Mercer Bears

The Mercer Bears represent one of college football's genuine comeback stories. Based in Macon, Georgia, Mercer resurrected its football program in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus, and the Bears have rebuilt themselves into a legitimate Southern Conference contender. Playing in orange and black, Mercer blends a modern spread attack with a scrappy, underdog mentality born from starting over from scratch. The program's rapid rise has made it one of the feel-good stories in the FCS ranks.

Mercer first fielded football teams as early as 1891, with the program going dormant for long stretches, including a 72-year gap after the 1941 season during World War II. Football was reinstated in 2013, with the Bears opening their new era with a win over Reinhardt University. The program joined the Southern Conference and steadily climbed the FCS ranks, culminating in its first-ever conference championship in 2024, an 11-3 season that earned an automatic FCS playoff bid and a run to the quarterfinals. Mercer has yet to win a national title, but its resurgence has been one of the sport's notable revival stories.