Northwest Missouri State Athletics

---

In the sport of football, it’s said many times that the game is won or lost based on which team can control the line of scrimmage the best.  In the middle-to-late 1990s, Kansas City native Steve Coppinger was a huge reason that the Bearcats usually found themselves on the winning side on Saturdays.
 
Offensive lines grow and excel off of consistency; during his four year career Steve never missed a game for the green and white.  A four year starter and team captain, Coppinger anchored an offensive line that helped the Bearcats lead the nation in scoring average during his senior season. The Bearcat cornerstone was named a first-team All-American in 1998, a first-team All-Region performer in both ‘97 and ’98 in additional to being selected to the All MIAA teams multiple times.  He was a key factor on a Bearcat team that won a game in Pittsburg State in 1997 that helped Northwest football arrive on the national stage and ended a 64 game home winning streak for the Gorillas.
 
The Bearcats won 3 MIAA championships and the program’s first National Championship in 1998 with Coppinger at center. Collectively, Northwest went 44-and-8 during Coppinger’s tenure, including a record of 32-and-4 in the MIAA highlighted by the perfect 15-0 record during his senior season.  Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that during his red-shirt year in 1994, the Bearcats compiled an overall record of 0-and-11.