Florida Atlantic Owls football | |||
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| |||
First season | 2001; 23 years ago | ||
Athletic director | Brian White | ||
Head coach | Zach Kittley 1st season, 0–0 (–) | ||
Stadium | FAU Stadium (capacity: 29,571) | ||
Year built | 2011 | ||
Field surface | Natural 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 record | 124–158 (.440) | ||
Bowl record | 4–1 (.800) | ||
Conference titles | 3 (2007, 2017, 2019) | ||
Division titles | 2 (2017, 2019) | ||
Rivalries | FIU (rivalry) | ||
Consensus All-Americans | 1 | ||
Colors | Blue and red [1] | ||
Fight song | FAU Fight Song | ||
Mascot | Owlsley 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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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, former offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky, and Texas Tech, was hired as the next coach at FAU on December 2, 2024. [22]
Florida Atlantic has won three conference championships, two outright and one shared.
Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007† | Sun Belt Conference | Howard Schnellenberger | 8–5 | 6–1 |
2017 | Conference USA | Lane Kiffin | 11–3 | 8–0 |
2019 | Conference USA | Lane Kiffin / Glenn Spencer‡ | 11–3 | 7–1 |
† Co-champions
‡ 2019 Boca Raton Bowl win coached by Glenn Spencer
As a member of Conference USA since 2013, Florida Atlantic competes in the East Division. The Owls have won two division titles.
Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | CUSA East | Lane Kiffin | North Texas | W 41–17 |
2019 | UAB | W 49–6 |
Florida Atlantic has played in 5 bowl games, compiling a record of 4–1.
Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Coach | Tenure | Seasons | Record | Winning % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Schnellenberger | 2001–2011 | 11 | 58–74 | .439 |
Carl Pelini | 2012–2013 | 2 | 5–15 | .250 |
Brian Wright (interim) | 2013 | 1 | 4–0 | 1.000 |
Charlie Partridge | 2014–2016 | 3 | 9–27 | .250 |
Lane Kiffin | 2017–2019 | 3 | 26–13 | .667 |
Glenn Spencer (interim) | 2019 | 1 | 1–0 | 1.000 |
Willie Taggart | 2020–2022 | 3 | 15–18 | .455 |
Tom Herman | 2023–2024 | 2 | 6–16 | .273 |
Chad Lunsford (interim) | 2024 | 1 | 1–1 | .500 |
Zach Kittley | 2025–present | 1 | 0–0 | – |
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.
Player | Position | Team | First year | Draft round |
---|---|---|---|---|
Azeez Al-Shaair | OLB | San Francisco 49ers | 2019 | Undrafted |
Brandin Bryant | DE | Buffalo Bills | 2016 | Undrafted |
Harrison Bryant | TE | Cleveland Browns | 2020 | 4 |
Trevon Coley | DE | Tennessee Titans | 2016 | Undrafted |
B.J. Emmons | RB | Las Vegas Raiders | 2021 | Undrafted |
John Franklin III | WR | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2018 | Undrafted |
Trey Hendrickson | DE | Cincinnati Bengals | 2017 | 3 |
Gregory "Buddy" Howell, Jr. | RB | Houston Texans | 2018 | Undrafted |
Greg Joseph | K | Minnesota Vikings | 2018 | Undrafted |
Cre'Von LeBlanc | DB | Miami Dolphins | 2016 | Undrafted |
Herb Miller | CB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2018 | Undrafted |
Alfred Morris | RB | New York Giants | 2012 | 6 |
Sharrod Neasman | S | New York Jets | 2016 | Undrafted |
James Pierre Jr | CB | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2020 | Undrafted |
Devin "Motor" Singletary | RB | Buffalo Bills | 2019 | 3 |
Rashard Smith | LB | Philadelphia Eagles | 2020 | Undrafted |
Andrew Soroh | LB | 2019 | Undrafted | |
Adarius (Glanton) Taylor | LB | Carolina Panthers | 2014 | Undrafted |
Brandon Walton | OT | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2020 | Undrafted |
Kerrith Whyte | RB | 2019 | 7 |
Player | Position | Teams | Years played | First year | Draft round |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rob Housler | TE | Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns | 2011-2015 | 2011 | 3 |
Lestar Jean | WR | Houston Texans | 2012-2013 | 2012 | Undrafted |
Randell Johnson | OLB | Buffalo Bills, New York Jets | 2014-2016 | 2014 | 7 |
Michael Lockley | LB | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2011 | 2011 | Undrafted |
Keith Reaser | CB | San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs | 2014-2017 | 2014 | 5 |
D'Joun Smith | CB | Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans | 2015-2016 | 2015 | 3 |
Rusty Smith | QB | Tennessee Titans | 2010-2012 | 2010 | 6 |
Lucky Whitehead | WR | Dallas Cowboys | 2015-2016 | 2015 | Undrafted |
Announced schedules as of September 6, 2024. [25]
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
at Iowa | vs FIU [26] | at FIU [26] | at UCF | at Missouri | vs Missouri | |
at FIU [26] | at Missouri | |||||
at Maryland | ||||||
vs UConn |
John Mackey Award Best Tight End |
---|
2019 – Harrison Bryant |
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) | Name | Number | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Harrison Bryant | 40 | TE |
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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