BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater Athletics has announced the 1980 Bridgewater College Football team as a Team of Distinction.
 
The team will be inducted into the Bridgewater Athletic Hall of Fame as a Team of Distinction on Sept. 6.
 
The 1980 Bridgewater Football team brought home the institution's first of seven ODAC Championships and the only under John Spencer's leadership. Spencer was named the ODAC Coach of the Year, leading BC to a 6-3 overall record, including a 4-1 mark in ODAC play.
 
The Eagles secured the ODAC crown with a victory over Randolph-Macon in their final conference contest of the season and are one of only two teams to win the ODAC crown with a negative scoring differential. BC closed the season on a four-game winning streak with all four victories coming by three points or less.
 
BC had five First Team All-ODAC selections, including Bridgewater College Athletic Hall of Famer Duane Harrison, who earned a selection as a quarterback and a punter. Harrison's name is littered across the program record book, including the record for all-time punt yardage. Gerald Benjamin, another first-team selection, led the ODAC with a program record nine interceptions during the championship campaign.
 
The team will be honored at halftime of the program's 2025 season opener against Stevenson on September 6 under the lights at the Stadium at the Jopson Athletic Complex.