List of Sam Houston State Bearkats football seasons

Last updated

This is a list of seasons completed by the Sam Houston Bearkats football team. The Bearkats compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. Sam Houston's first football team was fielded in 1912. The team plays its home games at the 12,593-seat Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.

Contents

Sam Houston has two national championships in their history, the first coming in 1964 as a member of the NAIA. The most recent title was in the 2021 spring season when Sam Houston defeated South Dakota State 23–21 in the NCAA Division I FCS national championship game.

The head coach of the Bearkats is K. C. Keeler, who has led the team since 2014. Keeler guided the Bearkats to six postseason appearances and is the all-time winningest head coach in FCS playoff history. The Bearkats were members of FCS (formerly I-AA) from 1984 to 2022, before moving up to join the FBS in 2023.

Seasons

Legend

 National champions
  Conference champions
  ^ Bowl game berth / playoff result

List of Sam Houston Bearkats football seasons [1]
SeasonTeam Head coach ConferenceRegular season resultsPostseason resultsFinal ranking
OverallConferenceBowl game/Playoff result AP/NCAA Poll Coaches' Poll
WinLossTieWinLossTieFinish
Sam Houston Normal
1912 1912 S. R. Warner Independent 220
1913 1913 311
1914 1914 Gene Berry 320
1915 1915 511
1916 1916 520
1917 1917 130
1918  No team due to World War I
1919 1919 070
1920 1920 Mutt Gee 132
Sam Houston Normal Bear Cats
1921 1921 Mutt GeeIndependent312
1922 1922 230
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1923 1923 J. W. Jones Independent440
1924 1924 TIAA 2512314th
1925 1925 5402405th
1926 1926 5214102nd
1927 1927 4413213rd
1928 1928 5515304th
1929 1929 5313113rd
1930 1930 9105001st
1931 1931 4503204th
1932 1932 Lone Star 2511303rd
1933 1933 3421225th
1934 1934 3422304th
1935 1935 3600506th
1936 1936 Henry O. Crawford 2701405th
1937 1937 5503304th
1938 1938 Puny Wilson 8205102nd
1939 1939 6224112nd
1940 1940 8205102nd
1941 1941 2712304th
1942 1942 5303102nd
1943  No team due to World War II
1944
1945
1946 1946 6213112nd
1947 1947 3601405th
1948 1948 0910405th
1949 1949 3700405th
1950 1950 5502203rd
1951 1951 4411213rd
1952 1952 Paul Pierce 6403203rdWon 1952 Shrimp Bowl vs. Northeastern State (OK), 41–20 ^
1953 1953 9104102ndWon 1953 Refrigerator Bowl vs. College of Idaho, 14–12 ^
1954 1954 6402304th
1955 1955 6124111st
1956 [lower-alpha 1] 1956 10006001stWon 1956 Refrigerator Bowl vs. Middle Tennessee State, 27–13 ^
1957 1957 3512314th
1958 1958 7304202ndLost 1958 Christmas Festival Bowl vs. Northwestern State, 11–18 ^
1959 1959 5503405th
1960 1960 3602506th
1961 1961 810701st
1962 1962 5314213rd
1963 1963 4312314th
1964 1964 9115101stTied 1964 Championship Bowl vs. Concordia, 7–7 ^29
1965 1965 4601506th
1966 1966 6314213rd
1967 1967 3601607th
1968 1968 Tom Page 5414314th
1969 1969 3613414th
1970 1970 8217202ndT-20 [lower-alpha 2]
1971 1971 4703605th
1972 1972 Allen Boren 5604404th
1973 1973 2802707th
1974 1974 Billy Tidwell 4704505th
1975 1975 3803606th
1976 1976 3512506th
1977 1977 11001607th
1978 1978 Melvin Brown 6504303rd
1979 1979 1900708th
1980 1980 3702506th
1981 1981 2802506th
1982 [lower-alpha 3] 1982 Ron Randleman 3801508th
1983 1983 4701607th
1984 [lower-alpha 4] 1984 Gulf Star 8303202nd
1985 1985 8304101st
1986 1986 9303101st NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs — First Round  ^11
1987 1987 Southland 8305102nd19
1988 1988 3800607th
1989 1989 3802405th
1990 1990 4703303rd
1991 1991 8315201st NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs — First Round  ^12
1992 1992 6323313rd
1993 1993 4702505th
1994 1994 6501505th
1995 1995 5502303rd
1996 [lower-alpha 5] 1996 47333rd
1997 1997 56344th
1998 1998 38168th
1999 1999 65434th
2000 2000 74434th
2001 2001 103511st NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs — Quarterfinals  ^7
2002 2002 47245th
2003 2003 29144th
2004 2004 113411st NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs — Semifinals  ^4
2005 2005 Todd Whitten 37245th
2006 2006 65422nd
2007 2007 74522nd
2008 2008 46256th
2009 2009 56245th
2010 2010 Willie Fritz 65433rd
2011 2011 141701st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs – National Championship Game  ^22
2012 2012 114611st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs – National Championship Game  ^22
2013 2013 95433rd NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Second Round  ^1413
2014 2014 K.C. Keeler 115711st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs – Semifinals  ^66
2015 2015 114722nd NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Semifinals  ^34
2016 2016 121901st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Quarterfinals  ^55
2017 2017 122812nd NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Semifinals  ^43
2018 2018 65544th
2019 2019 75634th
2020 [lower-alpha 6] 2020 100601st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Champions  ^11
Sam Houston Bearkats
2021 2021 K.C. Keeler WAC 111501st NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs — Quarterfinals  ^54
2022 [lower-alpha 7] 2022 5400
2023 [lower-alpha 8] 2023 C-USA 3926
TotalsAll-time:
564–486–36
(.536)
Conference:
309–285–16
(.520)
 Postseason:
28–13–1
(.679)
 

Notes

  1. Sam Houston State was classified as an NAIA program, which began sponsoring football in 1956.
  2. Ranking from the 1970 small college poll.
  3. Sam Houston State joined the NCAA in 1982 as a Division II program.
  4. The Bearkats moved up to NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) status in 1984.
  5. Overtime rules were added for NCAA football in 1996, thereby eliminating ties.
  6. The Fall 2020 Southland football season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league play resuming in a shortened Spring 2021 season.
  7. Sam Houston was ineligible for the WAC championship and FCS postseason due to their FBS transition. They played a WAC schedule but their games did not count in the conference standings.
  8. Sam Houston moved up to the Division I FBS ranks in 2023 as a member of Conference USA.

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References

  1. "Sam Houston Football Record Book" (PDF). GoBearkats.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.