1995 Central Washington Wildcats football team

The 1995 Central Washington Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Central Washington University and won the national championship during the 1995 NAIA Division II football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jeff Zenisek, the Wildcats compiled a 10–3–1 record. They participated in the NAIA Division II playoffs, defeating Western Washington (28–21) in first round, Hardin–Simmons (40–20) in the quarterfinals, and Mary (48–7) in the semifinals. In the NAIA Division II Championship Game, the Wildcats played a 21–21 tie with Findlay, resulting in both teams being national co-champions.^[1][2]

1995 Central Washington Wildcats football
NAIA Division II national co-champion
NAIA Division II National Championship Game, T 21–21 vs. Findlay
Conference	Columbia Football Association
Division	Mount Rainier League
Record	10–3–1 (4–1 CFA)
Head coach	Jeff Zenisek (4th season)
Home stadium	Tomlinson Stadium
Seasons ← 1994 1996 →

1995 Columbia Football Association standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Mount Hood League
No. 15 Pacific Lutheran x^	4	–	0	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
No. 18 Willamette x	4	–	0	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
No. 21 Linfield	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Puget Sound	2	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Lewis & Clark	1	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Whitworth	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Mount Rainier League
No. 1 Western Washington x^	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 14 Central Washington ^	4	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	1
Simon Fraser	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Southern Oregon	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Western Oregon	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Eastern Oregon	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

The team played its home games at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg, Washington.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	at Montana State*	Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 14–34
September 16	vs. Willamette	Kennewick, WA	W 21–16
September 23	at Whitworth	Spokane, WA	W 27–10
September 30	at Pacific Lutheran	Puyallup, WA	L 32–35
October 7	Puget Sound	Tomlinson Stadium Ellensburg, WA	W 52–6
October 14	Simon Fraser	Tomlinson Stadium Ellensburg, WA	W 34–19
October 21	at Western Washington	Bellingham, WA	L 16–19
October 28	Southern Oregon	Tomlinson Stadium Ellensburg, WA	W 47–22
November 4	at Western Oregon	Monmouth, OR	W 56–7
November 11	at Eastern Oregon	La Grande, OR	W 21–13
November 18	at Western Washington*	Bellingham, WA (NAIA Division II first round)	W 28–21		^[3]
December 2	at Hardin–Simmons*	Shelton Stadium Abilene, TX (NAIA Division II quarterfinal)	W 40–20		^[4]
December 9	vs. Mary*	Sparks Stadium Puyallup, WA (NAIA Division II semifinal)	W 48–7	3,100	^[5]
December 16	vs. Findlay*	Tacoma, WA (NAIA Division II Championship Game)	T 21–21		^[6]
*Non-conference game

References

1. "1995 Football Schedule". Central Washington University. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
2. "25th Anniversary: 1995 NAIA Football Division II National Championship". Central Washington University. December 16, 2020.
3. "Central's Kitna spoils Western's perfect season, championship run". The Spokesman-Review. November 19, 1995. p. C7 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Al Pickett (December 3, 1995). "Central Washington 40, HSU 20: Kitna avoids rush to down". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 1D, 7D – via Newspapers.com.
5. "CFA team advances to NAIA title game". Statesman Journal. December 10, 1995. p. 7D – via Newspapers.com.
6. "CWU, Findlay unhappy with deadlock: NAIA Division II title is shared for the third time since 1981". The Spokesman Review. December 17, 1995. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com.