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The Citadel Bulldogs football
2024 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
First season1905; 119 years ago
Athletic directorMike Capaccio
Head coachMaurice Drayton
2nd season, 5–18 (.217)
StadiumJohnson Hagood Stadium
(capacity: 11,427)
FieldSansom Field
Year built1948
Field surfaceArtificial turf
LocationCharleston, South Carolina
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceSouthern Conference
All-time record508–571–32 (.472)
Bowl record1–0 (1.000)
Playoff appearances5
Playoff record2–5
Conference titles4 (1961, 1992, 2015, 2016)
ColorsInfantry blue and white[1]
   
Fight song"The Fighting Light Brigade"
MascotBulldog
Marching bandThe Regimental Band and Pipes
Websitecitadelsports.com

The Citadel Bulldogs football program represents The Citadel in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Bulldogs play in the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936. The Bulldogs are coached by Maurice Drayton, who was hired on January 12, 2023, to replace Brent Thompson, whose contract was not renewed.[2][3][4]

History

[edit]
See also: List of The Citadel Bulldogs football seasons

Facilities

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The Bulldogs first recorded stadium was College Park, located in the northeast corner of Hampton Park in Charleston, South Carolina. This field predated the current College Park at the same site, which is used as a practice facility for The Citadel Bulldogs baseball. Due to increasing attendance and the poor state of the stadium, the Bulldogs moved to the original Johnson Hagood Stadium in 1927. In 1948, that stadium was replaced by the current Johnson Hagood Stadium, which lies just to the south of The Citadel's gates in Charleston.

Johnson Hagood Stadium

Johnson Hagood is a 21,000-seat stadium, in which The Citadel routinely ranks in the top 25 in attendance at the FCS level. In 2001, the Altman Athletic Center opened in the south end zone, complete with new home and visitor's locker rooms, official's locker rooms, and an upstairs hospitality area for donors. In 2008, The Citadel completed a re-construction of the west stands and West Side Tower. The stands contain reserved premium seats and bleacher seats, while the tower, shared with the South Carolina National Guard, contains twelve suites, a club level, and state of the art press box. During preparation for construction, workers discovered the remains of sailors from failed test runs of the H.L. Hunley. These remains were reinterred in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.

Beginning in 2012, The Citadel implemented a points system for parking and seat selection in Johnson Hagood Stadium, joining many large programs who use similar systems. The program is designed to reward long-time and large donors to The Citadel athletics by giving them preference in selecting seat and parking locations.[5]

In 2016, The Citadel determined that lead paint needed remediation on the east (visitor's) side of the stadium. The work resulted in the entire east side being closed for the first game of the 2016 season and some sections being opened for subsequent games. The capacity was thus 10,500 for the first game and about 15,000 for later games.[6][7][8] The Board of Visitors decided to fully renovate the east side of the stadium, announcing that decision on December 2, 2016.[9]

Practice and on-campus facilities

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Practices are held at the Maybank Triplets Practice Facility, an artificial turf field at the north edge of campus. The Bulldogs utilize Seignious Hall, located across from McAlister Field House for weightlifting, locker rooms, team meeting and video space, and academic tutoring. The Citadel Sports Medicine Department also utilizes Seignious Hall.[10]

Coaches and staff

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Coaches from The Citadel have often been targeted for larger programs. Former head and assistant coaches at The Citadel include Bobby Ross, Charlie Taaffe, Ellis Johnson, Frank Beamer, Al Davis, Ralph Friedgen, and Mike Houston.[11]

Head coaches

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Main article: List of The Citadel Bulldogs head football coaches

[12]

Name First Year Final Year No. Seasons
Syd Smith 1905 1905 1
Ralph Foster 1906 1908 3
Sam Costen 1909 1910 2
Louis LeTellier 1911 1912 2
George Rogers 1913 1919 4
Harvey O'Brien 1916 1921 5
Carl Prause 1922 1929 8
Johnny Floyd 1930 1931 2
Tatum Gressette 1932 1939 8
Bo Rowland 1940 1942 3
J. Quinn Decker 1946 1952 7
John D. McMillan 1953 1954 2
John Sauer 1955 1956 2
Eddie Teague 1957 1965 9
Red Parker 1966 1972 7
Bobby Ross 1973 1977 5
Art Baker 1978 1982 5
Tom Moore 1983 1986 4
Charlie Taaffe 1987 1995 9
Don Powers 1996 2000 5
Ellis Johnson 2001 2003 3
John Zernhelt 2004 2004 1
Kevin Higgins 2005 2013 9
Mike Houston 2014 2015 2
Brent Thompson 2016 2022 6
Maurice Drayton 2023 recent 6

Seasons and results

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Main article: List of The Citadel Bulldogs football seasons

Conference championships

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The Citadel has won four conference championships, three outright and one shared.

Season Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
1961 Southern Conference Eddie Teague 7–3 5–1
1992 Charlie Taaffe 11–2 6–1
2015† Mike Houston 9–4 6–1
2016 Brent Thompson 10–2 8–0

† denotes co–champions

Postseason appearances

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Bowl games

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Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1960 Eddie Teague Tangerine Bowl Tennessee Tech W 27–0

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

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The Citadel has appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs five times, posting a 2–5 record.

Year Round Opponent Result
1988 First Round Georgia Southern L 20–38
1990 First Round Georgia Southern L 0–31
1992 First Round
Quarterfinals		 North Carolina A&T
Youngstown State		 W 44–0
L 17–42
2015 First Round
Second Round		 Coastal Carolina
Charleston Southern		 W 41–38
L 6–14
2016 Second Round Wofford L 3–17

Rivalries

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See also: Military Classic of the South and The Citadel–Furman football rivalry

The Citadel's primary rivals are the VMI Keydets football and Furman Paladins football. The game with VMI is known as the Military Classic of the South. The Citadel and Furman have been heated, annual rivals since both joined the Southern Conference in 1936. The Citadel is 151-174-9 all-time against in-state opponents.

Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win
VMI 45 33 2 1920 2024 2023
Furman 37 64 3 1913 2020–21 2024

Record vs. Current SoCon opponents

Excludes Furman and VMI, listed above.
East Tennessee State returned to the SoCon in 2016.
Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win
Chattanooga 20 35 2 1926 2021 2023
East Tennessee State[a] 14 19 0 1966 2022 2024
Mercer[b] 11 10 1 1906 2019 2024
Samford 8 10 0 1989 2024 2023
Western Carolina 27 21 1 1972 2022 2024
Wofford 44 32 1 1916 2021 2023
  1. ^ East Tennessee State did not sponsor football from 2004–2014
  2. ^ Mercer did not sponsor football from 1941–2012

Record vs instate opponents

Division I, non-SoCon only
Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win
Charleston Southern[a] 8 6 — 2002 2024 2021
Clemson 5 32 1 1909 1931 2017
Coastal Carolina 1 1 — 2014 2015[b] 2014
Presbyterian 51 11 1 1915 2017 1979
South Carolina 8 40 3 1905 2015 2011
South Carolina State 4 2 0 1989 2001 2024
  1. ^ In 2018, Charleston Southern vacated three wins against The Citadel, including one from the 2015 playoffs, after NCAA sanctions.[13]
  2. ^ The Bulldogs won a 2015 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs.

Bulldogs in professional football

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Main article: List of The Citadel Bulldogs in the NFL draft

Many Citadel alumni have played in various professional leagues, including the National Football League, Canadian Football League and Arena Football League. Sixteen players have been drafted in the NFL Draft and AFL Draft, and other players have signed as undrafted free agents. Likely the most famous Citadel alumni in professional football are Running Back Stump Mitchell and broadcaster Paul Maguire. Andre Roberts is a recent player who achieved success in the NFL and Cortez Allen recently played with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 5 seasons; Running Back Travis Jervey played in 2 Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers and was named an All Pro as a special teams player.[14]

Individual honors

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All-Americans
This list includes selected First Team All-Americans at The Citadel[15]

Year Name AFCA AP Walter Camp Sports Network/STATS Football Gazette
1976 Brian Ruff
Green tickY
1985 Jim Gabrish
Green tickY
1986 Scott Thompson
Green tickY
1988 Carlos Avalos
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
1990 J. J. Davis
Green tickY
1991 Lester Smith
Green tickY
Green tickY
1992 Lester Smith
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Carey Cash
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Terrence Forney
Green tickY
Lance Hansen
Green tickY
Green tickY
1994 Levi Davis
Green tickY
1995 Brad Keeney
Green tickY
1997 Carlos Frank
Green tickY
2008 Andre Roberts
Green tickY
Green tickY
2012 Mike Sellers
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
2015 Tyler Renew
Green tickY
Dee Delaney
Green tickY
2016 Dee Delaney
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Isaiah Pinson
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Tyler Renew
Green tickY

Honored jerseys

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The Citadel has retired six jersey numbers. The most recent jersey retired was for Marc Buoniconti in 2006.[16][17]

No. Player Position Years at The Citadel
14 Jack Douglas QB 1989-1992
15 Lester Smith S 1988-1992
35 Stump Mitchell RB 1977-1980
51 Brian Ruff LB 1973-1976
59 Marc Buoniconti LB 1985
66 John Small LB 1967-1970

Future non-conference opponents

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Announced schedules as of July 9, 2024.[18]

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033
at Charleston Southern North Dakota State at Charlotte at Navy Gardner–Webb at Army at Army
South Carolina State at Ole Miss Charleston Southern at North Dakota State at Clemson
North Greenville at Gardner–Webb
at Clemson

References

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  1. ^ "Colors: The Citadel Brand Guidelines". Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Jeff Hartsell (January 9, 2014). "The Citadel introduces new football coach Mike Houston". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  3. ^ Kevin Bilodeau (January 18, 2016). "Mike Houston leaves The Citadel for James Madison". WCSC-TV. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Kevin Bilodeau (January 19, 2016). "The Citadel names Brent Thompson as new head coach". WCSC-TV. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "Priority Points System". The Citadel. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  6. ^ Jeff Hartsell (August 29, 2016). "Citadel considers tearing down visitors' side at Johnson Hagood Stadium". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Jeff Hartsell (September 9, 2016). "Citadel football returns to (half of) Johnson Hagood Stadium". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Jeff Hartsell (October 11, 2016). "Citadel home at last, with nation's best 4 road wins". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  9. ^ Jeff Hartsell (October 11, 2016). "Citadel Notes: Stadium's east side to be renovated; Georgia Tech on 2019 schedule". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC.
  10. ^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 7. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  11. ^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. pp. 10–11. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  12. ^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 142. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  13. ^ David Shelton (December 10, 2018). "Charleston Southern vacates 122 victories, 3 Big South titles, with more to come". Post and Courier. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  14. ^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 12. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  15. ^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 133. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  16. ^ "Citadel to Retire Former Football Player John Small's Jersey". October 2003.
  17. ^ "20 years later, Citadel, paralyzed Buoniconti heal rift". February 16, 2006.
  18. ^ "The Citadel Bulldogs Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
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