Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys football

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Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys football
First season1911;114 years ago (1911)
Athletic directorAbby Davis
Head coach Kyle Shipp
5th season, 22–33 (.400)
StadiumThone Stadium
(capacity: 6,500)
FieldSimmons Bank Field
Year built1934
Field surface FieldTurf
Location Russellville, Arkansas
NCAA division Division II
Conference Great American
Past conferencesIndependent (1911–1928, 1956–1957)
Arkansas Intercollegiate (1929–1955, 1958–1994)
Gulf South (1995–2010)
All-time record584–416–45 (.580)
Playoff appearances5
Playoff record3–5
Conference titles14
Rivalries Central Arkansas Bears
Harding Bisons
Southern Arkansas Muleriders [1]
ColorsGreen and gold [2]
   
MascotJerry the Bulldog
Website arkansastechsports.com

The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys football team represents Arkansas Tech University in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The Wonder Boys are members of the Great American Conference (GAC), fielding its team in the GAC since 2011. The Wonder Boys play their home games at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium in Russellville, Arkansas.

Contents

Their head coach is Kyle Shipp, who took over the position for the 2019 season.

History

John Tucker is ultimately responsible for the idiosyncratic nickname "Wonder Boys" for Arkansas Tech University. On November 15, 1919, Tucker, as a 17-year-old freshman, scored two touchdowns and kicked two extra points to lead the Second District Agricultural School Aggies to a 14–0 upset win over Jonesboro. In newspaper accounts following the game, Tucker and his teammates were referred to as "Wonder Boys," and the nickname remains to this day. Tucker was labeled as "The Original Wonder Boy" and was associated with the school for the rest of his life. He went on to play on the University of Alabama's Rose Bowl team in 1931 and served Arkansas Tech in a variety of roles – including coach, athletic director and chemistry professor – between 1925 and 1972. Two buildings on the Tech campus – Tucker Coliseum and Tucker Hall – are named in his honor. [3]

Postseason and championships

Originally the Second District Agricultural School when formed in 1909, Arkansas Tech has made five appearances in football national playoffs (1971, 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009). Led by All-American receiver Rick Thone, the 1971 Wonder Boys (12–1–0) made it to the national championship game of the NAIA playoffs, losing to Livingston State (now University of West Alabama) in the title game, 14–12, played in Birmingham, AL. In 1994, Tech lost in the first round of the NAIA playoffs to Langston (OK), 56–42, after capturing the final Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) football crown earlier that season. Firman W. Bynum, long-time Dean of Men at Tech, was the school's first All-American football player in 1939.

Tech won AIC football championships in 1931, 1935, 1939, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1994.

Arkansas Tech left the NAIA after the AIC disbanded following the 1994–95 academic year. Tech joined NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference at that time. Since then, Tech's football program has made appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 1999, 2004 and 2009. The 1999 team was the first from Arkansas to win the GSC football championship outright, while the 2004 Wonder Boys were the first team from Arkansas to host or win an NCAA Division II Playoffs game. Tech earned that honor by defeating Catawba College (N.C.) 24–20 on November 13, 2004. The Wonder Boys returned to the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2009 and defeated the University of North Carolina at Pembroke 41–13 in the first round before falling to University of North Alabama 41–28 in the region semifinals.

Conference affiliations

List of head coaches

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
GeneralOverallConferencePostseason [A 1]
No.Order of coaches [A 2] GCGames coachedCWConference winsPWPostseason wins
DCDivision championshipsOWOverall winsCLConference lossesPLPostseason losses
CCConference championshipsOLOverall lossesCTConference tiesPTPostseason ties
NCNational championshipsOTOverall ties [A 3] C%Conference winning percentage
†Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame O%Overall winning percentage [A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records and conference records [7]
No.NameSeason(s)GCOWOLOTO%CWCLCTC%
1 William A. Isgrig 191174300.571
2 Erwin H. Shinn 1912–19153224710.766
3 Walter B. Casey 1916–191731110.500
4 D. K. McWilliams 191952210.500
5 Edgar O. Brown 1920–19321107721120.755
6 John Tucker 1933–1941, 1945–19471027417110.779461370.750
7 Raymond Burnett 1948–195357302430.553
8 Sam Hindsman 1954–195849311620.653
9 Marvin Salmon 1959–196678532050.712371020.776
10 Don Dempsey 1967–197598544130.566302220.574
11 Leon Anderson 1976–197941152510.37881510.354
12 Harold Steelman 1980–198559223520.390162010.446
13 Ken Stephens 1986–199268293720.441142810.337
14 Brooks Hollingsworth 1993–199642162510.393101410.420
15 Steve Mullins 1997–2012171967500.561755800.564
16 Raymond Monica 2013–201868343400.500333100.516
17 Kyle Shipp [8] 2019–present55223300.400223300.400

Year-by-year results

National championsConference championsBowl game berthPlayoff berth
SeasonYearHead coachAssociationDivisionConferenceRecordPostseasonFinal ranking
OverallConference
WinLossTieFinishWinLossTie
Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys
1911 1911 William A. Isgrig NCAA —Independent430——
1912 1912 Erwin H. Shinn 420——
1913 1913 721——
1914 1914 800——
1915 1915 530——
1916 1916 Walter B. Casey 101——
1917 1917 010——
No team in 1918
1919 1919 D. K. McWilliams NCAA —Independent221——
1920 1920 Edgar O. Brown 402——
1921 1921 700——
1922 1922 810——
1923 1923 611——
1924 1924 612——
1925 1925 720——
1926 1926 620——
1927 1927 510——
1928 1928 AIC 7201stConference champions—
1929 1929 4415th221——
1930 1930 522T–3rd312——
1931 1931 7121st502Conference champions—
1932 1932 6212nd520——
1933 1933 John Tucker 3316th231——
1934 1934 5122nd412——
1935 1935 8011st601Conference champions—
1936 1936 6202nd510——
1937 1937 8102nd310——
1938 1938 4223rd220——
1939 1939 7021st202Conference champions—
1940 1940 5313rd121——
1941 1941 6302nd330——
No team from 1942 to 1944
1945 1945 John Tucker NCAA — AIC 8001st600Conference champions—
1946 1946 9101st600Conference champions—
1947 1947 8101st600Conference champions—
1948 1948 Raymond Burnett 8201st600Conference champions—
1949 1949 9111st800Conference champions—
1950 1950 6314th430——
1951 1951 3607th250——
1952 1952 1705th140——
1953 1953 3516th131——
1954 1954 Sam Hindsman 8101st610Conference champions—
1955 1955 5326th511——
1956 1956 NAIA —Independent550——
1957 1957 640——
1958 1958 AIC 730T–1st610L Rice Bowl—
1959 1959 Marvin Salmon 5304th430——
1960 1960 10101st800Conference champions20
1961 1961 8011st601Conference champions17
1962 1962 8112nd610——
1963 1963 3525th331——
1964 1964 9101st700Conference champions16
1965 1965 7303rd520——
1966 1966 3617th240——
1967 1967 Don Dempsey 5312nd321——
1968 1968 10201st510Conference champions4
1969 1969 6412nd411——
1970 1970 Division I830T–1st510Conference co-champions—
1971 1971 12101st600L Champion Bowl2
1972 1972 5413rd420——
1973 1973 470T–5th240——
1974 1974 1907th060——
1975 1975 3806th150——
1976 1976 Leon Anderson 11007th060——
1977 1977 640T–3rd330——
1978 1978 5505th240——
1979 1979 3613rd321——
1980 1980 Harold Steelman 6403rd420——
1981 1981 451T–5th240——
1982 1982 370T–5th240——
1983 1983 4512nd411——
1984 1984 450T–4th330——
1985 1985 1907th160——
1986 1986 Ken Stephens 640T–2nd520——
1987 1987 2617th141——
1988 1988 6403rd330——
1989 1989 6304th330——
1990 1990 4607th060——
1991 1991 01007th060——
1992 1992 4515th240——
1993 1993 Brooks Hollingsworth 1904th130——
1994 1994 7401st400L NAIA Division I First Round —
1995 1995 NCAA Division II GSC 3618th261——
1996 1996 560T–7th350——
1997 1997 Steve Mullins 4706th440——
1998 1998 550T–5th450——
1999 1999 9301st810L NCAA Division II First Round —
2000 2000 7304th720——
2001 2001 820T–2nd720—16
2002 2002 470T–8th360——
2003 2003 560T–5th450——
2004 2004 10202nd810L NCAA Division II Second Round 16
2005 2005 730T–5th630——
2006 2006 730T–5th530——
2007 2007 550T–6th350——
2008 2008 550T–6th440——
2009 2009 9302nd620L NCAA Division II Second Round 18
2010 2010 470T–9th260——
2011 2011 GAC 2808th140——
2012 2012 5606th350——
2013 2013 Raymond Monica 5607th550——
2014 2014 380T–7th370——
2015 2015 930T–2nd830——
2016 2016 6506th650——
2017 2017 840T–2nd830——
2018 2018 380T–9th380——
2019 2019 Kyle Shipp 380T–8th380——
No team in 2020 due to COVID-19
2021 2021 Kyle Shipp NCAA Division II GAC 470T–8th470——
2022 2022 560T–6th560——
2023 2023 560T–7th560——
2024 2024 560T–5th560——

    Notes

    1. ↑ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played. [4]
    2. ↑ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
    3. ↑ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. [5]
    4. ↑ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. [6]

    References

    1. ↑ Taylor, Erick. "Russellville set to host old rivals". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
    2. ↑ Arkansas Tech University Academic Brand Identity & Visual Standards (PDF). January 15, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
    3. ↑ Polytechnic College
    4. ↑ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
    5. ↑ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
    6. ↑ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
    7. ↑ "Arkansas Tech Coaching Records". Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
    8. ↑ "Dream Becomes Reality for Wonder Boys' New Coach". Arkansas Tech University. September 2, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
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