The Citadel Bulldogs football

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]

The Citadel Bulldogs football
2024 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
First season1905; 119 years ago
Athletic directorMike Capaccio
Head coachMaurice Drayton
1st season, 0–11 (.000)
StadiumJohnson Hagood Stadium
(capacity: 11,427)
FieldSansom Field
Year built1948
Field surfaceArtificial turf
LocationCharleston, South Carolina
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

History

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

[12]

NameFirst YearFinal YearNo. Seasons
Syd Smith190519051
Ralph Foster190619083
Sam Costen190919102
Louis LeTellier191119122
George Rogers191319194
Harvey O'Brien191619215
Carl Prause192219298
Johnny Floyd193019312
Tatum Gressette193219398
Bo Rowland194019423
J. Quinn Decker194619527
John D. McMillan195319542
John Sauer195519562
Eddie Teague195719659
Red Parker196619727
Bobby Ross197319775
Art Baker197819825
Tom Moore198319864
Charlie Taaffe198719959
Don Powers199620005
Ellis Johnson200120033
John Zernhelt200420041
Kevin Higgins200520139
Mike Houston201420152
Brent Thompson201620226
Maurice Drayton2023recent6

Seasons and results

Conference championships

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

SeasonConferenceCoachOverall recordConference record
1961Southern ConferenceEddie Teague7–35–1
1992Charlie Taaffe11–26–1
2015Mike Houston9–46–1
2016Brent Thompson10–28–0

† denotes co–champions

Postseason appearances

Bowl games

SeasonCoachBowlOpponentResult
1960Eddie TeagueTangerine BowlTennessee TechW 27–0

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

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

YearRoundOpponentResult
1988First RoundGeorgia SouthernL 20–38
1990First RoundGeorgia SouthernL 0–31
1992First Round
Quarterfinals
North Carolina A&T
Youngstown State
W 44–0
L 17–42
2015First Round
Second Round
Coastal Carolina
Charleston Southern
W 41–38
L 6–14
2016Second RoundWoffordL 3–17

Rivalries

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.

OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
VMI43322192020212020–21
Furman3761319132020–212021

Record vs. Current SoCon opponents

Excludes Furman and VMI, listed above.
East Tennessee State returned to the SoCon in 2016.
OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
Chattanooga20332192620212018
East Tennessee State[a]13170196620192021
Mercer[b]1171190620192021
Samford780198920182021
Western Carolina26191197220192021
Wofford44301191620212019

Record vs instate opponents

Division I, non-SoCon only
OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
Charleston Southern[a]76200220192021
Clemson5321190919312017
Coastal Carolina1120142015[b]2014
Presbyterian51111191520171979
South Carolina8403190520152011
South Carolina State40019892001none

Bulldogs in professional football

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]

AFL Draft

YearNameRoundOverallTeam
1960Wayne StewartLos Angeles Chargers
Joe Davis
Paul Maguire
Pete Davidson
Harry RakowskiBuffalo Bills
1964Vince Petno863Oakland Raiders

Individual honors

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

YearNameAFCAAPWalter CampSports Network/STATSFootball Gazette
1976Brian Ruff
Y
1985Jim Gabrish
Y
1986Scott Thompson
Y
1988Carlos Avalos
Y
Y
Y
Y
1990J. J. Davis
Y
1991Lester Smith
Y
Y
1992Lester Smith
Y
Y
Y
Carey Cash
Y
Y
Y
Terrence Forney
Y
Lance Hansen
Y
Y
1994Levi Davis
Y
1995Brad Keeney
Y
1997Carlos Frank
Y
2008Andre Roberts
Y
Y
2012Mike Sellers
Y
Y
Y
2015Tyler Renew
Y
Dee Delaney
Y
2016Dee 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.PlayerPositionYears at The Citadel
14Jack DouglasQB1989-1992
15Lester SmithS1988-1992
35Stump MitchellRB1977-1980
51Brian RuffLB1973-1976
59Marc BuonicontiLB1985
66John SmallLB1967-1969

Future non-conference opponents

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

20232024202520262027202820292030203120322033
at Georgia Southernat Charleston Southernat Ole Missat Charlotteat NavyGardner–Webbat Armyat Army
CampbellSouth Carolina Stateat Gardner–WebbCharleston Southernat Clemson
at South Carolina StateNorth Greenville
at Clemson

References