Samford University is a private Baptist university in Homewood, Alabama. It was founded in 1841 as Howard College by Baptists. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 5,791 students from 49 states, 1 U.S. territory, and 16 other countries.
Seibert Hall is a 4,240-seat multi-purpose arena in Homewood, Alabama. It was built in 1961. It was home to the Samford University Bulldogs basketball team. The basketball team moved into its new home, the Pete Hanna Center during the 2007–08 season.
John Burt Longwell was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and dentist. He served as the head football coach at Howard College—now Samford University—in Birmingham, Alabama during the 1909, 1911, 1916 and 1917 seasons and at New York University (NYU) in 1919, compiling a career college football record of 18–18–3. Longwell was also the head basketball coach at Howard during the 1916–17 season, tallying a mark of 3–5.
The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000.They were led by Reed Rawlings, Marc Salyers, and Chris Weaver. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament and made its second consecutive appearance in the tournament in 2012. The baseball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, reaching the finals of the Tallahassee Regional. Additionally, the softball team made its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2016. For the first time in history, the Lady Bulldogs won the regular-season championship as well as the Tournament Championship to cap off a record high of 40 wins on the season. The school is a member of the Southern Conference in Division I of the NCAA, after moving from the Ohio Valley Conference in 2008. The Samford Athletics staff is headed by athletic director Martin Newton, whose appointment was announced on March 9, 2011.
The Samford Bulldogs football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Samford University located in Homewood, Alabama. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). Samford's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team was known as the Howard Bulldogs through the 1965 season when Howard College was renamed as Samford University. Howard was located in Birmingham, Alabama prior to 1957. Since 1958, the Bulldogs have played their home games at Seibert Stadium, which now has a seating capacity of 6,700, in Homewood. Chris Hatcher has served as Samford's head coach since the 2015 season.
The Bulldog Marching Band is the marching band for Samford University located in Homewood, Alabama. The band supports all Bulldogs athletic teams and performs at all football home games. Students from all academic disciplines can participate in the band.
The 2011 Samford Bulldogs team represented Samford University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by fifth-year head coach Pat Sullivan and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They are a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in fifth place.
The Jacksonville State–Samford football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Jacksonville State Gamecocks and Samford Bulldogs. The two schools are located 80 miles apart from each other in eastern Alabama.
The 2014 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth year head coach Pat Sullivan and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–2 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for second place.
The 2018 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place.
Timothy Michael Parenton was an American college baseball coach and third baseman. He played college baseball and college football at Mississippi State University. He then served as the head coach of the Samford Bulldogs (1998–2004) and the North Florida Ospreys (2018–2023).
The 2019 Samford Bulldogs football team represents Samford University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by fifth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and play their home games at Seibert Stadium. They are a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).
DeMarcus Covington is an American football coach who is the defensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).
Brock Benefield Vandagriff is an American football quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a member of the 2021 and 2022 Georgia Bulldogs that won back-to-back national championships.
The 2021 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The Bulldogs were led by seventh-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium in Homewood, Alabama.
Christian Matthew is an American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Southern before transferring to Samford, and then to Valdosta State, where he was tied for fifth in the nation in pass break ups and was named first-team All-Gulf South Conference. Matthew was invited to and participated in the 2022 College Gridirion Showcase post-season all-star event.
Montrell Washington is an American football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Samford.
Chris Oladokun is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Florida before transferring to Samford then to South Dakota State.
The 2022 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by eighth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium in Homewood, Alabama.
Shaheed Salmon is a professional gridiron football linebacker for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). After playing college football for Samford, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He played for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
