| Central Arkansas Bears | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1908; 116 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Matt Whiting | ||
| Head coach | Nathan Brown 7th season, 43–31 (.581) | ||
| Stadium | Estes Stadium (capacity: 12,000) | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Conway, Arkansas | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | United Athletic Conference | ||
| All-time record | 551–372–42 (.593) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 2001, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019 | ||
| Claimed national titles | 3 (NAIA): 1984, 1985, 1991 | ||
| Conference titles | 28 (22 AIC, 1 GSC, 4 SLC, 1 ASUN) | ||
| Rivalries | McNeese State (rivalry) | ||
| Colors | Purple and gray[1] | ||
| Website | UCASports.com | ||
The Central Arkansas Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for University of Central Arkansas (UCA) located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which started play in 2023. For the 2021 season, UCA was a de facto associate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and in 2022 it played in its full-time home of the ASUN Conference. Central Arkansas's first football team was fielded in 1908. The team plays its home games at the 12,000-seat Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. The Bears are coached by Nathan Brown, in his seventh year.
UCA left the Southland Conference, which had been its all-sports home since 2006 and its football home since 2007, for the ASUN Conference in July 2021. At the time, the ASUN did not sponsor football, but committed to launching an FCS football league in the near future.[2] In the 2021 season, UCA competed in a football partnership between the ASUN and WAC officially branded as the "ASUN–WAC Challenge".[3] The ASUN launched its own football league in 2022, but the ASUN and WAC renewed their football partnership for that season; the two leagues shared a single automatic berth in the FCS playoffs in both seasons. After the 2022 season, the ASUN and WAC jointly announced their football-only merger,[4][5] which was officially rebranded as the United Athletic Conference in April 2023.[6]
- ^ UCA Standards Guide (PDF). September 28, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Announces Three New Institutions; Adds Football as 20th Sport" (Press release). ASUN Conference. January 29, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands As The United Athletic Conference" (Press release). ASUN Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.