New Hampshire Wildcats football
| New Hampshire Wildcats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1893 | ||
| Athletic director | Marty Scarano | ||
| Head coach |
Sean McDonnell 20th season, 151–92 (.621) | ||
| Stadium |
Wildcat Stadium (Capacity: 11,015) | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Durham, New Hampshire | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Colonial Athletic Association | ||
| All-time record | 538–444–55 (.545) | ||
| Conference titles | 15 | ||
| Rivalries | UMass Minutemen, Maine Black Bears | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 36 | ||
| Colors |
Navy Blue and White[1] | ||
| Mascot | Wild E. Cat | ||
| Website | UNHWildcats.com | ||
The New Hampshire Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association. New Hampshire's first football team was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the 11,000 seat Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. The Wildcats are coached by Sean McDonnell.
Conference affiliations
- 1893–1946: Independent
- 1947–96: Yankee Conference
- 1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference
- 2007–present: Colonial Athletic Association
Notable former players
Notable alumni who played in the NFL/AFL and/or the CFL include:
- TB Jerry Azumah (’95-’98)
- WR David Ball (’03-’06)
- OL Jason Ball (’98-’01)
- DB Etienne Boulay (’02-’05)
- DL Joe Fleming (’91-’94)
- WR David Gamble (’90-’93)
- LB Dwayne Gordon (’89-’92)
- DB Corey Graham (’03-’07)
- LB Bruce Huther (’73-’76)
- RB Chad Kackert (’05-’09)
- OL Greg Krause (’94-’98)
- FB Dan Kreider (’95-’99)
- LB Dave Rozumek (’72-’75)
- LB Dwayne Sabb (’88-’91)
- QB Ricky Santos (’03-’07)
- TE Scott Sicko (’06-’09)
- WR RJ Harris ('11–'14)
- TE Harold Spears ('11–'14)
- C Mike Coccia ('11–'14)
- RB Avrom Smith (’91-’94)
- OL Ryan Ward ('96-'00)
- DT Jared Smith ('09–'12)
- WR Randal Williams (’96-’00)[2]
Alumni who are notable for off the field achievements include:
- RB Lou D'Allesandro ('58-'60) New Hampshire State Senator
- DB Chip Kelly ('86-'89), NCAA & NFL coach
- LB Rod Langway ('75-'76) NHL star who played both football and ice hockey for UNH
- DB Sean McDonnell ('75-78) longtime Wildcats head coach
Coaches
- Updated as of December 19, 2013
| # | Name | Term | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | CCs | NCs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | No coaches | 1893–1901 | 50 | 16 | 32 | 2 | .340 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | John Scannell | 1902–1903 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | G.B. Ward | 1904 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Edward Herr | 1905–1907 | 24 | 5 | 14 | 5 | .313 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Charles Gill | 1908 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Willard Gildersleeve | 1909 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Ray Thomas | 1910–1911 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Tod Eberle | 1912–1913 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | .393 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | T.D. Sheppard | 1914 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | William Cowell | 1915–1917, 1919–1936 | 178 | 87 | 68 | 23 | .553 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | George Sauer | 1937–1941 | 41 | 22 | 18 | 1 | .549 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Charlie Justice | 1942 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Bill Glassford | 1946–1948 | 25 | 19 | 5 | 1 | .780 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Chief Boston | 1949–1964 | 127 | 60 | 57 | 10 | .512 | 25 | 34 | 8 | .433 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Andy Mooradian | 1965 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Joe Yukica | 1966–1967 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Jim Root | 1968–1971 | 33 | 18 | 14 | 1 | .561 | 11 | 9 | 0 | .550 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Bill Bowes | 1972–1998 | 286 | 175 | 106 | 5 | .621 | 97 | 74 | 2 | .566 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Sean McDonnell | 1999–present | 182 | 112 | 70 | 0 | .615 | 71 | 52 | 0 | .577 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
Postseason appearances
| Year | Bowl | Opponent | Result | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 6, 1947 | Glass Bowl (game) | Toledo | L | 14 | 20 |
Division II playoffs
- In the 1975 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats defeated Lehigh in the first round, 35–21. The Wildcats then played Western Kentucky in the 1975 Grantland Rice Bowl semifinal game, losing 14–3.[5]
- In the 1976 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats lost to Montana State in the first round, 17–16; Montana State went on to win the Division II championship.[6]
Division I-AA/FCS playoffs
The Wildcats have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs 16 times, playing 30 postseason games. Their overall record is 14–16.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | First Round | Samford | L 13–29 |
| 1994 | First Round | Appalachian State | L 10–17 |
| 2004 | First Round Quarterfinals | Georgia Southern Montana | W 27–23 L 17–47 |
| 2005 | First Round Quarterfinals | Colgate Northern Iowa | W 55–21 L 21–24 |
| 2006 | First Round Quarterfinals | Hampton Massachusetts | W 41–38 L 17–24 |
| 2007 | First Round | Northern Iowa | L 35–38 |
| 2008 | First Round Quarterfinals | Southern Illinois Northern Iowa | W 29–20 L 34–36 |
| 2009 | First Round Quarterfinals | McNeese State Villanova | W 49–13 L 7–46 |
| 2010 | Second Round Quarterfinals | Bethune-Cookman Delaware | W 45–20 L 3–16 |
| 2011 | Second Round | Montana State | L 25–26 |
| 2012 | Second Round | Wofford | L 7–23 |
| 2013 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Lafayette Maine Southeastern Louisiana North Dakota State | W 45–7 W 41–27 W 20–17 L 14–52 |
| 2014 | Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Fordham Chattanooga Illinois State | W 44–19[7] W 35–30[8] L 18–21[9] |
| 2015 | First Round | Colgate | L 20–27[10] |
| 2016 | First Round Second Round | Lehigh James Madison | W 64–21[11] L 22–55[12] |
| 2017 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Central Connecticut Central Arkansas South Dakota State | W 14–0 W 21–15 L 14–56 |
Rivalries
Maine Black Bears
An annual rivalry game is played between the Wildcats and the University of Maine Black Bears. The winner of this game gets the right to hang the Brice-Cowell Musket up in their locker room for the year following this game. The Wildcats and the Bears have met 106 times on the football field during the regular season, with New Hampshire currently sitting at 54–44–8 edge in the series.
UMass Minutemen
Donation controversy
A longtime UNH librarian, Robert Morin, died in 2015 and left $4 million to the University; $1 million of that money was spent on a new video scoreboard for the football stadium, and the decision to spend so much of the donation on a scoreboard became a controversial topic. University officials explained that there was no instruction on how to spend the money, other than $100,000 for the library. It was also noted that Morin started watching and became particularly interested in football towards the end of his life.[13]
References
- ↑ "UNH Visual Guidelines" (PDF). May 5, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ↑ "UNHWildcats.com – University of New Hampshire Official Athletics Website:Wildcats in the NFL". Unh.prestosports.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ↑ "UNHWildcats.com – University of New Hampshire Official Athletics Website:All-time UNH Football Coaching Records". Unh.prestosports.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ↑ https://www.library.unh.edu/exhibits/way-we-were/athletics/football
- ↑ http://gridirongarb.blogspot.com/2014/12/unh-wildcats-1975.html
- ↑ http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20111203/Sports/112030324
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400609085
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400610137
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400610897
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400853510
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400926628
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400927134
- ↑ Chappell, Bill (September 15, 2016). "$1 Million Of Frugal Librarian's Bequest To N.H. School Goes To Football Scoreboard". NPR. Retrieved January 15, 2017 – via npr.org.
