NWMSU Bearcats

By Calvin Silvers Up in Maryville, Missouri, Northwest Missouri State athletics has enjoyed monumental success across various sports over the past decade. In 2024, two major programs ushered in new eras. The basketball team hired Matt Keeley as head coach following Ben McCollum’s departure to Drake University. The second program to turn a new chapter

By Calvin Silvers Northwest Missouri State University has turned to one of its own, naming John McMenamin as the 21st head coach of the Bearcat football program. The former Bearcat quarterback, a member of two national championship teams (1998 and 1999), steps into the role with a resume built on offensive innovation and success. “I

By Calvin Silvers This past weekend, rivals took center stage on Division I football fields across the country. Entering Tuesday, that same fierce competitive spirit leaked onto the Division II basketball level as area fans caught an early-season showdown between the Missouri Western Griffons and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Western opened MIAA play with

By Calvin Silvers It was a full day of college football on Saturday, as the Missouri Western Griffons snapped a three-game losing streak with a second-half resurgence to claim a 38-28 victory over Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, while the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats fell to undefeated and No.13-ranked Central Oklahoma 48-20 on the road.

By Jacob Meikel Northwest Missouri State football got out of its 0-2 rut by trusting its run game, and saving its best rushing performance of the season for its first win. During the two-game skid that equaled the worst start to a season for Northwest since 1994, Northwest had rushing totals of -17 and 32

By Calvin Silvers On Saturday, as the sun set in Maryville, Missouri, Bearcat Stadium was lit by the stadium lights, shining down on an MIAA upset. The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats came into the contest against Fort Hays State at 0-2, hoping to avoid a 0-3 start for the first time since 1994. FHSU is

By Calvin Silvers On Thursday night, the No. 22-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats hosted the No. 13-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks in Maryville, Missouri, in a Top-25 matchup. Northwest had not dropped a season opener since 2010, but the Mavericks ended that streak, leaving with a 36-22 victory. It was all Mavericks to begin, as quarterback

By Calvin Silvers The MIAA Conference announced its schedule for the 2024 football season on Thursday, with the football season officially beginning Thursday, August 29, with the final regular season contest set for November 16. With Lincoln University’s departure from the league and Northeastern State University becoming independent, the MIAA will showcase a 10-team conference

By Calvin Silvers Just 45 minutes north, a new era began at Northwest Missouri State University, as the Bearcats officially introduced their 21st head men’s basketball coach, Matt Keeley. The newly hired Bearcat took to the podium to address and answer questions from multiple individuals, such as boosters, fans and media. “The early conversations that

By Calvin Silvers The college basketball scene on both the men’s and women’s side has been prominent not only in the MIAA Conference, but the entirety of Division II here locally, as both Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western have been powerhouses. On the men’s side, Northwest was led by Ben McCollum, the first five-time

By Calvin Silvers On Saturday, news broke from the campus of Northwest Missouri State, as the University and Director of Athletics Andy Peterson has selected Matt Keeley as the 21st head men’s basketball coach in program history. “I’m very confident in bringing Coach Keeley on board to lead our men’s basketball program,” Peterson said in

By Calvin Silvers The past two weeks may have seemed unreal for Northwest Missouri State basketball fans, as legendary head coach Ben McCollum recently announced he’d be leaving the Division II program to make the jump to Division 1 at Drake University. On Tuesday, everything was finalized as the university held a press conference introducing

By Calvin Silvers On Monday, Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum announced he would be leaving the Bearcat program and locating back to his home state of Iowa, where he’ll take over the Drake Bulldogs. McCollum, 42, will begin his journey at the Division I level in the Missouri Valley Conference. His

By Calvin Silvers On Sunday, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball was awarded an automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Bearcats, at 27-4 overall, earned the No. 2 seed in the Central Region. Since Minnesota State University gained the top seed in the region, Northwest will travel to Mankato, Minnesota, for the

By Calvin Silvers It was semifinals’ play on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, for the MIAA Basketball Tournament, with eight teams fighting to land a spot in the championship game on Sunday afternoon. The first team to take the floor was the overall one seed on the women’s side, the Missouri Western Griffons. For the

By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western men’s basketball’s run in the MIAA Tournament came to an end in the quarterfinal round at the hands of its upstate rival on Thursday. The third meeting of the season between the two rival programs concludes the season series with the largest margin of victory for Northwest over Western since

By Calvin Silvers The MIAA Tournament quarterfinals began on Thursday, with the first contest of the day featuring the overall one seed, the Missouri Western Griffons and the ninth-seeded Emporia State Hornets. The first half both teams traded blows, but Western was able to create separation in the second half to pave way for a

By Jacob Meikel With a little help, No. 21 Missouri Western women’s basketball claimed its first MIAA regular season title since 2016 on Saturday. Step one in securing at least a share of the conference crown was taking care of business against Northwest Missouri State, a team Western had already defeated in mid-January. The Griffon

By Calvin Silvers It was a special afternoon for Northwest Missouri State Basketball, as the Bearcats recognized the achievements of their seniors on Senior Night ahead of the contests between the Northeastern State RiverHawks. The Northwest women tipped off first, and senior Jayna Green celebrated her night with a double-double to help propel the Bearcats

By Calvin Silvers It was the first Saturday spent in Bearcat Arena since Dec. 30, 2023, for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, and a crowd of over a 1,000 fans were in attendance to see some MIAA action against the Newman Jets. The women (13-4, 7-4 MIAA) took the court first, and were able to

By Calvin Silvers This previous weekend, MWSU Fieldhouse inside the Looney Complex was rocking as the Northwest Missouri state Bearcats came into town, and both the Missouri Western Griffon men and women came away with victories. Besides beating the Bearcats for the first time since 2013, there was more celebration to be had on Tuesday

By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western men’s basketball got a hold of a lead and never let it slip, ending a 24-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday by winning 76-70. Fouls became a problem for the Griffons early and late. Juniors Taye Fields, Justin Bubak and Zion Swader each picked up two fouls