The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football program in various categories, [1] including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, defensive stats, and kicking. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Blue Hens represent the University of Delaware in the NCAA Division I FBS Conference USA (CUSA).
Contents
- Passing
- Passing yards
- Passing touchdowns
- Rushing
- Rushing yards
- Rushing touchdowns
- Receiving
- Receptions
- Receiving yards
- Receiving touchdowns
- Total offense
- Total offense yards
- Defense
- Interceptions
- Tackles
- Sacks
- Kicking
- Field goals made
- Field goal percentage
- Footnotes
- References
Although Delaware began competing in intercollegiate football in 1889, [1] the school's official record book considers the "modern era" to have begun in 1949. Records from before this year are often incomplete and inconsistent, and they are generally not included in these lists.
Recordkeeping notes:
- From 1980 through 2024, Delaware played in the second level of Division I football, currently known as Division I FCS (known before the 2006 season as Division I-AA). Official NCAA season and career statistical totals do not include statistics recorded in I-AA/FCS playoff games before 2002, and most programs that played in FCS before 2002 follow this practice. Delaware does not; its official single-season and career leaderboards incorporate statistics from all FCS playoff games. During their FCS tenure, the Blue Hens made the playoffs 19 times and played in 44 playoff games, giving many players in that era multiple extra games to amass statistics.
- The NCAA did not count FBS bowl games toward official season statistics until 2002 (at that time, Delaware was in what is now known as FCS, and FBS was known as Division I-A). The Blue Hens played a bowl game in the second year of their FBS transition in 2025. [a]
- Since 1949, seasons in the top level of college football, now known as Division I FBS, have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
- While FCS regular seasons were normally limited to 11 games before a coming expansion to 12 in 2026, NCAA rules allowed FCS teams to schedule 12 regular-season games in years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays.
- Conference USA has held a championship game since 2005. Delaware was not eligible for that game before completing its FBS transition in 2026, but future players will have the opportunity for another extra game to amass statistics.
- The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
- Since 2018, Division I players (whether in FBS or FCS) have been allowed to participate in as many as four games in a redshirt season; previously, playing in even one game "burned" the redshirt. Since 2024 in both subdivisions, postseason games have not counted against the four-game limit. These changes to redshirt rules have given very recent players several extra games to accumulate statistics.
- Due to COVID-19 issues, the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any football player, giving everyone who played in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four. [2]
These lists are updated through the 2025 season.