Florida Atlantic Owls football

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Florida Atlantic Owls football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2024 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
Florida Atlantic Owls wordmark.svg
First season 2001; 23 years ago
Athletic directorBrian White
Head coach Zach Kittley
1st season, 0–0 (–)
Stadium FAU Stadium
(capacity: 29,571)
Year built 2011
Field surfaceNatural Turf
Location Boca Raton, Florida
NCAA division Division I FBS
Conference The American
Past conferences Division I-AA independent
(2001–2004)
Sun Belt Conference
(2005–2012)
Conference USA
(2013–2022)
All-time record124158 (.440)
Bowl record41 (.800)
Conference titles3 (2007, 2017, 2019)
Division titles2 (2017, 2019)
Rivalries FIU (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans1
ColorsBlue and red [1]
   
Fight songFAU Fight Song
MascotOwlsley the Owl and Hoot the Owl
Marching band Florida Atlantic Marching Owls
Website fausports.com/football

The Florida Atlantic Owls football program represents Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the sport of American football. The Owls compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the American Athletic Conference (American/AAC). The Owls play their home games at FAU Stadium which has a seating capacity of 29,419.

Contents


History

Howard Schnellenberger era (2001–2011)

Florida Atlantic University football began play in 2001 with legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger serving as head coach until 2011. Schnellenberger was a former offensive coordinator with the NFL 's Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins who, as a head coach, turned around a moribund Miami football program and won a national championship in his fifth season in 1983 after back to back nine win seasons in 1980 and 1981. Schnellenberger also turned around a downtrodden Louisville football program, winning the Fiesta Bowl in 1990.

Coach Schnellenberger Howard Schnellenberger Carrfour.jpg
Coach Schnellenberger

After competing their first four years as an NCAA Division I-AA independent, the Owls moved to Division I-A and the Sun Belt Conference. Starting with the 2013–14 school year, FAU athletics have competed in Conference USA.

In 1998, Florida Atlantic University announced it was pursuing the creation of an NCAA football program and that Howard Schnellenberger was going to lead the charge, as director of football operations and head coach. After his success in rebuilding programs at Miami and Louisville, Coach Schnellenberger now undertook the role of building a program from scratch. Much like his time at Miami and Louisville, Coach Schnellenberger did not shy from placing lofty expectations and high goals on his newly created program. Even before FAU would play an intercollegiate game, Coach Schnellenberger explained the goal of FAU football would be to play the best teams it can schedule, in order for the program to aim for a national championship in Division I-A football. These extreme goals were not unusual from a man like Coach Schnellenberger. At Louisville, facing threats from the administration that the football team would be terminated, Schnellenberger made the bold (and now famous) prediction, "[We are] on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time.” [2]

On August 29, 2000, the first practice was held at the Boca Raton campus of FAU, and 164 students showed up to try out for the team. Florida Atlantic joined NCAA Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS, as an independent team for the 2001 season. Its first-ever intercollegiate competition was against Slippery Rock University, which the Owls lost 40–7 in front of 25,632 fans at Joe Robbie Stadium, now known as Hard Rock Stadium. [3]

The team finished its inaugural season at 4–6 and followed the next season at 2–9. Major accomplishments in its first two seasons include the program's first win, which came in its second game, against Bethune–Cookman, 31–28, and won in the first meeting with newly created South Florida rival, Florida International University, 31–21.

On September 15, 2007, FAU defeated its first Big Ten opponent with a 42–39 victory over Minnesota. [4] Led by Rusty Smith, FAU beat Troy in the final game of the 2007 season to become Sun Belt Conference champions and received an invitation to the 2007 New Orleans Bowl, its first ever bowl bid. As a result, in just the seventh year of the football program's history, and the third year playing in Division I, Florida Atlantic set an NCAA mark by becoming the second-youngest program ever to receive an invitation to a bowl game. They were surpassed only by the undefeated 1958 Air Force Falcons, who had played just one year of Division 1 football before being invited to the Cotton Bowl, where they played to a scoreless tie against the TCU Horned Frogs on January 1, 1959.

On August 11, 2011, Howard Schnellenberger announced he would retire at the end of the season. [5] The Owls ended the 2011 season 1–11, with the only victory coming from a 38–35 home win over UAB. [6]

Carl Pelini era (2012–2013)

On December 1, 2011, FAU hired Carl Pelini, the Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive coordinator to become their new head coach, to succeed Schnellenberger.

On October 30, 2013, Pelini resigned from his position after another coach alleged to school officials that he was using illegal drugs, charges that Pelini denied. [7] [8] He, along with defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis, officially stepped down from their positions only three days before the school's homecoming game, which they won 34–17 under interim head coach Brian Wright. Under Pelini, the Owls compiled a 5–14 record.

Wright finished the 2012–13 season as the interim head coach, winning the team's last four games and led the Owls to its first bowl-eligible season since 2008–09. The Owls finished 6–6 for the season but were not invited to a bowl game. [9]

Charlie Partridge era (2014–2016)

On December 16, 2013, FAU announced it had hired Charlie Partridge as head coach. [10] Prior to accepting the job at FAU, Partridge was the defensive line coach at Arkansas. [11] On November 27, 2016, FAU fired Partridge after 3 consecutive 3–9 seasons. [12]

Lane Kiffin era (2017–2019)

On December 12, 2016, it was announced that former USC and Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin would become the Owls' next head coach. [13] Kiffin resigned from FAU on December 7, 2019, after a 49–6 blowout win against the university of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and before FAU's Boca Raton Bowl appearance against SMU Mustangs to become the head coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). [14] Kiffin left FAU with a record of 26–13 with two first-place finishes in Conference USA. In December 2019, FAU tight end Harrison Bryant won the John Mackey Award, becoming the first FAU player to win a major collegiate postseaon award, as well as becoming FAU's first consensus, and later unanimous, All-American. [15] [16] FAU's first year defensive coordinator, Glenn Spencer, was named the interim head coach to lead the Owls at the Boca Raton Bowl. [17]

Willie Taggart era (2020–2022)

A game between Florida Atlantic and Air Force in 2021 USAFA Football vs Florida Atlantic University (6868901) (cropped).jpg
A game between Florida Atlantic and Air Force in 2021

On December 11, 2019, FAU announced the hiring of Willie Taggart as the next head coach. [18] During a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic with no prior spring practice, Taggart led the FAU Owls to a 5–4 record, which includes a loss to the Memphis Tigers in the first and only Montgomery Bowl. He was fired on November 26, 2022, finishing with a 15–18 record. [19] Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando served as interim head coach during the transition period to find a new head coach.

Tom Herman era (2023–2024)

On December 1, 2022, FAU announced the hiring of former Houston and Texas head coach Tom Herman as the next head coach. [20] Herman was fired by FAU on November 18, 2024, after a 6–16 record through two seasons. [21] FAU's assistant head coach, tight ends coach, and special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Zach Kittley era (2025–present)

Zach Kittley, former offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky, and Texas Tech, was hired as the next coach at FAU on December 2, 2024. [22]

Conference affiliations

Championships

Conference championships

Florida Atlantic has won three conference championships, two outright and one shared.

SeasonConferenceCoachOverall RecordConference Record
2007 Sun Belt Conference Howard Schnellenberger 8–56–1
2017 Conference USA Lane Kiffin 11–38–0
2019 Conference USA Lane Kiffin / Glenn Spencer11–37–1

† Co-champions
‡ 2019 Boca Raton Bowl win coached by Glenn Spencer

Division championships

As a member of Conference USA since 2013, Florida Atlantic competes in the East Division. The Owls have won two division titles.

SeasonDivisionCoachOpponentCG result
2017 CUSA East Lane Kiffin North Texas W 41–17
2019 UAB W 49–6

Bowl games

Florida Atlantic has played in 5 bowl games, compiling a record of 4–1.

SeasonCoachBowlOpponentResult
2007 Howard Schnellenberger New Orleans Bowl Memphis W 44–27
2008 Howard Schnellenberger Motor City Bowl Central Michigan W 24–21
2017 Lane Kiffin Boca Raton Bowl Akron W 50–3
2019 Glenn Spencer (interim) Boca Raton Bowl SMU W 52–28
2020 Willie Taggart Montgomery Bowl Memphis L 10–25

Head coaches

CoachTenureSeasonsRecordWinning %
Howard Schnellenberger 2001–20111158–74.439
Carl Pelini 2012–201325–15.250
Brian Wright (interim)201314–01.000
Charlie Partridge 2014–201639–27.250
Lane Kiffin 2017–2019326–13.667
Glenn Spencer (interim)201911–01.000
Willie Taggart 2020–2022315–18.455
Tom Herman 2023–202426–16.273
Chad Lunsford (interim)202411–1.500
Zach Kittley 2025–present10–0

Rivalries

Florida International

The Shula Bowl is a bitter rivalry game with Florida International. It was first played in 2002 and has been played every year since then. The winner receives the Don Shula Award. The game and trophy are named after former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. The game is typically either in Boca Raton or Miami, though there have been meetings in other locations in the Miami metropolitan area.

In total the two squads have met 21 times with Florida Atlantic holding a 16–5 lead as of the 2023 season conclusion. The 2005 game does not count with FIU having to vacate their victory due to NCAA violations and penalties.

Both schools have stated they will keep the rivalry alive as they will endure a five game series starting in 2024.

Notable alumni and personnel

Current NFL players

[23]

PlayerPositionTeamFirst yearDraft round
Azeez Al-Shaair OLB San Francisco 49ers 2019Undrafted
Brandin Bryant DE Buffalo Bills 2016Undrafted
Harrison Bryant TE Cleveland Browns 20204
Trevon Coley DE Tennessee Titans 2016Undrafted
B.J. Emmons RB Las Vegas Raiders 2021Undrafted
John Franklin III WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2018Undrafted
Trey Hendrickson DE Cincinnati Bengals 20173
Gregory "Buddy" Howell, Jr. RB Houston Texans 2018Undrafted
Greg Joseph K Minnesota Vikings 2018Undrafted
Cre'Von LeBlanc DB Miami Dolphins 2016Undrafted
Herb Miller CB Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2018Undrafted
Alfred Morris RB New York Giants 20126
Sharrod Neasman S New York Jets 2016Undrafted
James Pierre Jr CB Pittsburgh Steelers 2020Undrafted
Devin "Motor" Singletary RB Buffalo Bills 20193
Rashard Smith LB Philadelphia Eagles 2020Undrafted
Andrew Soroh LB 2019Undrafted
Adarius (Glanton) Taylor LB Carolina Panthers 2014Undrafted
Brandon Walton OT Pittsburgh Steelers 2020Undrafted
Kerrith Whyte RB 20197

Former NFL Players

[24]

PlayerPositionTeamsYears playedFirst yearDraft round
Rob Housler TE Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns 2011-201520113
Lestar Jean WR Houston Texans 2012-20132012Undrafted
Randell Johnson OLB Buffalo Bills, New York Jets 2014-201620147
Michael Lockley LB Jacksonville Jaguars 20112011Undrafted
Keith Reaser CB San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs 2014-201720145
D'Joun Smith CB Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans 2015-201620153
Rusty Smith QB Tennessee Titans 2010-201220106
Lucky Whitehead WR Dallas Cowboys 2015-20162015Undrafted

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of September 6, 2024. [25]

2025202620272028202920302031
at Iowa vs FIU [26] at FIU [26] at UCF at Missouri vs Missouri
at FIU [26] at Missouri
at Maryland
vs UConn

Individual national award winners

John Mackey Award
Best Tight End
2019Harrison Bryant

Consensus/Unanimous All-Americans

10 Florida Atlantic players have been awarded as All-Americans, with one Florida Atlantic player being awarded as a consensus All-American, later becoming a unanimous All-American.

Consensus All-Americans
Year(s)NameNumberPosition
2019 Harrison Bryant 40TE

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Atlantic University</span> Public university in Boca Raton, Florida, US

Florida Atlantic University is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida. FAU was established as Florida's fifth public university and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shula Bowl</span> Annual college American football game

The Shula Bowl is the name given to the Florida Atlantic–Florida International football rivalry. It is an annual college football rivalry game between the only two public universities in the Miami metropolitan area: Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton and Florida International University (FIU) in University Park. The game's winner receives a traveling trophy, the "Don Shula Award," for one year. The current winner is Florida Atlantic, winning 38–20 on September 14, 2024. Florida Atlantic leads the all-time series 17 games to 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Schnellenberger</span> American football player and coach (1934–2021)

Howard Leslie Schnellenberger was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Colts and in college for the University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of Louisville, and Florida Atlantic University. He won a national championship with Miami in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lane Kiffin</span> American football coach (born 1975)

Lane Monte Kiffin is an American football coach who is the head coach at Ole Miss. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at USC from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the National Football League's Oakland Raiders from 2007 to 2008, head coach at the University of Tennessee in 2009, and at USC from 2010 to 2013. He was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history at the time when he joined the Raiders, and, for a time, was the youngest head coach of a BCS Conference team in college football. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama from 2014 until 2016, when he was hired to be the head coach at Florida Atlantic, a position he held until December 2019, when he became the head coach at Ole Miss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FAU Stadium</span> Stadium located in Boca Raton, Florida

Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium is a college football stadium located at the north end of the main campus of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Opened in 2011, it is home to the Florida Atlantic Owls football team and is intended to be the first part of FAU's multi-use development project, "Innovation Village" as a replacement for Lockhart Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Atlantic Owls</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Florida Atlantic University

The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted the invitation to join The American and became a full member on July 1, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball</span> Mens basketball team of Florida Atlantic University

The Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University and competes in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. Their home games are played on the Abessinio Court in the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on the school's Boca Raton, Florida campus. The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times: in 2002, 2023, and 2024. The Owls joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 2013 as part of the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment. After not winning a single NCAA Tournament game coming into 2023, the Owls qualified for their first Final Four in program history by defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 79–76. After the 2022–23 season, FAU left C-USA for the American Athletic Conference.

Carl Anthony Pelini is an American football coach. He served as defensive coordinator at Youngstown State University for the 2019 season. Pelini previously served as the head coach of Florida Atlantic from 2012 to 2013. He is the older brother of Bo Pelini, the former head coach at Nebraska and Youngstown State as well as defensive coordinator at LSU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Florida Atlantic Owls football team</span> American college football season

The 2013 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls were led by at the start of the season by second-year head coach Carl Pelini. However Pelini and defensive coordinator Rekstis resigned on October 30 after admitting they were at a local party where pot was served. Brian Wright was promoted and made interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The Owls played their home games at FAU Stadium. This season was the Owls' first as a member of Conference USA in the East Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boca Raton Bowl</span> Annual American college football postseason game

The Boca Raton Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played in Boca Raton, Florida, since December 2014 on the campus of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) at FAU Stadium. Winners of the game received the Howard Schnellenberger championship trophy, named for the football head coach at FAU from 2001 to 2011.

The 2015 Boca Raton Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 22, 2015 at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The second edition of the Boca Raton Bowl featured the Mid-American Conference West Division co–champion Toledo Rockets against the American Athletic Conference East Division champion Temple Owls. The game began at 7:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. Sponsored by the Marmot outdoor clothing and sporting goods company, the game was officially known as the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Florida Atlantic Owls football team</span> American college football season

The 2016 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played their home games at the FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by third-year head coach Charlie Partridge. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Florida Atlantic Owls football team</span> American college football season

The 2017 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played their home games at the FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Lane Kiffin. They finished the season 11–3, 8–0 in C-USA play to win the East Division title and represented the East Division in the Conference USA Championship Game where they defeated North Texas to be crowned C-USA champions. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl, where they defeated Akron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Conference USA Football Championship Game</span> College football game

The 2017 Conference USA Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 2, 2017, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and determined the 2017 football champion of Conference USA (C-USA). The game was played between Florida Atlantic, the East Division champion, and North Texas, the West Division champion. The title sponsor was Dynacraft BSC.

The 2017 Boca Raton Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 19, 2017, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The fourth edition of the Boca Raton Bowl featured the Conference USA champion Florida Atlantic Owls against the Mid-American Conference East Division champion Akron Zips. Kickoff was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST and the game aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games that concluded the 2017 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Cheribundi beverage company, the game was officially known as the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl.

The 2019 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played their home games at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by head coach Lane Kiffin, and interim head coach Glenn Spencer for their bowl game.

The 2021 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played their home games at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by head coach Willie Taggart, in his second year.

The 2022 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Willie Taggart in this third and final season as head coach, the Owls compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fourth in C-USA. Florida Atlantic played home games at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.

The 2024 Florida Atlantic Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls were led by Tom Herman in his second year as the head coach. The Owls played their home games at FAU Stadium, located in Boca Raton, Florida.

References

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  15. Taylor, John (December 12, 2019). "FAU's Harrison Bryant named Mackey Award winner as nation's best TE". NBC Sports. NBC Universal. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  16. "Bryant Now Officially a Unanimous All-American". FAU Sports. Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  17. Elman, Jake. "FAU football: Owls players endorse interim coach Glenn Spencer for full-time head coaching job". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
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  21. "FAU fires coach Tom Herman amid 5-game losing streak". ESPN.com. November 18, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
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