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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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1905; 119 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Mike Capaccio | ||
| Head coach | Maurice Drayton 2nd season, 5–18 (.217) | ||
| Stadium | Johnson Hagood Stadium (capacity: 11,427) | ||
| Field | Sansom Field | ||
| Year built | 1948 | ||
| Field surface | Artificial turf | ||
| Location | Charleston, South Carolina | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| 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 | ||
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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 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]
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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
| 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 |
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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
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Bowl games
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Eddie Teague | Tangerine Bowl | Tennessee Tech | W 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.
| 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 |
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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.
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 |
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 |
- In 2018, Charleston Southern vacated three wins against The Citadel, including one from the 2015 playoffs, after NCAA sanctions.[13]
- The Bulldogs won a 2015 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs.
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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]
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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 |  | ||||
| 1985 | Jim Gabrish | | ||||
| 1986 | Scott Thompson | | ||||
| 1988 | Carlos Avalos | | | | | |
| 1990 | J. J. Davis | | ||||
| 1991 | Lester Smith | | | |||
| 1992 | Lester Smith | | | | ||
| Carey Cash | | | | |||
| Terrence Forney | | |||||
| Lance Hansen | | | ||||
| 1994 | Levi Davis | | ||||
| 1995 | Brad Keeney | | ||||
| 1997 | Carlos Frank | | ||||
| 2008 | Andre Roberts | | | |||
| 2012 | Mike Sellers | | | | ||
| 2015 | Tyler Renew | | ||||
| Dee Delaney | | |||||
| 2016 | Dee Delaney | | | | ||
| Isaiah Pinson | | | | |||
| Tyler Renew | |
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 | 1967-1970 |
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 |
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