| Teamname: | Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football |
| Headcoach: | Doug Socha |
| Headcoachyear: | 1st |
| Hcwins: | 0 |
| Hclosses: | 0 |
| Stadium: | Moretz Stadium |
| Stadcapacity: | 8,200 |
| Ncaadivision: | II |
| Conference: | South Atlantic Conference |
| Websitename: | LRBears.com |
| Websiteurl: | http://www.lrbears.com/ |
| Atwins: | 546 |
| Atlosses: | 467 |
| Atties: | 34 |
| Natltitles: | NAIA 1 (1960) |
| Conftitles: | 23 (10 SAC, 8 NSC, 5 CC) |
| Mascotdisplay: | Joe and Josie Bear |
| Marchingband: | Spirit of Lenoir-Rhyne |
| Rivalries: | Newberry, Wingate, Catawba |
The Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Lenoir–Rhyne University located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir–Rhyne's first football team was fielded in 1907. The team plays its home games at the 10,000 seat Moretz Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
The Bears had no team from 1912–1920 and 1942–1945.
The Bears have participated in five postseason bowl games, compiling a 3–2 record.[1]
| 1951 | December 8, 1951 | W 13–7 | Salisbury, North Carolina | |||
| 1952 | December 13, 1952 | L 12–21 | Tampa, Florida | |||
| 1955 | Palmetto Shrine | December 10, 1955 | W 14–13 | Columbia, South Carolina | ||
| 1959 | December 19, 1959 | L 20–7 | St. Petersburg, Florida | |||
| 1960 | December 10, 1960 | W 15–14 | St. Petersburg, Florida |
The Bears have made eight appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Their combined record is 12–8, with one appearance in the NCAA Division II championship game (2013).
| 2012 | First Round Second Round | Fort Valley State Carson–Newman | W, 21–6 L, 35–38 | |
| 2013 | Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship | Carson–Newman North Alabama West Chester NW Missouri State | W, 27–20 W, 42–39 W, 42–14 L, 28–43 | |
| 2014 | Second Round | Valdosta State | L, 21–23 | |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Florida Tech Wingate Valdosta State | W, 43–21 W, 21–17 L, 21–61 | |
| 2019 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Miles Carson–Newman West Florida | W, 36–7 W, 49–21 L, 38–43 | |
| 2021 | First Round | Bowie State | L, 10–31 | |
| 2023 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Shepherd Benedict Valdosta State Harding | W, 63–17 W, 35–25 W, 35–7 L, 14–55 | |
| 2024 | First Round Second Round | West Alabama Virginia Union | W, 37–34 L, 12–44 |
Clarence Stasavich has the most victories as coach of the Bears.
Year W-L-T1907 (0-3),1908 (5-2-1),1909 (3-5),1910 (1-2),1911 (3-3),—-NO TEAM 1912-1920—- 1921 (2-3),1922 (1-5),1923 (0-5),1924 (5-4),1925 (6-3),1926 (7-2),1927 (3-6-1),1928 (2-6-1),1929 (4-5-1),1930 (3-6-1),
1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2005 (5–5), 2006 (3–8), 2007 (2–9), 2008 (3–8), 2009 (5–6), 2010 (7–4), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013* (13–2), 2014* (11–1), 2015 (5–5), 2016 (3–8), 2017 (3–7), 2018* (12–2), 2019* (13–1), Spring 2020 (3-1)
The Bears made three appearances in the NAIA championship game during their tenure, winning in 1960, and appeared in the NCAA Division II championship game in 2013.
| Year | Division | Coach | Opponent | Record | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10–1 | L 7–20 | ||||
| 12–0 | W 15–14 | ||||
| 11–1 | L 13–28 | ||||
| 13–2 | L 28–43 | ||||
1939* (6–1–3), 1951 (10–1), 1952 (8–1), 1955 (9–0–1), 1956 (10–0), 1958 (9–1), 1959 (10–1), 1960 (12–0), 1961 (8–1–1), 1962 (11–1), 1965 (7–3), 1966* (6–3), 1967 (8–1), 1975 (7–3–1), 1988* (7–4), 1994* (8–2), 2011* (7–3), 2012 (9–3), 2013 (13–2), 2014 (11–1), 2018 (12–2), 2019 (13–1)
*denotes co-championship. The Bears won 8 titles in the North State Conference, 5 in the Carolinas Conference, and 9 in the South Atlantic Conference.