| Teamname: | Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football |
| Headcoach: | Doug Socha |
| Headcoachyear: | 1st |
| Hcwins: | 0 |
| Hclosses: | 0 |
| Stadium: | Moretz Stadium |
| Stadcapacity: | 8,200 |
| Ncaadivision: | II |
| Conference: | South Atlantic Conference |
| Firstyear: | 1907 |
| Websitename: | LRBears.com |
| Websiteurl: | http://www.lrbears.com/ |
| Atwins: | 546 |
| Atlosses: | 467 |
| Atties: | 34 |
| Natltitles: | NAIA 1 (1960) |
| Conftitles: | 23 (10 SAC, 8 NSC, 5 CC) |
| Mascotdisplay: | Joe and Josie Bear |
| Marchingband: | Spirit of Lenoir-Rhyne |
| Rivalries: | Newberry, Wingate, Catawba |
The Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Lenoir–Rhyne University located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir–Rhyne's first football team was fielded in 1907. The team plays its home games at the 10,000 seat Moretz Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
The Bears had no team from 1912–1920 and 1942–1945.
The Bears have participated in five postseason bowl games, compiling a 3–2 record.[1]
| Season | Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | December 8, 1951 | W 13–7 | Salisbury, North Carolina | |||
| 1952 | December 13, 1952 | L 12–21 | Tampa, Florida | |||
| 1955 | Palmetto Shrine | December 10, 1955 | W 14–13 | Columbia, South Carolina | ||
| 1959 | December 19, 1959 | L 20–7 | St. Petersburg, Florida | |||
| 1960 | December 10, 1960 | W 15–14 | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Clarence Stasavich has the most victories as coach of the Bears.
Year W-L-T1907 (0-3),1908 (5-2-1),1909 (3-5),1910 (1-2),1911 (3-3),—-NO TEAM 1912-1920—- 1921 (2-3),1922 (1-5),1923 (0-5),1924 (5-4),1925 (6-3),1926 (7-2),1927 (3-6-1),1928 (2-6-1),1929 (4-5-1),1930 (3-6-1),
1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2005 (5–5), 2006 (3–8), 2007 (2–9), 2008 (3–8), 2009 (5–6), 2010 (7–4), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013* (13–2), 2014* (11–1), 2015 (5–5), 2016 (3–8), 2017 (3–7), 2018* (12–2), 2019* (13–1), Spring 2020 (3-1)
The Bears made three appearances in the NAIA championship game during their tenure, winning in 1960, and appeared in the NCAA Division II championship game in 2013.
| Year | Division | Coach | Opponent | Record | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10–1 | L 7–20 | ||||
| 12–0 | W 15–14 | ||||
| 11–1 | L 13–28 | ||||
| 13–2 | L 28–43 | ||||
1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013 (13–2), 2014 (11–1), 2018 (12–2), 2019 (13–1)
*denotes co-championship. The Bears won 8 titles in the North State Conference, 5 in the Carolinas Conference, and 9 in the South Atlantic Conference.