Northern Colorado Bears baseball

Northern Colorado Bears baseball is the varsity intercollegiate team representing University of Northern Colorado in the sport of college baseball in NCAA Division I. The team is led by Mike Anderson, and plays its home games at Jackson Field on campus in Greeley, Colorado. The Bears are baseball members of the Summit League, having joined in July 2021 after spending the previous eight years as baseball members of the Western Athletic Conference.[2]

Northern Colorado Bears
2024 Northern Colorado Bears baseball team
Founded1924 (1924)
UniversityUniversity of Northern Colorado
Head coachMike Anderson (2nd season)
ConferenceSummit League
LocationGreeley, Colorado
Home stadiumJackson Field
(Capacity: 1,500)
NicknameBears
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
College World Series appearances
1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958,
1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1974
NCAA Tournament appearances
Division II: 1994, 1998
Division I: 1974, 1975, 1976
College Division: 1971, 1972, 1973
No Divisions: 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955,
1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961,
1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968
Conference tournament champions
NCC: 1998
GPAC: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
RMC: 1971, 1972
Regular season conference champions
GWC: 2013
NCC: 1998
GPAC: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
RMC: 1954, 1955, 1956,
1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963,
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972

Prior to the 1968 establishment of what is now the NCAA Division II baseball tournament, the Bears reached the College World Series nine times, and reached the CWS again in 1974 at the Division I level for a total of ten appearances, compiling a record of 3–20. The school was known as Colorado State College until 1970, when the school changed to its present name. This is not to be confused with the current Colorado State University, which was known as Colorado A&M until 1957.

Venue

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The Bears play baseball home games at Jackson Field, which holds 1,500.[3] Jackson Field has hosted NCAA regionals in 1952, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1962 and 1974.

 
The Bears home dugout at Jackson Field, July 2015

History

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Northern Colorado first fielded a baseball team from 1924[4] to 1942, taking a break during World War II and returned to play in 1945, under Pete Butler, who returned to his post as head coach after serving in the United States Navy.[5]

After playing as a Division I Independent following their return to Division I play in 2004, the Bears joined the Great West Conference for the 2010 season.[6] The Bears captured the 2013 regular season Great West Conference championship, their first conference championship since 1998.[7] When the Great West League became defunct, the Bears joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[8]

Following the 2021 season, the Bears announced they would join the Summit League to help control costs.[9]

Head coaches

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  • Records are through June 28, 2022
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1924–1927 George E. Cooper 4 13–9–1 .587
1928–1929 George Cooper/Pete Brown 2 6–3 .667
1930–1940 Pete Brown 11 54–58 .482
1941–1942, 1945–1967 Pete Butler 25 417–153–2 .731
1943–1944 World War II – No Team
1968–1970 Thurman Wright 3 43–35–1 .551
1971–1985 Tom Petroff 15 367–198–1 .649
1986–1990 John Barnes 5 90–133 .404
1991–2002 Terry Hensley 12 289–284 .504
2003–2010 Kevin Smallcomb 8 195–235 .453
2011–2022 Carl Iwasaki 12 218–375 .368
2023–present Mike Anderson 1 0–0

Postseason appearances

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NCAA tournament

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Year Site Record Notes
1949 Bovard Field 1–2 West Regional
1951 Unknown 2–0 Won District VII Playoff
1952 Jackson Field 2–0 Won District VII Playoff
1952 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1953 Derks Field 2–1 Won District VII Playoff
1953 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1954 Jackson Field 1–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1955 Jackson Field 2–1 Won District VII Playoff
1955 Omaha Municipal Stadium 1–2 CWS Fifth Place
1956 Jackson Field 1–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1957 Jackson Field 2–1 Won District VII Playoff
1957 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1958 Cougar Field 1–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1958 Omaha Municipal Stadium 1–2 CWS Fifth Place
1959 Jackson Field 2–1 Won District VII Playoff
1959 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1960 Derks Field 2–1 Won District VII Playoff
1960 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1961 Unknown 3–1 Won District VII Playoff
1961 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1962 Jackson Field 3–0 Won District VII Playoff
1962 Omaha Municipal Stadium 0–2 CWS Seventh Place
1963 UA Field 0–3 Lost District VII Playoff
1964 Falcon Baseball Field 0–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1965 Phoenix Municipal Stadium 2–4 Lost District VII Playoff
1966 Jackson Field 0–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1968 Unknown 1–2 Lost District VII Playoff
1971 Unknown 3–2 Lost Midwest Regional
1972 Unknown 2–2 Lost Midwest Regional
1973 Unknown 2–2 Lost Midwest Regional
1974 Jackson Field 4–1 Won District VII Playoff
1974 Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium 1–2 CWS Fifth Place
1975 Packard Stadium 0–2 Lost Rocky Mountain Regional
1976 Bailey Field 0–2 Lost West Regional
1994 Mules’ Field 0–2 Lost Central Regional
1998 Mules’ Field 0–2 Lost Central Regional
Total 41–60 (38–40 regionals)
(0–0 super reg.)
(3–20 CWS)

Source:[10]

Conference affiliations

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Source:[11]

Awards and honors

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All-Americans

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Year Position Name Team Selector
1949 P Harry Wise 3rd ABCA
1954 OF Richard Porter 2nd ABCA
1956 P John Hogg 3rd ABCA
1957 P John Hogg 3rd ABCA
1957 OF Del Peterson 2nd ABCA
1958 C Larry Klumb 3rd ABCA
1959 P Don Herrick 3rd ABCA
1961 OF John Koehler 3rd ABCA
1967 SS Greg Riddoch 3rd ABCA
1972 C Bob DeMeo 2nd ABCA
1973 C Bob DeMeo 3rd ABCA
1974 C Bob DeMeo 3rd ABCA
1982 OF Jordon Berge 3rd ABCA
1989 OF Tim Walstrom 1st ABCA
1990 OF Tim Walstrom 1st ABCA
2003 1B Phil Delich 2nd ABCA
2013 OF Nick Miller 2nd ABCA

Freshman All-Americans

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Year Position Name Selector
2012 OF Jensen Park[12] Louisville Slugger

Conference player of the year

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Year Conference Position Name
2013 Great West OF Jensen Park
2015 WAC OF Jensen Park[13]

Conference coach of the year

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Year Conference Name
2013 Great West Carl Iwasaki

References

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  1. ^ UNC Style Guide (PDF). March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  2. ^ Record Book (PDF). Northern Colorado Bears. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "Outdoor Fields at UNC". www.unco.edu. University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Samuel G. Mustari (May 13, 2020). "Strong past can lead way for UNC in future on diamond". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Pete Butler, baseball and basketball coach at Colorado State College of Education (later named Colorado State College), 1940–1967". www.digarch.unco.edu. University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "UNC baseball has fresh start in Great West". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. February 26, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "University of Northern Colorado sports teams have best Division I seasons yet". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. June 2, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  8. ^ "Week in Weld: The University of Northern Colorado baseball team is all set to compete in the WAC". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. March 26, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Jayden Watson-Fisher (July 21, 2020). "UNC baseball will reduce travel time, cost with conference change". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "BSB Records Final 2017 Season" (PDF). www.uncbears.com. University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Northern Colorado to join The Summit League as a baseball affiliate" (Press release). The Summit League. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  12. ^ ""LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAM". www.baseballnews.com. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Inc. June 6, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "2015 All-WAC Baseball Teams Announced". www.wacsports.com. Western Athletic Conference. May 19, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2020.