1997 Mount Union Purple Raiders football team

American college football season

1997 Mount Union Purple Raiders football
NCAA Division III champion OAC champion
Stagg Bowl, W 61–12 vs. Lycoming
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	14–0 (9–0 OAC)
Head coach	Larry Kehres (12th season)
Home stadium	Mount Union Stadium
Seasons← 1996 1998 →

1997 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Mount Union $^	9	–	0	14	–	0
John Carroll ^	8	–	1	10	–	2
Ohio Northern	7	–	2	8	–	2
Baldwin–Wallace	6	–	3	7	–	3
Heidelberg	5	–	4	5	–	5
Marietta	3	–	6	4	–	6
Capital	2	–	7	3	–	7
Muskingum	2	–	7	2	–	8
Otterbein	2	–	7	2	–	8
Hiram	1	–	8	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

The 1997 Mount Union Purple Raiders football team was an American football team that represented the University of Mount Union in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) during the 1997 NCAA Division III football season. In their 12th year under head coach Larry Kehres, the Purple Raiders compiled a perfect 14–0 record, won the OAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 752 to 112. They qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs and advanced to the national championship game, defeating Lycoming.

Mount Union's 1997 season was part of a record 54-game winning streak that spanned four seasons, commencing on September 14, 1996, and continuing through December 6, 1998.

The team played its home games at Mount Union Stadium in Alliance, Ohio.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	Defiance*	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH	W 58–0
September 20	at Baldwin–Wallace	Berea, OH	W 56–14
September 27	at Otterbein	Westerville, OH	W 49–0
October 4	Ohio Northern	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH	W 38–14
October 11	at Heidelberg	Tiffin, OH	W 48–7
October 18	John Carroll	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH	W 42–14	3,008
October 25	Muskingum	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH	W 59–0
November 1	at Marietta	Marietta, OH	W 69–7
November 8	at Capital	Columbus, OH	W 62–0
November 15	Hiram	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH	W 63–0
November 22	Allegheny*	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH (NCAA Division III first round)	W 34–30
November 29	John Carroll*	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH (NCAA Division III quarterfinal)	W 59–7	4,027
December 6	Simpson*	Mount Union Stadium Alliance, OH (NCAA Division III semifinal)	W 54–7
December 13	vs. Lycoming*	Salem Football Stadium Salem, VA (Stagg Bowl)	W 61–12	5,777
*Non-conference game

References

^ "Mount Union Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

v t e 1997 Mount Union Purple Raiders football—NCAA Division III national champions
Vince Kehres Bill Rychel Head coach Larry Kehres Assistant coaches: Erik Raeburn David Sartin Mike Sirianni

1997 Mount Union Purple Raiders football—NCAA Division III national champions

Head coach: Larry Kehres

v t e Mount Union Purple Raiders football
Venues	Mount Union Stadium (1913–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e NCAA Division III football champions
Wittenberg (1973) Central (IA) (1974) Wittenberg (1975) Saint John's (MN) (1976) Widener (1977) Baldwin–Wallace (1978) Ithaca (1979) Dayton (1980) Widener (1981) West Georgia (1982) Augustana (IL) (1983) Augustana (IL) (1984) Augustana (IL) (1985) Augustana (IL) (1986) Wagner (1987) Ithaca (1988) Dayton (1989) Allegheny (1990) Ithaca (1991) Wisconsin–La Crosse (1992) Mount Union (1993) Albion (1994) Wisconsin–La Crosse (1995) Mount Union (1996) Mount Union (1997) Mount Union (1998) Pacific Lutheran (1999) Mount Union (2000) Mount Union (2001) Mount Union (2002) Saint John's (MN) (2003) Linfield (2004) Mount Union (2005) Mount Union (2006) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2007) Mount Union (2008) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2009) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2010) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2011) Mount Union (2012) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2013) Wisconsin–Whitewater (2014) Mount Union (2015) Mary Hardin–Baylor (2016; vacated) Mount Union (2017) Mary Hardin–Baylor (2018) North Central (IL) (2019) No champion (2020) Mary Hardin–Baylor (2021) North Central (IL) (2022) Cortland (2023)

NCAA Division III football champions

Wittenberg (1973)
Central (IA) (1974)
Wittenberg (1975)
Saint John's (MN) (1976)
Widener (1977)
Baldwin–Wallace (1978)
Ithaca (1979)
Dayton (1980)
Widener (1981)
West Georgia (1982)
Augustana (IL) (1983)
Augustana (IL) (1984)
Augustana (IL) (1985)
Augustana (IL) (1986)
Wagner (1987)
Ithaca (1988)
Dayton (1989)
Allegheny (1990)
Ithaca (1991)
Wisconsin–La Crosse (1992)
Mount Union (1993)
Albion (1994)
Wisconsin–La Crosse (1995)
Mount Union (1996)
Mount Union (1997)
Mount Union (1998)
Pacific Lutheran (1999)
Mount Union (2000)
Mount Union (2001)
Mount Union (2002)
Saint John's (MN) (2003)
Linfield (2004)
Mount Union (2005)
Mount Union (2006)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2007)
Mount Union (2008)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2009)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2010)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2011)
Mount Union (2012)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2013)
Wisconsin–Whitewater (2014)
Mount Union (2015)
Mary Hardin–Baylor (2016; vacated)
Mount Union (2017)
Mary Hardin–Baylor (2018)
North Central (IL) (2019)
No champion (2020)
Mary Hardin–Baylor (2021)
North Central (IL) (2022)
Cortland (2023)

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