New Hampshire Wildcats football

For information on all University of New Hampshire sports, see New Hampshire Wildcats.

New Hampshire Wildcats football
2025 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
First season	1893; 132 years ago
Athletic director	Allison Rich
Head coach	Ricky Santos 4th season, 29–18 (.617)
Stadium	Wildcat Stadium (capacity: 11,015)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Durham, New Hampshire
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	CAA Football
All-time record	539–445–55 (.545)
Conference titles	15
Rivalries	Maine (rivalry) UMass (rivalry) Dartmouth (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans	36
Colors	Blue, gray, and white [1]
Mascot	Wild E. Cat
Website	unhwildcats.com/football

The New Hampshire Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The team plays its home games at the 11,000 seat Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire, and are led by head coach Ricky Santos.

The school has fielded a varsity football team annually since 1893, with the exception of one year during World War I and two years during World War II. Bill Bowes, who served as head coach from 1972 to 1998, is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Conference affiliations

• 1893–1922: Independent
• 1923–1946: New England Conference
• 1947–1996: Yankee Conference
• 1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference
• 2007–present: Coastal Athletic Association

Home venues

The Wildcats have played their home football games at several venues in Durham. Prior to the current stadium, which has been in use since 1936, the team played its home games on Memorial Field from 1921 through 1935. Memorial Field remains in use by the women's field hockey team. ^[2] Memorial Field was constructed to "honor the memory of those New Hampshire men who gave their lives for their country during the great World War." ^[3] Funded by donations from alumni, it was built on the site of the prior athletic field, ^[3] which had been referred to as the College Oval. ^[4]

Plan for Memorial Field as published in the May 12, 1920, edition of The New Hampshire . 43°08′21″N70°56′05″W / 43.139041°N 70.934808°W / 43.139041; -70.934808

Wildcat Stadium, opened in 1936, is the current venue

• unknown–1920: College Oval ^[4]
  • Last game: November 6, 1920, vs. Colby ^[5]
• 1921–1935: Memorial Field ^[2]
  • First game: November 12, 1921, vs. Massachusetts Agricultural College ^[6]
  • Last game: November 9, 1935, vs. Tufts ^[7]
• 1936–present: Wildcat Stadium
  • Originally known as Lewis Stadium / Lewis Field
    • First game: September 26, 1936, vs. Lowell Textile Institute ^[8]
    • Dedicated: October 10, 1936, vs. Maine ^[9]
  • Named Cowell Stadium from 1952 ^[10] through 2015
  • Renamed Wildcat Stadium in 2016

Notable former players

Notable team captains during the program's early years include:

• E. Dewey Graham (captain 1919), went on to become head coach at Norwich University.
• Red Howard (freshman captain 1919), played varsity at Princeton and two seasons in the NFL in the mid-1920s.
• Dutch Connor (captain 1921), played two seasons in the NFL in the mid-1920s, and succeeded Graham as head coach at Norwich.
• Cy Wentworth (captain 1923 & 1924), played three seasons in the NFL in the late 1920s.

Notable alumni who played in the NFL, AFL or CFL include: ^[11]

• WR Kamau Peterson (1997-2000)
• TB Jerry Azumah (1995–1998)
• WR David Ball (2003–2006)
• OL Jason Ball (1997–2001)
• DB Etienne Boulay (2002–2005)
• DL Joe Fleming (1991–1994)
• WR David Gamble (1990–1993)
• LB Dwayne Gordon (1989–1992)
• DB Corey Graham (2003–2007)
• WR R.J. Harris (2011–2014)
• LB Bruce Huther (1973–1976)
• RB Chad Kackert (2005–2009)
• OL Greg Krause (1994–1998)
• FB Dan Kreider (1995–1999)
• LB Dave Rozumek (1972–1975)
• LB Dwayne Sabb (1988–1991)
• QB Ricky Santos (2003–2007)
• TE Scott Sicko (2006–2009)
• RB Avrom Smith (1991–1994)
• DT Jared Smith (2009–2012)
• WR Randal Williams (1996–2000)
• RB Dylan Laube (2024–Present)

See also: List of New Hampshire Wildcats in the NFL draft

Alumni who are notable for other achievements, outside of playing professional football, include:

• QB John J. Ryan (1906), college sports head coach, including Wisconsin football and Marquette basketball
• RB Lou D'Allesandro (1958–1960), New Hampshire State Senator
• QB Ryan Day (1998–2001), Ohio State head coach
• DB Chip Kelly (1981–1984), NCAA and NFL coach
• LB Rod Langway (1975–1976), NHL player who played both football and ice hockey for UNH
• DB Sean McDonnell (1975–1978), Wildcats football head coach since 1999

Head coaches

Head Coaches

Butch Cowell

Charles M. Justice

Bill Glassford

Ricky Santos

The below table lists the win–loss record for head coaches throughout program history. The team had its first formal head coach, John Scannell, during the 1902 season. Some opponents in early years were high school teams; for example, the 1895 team did not face any college teams in its six-game schedule. Other opponents into the 1920s were military teams (different from service academy programs, such as Army); an example being the 1926 team facing the Quantico Marines.

The school was not a member of any conference prior to the 1923 season. Since 1973, the team has played in NCAA classifications with postseason tournaments (playoffs).

Updated through the 2024 season.

Name	Term	Gm	Overall				Conference				Playoff		CCs	NCs
			W	L	T	%	W	L	T	%	W	L
No coaches	1893–1901	50	16	32	2	.340								0
John Scannell	1902–1903	15	4	9	2	.333								0
G. B. Ward	1904	7	2	5	0	.286								0
unknown [a]	1905	8	2	4	2	.375								0
Edward Herr	1906–1907	16	3	10	3	.281								0
Charles Gill	1908	8	1	7	0	.125								0
Willard Gildersleeve	1909	7	3	4	0	.429								0
Ray B. Thomas	1910, 19112 games [b]	8	2	5	1	.313								0
George McCaa	19113 games	3	0	2	1	.167								0
unknown [c]	19112 games	2	1	1	0	.500								0
Tod Eberle	1912–1913	14	5	8	1	.393								0
Thomas D. Shepherd	1914	9	1	6	2	.222								0
Butch Cowell	1915–1917, 1919–1936	178	87	68	23	.553	17	9	4	.633			2	0
George Sauer	1937–1941	41	22	18	1	.549	5	2	1	.688			0	0
Charles M. Justice	1942	6	6	0	0	1.000	3	0	0	1.000			0	0
Herbert Snow	1944†	4	1	3	0	.250	1	1	0	.500			0	0
Bill Glassford	1946–1948	25	19	5	1	.780	10	1	1	.875			2	0
Chief Boston	1949–1964	127	60	57	10	.512	25	34	8	.433			4	0
Andy Mooradian	1965	8	0	8	0	.000	0	5	0	.000			0	0
Joe Yukica	1966–1967	16	7	9	0	.438	3	7	0	.300			0	0
Jim Root	1968–1971	33	18	14	1	.561	11	9	0	.550			1	0
Bill Bowes	1972–1998	286	175	106	5	.621	97	74	2	.566	1	4	4	0
Sean McDonnell	1999–2018, 2020–2021	261	157	104	0	.602	100	72	0	.581	14	14	2	0
Ricky Santos	2019‡, 2022–present	48	29	19	0	.604	22	10	0	.688	1	2	1	0

† The 1944 schedule was limited to four games, with players restricted to 17-year-olds and returning veterans. ^[14]
‡ McDonnell began a medical leave at the start of the 2019 season, with Santos named interim head coach; McDonnell returned the following season.

Postseason appearances

Bowl games

The team has appeared in one bowl game during its history: ^[15]

Year	Bowl	Opponent	Result	PF	PA
December 6, 1947	Glass Bowl	Toledo	L	14	20

Notes:

• While listed in NCAA records, the Glass Bowl is not considered an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.
• The Wildcats also played in one Division II playoff game that was known, for historical reasons, by a bowl name. As that game was part of a tournament bracket, it is not listed in this section (see below).

Division II playoffs

The team made the postseason twice during the time it competed in Division II (1973–1977), compiling an overall record of 1–2:

• In the 1975 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats defeated Lehigh in the first round, 35–21. The Wildcats then played Western Kentucky in the 1975 Grantland Rice Bowl semifinal game, losing 14–3. ^[16]
• In the 1976 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats lost to Montana State in the first round, 17–16; Montana State went on to win the Division II championship. ^[17]

Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

The Wildcats have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs 18 times, playing 33 postseason games. Their overall record is 15–18.

The 2024 Wildcats

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1991	First Round	Samford	L 13–29
1994	First Round	Appalachian State	L 10–17
2004	First Round Quarterfinals	Georgia Southern Montana	W 27–23 L 17–47
2005	First Round Quarterfinals	Colgate Northern Iowa	W 55–21 L 21–24
2006	First Round Quarterfinals	Hampton Massachusetts	W 41–38 L 17–24
2007	First Round	Northern Iowa	L 35–38
2008	First Round Quarterfinals	Southern Illinois Northern Iowa	W 29–20 L 34–36
2009	First Round Quarterfinals	McNeese State Villanova	W 49–13 L 7–46
2010	Second Round Quarterfinals	Bethune-Cookman Delaware	W 45–20 L 3–16
2011	Second Round	Montana State	L 25–26
2012	Second Round	Wofford	L 7–23
2013	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Lafayette Maine Southeastern Louisiana North Dakota State	W 45–7 W 41–27 W 20–17 L 14–52
2014	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Fordham Chattanooga Illinois State	W 44–19 [18] W 35–30 [19] L 18–21 [20]
2015	First Round	Colgate	L 20–27 [21]
2016	First Round Second Round	Lehigh James Madison	W 64–21 [22] L 22–55 [23]
2017	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Central Connecticut Central Arkansas South Dakota State	W 14–0 W 21–15 L 14–56
2022	First Round Second Round	Fordham Holy Cross	W 52–42 L 19–35
2024	First Round	UT Martin	L 10–41

Rivalries

Maine

Main article: Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket

The football programs of New Hampshire and the Maine Black Bears first met in 1903, and have met annually since 1922, except for two season during World War II and during the 2020 season due to impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1948, the winning team gets possession of an antique musket until the next season's game. The teams met for the 100th time in 2010.

UMass

Main article: Colonial Clash

The football programs of New Hampshire and the UMass Minutemen first met in 1897, and most recently in 2011, which was their 74th meeting. Since 1986, the most outstanding player of the matchup has been awarded the Bill Knight Trophy. However, the future of the rivalry is in question, as the two programs are now in different NCAA football classifications.

Dartmouth

Main article: Dartmouth–New Hampshire football rivalry

The football programs of New Hampshire and the Dartmouth Big Green first met in 1901, and most recently met in 2023, their 42nd meeting.

Donation controversy

A longtime UNH librarian, Robert Morin, died in 2015 and left $4 million to the University; $1 million of that money was spent on a new video scoreboard for the football stadium, and the decision to spend so much of the donation on a scoreboard became a controversial topic. University officials explained that there was no instruction on how to spend the money, other than $100,000 for the library. It was also noted that Morin started watching and became particularly interested in football towards the end of his life. ^[24]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of July 31, 2025. ^[25]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030
at North Carolina Central	at Syracuse (FBS)	at Ohio State (FBS)	at Boston College (FBS)	at LIU	LIU
Holy Cross	Harvard	Dartmouth	at Dartmouth
at Ball State (FBS)
at Dartmouth

Note: FBS denotes a team that plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Notes

1. New Hampshire's media guide lists Edward Herr as head coach for the 1905 season, in addition to the 1906 and 1907 seasons. However, this is not corroborated by contemporary sources, as Herr was a student at Dartmouth through the 1905–06 academic year, and upon his hiring at Vermont for the 1908 season it was noted that he had been coach at New Hampshire for the prior two years. ^[12]
2. New Hampshire's media guide lists Ray B. Thomas as the only coach for the 1911 season, but The New Hampshire reported he was the third of three different coaches that season, hired to coach the team for their final two games. ^[13]
3. Newspaper reports mention Joseph Courtney being coach between McCaa and Thomas during the 1911 season, but this is in conflict with Courtney coaching the 1911 Boston College football team for the entire season.

References

1. "Athletics Branding". University of New Hampshire Brand & Visual Guidelines. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
2. "Memorial Field Then". unh.edu. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
3. "Alumni Plan Memorial Field to Honor Men Who Died in War". The New Hampshire . Vol. 9, no. 28. May 12, 1920. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2020– via library.unh.edu.
4. "New Hampshire State College vs. University of Vermont". The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 15, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2020– via newspapers.com.
5. "Colby Holds New Hampshire to 7-7 Tie in Final Home Game". The New Hampshire . Vol. 10, no. 7. November 10, 1920. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved February 20, 2020– via library.unh.edu.
6. "New Hampshire Runs Wild Against M. A. C." The Boston Globe . November 13, 1921. p. 19. Retrieved January 25, 2020– via newspapers.com.
7. "N. H.-Tufts". The Boston Globe . November 9, 1935. p. 9. Retrieved January 25, 2020– via newspapers.com.
8. "New Hampshire Opens New Field in Victory". Hartford Courant . Hartford, Connecticut. AP. September 27, 1936. p. 45. Retrieved January 24, 2020– via newspapers.com.
9. "Dedication Day At New Hampshire Spoiled By Maine". Hartford Courant . Hartford, Connecticut. AP. October 11, 1936. p. 49. Retrieved November 29, 2019– via newspapers.com.
10. "UNH Football Field Is Cowell Stadium". The Burlington Free Press . Burlington, Vermont. AP. June 19, 1952. p. 21. Retrieved November 29, 2019– via newspapers.com.
11. "Wildcats in the NFL". unh.prestosports.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014– via Wayback Machine.
12. "Football Coach". The Burlington Free Press . Burlington, Vermont. May 6, 1908. p. 8. Retrieved April 27, 2020– via Wayback Machine.
13. "Ray B. Thomas Returns as Coach: Coaching Situation Settled". The New Hampshire . Vol. 1, no. 6. Durham, New Hampshire. October 25, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved November 29, 2024– via UNH.edu.
14. "High School Coach Will Lead Wildcats". The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire. September 15, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 24, 2019– via newspapers.com.
15. "Football | University of New Hampshire Library". www.library.unh.edu. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
16. Bailey, David (December 19, 2014). "Gridiron Garb: UNH Wildcats (1975)".
17. Pike, Al. "UNH football: McDonnell looks back at last game against Montana State". seacoastonline.com.
18. "Fordham vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 6, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
19. "Chattanooga vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 12, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
20. "Illinois State vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 20, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
21. "Colgate vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - November 28, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
22. "Lehigh vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - November 26, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
23. "New Hampshire vs. James Madison - Game Summary - December 3, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
24. Chappell, Bill (September 15, 2016). "$1 Million Of Frugal Librarian's Bequest To N.H. School Goes To Football Scoreboard". NPR . Retrieved January 15, 2017– via npr.org.
25. "New Hampshire Wildcats Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

External links

• Official website