WCU's Postseason Teams

• 1949 • • 1974 •

North State Conference Champions

Western Carolina had struggled through its first 15 seasons of football with only two winning seasons in two decades, but all that frustration was forgotten in 1949 when Coach Tom Young completed a four-year, post-World War II building program with an 8-2 regular season and the school’s first North State Conference championship and first postseason appearance.

The Cats, led by a stingy defense, won its first five games and allowed only two touchdowns in those victories. The only blemishes on the season were non-conference losses to Maryville (20-13) and Emory & Henry (27-26) as Western finished unbeaten in conference play.

The team was rewarded by a bid to play in the Smoky Mountain Bowl in Bristol, Va., where the Cats lost to West Liberty State.

Art Byrd, a 165-pound guard, was named to the Associated Press Little All-America Team, Western’s first AllAmerica selection. Linemen Buffalo Humphries and Hugh Constance along with backs Hugh “Pee Wee” Hamilton and Ralph McConnell joined Byrd on the All-North State Conference Team.

NCAA Division II Playoffs

Coach Bob Waters, who saw a perfect season and a trip to the NAIA playoffs denied by a loss in the final game of the 1969 season, led WCU to its first NCAA postseason appearance the hard way five years later.

The 1974 Catamounts, playing in a sparkling new stadium, lost their season and stadium opener to visiting Murray State and struggled the next two weeks before establishing themselves as one of the nation’s top NCAA Division II teams.

After the season-opening loss, the Cats continued to struggle offensively for the next two weeks but did manage wins over Tennessee Tech (9-7) and Appalachian State (21-14) with outstanding defense. The offense, behind the running of freshman Darrell Lipford and passing of quarterback Jeff Walker to Jerry Gaines and Eagle Moss, found the right gear and the defense continued its great play. In the process, the Catamounts won nine in a row—including victories over top 10 teams Indiana State and Western Kentucky—and won a bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs where they lost a heartbreaker to No. 1 ranked Louisiana Tech, 10-7.

The 1974 Catamounts finished the season ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press College Division poll and their defense established team records that still stand to this day. Most significant was allowing a mere nine touchdowns on the season (eight rushing and one passing) and only three over the last six games. Gaines and linebacker Steve Yates were first team All-America selections.

ART BYRD, a 165-pound two-way guard for the 1949 North State Conference championship team, was Western Carolina’s first All-America selection. Linebacker STEVE YATES was leader and first team All-American on the 1974 team, which was WCU’s first to reach the NCAA playoffs, doing so at the NCAA Division II level. The 1983 Catamounts advanced to the NCAA I-AA championship game after its 14-7 upset at Furman. WCU was the first Southern Conference team to play for the national title.

• 1983 •

NCAA Division I-AA National Finalist

Like the 1974 team, the 1983 Catamounts got off to a slow start by losing its first two games to Clemson and Wake Forest. After the two setbacks, WCU would go through the next 12 Saturdays unbeaten en route to the NCAA Division I-AA championship game – the first by a Southern Conference school.

The winning streak started in the third week of the season when WCU rallied from a 10-point deficit in the closing two minutes to defeat East Tennessee State, 17-16, and ended with a loss to Southern Illinois in the national championship game in Charleston, S.C.

Despite the strong comeback in regular season play that produced an 8-2-1 record and No. 9 national ranking, Waters’ Cats barely made it into the I-AA playoffs. They proved their worthiness the next three weeks with comefrom-behind, heart-stopping wins over Colgate (24-23), Holy Cross (28-21) and Furman (14-7). The win over Furman was particularly pleasing as the teams had tied, 17-17, in the regular season, and allowed the Paladins to win the SoCon title as they had played and won one more league game due to a scheduling quirk. Over 5,000 WCU fans traveled to Greenville, S.C., for the rematch which was aired by CBS-TV.

On the 1983 team, WCU had eight players named All-SoCon with head coach Bob Waters named Coach of the Year. Wide receiver Eric Rasheed and defensive back Tiger Greene selected All-America. Seven members of the ‘83 squad went on to play in the NFL and the team set an NCAA record for the most games played (15) in a season.