2017 Central Arkansas Bears football
Southland Conference champion
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 10
FCS CoachesNo. 8
Record10–2 (9–0 Southland)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorNathan Brown (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorGreg Stewart (4th season)
Home stadiumEstes Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Central Arkansas $^   9 – 0     10 – 2  
No. 4 Sam Houston State ^   8 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 25 Nicholls State ^   7 – 2     8 – 4  
No. 22 McNeese State   7 – 2     9 – 2  
Southeastern Louisiana   6 – 3     6 – 5  
Northwestern State   4 – 5     4 – 7  
Stephen F. Austin   4 – 5     4 – 7  
Abilene Christian   2 – 7     2 – 9  
Incarnate Word   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Lamar   1 – 8     2 – 9  
Houston Baptist   0 – 9     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS poll

The 2017 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Campbell and played their home games at Estes Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 10–2, 9–0 in Southland play to be crowned Southland Conference champions. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to New Hampshire in the Second Round.

On December 7, head coach Steve Campbell resigned to become the head coach at South Alabama.[1] He finished at Central Arkansas with a four-year record of 33–15.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 26:10 p.m.at No. 20 (FBS) Kansas State*No. 15
ESPN3L 19–5551,043
September 96:00 p.m.at Murray State*No. 15
OVCDNW 41–137,456
September 167:15 p.m.Southeastern LouisianaNo. 14
ELVNW 38–610,237
September 306:00 p.m.No. 3 Sam Houston StateNo. 11
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
ESPN3W 41–3011,347
October 76:00 p.m.at Houston BaptistNo. 6
FSSW+W 27–72,543
October 146:00 p.m.Stephen F. AustinNo. 6
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
ESPN3W 24–209,263
October 216:00 p.m.at Northwestern StateNo. 6
DemonTVW 45–178,252
October 286:00 p.m.No. 20 McNeese StatedaggerNo. 4
ESPN3W 47–179,887
November 46:10 p.m.at LamarNo. 4
ESPN3W 42–148,417
November 116:00 p.m.at Incarnate WordNo. 3
UIWtvW 56–104,652
November 183:00 p.m.Abilene ChristianNo. 3
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
ESPN3W 34–04,325
December 22:00 p.m.No. 21 New Hampshire*No. 3
ESPN3L 15–216,243
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At Kansas State

See also: Kansas State Wildcats football and 2017 Kansas State Wildcats football team
Central Arkansas at Kansas State[2]
1 234Total
No. 15 Bears 10 630 19
• No. 20 (FBS) Wildcats 10 28107 55
  • Date: September 2
  • Location: Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium
    Manhattan, KS
  • Game start: 6:10 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:11
  • Game attendance: 51,043
  • Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C) • WSW 7 • Clear
  • Referee: Brandon Cruse
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller Analyst: Travis Tannahill
Sources:[2]

At Murray State

See also: Murray State Racers football and 2017 Murray State Racers football team
Central Arkansas at Murray State[3]
1 234Total
• No. 15 Bears 10 2173 41
Racers 0 607 13
  • Date: September 9
  • Location: Roy Stewart Stadium
    Murray, KY
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:46
  • Game attendance: 7,456
  • Referee: Andrew Faust
  • TV announcers (OVCDN): Play-by-Play: Neal Bradley Analyst: Josh McKeel
Sources:[3]

Southeastern Louisiana

See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions football and 2017 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
Southeastern Louisiana at Central Arkansas[4]
1 234Total
Lions 0 303 6
• No. 14 Bears 7 7213 38
  • Date: September 16
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 7:15 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:58
  • Game attendance: 10,237
  • Referee: K. Boitman
  • TV announcers (ELVN): Play-by-Play: Steve Sullivan Analyst: Fitz Hill
Sources:[4]

Sam Houston State

See also: Sam Houston State Bearkats football and 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team
Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas[5]
1 234Total
No. 3 Bearkats 7 1076 30
• No. 11 Bears 14 1737 41
  • Date: September 30
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:44
  • Game attendance: 11,347
  • Referee: Brandon Cruise
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-By-Play: Randy McIlvoy Analyst: Shea Walker Sideline: Tatum Everett
Sources:[5]

At Houston Baptist

See also: Houston Baptist Huskies football and 2017 Houston Baptist Huskies football team
Central Arkansas at Houston Baptist[6]
1 234Total
• No. 6 Bears 14 076 27
Huskies 7 000 7
  • Date: October 7
  • Location: Husky Stadium
    Houston, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:23
  • Game attendance: 2,543
  • Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C) • WSW 7 • Clear
  • Referee: Dan Lewis
  • TV announcers (FSSW+): Play-by-Play: Tom Franklin Analyst: John Harris Sideline: Maya Golden
Sources:[6]

Stephen F. Austin

See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football and 2017 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team
Stephen F. Austin at Central Arkansas[7]
1 234Total
Lumberjacks 0 1433 20
• No. 6 Bears 7 737 24
  • Date: October 14
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:25
  • Game attendance: 9,263
  • Referee: Vidal Jones
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Lincoln Rose Analyst: Nate Griffin
Sources:[7]

At Northwestern State

See also: Northwestern State Demons football and 2017 Northwestern State Demons football team
Central Arkansas at Northwestern State[8]
1 234Total
• No. 6 Bears 10 14147 45
Demons 3 770 17
  • Date: October 21
  • Location: Harry Turpin Stadium
    Natchitoches, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 5:06
  • Game attendance: 8,252
  • Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C) • SSE 5 • Overcast
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • TV announcers (DTV): Play-by-Play: Patrick Netherton Analyst: Richard deVargas Sideline: Tony Taglavore
Sources:[8]

McNeese State

See also: McNeese State Cowboys football, 2017 McNeese State Cowboys football team, and Red Beans and Rice Bowl
McNeese State at Central Arkansas<[9]
(homecoming)
1 234Total
No. 20 Cowboys 10 070 17
• No. 4 Bears 9 21143 47
  • Date: October 28
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 9,887
  • Referee: Scott Campbell
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Jeff Brightwell Analyst: Stan Humphries Sideline: Tatum Everett
Sources:[9]

At Lamar

See also: Lamar Cardinals football and 2017 Lamar Cardinals football team
Central Arkansas at Lamar[10]
1 234Total
• No. 4 Bears 14 7210 42
Cardinals 7 007 14
  • Date: November 4
  • Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
    Beaumont, TX
  • Game start: 6:10 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:03
  • Game attendance: 8,417
  • Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C) • S 8 • Partly cloudy
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Dan Gresham Analyst: Lemont Williams
Sources:[10]

At Incarnate Word

See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals football and 2017 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team
Central Arkansas at Incarnate Word[11]
1 234Total
• No. 3 Bears 14 28014 56
Cardinals 3 007 10
  • Date: November 11
  • Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium
    San Antonio, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 2:50
  • Game attendance: 4,652
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C) • E 7 • Cloudy, showers
  • Referee: Ray Edwards
  • TV announcers (UIWtv): Play-by-Play: Chris Reyes Analyst: Jaime Valdez
Sources:[11]

Abilene Christian

See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats football and 2017 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team
Abilene Christian at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
Wildcats 0 000 0
• No. 3 Bears 14 677 34
  • Date: November 18
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 4,325
Sources:

FCS Playoffs

New Hampshire–Second Round

See also: New Hampshire Wildcats football and 2017 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
FCS Playoffs Second Round
1 234Total
• No. 21 Wildcats 7 077 21
No. 3 Bears 7 008 15
  • Date: December 2
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. CST
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS15151412116664433310
Coaches1516161312866443338

References

  1. ^ "South Alabama Names Steve Campbell Head Football Coach".
  2. ^ a b "Football vs Kansas State University on 9/2/2017". Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Football vs Murray State University on 9/9/2017". Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Football vs Southeastern Louisiana University on 9/16/2017". Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Football vs Sam Houston State University on 9/30/2017". Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Football vs Houston Baptist University on 10/7/2017". Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Football vs Stephen F. Austin on 10/14/2017". Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Football vs Northwestern State University on 10/21/2017". Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Football vs McNeese on 10/28/2017". Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Football vs Lamar University on 11/4/2017". Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Football vs University of the Incarnate Word on 11/11/2017". Retrieved November 14, 2017.
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