Lehigh’s football tradition dates all the way back to 1884, and over the course of more than a century of play, the program has enjoyed more than a few great achievements. 

Lehigh has claimed 10 conference titles and nine NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoff berths, and has helped make its annual grudge match against Lafayette the single most played rivalry in all of college football. But the program’s finest moment came on a chilly Texas day in December of 1977.

Coached by the great John Whitehead, who would rack up a record of 75-38-2 during his Lehigh tenure, the ’77 Engineers posted a 9-2 regular season mark, then knocked Massachusetts (30-23) and the University of California-Davis (39-30) en route to the Pioneer Bowl. It was there, in Wichita Falls, Texas, that Lehigh blitzed Jacksonville State by the score of 33-0—and lifted the national championship trophy for the first time.