1997 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

The 1997 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of New England Division of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its 26th year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 5–6 record (5–3 against conference opponents) and finished in first place in the New England Division.

1997 New Hampshire Wildcats football
A-10 New England Division champion
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Division	New England Division
Record	5–6 (5–3 A-10)
Head coach	Bill Bowes (26th season)
Offensive coordinator	Sean McDonnell (4th season)
Home stadium	Cowell Stadium

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
New England Division
New Hampshire x		5	–	3					5	–	6
Connecticut		4	–	4					7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4					5	–	6
Rhode Island		2	–	6					2	–	9
Boston University		1	–	7					1	–	10
UMass		1	–	7					2	–	9
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 3 Delaware ^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 20 Northeastern		5	–	3					8	–	3
Richmond		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					7	–	4
James Madison		3	–	5					5	–	6
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	No. 6 Delaware	No. 22	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 10–27
September 13	at Rhode Island		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	L 21–35	2,680
September 20	No. 3 William & Mary		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 24–22	3,274
September 27	at No. 17 Stephen F. Austin*		Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	L 14–18
October 4	at UMass		McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)	W 28–10	14,835
October 11	Hofstra*		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	L 14–33
October 18	at Northeastern*		Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 19–34
October 25	Maine		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	W 24–7
November 8	at No. 1 Villanova		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 20–23
November 15	Boston University		Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	W 38–0
November 22	at Connecticut		Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 21–18
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game