Duquesne Dukes football | |||
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First season | 1891 | ||
Athletic director | Dave Harper | ||
Head coach | Jerry Schmitt 20th season, 126–86 (.594) | ||
Stadium | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (capacity: 2,200) | ||
Field surface | Sportexe Momentum Turf | ||
Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
Conference | Northeast Conference | ||
All-time record | 478–339–25 (.583) | ||
Bowl record | 5–4 (.556) | ||
Claimed national titles | 3 (1941, 1973, 2003) | ||
Conference titles | 17 (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023) | ||
Colors | Red and blue [1] | ||
Fight song | "The Victory Song (Red and Blue)" | ||
Mascot | Duquesne | ||
Website | goduquesne.com |
The Duquesne Dukes football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Duquesne University located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). Duquesne has played as a club team from 1891 to 1894, 1896 to 1903, 1913 to 1914, and 1920 to 1928, as an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member from 1929 to 1942 and 1947 to 1950, again as a club team from 1969 to 1978, in NCAA Division III from 1979 to 1992, and in the NCAA Division I FCS from 1993 to present.
Duquesne has won or shared 17 conference championships, all since 1995. The Dukes have qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs three times, earning automatic bids as NEC champion in 2015, 2018, and 2023.
The team plays its home games at the 2,200-seat Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field in Pittsburgh. Jerry Schmitt has served as head coach for the Dukes since 2005.
The Dukes started play in 1891 and have had a continuous program since 1969. They were Northeast Conference co-champions in 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018 and outright champions in 2015 and 2023. Previously, Duquesne football was a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, winning or sharing 11 conference titles.
Duquesne was the ECAC Bowl champions in both 1995 and 2003 and NCAA Division I FCS Mid-Major national champions in 2003. Duquesne was rated #1 in NCAA Division I by the Massey Ratings for the 1941 season and won a NCFA Club National Championship in 1973 after the program was revived in 1969 by then student-athlete Sam Costanzo in cooperation with university administration.
Duquesne is noted for establishing numerous firsts in collegiate football. Former head coach Elmer Layden is credited with devising the system of hand signals that officials use today. The signal system was put to use for the first time on November 11, 1928, when Duquesne hosted Thiel College at Pitt Stadium. Layden was also the first coach to use two sets of uniform jerseys for home and away contests. In 1929, graduate student manager John Holohan conceived the idea of the first night game at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. On the evening of November 1 that year, the Dukes made history by defeating Geneva College, 27-7, in front of more than 27,000 spectators. This led to the Duquesne Football team's nickname "the Night Riders."
At the club level, Duquesne won the 1973 National Club Football Association national championship at Three Rivers Stadium and was runner-up in 1977.
The Dukes football team also boasts the greatest all-time intraconference winning streak (tied with the University of San Diego) in NCAA Division I FCS history with 39 straight wins in the MAAC. The 39-game streak also ties for the second-longest intraconference winning streak in NCAA Division I Football history, five games shy of the all-time record.
Duquesne defeated Ohio University in the fall of 2021 for the program's first victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since the divisions were created in 1978.
Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
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1995 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 10–1 | 7–0 |
1996 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 10–1 | 8–0 |
1999 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 8–3 | 7–1 |
2000 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 10–1 | 7–0 |
2001 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 8–3 | 6–0 |
2002 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 11–1 | 8–0 |
2003 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 8–3 | 5–0 |
2004 | MAAC | Greg Gattuso | 7–3 | 4–0 |
2005 | MAAC | Jerry Schmitt | 7–3 | 4–0 |
2006† | MAAC | Jerry Schmitt | 7–3 | 3–1 |
2007† | MAAC | Jerry Schmitt | 6–4 | 2–1 |
2011† | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 9–2 | 7–1 |
2013† | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 7–4 | 4–2 |
2015 | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 8–4 | 5–1 |
2016† | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 8–3 | 5–1 |
2018† | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 9–4 | 5–1 |
2023 | NEC | Jerry Schmitt | 7–5 | 6-1 |
† Co-champions
The Dukes have made three appearances in the FCS Playoffs. Their combined record is 1–3.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | First Round | William & Mary | L, 49–52 |
2018 | First Round Second Round | Towson South Dakota State | W, 31–10 L, 6–51 |
2023 | First Round | Youngstown State | L, 7–40 |
The Dukes had some success before NCAA college football's alignment into divisions. Duquesne won the 1934 Festival of Palms Bowl and 1937 Orange Bowl. The Dukes turned down invitations from the Cotton Bowl, Sun Bowl, and Olympic Bowl in 1939.
Season | Date | Head coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | January 1, 1934 | Elmer Layden | Festival of Palms Bowl | Miami (FL) | W 33–7 |
1936 | January 1, 1937 | Clipper Smith | Orange Bowl | Mississippi State | W 13–12 |
From 1933 to 1942, Duquesne was among the elite college football teams in the United States, garnering the sixth-highest winning percentage (71-22-2, .762) in the nation behind Alabama, Tennessee, Duke, Fordham and Notre Dame. In 1941, Duquesne finished the season undefeated and untied, earning a No. 8 Associated Press ranking while leading the nation in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. (Duquesne also led all of NCAA Division I football in scoring defense in 2002 and rushing defense, passing defense and total defense in 2005.)
The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Football and bowling, however, compete in the Northeast Conference.
Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field, commonly known as simply Rooney Field, is a 2,200-seat multi-purpose facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Situated on the campus of Duquesne University, Rooney Field is the home field of the Duquesne Dukes football, soccer and lacrosse teams.
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The 2011 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes were led by seventh-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They finished the season 9–2 overall and 7–1 in NEC play to share the conference championship with Albany. However, Albany claimed the conference automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs due to their head to head victory, and the Dukes did not receive an at-large bid.
The 2012 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth -year head coach Jerry Schmitt, the Dukes compiled and overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the NEC. Duquesne play their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field in Pittsburgh.
The 2013 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 4–2 in NEC play to share the conference title with Sacred Heart. Due to their loss to Sacred Heart, they did not receive the conference's automatic playoff bid and did not receive an at-large bid.
The 2014 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, the Dukes compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a mark of 2–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the NEC. Duquesne played home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field in Pittsburgh.
The 2015 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 11th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 8–4, 5–1 in NEC play to win the NEC championship. They received the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs where they lost in the first round to William & Mary.
The 2016 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 12th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 8–3, 5–1 in NEC play to finish in a tie for the conference title with Saint Francis (PA). Due to their head-to-head loss to Saint Francis (PA), they did not receive the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and did not receive an at-large bid.
The 2017 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 13th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 4–2 in NEC play to finish in a tie for second place.
Gary Dunn is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for California University of Pennsylvania, a position he has held since 2016. In his first season as head coach, in 2016, he led the California Vulcans to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship and a birth in the NCAA Division II Football Championship.
The 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 14th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They played as a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Sacred Heart. Due to their head-to-head win over Sacred Heart, they received the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Towson in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State.
The 2019 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. Duquesne compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the NEC.
The 2021 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes, led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field.
The 2022 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes, led by 18th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field.
The 2023 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes were led by 19th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field in Pittsburgh.
The 2024 Duquesne Dukes football team will represent Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes are led by 20th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and will play their home games at Rooney Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The 2010 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Dukes were led by sixth-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They finished the season 7–4 overall and 5–3 in conference play, placing third in the NEC.