2012 Shepherd Rams football team

The 2012 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the 2012 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). They were led by head coach Monte Cater, in his 26th season at Shepherd, and finished the season 8–3. With a conference mark of 7–1, they were named WVIAC champions^[2] and advanced to the Division II Playoffs, losing in the first round against IUP.

2012 Shepherd Rams football
WVIAC champion
NCAA Division II first round, L 17–27 vs. IUP
Conference	West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 25^[1]
Record	8–3 (7–1 WVIAC)
Head coach	Monte Cater (26th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ernie McCook (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Josh Kline (4th season)
Home stadium	Ram Stadium
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 25 Shepherd $^		7	–	1					8	–	3
Charleston (WV)		6	–	2					9	–	2
Concord		6	–	2					7	–	4
Glenville State		6	–	2					6	–	5
West Liberty		4	–	4					6	–	5
Fairmont State		4	–	4					4	–	6
West Virginia Wesleyan		2	–	6					3	–	8
West Virginia State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Seton Hill		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

The Rams played their home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

This was the final year for the WVIAC, as most of the teams in the conference withdrew to form the Mountain East Conference for the 2013 season.^[3][4][5]

Regular season

The 2012 regular season for the Rams consisted of eight games against WVIAC opponents, and one game each against American International and Shippensburg. Shepherd finished the regular season 8–2, and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.^[6]

Playoffs

Shepherd lost in the first round of the payoffs, 17–27, against IUP.^[7]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Source
September 1	1:00 p.m	at Shippensburg*	No. 19	Seth Grove Stadium Shippensburg, PA	L 28–38	^[8]
September 8	12:00 p.m.	American International*		Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 34–7	^[9]
September 15	12:00 p.m.	at Seton Hill		Offutt Field Greensburg, PA	W 42–6	^[10]
September 22	1:00pm	at Charleston		Laidley Field Charleston, WV	W 16–10	^[11]
September 29	12:00 p.m.	Concord		Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 20–6
October 6	12:00 p.m.	West Virginia Wesleyan		Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 37–6
October 13	1:00 p.m.	at West Liberty	No. 25	West Family Stadium West Liberty, WV	L 16–17	^[12]
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at West Virginia State		Lakin Field Institute, WV	W 41–20
November 3	12:00 p.m.	Glenville State		Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 34–23
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Fairmont State		Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 49–23
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at IUP*	No. 25	Miller Stadium Indiana, PA (NCAA Division II first round)	L 17–27	^[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Poll 2012 1218 II Final". December 18, 2012. p. 12 – via newspapers.com.
2. "WVIAC Football Year-by-Year Standings (1946-present)". WVIAC.
3. Stevens, Rich. "Nine schools plan to leave WVIAC". Charleston Gazette-Mail.
4. "Move Could Spell the End of the WVIAC". June 19, 2012.
5. "Mountain East Conference to join Division II". NCAA.org.
6. "2012 NCAA Division II Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.
7. "IUP Pushes Past Shepherd in First Round of NCAA Playoffs". Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletics.
8. "Poll 2012 0814 II Preseason". August 14, 2012. pp. B2 – via newspapers.com.
9. Communications, WVIAC. "Shepherd rolls to 34-7 victory over AIC". Beckley Register-Herald.
10. "Shepherd vs. Seton Hill College - Game Summary - September 15, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
11. "Shepherd vs. Charleston (WV) - Game Summary - September 22, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
12. "Poll 2012 1009 II". October 9, 2012. p. 12 – via newspapers.com.
13. Register-Herald, Courtesy of the WVIACFor The. "IUP tops Shepherd in Division II play". Beckley Register-Herald.