1977 Drake Bulldogs football team

1977 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
West Texas State $	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Wichita State	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Tulsa	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Drake	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Tulsa, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois played designated conference games.

The 1977 Drake Bulldogs football team represented the Drake University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Chuck Shelton, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, placing sixth in the MVC.^[1] Drake played home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	Arkansas State*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 29–31	11,100	^[2]
September 17	at Temple*	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 0–42
September 24	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	L 9–35
October 1	Long Beach State*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 10–27	6,380
October 8	Indiana State	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 20–23
October 15	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	L 7–31		^[3]
October 22	at Wichita State	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	L 17–47	16,122	^[4]
October 29	Lamar*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 43–21	7,140	^[5]
November 5	Tulsa	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 23–33	6,370
November 12	at Louisville*	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 13–18
November 19	at Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 13–9	4,803
*Non-conference game

^ "MVC Standings". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. November 28, 1977. p. C2. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Bulldogs lose thriller as 2-point try fails, 31–29". The Des Moines Register. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "W. Texas keeps Drake in tailspin, 31–7". The Des Moines Register. October 16, 1977. Retrieved May 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wichita State humbles Drake". The Des Moines Register. October 23, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Drake batters Lamar, 43–21". The Marshall News Messenger. October 30, 1977. Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

Drake Bulldogs football
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Culture & lore	Drake University Marching Band Johnny Bright incident
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