1999 Saint Francis Cougars football team

The 1999 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 1999 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 2nd year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Cougar Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, receiving an automatic bid to the 1999 postseason NAIA playoffs.

1999 Saint Francis Cougars football
NAIA Playoff Participant
MSFA (MEL) champion
ConferenceMid-States Football Association
DivisionMideast League
1999 record8–3 (6–0 MSFA (MEL))
Head coachKevin Donley (2nd season)
Home stadiumCougar Stadium
(Capacity: 3,500 )
1999 Mid-States Football Association standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Mideast League
No. 12 Saint Francis (IN) x^  6 –0     8 –3  
No. 19 Geneva  5 –1     8 –3  
No. 24 Walsh  4 –2     7 –3  
Tri-State  3 –3     6 –4  
Tiffin  2 –4     5 –6  
Malone  1 –5     4 –6  
Urbana  0 –6     1 –10  
Midwest League
No. 5 Taylor x^  5 –1     10 –2  
No. 6 McKendree x^  5 –1     9 –2  
No. 25 Olivet Nazarene x  5 –1     6 –4  
Saint Xavier  3 –3     4 –6  
St. Ambrose  2 –4     4 –6  
Iowa Wesleyan  1 –5     1 –9  
Trinity International  0 –6     1 –9  
St. Francis (IL)  0 –0     3 –7  
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll[1][2]

The Cougars completed the season with an overall record of 8-3, the first winning season in school history. The three losses were at the hands of a Division-I program and against two NAIA ranked opponents. With their success in the regular season, the Cougars participated in their first-ever NAIA postseason playoff. They traveled to then #1-ranked Georgetown, where a 38-0 loss to the Tigers ended the Cougars' playoffs and season.

Schedule

(8-3 overall, 6-0 conference)

DateOpponentRankSiteResult
September 4at Valparaiso*Valparaiso, INL 6–35
September 11Saint Xavier*
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 42–38
September 25No. 21 McKendree*
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
L 21–27
October 2Geneva
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 56–26
October 9at No. 18 TiffinTiffin, OHW 21–14
October 16Urbana
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 35–12
October 23Trinity International*
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 54–36
October 30at MaloneNo. 25Canton, OHW 30–14
November 6No. 24 Tri-StateNo. 21
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 61–14
November 13at No. 19 WalshNo. 17North Canton, OHW 40–21
November 20at No. 1 Georgetown*No. 12Georgetown, KY (NAIA First Round)L 0–38
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

09/11/1999 - With a 42-38 victory over Saint Xavier, the Cougars picked up their first home win in program history today.

10/9/1999 - The Cougars traveled to Tiffin, OH to play the 18th-ranked Tiffin Dragons. The Cougars returned home with a 21-14 victory. It was the first time in Cougars' football history that they defeated a ranked opponent.

10/23/1999 - A 54-36 victory at home against the Trinity International Trojans marked the 4th consecutive win for the Cougars. Their success was noted in the 10/26/1999 Coaches Poll. The Cougars were ranked 25th, marking the first time a Cougars football team had appeared in the NAIA football polls.

11/13/1999 - The Cougars traveled to North Canton, OH to play the 19th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers. The Cougars returned home with a 40-21 victory. It was the Cougars' second consecutive win over a ranked team. The victory completed a perfect 6-0 conference schedule and brought the Cougars their first-ever MSFA MEL title.

Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Final 
NAIA Coaches' Poll NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 25 21 17 12

References
  1. "Football Week-by-Week Coaches' Polls (Since 1999)" (PDF). National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  2. "2017-2018 Mid-States Football Association Press Guide, pp.46-49" (PDF). Mid-States Football Association. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
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