1980 Villanova Wildcats football team

The 1980 Villanova Wildcats football team represented the Villanova University during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The head coach was Dick Bedesem, coaching his sixth season with the Wildcats. The team played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Future NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long was a senior nose guard on the team. In April 1981 the Villanova University Board of Trustees announced the discontinuation of football effective immediately. The decision was highly controversial and triggered efforts resulting in the restoration of football at the Division I-AA level in 1985.

1979 Villanova Wildcats football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Dick Bedesem (6th season)
Captain	Joe Arcidiacono, Dan Burke
Home stadium	Villanova Stadium

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 20–24	32,650
September 13	Richmond	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 7–21
September 20	at UMass	Alumni Stadium Amherst, MA	L 12–24	11,494
September 27	Boston College	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 20–9	13,300
October 11	Cincinnati	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 23–6	13,400
October 18	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 15–24	21,616
October 25	at VMI	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	W 17–6	3,200
November 1	at Delaware	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 7–17	22,680
November 8	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 34–3	15,454
November 15	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 45–13	5,135
November 22	Temple	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Mayor's Cup)	W 23–7	10,800

Roster

1980 Villanova Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 79 Rimas Melnikas Sr DT 55 Howie Long Sr DT 62 Joe Makoid Sr DB 49 Don Martin Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dick Bedesem Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt