The last time a team that wasn’t Linfield or Whitworth won the Northwest Conference football title, it was Willamette University, but that was in 2008.
The once-mighty Willamette Bearcats, who won 23 NWC championships from 1929-2008, have struggled over the last decade and are coming off a 2-8 campaign that also saw them go 0-7 in conference games for the seventh consecutive year.
In 2024, Willamette was led by first-year head coach Aric Williams, who started in December 2023 and inherited a team that was 1-9 in 2023.
Williams entered the picturing knowing he’d have a tall task ahead of him, as the last time the Bearcats weren’t last in the NWC football standings was the 2016 season.
That year, they went 2-5 in conference play to finish sixth among the eight teams and were 3-7 overall.
In the seasons since, Willamette has gone 9-68 overall and 0-49 within the Northwest Conference, losing 51 consecutive conference games.
The Bearcats opened Williams’ debut season with two wins in their first three games, but once conference play began in Week 4, the team lost seven straight contests, while being outscored 295-47.
As always, though, a new season is here, which means another chance for Willamette to regain the form that saw the Bearcats win three of the four NWC titles up for grabs from 1996-1999.
Willamette will open its 2025 campaign at home Sept. 6 against Pomona-Pitzer. It will be the first of three nonconference games, before the Bearcats head to Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 4 for their first NWC action of the year.
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Willamette University Football Schedule 2025
All Times Eastern/Pacific
Sept. 6 (Sat): 3 p.m./Noon vs. Pomona-PitzerSept. 13 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. vs. PacificSept. 20 (Sat): 3 p.m./Noon at La VerneOct. 4 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. at Pacific Lutheran*Oct. 11 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. vs. Lewis & ClarkOct. 18 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. at Puget Sound*Oct. 25 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. at Pacific*Nov. 1 (Sat): 4:30 p.m./1:30 p.m. vs. George Fox*Nov. 8 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. vs. Whitworth*Nov. 15 (Sat): 4 p.m./1 p.m. at Linfield*
*Conference
What Was The Willamette Football Record In 2024?
2-8 (0-7 NWC)
Willamette 27, La Verne 24 (2OT)George Fox 37, Willamette 14Willamette 21, Simpson (Calif.) 1 Linfield 72, Willamette 0Whitworth 48, Willamette 0Pacific Lutheran 50, Willamette 0George Fox 28, Willamette 7Puget Sound 38, Willamette 23Pacific 24, Willamette 10Lewis & Clark 35, Willamette 7When Do The 2025 NCAA Division III College Football Playoffs Start?
The first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Playoffs will be Nov. 22.
The 2025 Division III Football Championship title game will be played Jan. 10, 2026, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
College Football Rankings 2024 – Final AFCA Division III Coaches Poll
End Of 2024 Season
North Central (Ill.) (43) 15-0Mount Union (Ohio) 14-1Johns Hopkins (Md.) 12-2Susquehanna (Pa.) 12-2Salisbury (Md.) 12-1Springfield (Mass.) 12-1St. John’s (Minn.) 11-1Cortland (N.Y.) 11-1DePauw (Ind.) 11-1Bethel (Minn.) 11-3Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) 8-4Wartburg (Iowa) 10-2Hope (Mich.) 11-1Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) 10-2Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) 10-1Linfield (Ore.) 10-2Wisconsin-Platteville 9-2Randolph-Macon (Va.) 10-2Endicott (Mass.) 10-2Grove City (Pa.) 9-2Wisconsin-La Crosse 8-4Aurora (Ill.) 9-2Whitworth (Wash.) 10-2Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) 9-2Coe (Iowa) 9-2
Others Receiving Votes: Hobart (N.Y.), 80; Lake Forest (Ill.), 49; John Carroll (Ohio), 42; Trinity (Tex.), 37; Wheaton (Ill.), 26; Wisconsin-River Falls, 24; King’s (Pa.), 15; Centre (Ky.), 11; Maryville (Tenn.), 10; Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 5; Texas Lutheran, 5; Ursinus (Pa.), 3; Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2; Alma (Mich.), 1.
Springfield, Centenary And More Brought The Action In Week 9 | Division III Football 2024
Check out some Division III highlights from Week 9 of the 2024 season.
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