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
Conference	Independent College Athletic Conference
Record	11–2 (2–0 ICAC)
Head coach	Jim Butterfield (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jerry Boyes (3rd season)
Captain	Bill George, John Laper
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Ithaca $^	2	–	0	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
Alfred	2	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Hobart	2	–	1	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
St. Lawrence	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
RPI	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Bloomsburg State	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	W 13–6		[7]
September 15	St. Lawrence	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	W 15–13	8,000 (est)	[8][9]
September 22	Cortland State	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	W 42–7	7,200	[10]
September 29	at Alfred	Merrill Field Alfred, NY	W 34–12		[11]
October 6	at Clarion State	Clarion, PA	L 10–12		[12]
October 13	at Springfield	Springfield, MA	W 21–14		[13]
October 20	American International	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	L 19–24	7,000-9,000 (est)[14]	[15]
October 27	at Canisius	Buffalo, NY	W 33–14		[16]
November 3	Albany	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY	W 46–6	4,500	[17]
November 10	at Brockport State	Brockport, NY	W 35–7		[18]
November 17	at Dubuque	Dubuque, IA (NCAA Division III quarterfinal)	W 27–7		[19]
November 24	Carnegie Mellon	South Hill Field Ithaca, NY (NCAA Division III semifinal)	W 15–6		[20]
December 1	vs. Wittenberg	Phenix Municipal Stadium Phenix City, AL (Stagg Bowl)	W 14–10	7,200	[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.