2000 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team

The 2000 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh won its third consecutive Patriot League championship.

2000 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
Patriot League champion
Conference	Patriot League
2000 record	12–1 (6–0 Patriot)
Head coach	Kevin Higgins (7th season)
Captains	Matt Andrews Bryant Appling Dustin Grande Brian McDonald
Home stadium	Goodman Stadium

2000 Patriot League football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Lehigh $^		6	–	0					12	–	1
Colgate		4	–	2					7	–	4
Holy Cross		4	–	2					7	–	4
Towson		3	–	3					7	–	4
Bucknell		2	–	4					6	–	5
Fordham		1	–	5					3	–	8
Lafayette		1	–	5					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

In their seventh year under head coach Kevin Higgins, the Mountain Hawks went undefeated (11–0) in the regular season, ending the year at 12–1 after losing in the second round of the national playoffs.[1] Matt Andrews, Bryant Appling, Dustin Grande and Brian McDonald were the team captains.[2]

Including playoff games, the Mountain Hawks outscored opponents 337 to 160. Their 6–0 conference record topped the seven-team Patriot League standings.[3]

Lehigh was ranked No. 24 in the preseason national Division I-AA poll, but dropped out of the top 25 before its first game. After that opening win, the Mountain Hawks re-entered the rankings at No. 21 and steadily climbed to No. 8, where they ended the year.

Despite their conference championship and undefeated record, Lehigh did not host any playoff games. The Mountain Hawks defeated No. 6 Western Illinois and then lost to a familiar foe, No. 3 Delaware, on the road.

Lehigh played its home games at Goodman Stadium on the university's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	at Wofford*		Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	W 34–14		[1]
September 16	Penn*	No. 21	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 17–10	10,124	[4]
September 23	at Princeton*	No. 21	Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 20–18	14,306	[5]
September 30	Cornell*	No. 20	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 35–16	11,126	[6]
October 7	at Towson	No. 17	Minnegan Stadium Towson, MD	W 42–21		[1]
October 14	at Harvard*	No. 15	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 45–13	6,265	[7]
October 21	Bucknell	No. 13	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 21–14	16,906	[8]
October 28	at Holy Cross	No. 12	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 21–6	9,228	[9]
November 4	Colgate	No. 9	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 20–14	13,316	[10]
November 11	Fordham	No. 8	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 51–17	8,675	[11]
November 18	at Lafayette	No. 8	Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 31–17	12,586	[12]
November 25	at No. 6 Western Illinois*	No. 8	Hanson Field Macomb, IL (Div. I-AA playoffs)	W 37–7	3,204	[13]
December 2	at No. 3 Delaware*	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Div. I-AA playoffs)	L 22–47	16,390	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 23. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 7. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
4. Larimer, Terry (September 17, 2000). "Lehigh Tops Penn in Foul-Filled Game". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lehigh Tricks Princeton and Nets a 20-18 Victory". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. September 24, 2000. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. September 24, 2000. p. D19.
6. Larimer, Terry (October 1, 2000). "Lehigh Overcomes Frustration, Cornell". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Duffy, Bob (October 15, 2000). "Lehigh 'Vultures' Devour Harvard". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. D16 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Larimer, Terry (October 22, 2000). "L.U. Tames Bison in Grande Fashion". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Larimer, Terry (October 29, 2000). "Lehigh Defense Sparks 21-6 Win Over Holy Cross". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "New England Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. October 29, 2000. p. D17.
10. Larimer, Terry (November 5, 2000). "Lehigh Roars Back to Rebuff Colgate". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Larimer, Terry (November 12, 2000). "Lehigh's Romp of Rams Clinches NCAA Playoff Spot". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Larimer, Terry (November 19, 2000). "Patient Lehigh Pounces on Leopards". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Larimer, Terry (November 26, 2000). "Lehigh Delivers Loud Message; Taunted Engineers Totally Dismantle Higher-Seeded Foe". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in Paul Reinhard column on same page.
14. Tresolini, Kevin (December 3, 2000). "Next: The Champs; Hens Beat Lehigh, Earn Semifinal Date with Ga. Southern". Sunday News Journal. Wilmington, Del. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.