Albany State Golden Rams football

Albany State Golden Rams football
First season	1940;85 years ago (1940) [1]
Athletic director	Robert Skinner
Head coach	Quinn Gray 1st season, 6–5 (.545)
Stadium	Albany State University Coliseum (capacity: 10,000)
Year built	2004
Location	Albany, Georgia
NCAA division	Division II
Conference	SIAC
Division	East
All-time record	443–311–22 [1]  (.585)
Bowl record	1–1 (.500)
Playoff appearances	14
Playoff record	3–14
Conference titles	19
Rivalries	Fort Valley State
Colors	Royal blue and gold [2]
Website	asugoldenrams.com

The Albany State Golden Rams football team represents Albany State University (ASU) in the sport of American football. The Golden Rams compete in the Division II of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the East Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). They play their home games at Albany State University Coliseum on the university's Albany, Georgia, campus, and are currently led by coach Quinn Gray Sr.

In 2003, the Golden Rams played Fayetteville State in the Pioneer Bowl. Albany State won, 52–30.

The Albany State Golden Rams were named the 2010 SBN Black college Football National Champions.

Former Golden Rams players that have played in the NFL include current Indianapolis Colt Grover Stewart, former Golden Rams head coaches Mike White and Dan Land, Steve Carter, Kenneth Gant, Arthur Green, Jeff Hunter, Keyon Nash, Clarence Benford III and Chris Sheffield. ^[3]

Rapper Rick Ross played briefly for the Golden Rams during the mid 1990s.

Rivalries

Fort Valley State University

The rivalry began in the first meeting of the two schools in 1945, when FVSU beat ASU, 27–21. The two schools did not play each other in 1946 and 1947. While the rivalry between the two teams spans more than half a century, Fountain City Classic officials moved the game to Columbus in 1990 to attract more corporate support. ^[4] FVSU leads the series 44–39–4.

Fort Valley State won their last meeting in 2022, 31–21.

Head coaches

Coach	Seasons	Years	Games	W	L	T	Pct.
Forrest Kirkpatrick	4	1945–1948	16	2	12	2	.188
Chris Roulhoc	2	1949–1950	18	6	9	3	.417
Obie O'Neal	17	1951–1967	146	79	57	10	.575
Bobby Lee	2	1968–1969	17	5	12	0	.294
Willie Parker	1	1970	10	4	6	0	.400
Hampton Smith	24	1971–1976, 1982–1999	251	157	90	4	.633
Whitney L. Van Cleve	3	1977–1979	31	12	17	2	.419
Willie Williamson	2	1980–1981 (first 3 games in 1981)	14	4	10	0	.286
John Wright	1	1981 (last 7 games)	7	0	7	0	.000
Mike White	15	2000–2014	163	112	51	0	.687
Dan Land	2	2015–2016	19	11	8	0	.579
Gabe Giardina	4	2017–2022	54	37	17	0	.685
Quinn Gray	1	2023–present	11	6	5	0	.545

Championships

SEAC

3: 1955, 1959, 1960

SIAC

16: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2021 ^[5]

SIAC East Division

2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021

Black college national

2003, 2004, 2010

Postseason

Bowl games

^[6]

Season	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1946	Coconut Bowl	Bethune–Cookman	L 0–32
1952	Tropical Bowl	Bethune–Cookman	L 0–54
2003	Pioneer Bowl	Fayetteville State	W 52–30

NCAA Division II playoffs

Season	Coach	Playoff	Opponent	Result
1993	Hampton Smith	First Round	Hampton	L 7–33
1994	Hampton Smith	First Round	Valdosta State	L 7–14
1995	Hampton Smith	First Round	North Alabama	L 28–38
1996	Hampton Smith	First Round	Valdosta State	L 28–38
1997	Hampton Smith	First Round Quarterfinal	Southern Arkansas Carson-Newman	W 10–6 L 22–23
2004	Mike White	Second Round Quarterfinal	Arkansas Tech Valdosta State	W 42–24 L 24–38
2005	Mike White	First Round	Central Arkansas	L 20–28
2006	Mike White	First Round	Newberry	L 28–34
2007	Mike White	First Round	Catawba	L 35–66
2008	Mike White	First Round	Tusculum	L 22–34
2009	Mike White	First Round	West Alabama	L 22–24
2010	Mike White	Second Round Quarterfinal	Wingate Delta State	W 30–28 L 7–28
2011	Mike White	First Round	North Greenville	L 14–63
2021	Gabe Giardina	First Round	West Georgia	L 7–23

All-Americans

Year	Player	Pos	Team	Publication	Award
1978	Mike White	DT	3rd Team	AP Little All-America [7]
1984	Steve Carter	WR	Honorable Mention	AP Little All-America
1995	Antonio Leroy	RB	3rd Team	AP Little All-America
2004	Rodney Magwood	OL	2nd Team	AP Little All-America
2004	Walter Curry	DL	2nd Team	AP Little All-America
2004	Walter Curry	DL	1st Team	Daktronics [8]
2005	Alton Pettway	DL	2nd Team	AP Little All-America
2006	Alton Pettway	DL	1st Team	AFCA [9]
2006	Alton Pettway	DL	1st Team	AP Little All-America
2006	Alton Pettway	DL	1st Team	Daktronics [10]
2011	Jamarkus Gaskins	LB	1st Team	Daktronics [11]	DPOY
2011	Jamarkus Gaskins	LB	1st Team	AP Little All-America
2013	Dexter Moody	DB	Honorable Mention	Beyond Sports Network [12]
2014	Jarvis Small	RB	3rd Team	Beyond Sports Network [13]

NFL draft picks

See also: List of Albany State Golden Rams in the NFL draft

Draft	Player	Pos	Team	Round	Pick
1968	Frank Brown	DE	Dallas Cowboys	8th	211
1969	Joe Walker	DE	Boston Patriots	9th	214
1970	Willie Dixon	DB	Buffalo Bills	10th	238
1974	Art Cameron	TE	Buffalo Bills	10th	241
1974	Eddie Wilson	WR	Atlanta Falcons	11th	277
1975	Greg Wells	OL	New York Jets	16th	405
1975	Lester Sherman	RB	Denver Broncos	17th	433
1976	Jeremiah Cummings	DE	Baltimore Colts	14th	394
1979	Mike White	DL	Cincinnati Bengals	4th	84
1979	Curtis Bunche	DL	Philadelphia Eagles	7th	185
1982	George Thompson	WR	Dallas Cowboys	11th	295
1989	Jeff Hunter	DE	Phoenix Cardinals	11th	291
1990	Kenneth Gant	DB	Dallas Cowboys	9th	221
2002	Keyon Nash	DB	Oakland Raiders	6th	189
2017	Grover Stewart	DL	Indianapolis Colts	4th	144

Undrafted

Players that went undrafted but spent at least one season on a team's active roster.

• Steve Carter: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987)
• Arthur Green: New Orleans Saints (1972)
• Dan Land: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987), Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders (1989–1997)
• Chris Sheffield: Pittsburgh Steelers (1986–1987), Detroit Lions (1987)

References

1. "Albany State Golden Rams". college-football-results.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
2. Albany State University Athletics Abbreviated Style Guide (PDF). January 23, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
3. "Albany State (GA) Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
4. "Fountain City Classic". Fountaincityclassic.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
5. "All-Time Conference Champions" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 18. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
6. "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
7. "AP Little All-America Archive (1934–2017)" (PDF). Static.esuwarriors.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
8. "Koenen named second-team Daktronics, Inc., Division II All-American" . Retrieved June 4, 2018.
9. "Chadron State's Danny Woodhead, Albany State's Alton Pettway Headline 2006 AFCA Division II Coaches'-America Team" (PDF). Ferris-pages.org. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
10. "MSU's Burson named Daktronics, Inc. All-American - Midwestern State University". MSUMustangs.com. December 12, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
11. "Deonte? Gist named to Daktronics All-America Football Team". December 14, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
12. "2013 Beyond Sports Network Division II All-America Team Announced".
13. "2014 Beyond Sports Network Division II All-America and All-Super Region 4 teams".

External links

• Official website