1987 Maine Black Bears football team

The 1987 Maine Black Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of Maine as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first season under head coach Tim Murphy, the Black Bears compiled a 8–4 record (6–1 against conference opponents), tied for the Yankee Conference championship, and lost to Georgia Southern in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs. Bob Wilder and Steve Violette were the team captains.^[1]

1987 Maine Black Bears football
Yankee Conference co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 28–31 at Georgia Southern
Conference	Yankee Conference
Record	8–4 (6–1 Yankee)
Head coach	Tim Murphy (1st season)
Captain	Bob Wilder, Steve Violette
Home stadium	Alumni Field
Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Yankee Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Maine +^	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Richmond +^	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Connecticut	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
New Hampshire	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Delaware	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
UMass	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Boston University	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Rhode Island	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	American International		Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 42–23
September 12	at UMass		McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	W 31–14	11,242
September 19	at Rhode Island	No. 6	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 24–20
September 26	Boston University	No. T–4	Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 33–19
October 3	Towson State	No. 3	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 14–17
October 10	at Northeastern	No. T–16	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 17–21	5,100	[2]
October 17	Richmond		Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 7–17	8,053	[3]
October 24	Connecticut		Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 32–28
October 31	at Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 59–56 2OT
November 7	No. 6 New Hampshire		Alumni Field Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	W 28–14
November 14	at Illinois State	No. 17	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 37–34
November 28	at No. 6 Georgia Southern	No. 13	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 28–31 OT
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

After the season

The following Black Bear was selected in the 1988 NFL Draft after the season.^[4]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
6	160	Rob Sterling	Defensive back	Philadelphia Eagles

References

1. "2019 Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine. 2019. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
2. Bob Monahan (October 11, 1987). "Rodriguez directs NU past Maine, 21-17". The Boston Globe. p. 76.
3. "Bears keep sliding". Sun-Journal. October 18, 1987. Retrieved November 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.