New Hampshire Wildcats football

Last updated

New Hampshire Wildcats football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2024 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
UNH Wildcats.png
First season 1893; 132 years ago
Athletic directorAllison 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 record539–445–55 (.545)
Conference titles15
Rivalries Maine (rivalry)
UMass (rivalry)
Dartmouth (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans36
ColorsBlue, 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.

Contents

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

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]

Memorial field unh original plan 1920.jpg
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
Cowell stadium, unh (cropped).jpg
Wildcat Stadium, opened in 1936, is the current venue

Notable former players

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

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

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

Head coaches

Head Coaches
Butch Cowell.png
Butch Cowell
Charles M. Justice.png
Charles M. Justice
Bill Glassford.jpg
Bill Glassford
Rick Santos, New Hampshire Wildcats head football coach.jpg
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.

NameTermGmOverallConferencePlayoffCCsNCs
WLT%WLT%WL
No coaches1893–19015016322.340       0
John Scannell 1902–190315492.333       0
G. B. Ward 19047250.286       0
unknown [a] 19058242.375       0
Edward Herr 1906–1907163103.281       0
Charles Gill 19088170.125       0
Willard Gildersleeve 19097340.429       0
Ray B. Thomas 1910, 19112 games [b] 8251.313       0
George McCaa 19113 games3021.167       0
unknown [c] 19112 games2110.500       0
Tod Eberle 1912–191314581.393       0
Thomas D. Shepherd 19149162.222       0
Butch Cowell 1915–1917, 1919–1936178876823.5531794.633  20
George Sauer 1937–19414122181.549521.688  00
Charles M. Justice 194266001.0003001.000  00
Herbert Snow 1944†4130.250110.500  00
Bill Glassford 1946–1948251951.7801011.875  20
Chief Boston 1949–1964127605710.51225348.433  40
Andy Mooradian 19658080.000050.000  00
Joe Yukica 1966–196716790.438370.300  00
Jim Root 1968–19713318141.5611190.550  10
Bill Bowes 1972–19982861751065.62197742.5661440
Sean McDonnell 1999–2018, 2020–20212611571040.602100720.581141420
Ricky Santos 2019‡, 2022–present4829190.60422100.6881210

† 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]

YearBowlOpponentResultPFPA
December 6, 1947 Glass Bowl Toledo L1420

Notes:

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:

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 2024 New Hampshire Wildcats football players.jpg
The 2024 Wildcats
YearRoundOpponentResult
1991 First RoundSamfordL 13–29
1994 First RoundAppalachian StateL 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

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

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

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

2025: at North Carolina Central, Holy Cross, at Ball State (FBS), at Dartmouth

2026: at Syracuse (FBS), Harvard

2027: at Ohio State (FBS), Dartmouth

2028: at Boston College (FBS), at Dartmouth

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

Source: [25]

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.

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References

  1. ↑ "Athletics Branding". University of New Hampshire Brand & Visual Guidelines. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Memorial Field Then". unh.edu. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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 December 10, 2024.
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