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 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.[2][3][4]

The Citadel Bulldogs
2020 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
First season1905 (1905)
Athletic directorMike Capaccio
Head coachBrent Thompson
4th season, 25–18 (.581)
StadiumJohnson Hagood Stadium
(Capacity: 21,000)
FieldSansom Field
Year built1948
Field surfaceNatural Grass
LocationCharleston, South Carolina
ConferenceSouthern Conference
All-time record508–559–32 (.477)
Bowl record1–0 (1.000)
Playoff appearances5
Playoff record2–5
Conference titles4 (1961, 1992, 2015, 2016)
ColorsCitadel Blue and White[1]
         
Fight song"The Fighting Light Brigade"
MascotBulldog
Marching bandThe Regimental Band and Pipes
Websitecitadelsports.com

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 3

Current staff

The current coaching staff at the Citadel is:[13]

Name Position
Brent Thompson Head Coach
Lou Conte Quarterbacks and B Backs/Offensive Coordinator
Blake Harrell Inside Linebackers/Defensive Coordinator
Joel Taylor Safeties/Pass Defense Coordinator
Brian Rucker Wide Receivers
J. P. Gunter Special Teams Coordinator/Slot Backs
Ron Boyd Offensive Line
Orlando Mitjans Cornerbacks
Roy Tesh Defensive Line
Scott Yielding Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive Line

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
1961Southern ConferenceEddie Teague7–35–1
1992Southern ConferenceCharlie Taaffe11–26–1
2015†Southern ConferenceMike Houston9–46–1
2016Southern ConferenceBrent Thompson10–28–0

† denotes co–champions

Postseason appearances

Bowl games
Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1960Eddie TeagueTangerine BowlTennessee TechW 27–0

FCS Playoffs

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

Year Round Opponent Result
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
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.

OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
VMI42312192020182019
Furman37603191320192018

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
Chattanooga19302192620172018
East Tennessee State[lower-alpha 1]11160196620172018
Mercer[lower-alpha 2]1051190620182017
Samford750198920182017
Western Carolina25171197220182017
Wofford42301191620162018
  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
OpponentWinsLossesTiesFirst meetingLast Citadel winLast Opponent win
Charleston Southern[lower-alpha 1]62—200220182013
Clemson5321190919312017
Coastal Carolina11—20142015[lower-alpha 2]2014
Presbyterian51111191520171979
South Carolina8403190520152011
South Carolina State40019892001none
  1. In 2018, Charleston Southern vacated three wins against The Citadel, including one from the 2015 playoffs, after NCAA sanctions.[14]
  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. 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.[15]

Individual honors

All-Americans
This list includes selected First Team All-Americans at The Citadel[16]

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

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 February 3, 2021.[17][18][19] The upcoming season schedule can be found at 2021 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 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.[20]

202120222023202420252026
DateOpponentDateOpponentDateOpponentDateOpponentDateOpponentDateOpponent
Sept. 4 at Coastal Carolina Sept. 22 at Campbell Sept. 2 Georgia Southern Aug. 31 at Charleston Southern Aug. 30 at Ole Miss Sept. 5 Charleston Southern
TBA Charleston Southern Sept. 24 Appalachian State Sept. 9 Campbell Nov. 23 at Clemson
 
 

References
  1. Brand Toolbox: Colors - The Citadel - Charleston, SC. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  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. Jeff Hartsell (January 17, 2014). "Citadel football welcomes back Maurice Drayton as defensive coordinator". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  14. 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.
  15. 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 12. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  16. 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. e-digitaleditions.com. p. 133. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  17. "The Citadel Inks Home-And-Homes With Towson, Elon". The Citadel Bulldogs. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  18. Jeff Hartsell (October 31, 2018). "Citadel Football Sets Game with Georgia Southern". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  19. "Future The Citadel Football Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  20. TK Maxwell (June 12, 2016). "Ohio Valley and Southland Conferences Propose Permanent 12-Game FCS Slate". Underdog Dynasty. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
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