History
The school assembled several makeshift teams for the 1894, 1895, and 1896 seasons. However, in 1898, the Board of Trustees prohibited participation in intercollegiate athletics. The ban was implemented following significant losses to Louisiana State University in football, which led to the hospitalization of two Centenary players. In 1901, the ban was relaxed, permitting the college to form a baseball team. Full participation in intercollegiate athletics was restored when the school relocated to Shreveport in 1908 [2] The 1927 team, coached by Homer H. Norton, is considered one of the school's best teams in its history, [3] achieving an undefeated 10–0 record that season.
Centenary fielded a college football team until 1941. The program was discontinued during World War II due to budget deficits and declining fan interest. An effort to revive the team in 1947 was unsuccessful, [3] A later attempt to reinstate the football program in the 1960s was also unsuccessful. [4]
On November 10, 2021, Centenary College announced the return of its football program. On March 30, 2022, a historic decision was made with the appointment of Shreveport native Byron Dawson, a former Evangel and LSU standout, as the Gents' new head coach. Dawson became the first African-American head football coach in the school's history. The team began exhibition play in 2023 and officially started NCAA competition in 2024. [4]
Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
The 1922 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute—now known as Louisiana Tech University—as a member of the Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association (LIAA) during the 1922 college football season. Led by first-year head coach William Henry Dietz, Louisiana Tech compiled an overall record of 5–1–1. The team's captain was Edgar L. Walker.
The Erskine Flying Fleet football team represents Erskine College in the sport of American football. The Flying Fleet compete in the NCAA Division II as an independent, but will join the South Atlantic Conference as an associate member in 2022. The team is currently led by head coach Shap Boyd, who has held the position since November 15, 2018, making him the first head football coach at Erskine since 1951.
The Centenary Gentlemen and Ladies are composed of 20 teams representing Centenary College of Louisiana in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and swimming. Men's sports include football, baseball and lacrosse. Women's sports include gymnastics, softball, and volleyball. The Gentlemen and Ladies compete in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Prior to 2011, Centenary was a member of the NCAA Division I, and competed in the Summit League.
The Centenary Gentlemen baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. The team is a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. Prior to 2011, Centenary was a member of the NCAA Division I, and competed in the Summit League. The Gentlemen are coached by Mike Diaz. In 2013, the Gents won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season, the school's first regular season championship since 1988. The Gents repeated as SCAC regular season champions in 2015.
The Red River State Fair Classic was an American college football game played annually in Shreveport, Louisiana, at Independence Stadium—formerly called State Fair Stadium—during the State Fair of Louisiana. It traced its historical lineage from a series of 167 games played over the 106 football seasons between 1911 and 2016. By having first paired historically black colleges and universities in 1915, the contest held the distinction of being the oldest documented annual black college football classic, edging out the Turkey Day Classic by nine years and the similar Texas State Fair Classic by ten years.
The 1939 Texas Tech vs. Centenary football game was an American college football game played between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Centenary Gentlemen on November 11, 1939, at Centenary College Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. In "one of the weirdest games in NCAA History," torrential downpour and muddy field conditions prevented either Texas Tech or Centenary from advancing the ball by running or passing. To cope with the conditions, both teams resorted to repetitive and immediate punting. Both teams combined to punt 77 times. With each punt, both teams hoped to recover a fumble at the other end of the field.
The 1927 Centenary Gentlemen football team represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1927 college football season. Centenary posted an undefeated 10–0 record and beat four Southwestern Conference schools. It is one of the school's best ever teams.
The 1926 Centenary Gentlemen football team represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1926 college football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Homer Norton.
The 1923 Centenary Gentlemen football team represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association (LIAA) during the 1923 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Bo McMillin, the Gentlemen compiled an overall record of 10–2.
The 1922 Centenary Gentlemen football team represented the Centenary College of Louisiana during the 1922 college football season. The nine-game schedule was the longest in school history. "A small, obscure liberal arts college with a student body of less than 300 suddenly fields a powerful football team in 1922." The team posted an 8–1 record and was led by head coach Bo McMillin, who preferred to be at a small school.
The 1947 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference during the 1947 college football season. In their first year under head coach Jess Thompson, the team compiled a 1–9–1 record. In December 1947, the College announced it would no longer provide "football scholarships" and cited financial difficulties of continuing to fund the football program.
The 1941 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference during the 1941 college football season. In their second year under head coach Jake Hanna, the team compiled a 0–8–2 record.
The 1936 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association during the 1936 college football season. In their third year under head coach Curtis Parker, the team compiled a 6–4–2 record.
The 1930 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1930 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Homer Norton, the team compiled an 8–1–1 record.
The 1929 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1929 college football season. In their seventh year under head coach Homer Norton, the team compiled an 6–3–1 record.
The 1925 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1925 college football season. In their only year under head coach Earl A. Davis, the team compiled an 6–2 record.
The 1921 Centenary Gentlemen football team was an American football team that represented the Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association (LIAA) during the 1921 college football season. In their third year under head coach Homer Norton, the Gentlemen compiled an overall record of 3–3 with a mark of 1–2 in conference play.
Byron Tremain Dawson is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for Centenary College of Louisiana, a position he has held since 2022. He is the Gentlemen's first football coach following the return of the program after its dissolution in 1947. He was the head football coach for Evangel Christian Academy from 2005 to 2019; winning five Louisiana High School Athletic Association state championships. He also coached for Redemptorist High School and Tulane. He played college football for LSU as a defensive tackle.
The 2024 Centenary Gentlemen football team represents Centenary College of Louisiana as a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) during the 2024 NCAA Division III football season. The Gentlemen play their home games at Atkins Field located in Shreveport, Louisiana. They are led by Head coach Byron Dawson, who is the former head coach of the Evangel Christian Academy Eagles from 2005 to 2019; winning five Louisiana High School Athletic Association state championships. This is Centenary's first football season since 1947. They lost their first game against Hendrix College.
