1997 Yale Bulldogs football team

The 1997 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Jack Siedlecki, played their home games at the Yale Bowl and finished in seventh place in the Ivy League.

1997 Yale Bulldogs football
Conference	Ivy League
Record	2–8[a] (1–6 Ivy)
Head coach	Jack Siedlecki (1st season)
Home stadium	Yale Bowl
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Ivy League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Harvard $		7	–	0					9	–	1
Dartmouth		6	–	1					8	–	2
Brown		4	–	3					7	–	3
Cornell		4	–	3					6	–	4
Princeton		3	–	4					6	–	4
Columbia		3	–	4					4	–	6
Yale		1	–	6					2	–	8
Penn *		0	–	7					1	–	9
$ – Conference champion * Standings reflect Penn's forfeit of five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player

Yale's record book lists a 1–9 record for 1997, 0–7 in Ivy League play.^[1] The Ivy League record book, however, credits Yale with a conference win after Penn forfeited its victories. Yale is thus recorded by the league as its seventh-place finisher in 1997, ahead of Penn.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	Brown	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 14–52	15,315	[3]
September 27	Connecticut*	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 0–28	16,367	[4]
October 3	vs. Valparaiso*	Soldier Field Chicago, IL	W 34–14	7,668	[5]
October 11	Bucknell*	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 24–25	11,239	[6]
October 18	Dartmouth	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 7–21	17,973	[7]
October 25	at Columbia	Wien Stadium New York, NY	L 10–21	4,665	[8]
November 1	Penn	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 7–26[a]	3,600	[9][10]
November 8	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	L 10–37	3,995	[11]
November 15	vs. Princeton	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)	L 0–9	7,731	[12]
November 22	Harvard	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT (The Game)	L 7–17	26,064	[13]
*Non-conference game

Note

^ a: In January 1998, Penn agreed to forfeit its Ivy League wins from 1997 after star defensive tackle Mitch Marrow was declared ineligible as a part-time student.^[10] Both teams' record books claim their 1997 meeting, a 26–7 Penn victory on the field, as a loss. Yale thus computes its season record as 1–9, and its Ivy League record as 0–6. The Ivy League's own record book, however, regards the game as a Yale victory (by forfeit), and computes win–loss records and season standings accordingly.^[2]

References

1. "Football By Year" (PDF). Yale Bulldogs. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
2. "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. p. 37. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
3. Berlet, Bruce (September 21, 1997). "Siedlecki's Opener a Long Afternoon". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. C13 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. September 21, 1997. p. C20.
4. Conner, Desmond (September 28, 1997). "Huskies Are Looking for More". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Jauss, Bill (October 4, 1997). "Defense Paves Way for Yale Romp". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Ill. sect. 3, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Berlet, Bruce (October 12, 1997). "Weak Kicking Game Costs Yale". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. E9 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Vellante, John (October 19, 1997). "Big Green Streak Is Alive at 22". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. D17 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Berlet, Bruce (October 26, 1997). "Columbia Shuts Down Yale Offense". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. D9 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 26, 1997. p. F14.
9. Yantz, Tom (November 2, 1997). "Yale in a Tough Spot: Can't Stop Penn's Finn; Quarterback Walland Injured". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. E11 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Moran, Edward (January 3, 1998). "Penn Forfeits 5 Wins in Marrow Case". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
11. McShea, Keith (November 27, 1997). "Krawczyk, Big Red Take It to Yale, 37-10". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, N.Y. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
12. Finnegan, Tara (November 16, 1997). "Tigers' Nakielny Provides Relief". The Home News & Tribune. New Brunswick, N.J. p. C6 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Berlet, Bruce (November 23, 1997). "Elis Shown How It's Done". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. C9 – via Newspapers.com.