1997 William & Mary Tribe football team

1997 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Division	Mid-Atlantic Division
Record	7–4 (4–4 A-10)
Head coach	Jimmye Laycock (18th season)
Offensive coordinator	Zbig Kepa (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Russ Huesman (2nd season)
Captain	Sean McDermott, Pete Coyne, Dan Rossettini, Jude Waddy
Home stadium	Zable Stadium

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
New England Division
New Hampshire x		5	–	3					5	–	6
Connecticut		4	–	4					7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4					5	–	6
Rhode Island		2	–	6					2	–	9
Boston University		1	–	7					1	–	10
UMass		1	–	7					2	–	9
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 3 Delaware ^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 20 Northeastern		5	–	3					8	–	3
Richmond		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					7	–	4
James Madison		3	–	5					5	–	6
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as member of the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his 18th year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with an overall record of 7–4 and a mark of 4–4 in A-10 play, tying for fourth place the Mid-Atlantic Division.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	Hampton*	No. 4	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 31–6	10,667	[2]
September 6	at No. 23 Georgia Southern*	No. 3	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 29–28	10,329
September 13	at VMI*	No. 3	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (rivalry)	W 41–12	7,267	[3]
September 20	at New Hampshire	No. 3	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 22–24	3,274
September 27	Boston University	No. 9	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	W 20–17	8,574
October 4	at Northeastern	No. 8	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 12–33	3,112
October 11	James Madison	No. 23	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 38–25	8,529	[4]
October 18	at Connecticut	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 38–17	8,396
October 25	No. 1 Villanova	No. 14	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	L 13–20	10,559
November 1	at No. 3 Delaware	No. 20	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 0–14	18,707
November 15	Richmond		Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (I-64 Bowl)	W 10–7	8,201	[5]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "William & Mary Football Record Book" (PDF). William & Mary Athletics. June 1, 2021. p. 28. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
2. "Balanced Tribe proves too much for Pirates". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 31, 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Knee injury to QB spoils Tribe victory". Daily Press. September 15, 1997. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tribe shines vs. JMU". Daily Press. October 12, 1997. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Commons uncommon TD lifts Tribe". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 16, 1997. Retrieved November 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.