1979 Maine Black Bears football team

1979 Maine Black Bears football
Conference	Yankee Conference
Record	2–9 (0–5 Yankee)
Head coach	Jack Bicknell (4th season)
Captain	Joseph Lipinski, Thomas Sullivan, Jonathan Weed
Home stadium	Alumni Field

1979 Yankee Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Boston University +	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
UMass +	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Connecticut	3	–	1	–	1			3	–	6	–	2
New Hampshire	2	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	2
Maine	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	9	–	1
Rhode Island	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1979 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 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its fourth season under head coach Jack Bicknell, the team compiled a 2–9 record (0–5 against conference opponents) and finished fifth out of six teams in the Yankee Conference. Joseph Lipinski, Thomas Sullivan, and Jonathan Weed were the team captains.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Towson State*	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 7–13	6,400	[2]
September 15	Boston University*	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 13–24		[3]
September 22	at UMass	Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	L 14–38	3,990	[4]
September 29	Central Connecticut	Alumni Field Orono, ME	W 40–3	6,700	[5]
October 6	at Rhode Island	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	L 0–10	8,158	[6]
October 13	New Hampshire	Alumni Field Orono, ME (rivalry)	L 0–23	7,000	[7]
October 20	Connecticut	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 7–19		[8]
October 27	at No. 7 Lafayette	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 34–21	6,000	[9]
November 3	at No. 1 (D-II) Delaware	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	L 14–31	18,679	[10]
November 10	at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 6–12	5,000	[11]
November 17	Northeastern	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 16–27		[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

The following Black Bear was selected in the 1980 NFL draft after the season.^[13]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
21	316	Roger Lapham	Tight end	Buffalo Bills

References

1. "2019 Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine. 2019. p. 87. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
2. "Towson tops Maine by 13 to 7". The Baltimore Sun. September 9, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "BU gridders overcome stubbord Maine, 24–13". The Bangor Daily News. September 17, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "UMass rips Maine; Pearson scores". The Hartford Courant. September 23, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Maine bombs Central, 40–3". The Hartford Courant. September 30, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Rhode Island 10, Maine 0". Sunday News Journal. October 7, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "New Hampshire 11 blanks disappointing Bears, 23–0". The Bangor Daily News. October 15, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "UConn tips Maine". Boston Sunday Globe. October 21, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bouier, Maine Rip Lafayette". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. Associated Press. October 28, 1979. p. 85 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Delaware too much for UM". The Bangor Daily News. November 5, 1979. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Maine Gridders Nudged by Touted Lehigh, 12–6". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. November 12, 1979. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Maine suffers bad grid season". Morning Sentinel. November 18, 1979. Retrieved September 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.