) and five interceptions and also received first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association on the Kodak College Division All-America team.[5][6]

The team played its home games at South Hill Field in Ithaca, New York.

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 8Bloomsburg State
W 13–6[7]
September 15St. Lawrence
  • South Hill Field
  • Ithaca, NY
W 15–138,000 (est)[8][9]
September 22Cortland State
  • South Hill Field
  • Ithaca, NY
W 42–77,200[10]
September 29at Alfred
W 34–12[11]
October 6at Clarion StateClarion, PAL 10–12[12]
October 13at SpringfieldSpringfield, MAW 21–14[13]
October 20American International
  • South Hill Field
  • Ithaca, NY
L 19–247,000-9,000 (est)[14][15]
October 27at CanisiusBuffalo, NYW 33–14[16]
November 3Albany
  • South Hill Field
  • Ithaca, NY
W 46–64,500[17]
November 10at Brockport StateBrockport, NYW 35–7[18]
November 17at DubuqueDubuque, IA (NCAA Division III quarterfinal)W 27–7[19]
November 24Carnegie Mellon
  • South Hill Field
  • Ithaca, NY (NCAA Division III semifinal)
W 15–6[20]
December 1vs. Wittenberg
W 14–107,200[21]

References
  1. "1979 Football Schedule". Ithaca College. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  2. "2010 Media Guide" (PDF). Ithaca college. 2010. p. 34.
  3. Media Guide, p. 23.
  4. "Laper, George: All-Americans". The Ithaca Journal. December 20, 1979. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 2010 Media Guide, p. 26.
  6. "IC's Laper is Kodak All-America". The Ithaca Journal. December 5, 1979. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. John Huenneke (September 10, 1979). "Good second half wins for Bomber 11". Ithaca Journal. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Ithaca clips SLU, 15-13". Star-Gazette. September 16, 1979. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. John Huenneke (September 17, 1979). "Momentum is key as IC clips Saints". The Ithaca Journal. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. John Huenneke (September 24, 1979). "Matter of time: Ithaca wins big over Cortland". The Ithaca Journal. pp. 11, 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Big-gainers propel Ithaca over Alfred". Press and Sun-Bulletin. September 30, 1979. p. 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  12. John Huenneke (October 8, 1979). "Clarion State's late field goal frustrates IC". The Ithaca Journal. pp. 11, 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Ithaca's infantry tops Springfield's". The Press and Sun-Bulletin. October 14, 1979. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  14. The Ithaca Media Guide places the attendance at an estimate 9,000, then a school record.
  15. "Bombers are victims as AIC finds combination". The Ithaca Journal. October 22, 1979. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. John Huenneke (October 29, 1979). "Bombers tenth in Division III". The Ithaca Journal. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. John Huenneke (November 5, 1979). "IC's win spreads playoff fever". Ithaca Journal. pp. 13, 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. John Huenneke (November 12, 1979). "Playoff bound Bombers headed west". The Ithaca Journal. pp. 13, 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. John Huenneke (November 19, 1979). "Carnegie-Mellon IC's next challenge". Ithaca Journal. pp. 17, 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. John Huenneke (November 26, 1979). "IC trainer's score is off, but prediction comes true". The Ithaca Journal. pp. 11, 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. John Huenneke (December 3, 1979). "Big-play Bombers win national title". The Ithaca Journal. pp. 13, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
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