The 1977 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1977 NAIA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach DeWitt Jones, the Wildcats compiled an 11–1–1 record (5–1–1 against conference opponents) and tied for the LSC championship. They advanced to the NAIA playoff, defeating Wisconsin–Stevens Point (35–7) in the seminfinals and Southwestern Oklahoma State (24–7) in the Champion Bowl to win the 1977 NAIA Division I football national championship.[1][2]
| 1977 Abilene Christian Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
NAIA Division I national champion LSC co-champion | |
Champion Bowl, W 24–7 vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State | |
| Conference | Lone Star Conference |
| Record | 11–1–1 (5–1–1 LSC) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Ray Nunez, Kelly Kent |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Shotwell Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Abilene Christian ^ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Texas A&I | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Angelo State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Southwest Texas State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 East Texas State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard Payne | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wide receiver Cleotha Montgomery and tight end Kirby Jones received first-team honors on the 1977 All-Lone Star Conference football team. Quarterback John Mayes and four defensive players were chosen for the second team.[3] Other key players included Kelly Kent who rushed for over 1,000 yards.
The team played its home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | Northwestern Oklahoma State* | W 34–14 | 7,000 | [4] | |||
| September 10 | at Northern Colorado* | Greeley, CO | W 24–3 | [5] | |||
| September 17 | Western New Mexico* |
| W 46–13 | 7,000 | [6] | ||
| September 24 | Cameron* |
| W 21–14 | [7] | |||
| October 8 | at Texas A&I | T 25–25 | |||||
| October 15 | Angelo State |
| L 14–21 | ||||
| October 22 | at East Texas State | Commerce, TX | W 28–13 | ||||
| October 29 | Stephen F. Austin |
| W 35–21 | 7,500 | |||
| November 5 | at Sam Houston State |
| W 41–18 | [8] | |||
| November 12 | Southwest Texas State |
| W 36–30 | 7,000 | [9] | ||
| November 19 | at Howard Payne | Brownwood, TX | W 42–24 | [10] | |||
| December 3 | Wisconsin–Stevens Point* |
| W 35–7 | 8,500 | [1] | ||
| December 10 | vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State* | W 24–7 | 12,940 | [2] | |||
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References
edit- ^ a b Mark McDonald (December 4, 1977). "ACU's Power Too Much for Pointers". Abilene Reporter-News. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Stan Farber (December 11, 1977). "It's Abilene Christian: Texans rule NAIA". The News Tribune. p. F2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Javelinas dominate LSC team". San Antonio Express. December 1, 1977 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark McDonald (September 4, 1977). "ACU Awakening Whips Okies". Abilene Reporter-News. pp. 1C, 4C.
- ^ "ACU Explodes Late in 2nd Victory". Abilene Reporter-News. September 11, 1977. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark McDonald (September 18, 1977). "Tongue Lashing Spurs ACU". Abilene Reporter-News. pp. 1C, 7C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark McDonald (September 25, 1977). "No Name Play Works for ACU". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Davis leads ACU win". Abilene Reporter-News. November 6, 1977. Retrieved February 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Art Lawler (November 13, 1977). "Wildcats Thrill Fans with Late Victory". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark McDonald (November 20, 1977). "ACU Awakens in Time to Share Title". Abilene Reporter-News. pp. 1C, 3C – via Newspapers.com.