1980 Villanova Wildcats football team

The 1980 Villanova Wildcats football team represented the Villanova University during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The head coach was Dick Bedesem, coaching his sixth season with the Wildcats. The team played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania.^[1] Future NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long was a senior nose guard on the team. In April 1981 the Villanova University Board of Trustees announced the discontinuation of football effective immediately. The decision was highly controversial and triggered efforts resulting in the restoration of football at the Division I-AA level in 1985.

1979 Villanova Wildcats football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Dick Bedesem (6th season)
Captain	Joe Arcidiacono, Dan Burke
Home stadium	Villanova Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1985 →

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 20–24	32,650	^[2]
September 13	Richmond	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 7–21		^[3]
September 20	at UMass	Alumni Stadium Amherst, MA	L 12–24	11,494
September 27	Boston College	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 20–9	13,300	^[4]
October 4	Cincinnati	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 23–6
October 18	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 15–24
October 25	at VMI	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	W 17–6	3,200	^[5]
November 1	at Delaware	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 7–17	22,680	^[6]
November 8	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 34–3	15,454	^[7]
November 15	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 45–13	5,135	^[8]
November 22	Temple	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Mayor's Cup)	W 23–7	10,800	^[9]

^[10]

Roster

1980 Villanova Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 79 Rimas Melnikas Sr DT 55 Howie Long Sr DT 62 Joe Makoid Sr DB 49 Don Martin Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dick Bedesem Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "2016 Villanova football Media Guide". Villanova.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
2. "Villanova's errors help Maryland to 7–3 victory". Sunday News Journal. September 7, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Errors fatal to 'Nova". Courier-Post. September 14, 1980. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Ingram commands 'Cats to win over BC". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 28, 1980. p. 11F – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Defense holds fort in Villanova's 17–6 win over VMI". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1980. Retrieved February 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Hens top Wildcats with 'D'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 2, 1980. Retrieved November 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Shister, Gail (November 9, 1980). "Villanova Rolls Past Penn, 34-3, to Prove a Point". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-F – via Newspapers.com.
8. Singelais, Neil (November 16, 1980). "Villanova Pound HC". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 88 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Villanova cashes in errors by Temple for 23–7 victory". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 23, 1980. Retrieved August 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2017.