The Citadel Bulldogs football

The Citadel Bulldogs football
2024 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
First season	1905 (1905)
Athletic director	Mike Capaccio
Head coach	Maurice Drayton 1st season, 0–11 (.000)
Stadium	Johnson Hagood Stadium (capacity: 11,427)
Field	Sansom Field
Year built	1948
Field surface	Artificial turf
Location	Charleston, South Carolina
Conference	Southern Conference
All-time record	508–571–32 (.472)
Bowl record	1–0 (1.000)
Playoff appearances	5
Playoff record	2–5
Conference titles	4 (1961, 1992, 2015, 2016)
Colors	Infantry blue and white [1]
Fight song	"The Fighting Light Brigade"
Mascot	Bulldog
Marching band	The Regimental Band and Pipes
Website	citadelsports.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

See also: List of The Citadel Bulldogs football seasons

Facilities

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

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

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

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

Main article: List of The Citadel Bulldogs football seasons

Conference championships

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

Bowl games

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

FCS playoffs

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

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	43	32	2	1920	2021	2020–21
Furman	37	61	3	1913	2020–21	2021

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	33	2	1926	2021	2018
East Tennessee State [lower-alpha 1]	13	17	0	1966	2019	2021
Mercer [lower-alpha 2]	11	7	1	1906	2019	2021
Samford	7	8	0	1989	2018	2021
Western Carolina	26	19	1	1972	2019	2021
Wofford	44	30	1	1916	2021	2019

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 1, non-SoCon only

Opponent	Wins	Losses	Ties	First meeting	Last Citadel win	Last Opponent win
Charleston Southern [lower-alpha 1]	7	6	—	2002	2019	2021
Clemson	5	32	1	1909	1931	2017
Coastal Carolina	1	1	—	2014	2015 [lower-alpha 2]	2014
Presbyterian	51	11	1	1915	2017	1979
South Carolina	8	40	3	1905	2015	2011
South Carolina State	4	0	0	1989	2001	none

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 FCS Playoffs.

Bulldogs in professional football

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]

NFL Draft Year Name Round Overall Team 1939 Andy Sabados 13 111 Chicago Cardinals 1959 Pete Davidson 14 165 Los Angeles Rams 1960 Harry Rakowski 15 169 Los Angeles Rams Joe Davis 17 194 Chicago Cardinals 1969 Jim McMillan 16 415 Baltimore Colts 1970 John Small 1 12 Atlanta Falcons 1977 Brian Ruff 11 304 Baltimore Colts 1981 Stump Mitchell 9 226 St. Louis Cardinals 1987 Greg Davis 9 246 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1995 Travis Jervey 5 170 Green Bay Packers 2005 Nehemiah Broughton 7 222 Washington Redskins 2010 Andre Roberts 3 88 Arizona Cardinals 2011 Cortez Allen 4 128 Pittsburgh Steelers

AFL Draft Year Name Round Overall Team 1960 Wayne Stewart Los Angeles Chargers Joe Davis Paul Maguire Pete Davidson Harry Rakowski Buffalo Bills 1964 Vince Petno 8 63 Oakland Raiders

Individual honors

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		Y
1985	Jim Gabrish		Y
1986	Scott Thompson		Y
1988	Carlos Avalos		Y	Y	Y	Y
1990	J. J. Davis			Y
1991	Lester Smith			Y	Y
1992	Lester Smith		Y	Y	Y
	Carey Cash		Y	Y	Y
	Terrence Forney			Y
	Lance Hansen		Y	Y
1994	Levi Davis	Y
1995	Brad Keeney	Y
1997	Carlos Frank				Y
2008	Andre Roberts	Y			Y
2012	Mike Sellers	Y	Y		Y
2015	Tyler Renew				Y
	Dee Delaney				Y
2016	Dee Delaney		Y	Y	Y
	Isaiah Pinson	Y		Y	Y
	Tyler Renew				Y

Honored jerseys

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	1967-1969

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 12, 2022. ^[18]

2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
at Georgia Southern	at Charleston Southern	at Ole Miss	at Charlotte	at Navy	Gardner–Webb	at Army				at Army
Campbell	South Carolina State	at Gardner–Webb	Charleston Southern		at Clemson
at South Carolina State	North Greenville
	at Clemson

References

1. "Colors: Thw 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 2012-05-12.
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 2012-03-24.
11. 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
12. 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 142. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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 2012-03-24.
15. 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 133. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
16. "Citadel to Retire Former Football Player John Small's Jersey". October 2003.
17. "20 years later, Citadel, paralyzed Buoniconti heal rift". 16 February 2006.
18. "The Citadel Bulldogs Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

External links

• Official website