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1997 William & Mary Tribe football team

1990 William & Mary Tribe football
Lambert Cup Winner
Division I-AA Quarterfinals, L 38–52, at Central Florida
Conference Independent
Ranking
AP No. 7 (NCAA Poll)
1990 record 10–3
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (11th year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1989
1991 →
1991 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference Independent
1991 record 5–6
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (12th year)
Defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri (1st year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1990
1992 →
1992 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference Independent
Ranking
AP No. 13 (NCAA Poll)
1992 record 9–2
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (13th year)
Defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri (2nd year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1991
1993 →
1993 William & Mary Tribe football
Yankee Conference Mid-Atlantic Division Champions
Division I-AA First Round, L 28–34, at McNeese State
Conference Yankee Conference
Division Mid Atlantic
Ranking
Sports Network No. 10
1993 record 9–3 (7–1 Yankee)
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (14th year)
Offensive coordinator Zbig Kepa (1st year)
Defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri (3rd year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1992
1994 →
1993 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
New England
#6 Boston University x$^ 8 0 0     12 1 0
#25 UMass 6 2 0     9 2 0
Connecticut 5 3 0     6 5 0
New Hampshire 4 4 0     6 5 0
Rhode Island 2 6 0     4 7 0
Maine 0 8 0     0 11 0
Mid-Atlantic
#10 William & Mary x^ 7 1 0     9 3 0
#18 Delaware ^ 6 2 0     9 4 0
James Madison 4 4 0     6 5 0
Richmond 3 5 0     5 6 0
Northeastern 2 6 0     2 9 0
Villanova 1 7 0     3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
1994 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference Yankee Conference
Division Mid Atlantic
Ranking
Sports Network No. 19
1994 record 8–3 (6–2 Yankee)
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (15th year)
Offensive coordinator Zbig Kepa (2nd year)
Defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri (4th year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1993
1995 →
1994 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
New England
#12 New Hampshire x$^ 8 0 0     10 2 0
#9 Boston University ^ 6 2 0     9 3 0
Connecticut 4 4 0     4 7 0
UMass 4 4 0     5 6 0
Rhode Island 2 6 0     2 9 0
Maine 2 6 0     3 8 0
Mid-Atlantic
#13 James Madison x^ 6 2 0     10 3 0
#19 William & Mary x 6 2 0     8 3 0
Delaware 5 3 0     7 3 1
Villanova 2 6 0     5 6 0
Northeastern 2 6 0     2 9 0
Richmond 1 7 0     3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
1995 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference Yankee Conference
Division Mid Atlantic
Ranking
Sports Network No. 19
1995 record 7–4 (5–3 Yankee)
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (16th year)
Offensive coordinator Zbig Kepa (3rd year)
Defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri (5th year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1994
1996 →
1995 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
New England
Rhode Island x 6 2 0     7 4 0
#23 Connecticut 5 3 0     8 3 0
New Hampshire 4 4 0     6 5 0
UMass 3 5 0     6 5 0
Boston University 1 7 0     3 8 0
Maine 1 7 0     3 8 0
Mid-Atlantic
#7 Delaware x$^ 8 0 0     11 2 0
#13 James Madison ^ 6 2 0     8 4 0
#19 William & Mary 5 3 0     7 4 0
#20 Richmond 5 3 0     7 3 1
Villanova 2 6 0     3 8 0
Northeastern 2 6 0     4 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
1996 William & Mary Tribe football
Yankee Conference Champions
Lambert Cup Winner
Division I-AA Quarterfinals, L 35–38, at #3 Northern Iowa
Conference Yankee Conference
Division Mid Atlantic
Ranking
Sports Network No. 5
1996 record 10–3 (7–1 Yankee)
Head coach Jimmye Laycock (17th year)
Offensive coordinator Zbig Kepa (4th year)
Defensive coordinator Russ Huesman (1st year)
Home stadium Zable Stadium (15,000 cap.)
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →

The William & Mary Tribe football teams represented the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The program was established in 1893 and serves as William & Mary's oldest athletic team. Their long-time football rival is the University of Richmond and their annual meeting is dubbed the I-64 Bowl (later renamed the Capital Cup starting in the 2009 season), so named for the highway connecting the two nearby schools.

The 1990s were the second most successful years of Tribe football (behind the 1940s) in both terms of winning percentage and by the number of points William & Mary outscored their opponents. In terms of total wins, the 1990s has been the most successful decade.

Three players were drafted during this era. Most notably, Darren Sharper was selected as the 60th overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. It is still the highest overall draft selection, in the modern football era, by any William & Mary player in the program's history. As of April 2014, Sharper is in the National Football League's top 10 all-time in career interceptions. He was a five-time Pro Bowl starter as well.

Four of the seasons in the 1990s saw William & Mary win at least nine games; two of those were 10-win seasons. The 1990 team won a Division I-AA playoff game for the school's first-ever playoff victory. In 1996, the Tribe were outright champions of the Yankee Conference. That same squad finished the year ranked #5 in the final Sports Network poll, which was a then-school record for highest finish ever.

William & Mary were the 1990 Lambert Cup winners. The Lambert Cup is an award given to the best team in the East in Division I-AA. To be eligible for the Lambert Cup, a school must be located in the East or play half its schedule against eligible Lambert teams.

William & Mary finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, but because they chose to participate in their second-ever Epson Ivy Bowl against Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan, the Tribe were forced to forfeit their qualification to participate in the 1992 Division I-AA playoffs. The postseason bowl game, due to it being an international match and not sanctioned by the NCAA, does not count toward their win-loss records.


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