The Citadel Bulldogs football


The Citadel Bulldogs football program represents The Citadel in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Bulldogs play in the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936. The Bulldogs are coached by Brent Thompson, who was hired on January 19, 2016 to replace Mike Houston, who became the head football coach of James Madison University on January 18, 2016.

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 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.
In 2016, The Citadel determined that lead paint needed remediation on the east 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. The Board of Visitors decided to fully renovate the east side of the stadium, announcing that decision on December 2, 2016.

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.

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.

Head coaches

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 Thompson20163

Current staff

The current coaching staff at the Citadel is:

Seasons and results

Conference championships

The Citadel has won four conference championships, three outright and one shared.
† denotes co–champions

Postseason appearances

Bowl games

FCS Playoffs

The Citadel has appeared in the FCS Playoffs five times, posting a 2–5 record.

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
VMI42312192020182019
Furman37603191320192018

Record vs. Current SoCon opponents
OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
Chattanooga19302192620172018
East Tennessee State11160196620172018
Mercer1051190620182017
Samford750198920182017
Western Carolina25171197220182017
Wofford42301191620162018

Record vs instate opponents
OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
Charleston Southern62—200220182013
Clemson5321190919312017
Coastal Carolina11—201420152014
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. Currently, Andre Roberts is a member of the Atlanta Falcons 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.
National Football League Draft
YearNameRoundOverallTeam
1939Andy Sabados13111Chicago Cardinals
1959Pete Davidson14165Los Angeles Rams
1960Harry Rakowski15169Los Angeles Rams
1960Joe Davis17194Chicago Cardinals
1969Jim McMillan16415Baltimore Colts
1970John Small112Atlanta Falcons
1977Brian Ruff11304Baltimore Colts
1981Stump Mitchell9226St. Louis Cardinals
1987Greg Davis9246Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1995Travis Jervey5170Green Bay Packers
2005Nehemiah Broughton7222Washington Redskins
2010Andre Roberts388Arizona Cardinals
2011Cortez Allen4128Pittsburgh Steelers

American Football League Draft
YearNameRoundOverallTeam
1960Wayne StewartLos Angeles Chargers
1960Joe DavisLos Angeles Chargers
1960Paul MaguireLos Angeles Chargers
1960Pete DavidsonLos Angeles Chargers
1960Harry RakowskiBuffalo Bills
1964Vince Petno863Oakland Raiders

Individual honors

All-Americans
This list includes selected First Team All-Americans at The Citadel
YearNameAFCAAPWalter CampSports Network/STATSFootball Gazette
1976Brian Ruff
1985Jim Gabrish
1986Scott Thompson
1988Carlos Avalos
1990J. J. Davis
1991Lester Smith
1992Lester Smith
1992Carey Cash
1992Terrence Forney
1992Lance Hansen
1994Levi Davis
1995Brad Keeney
1997Carlos Frank
2008Andre Roberts
2012Mike Sellers
2015Tyler Renew
2015Dee Delaney
2016Dee Delaney
2016Isaiah Pinson
2016Tyler Renew

Retired Jerseys
14 - Jack Douglas
15 - Lester Smith
35 - Stump Mitchell
51 - Brian Ruff
59 - Marc Buoniconti
66 - John Small

Future schedules

This represents the most recent verified future non-conference games as of October 31, 2018. The upcoming season schedule can be found at 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team.
NCAA Division I FCS football teams are usually permitted to play 11 games per season. In years when 13 weekends fall between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, they may add a twelfth game. This will be the case in 2019, 2024, and 2025. With nine football playing members, the Southern Conference regular season consists of eight games, leaving 3 non-conference games to be scheduled in most years.