Wofford Terriers football

For information on all Wofford College sports, see Wofford Terriers

Wofford Terriers football
2024 Wofford Terriers football team
First season1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Athletic directorRichard Johnson
Head coachShawn Watson
2nd season, 10–19 (.345)
StadiumGibbs Stadium
(capacity: 13,000)
Field surfaceGrass
LocationSpartanburg, South Carolina
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Past conferencesSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
All-time record478–467–35 (.506)
Bowl record0–1 (.000)
Playoff record9–10
Conference titles7 (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019)
RivalriesThe Citadel (rivalry)
Furman (rivalry)
ColorsOld gold and black[1]
   
MascotTerriers
Websitewoffordterriers.com

The Wofford Terriers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Wofford College located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). Wofford's first football team was fielded in 1889. The team plays its home games at the 13,000 seat Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Josh Conklin is the current head coach for the Terriers.

History

Wofford fielded its first football team in 1889. That season, Wofford and Furman played the first intercollegiate football game in South Carolina. There is no record of more than four games in a season before 1900.[2]

Wofford moved from Division II to join the Division I-AA Southern Conference in the 1996–97 season. Since then, Wofford has won 7 Southern Conference Championships, and received bids to the FCS Playoffs 10 times with the most recent bid coming in 2019. Wofford is typically one of the strongest teams in the Southern Conference every year.

Wofford's best finish since moving from Division II was a trip to the National Semi-finals at Delaware in 2003, where they fell 24–9. Mike Ayers, Wofford's winningest and most honored coach who served as head coach for thirty years, retired following the 2017 season, when Wofford made it to the national quarterfinals and finished #8 in the national polls. In recent years, Wofford's football and other athletic teams have finished near the top in the country in APR, which measures athletic performance of athletes. Numerous football players have been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Classifications

Conference memberships

Conference championships

Wofford has won seven conference championships, three outright and four shared.

Season Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
2003 Southern Conference Mike Ayers 12–2 8–0
2007† 9–4 5–2
2010† 10–3 7–1
2012† 9–4 6–2
2017 10–3 7–1
2018† Josh Conklin 9–4 6–2
2019 8–5 7–1

† denotes co–champions

Bowl game appearances

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1949 Phil Dickens Cigar Bowl Florida State L 6–19

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

The Terriers have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs ten times with an overall record of 9–10.

Year Round Opponent Result
2003 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		 North Carolina A&T
Western Kentucky
Delaware		 W 31–0
W 34–17
L 9–24
2007 First Round
Quarterfinals		 Montana
Richmond		 W 23–22
L 10–21
2008 First Round James Madison L 35–38
2010 Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Jacksonville State
Georgia Southern		 W 17–14
L 20–23
2011 Second Round Northern Iowa L 21–28
2012 Second Round
Quarterfinals		 New Hampshire
North Dakota State		 W 23–7
L 7–14
2016 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Charleston Southern
The Citadel
Youngstown State		 W 15–14
W 17–3
L 23–30 2OT
2017 Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Furman
North Dakota State		 W 28–10
L 10–42
2018 First Round
Second Round		 Elon
Kennesaw State		 W 19–7
L 10–13
2019 First Round Kennesaw State L 21–28

NCAA Division II

The Terriers have appeared in the Division II playoffs two times with an overall record of 0–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
1990 First Round Mississippi College L 19–70
1991 First Round Mississippi College L 15–28

NAIA

The Terriers appeared in the NAIA playoffs one time. Their combined record was 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1970 Semifinals
National Championship Game 		New Mexico Highlands
Texas A&I 		W, 28–23
L, 7–48

Wofford vs. in-state NCAA Division I schools

School Record Percentage Streak First meeting Last meeting
Charleston Southern 14–0 1.000 Won 14 1993 2016
Clemson 3–13 .200 Lost 5 1896 2019
Coastal Carolina 0–1 .000 Lost 1 2006 2006
Furman 33–54–7 .388 Won 1 1889 2019
Presbyterian 41–40–3 .506 Won 6 1914 2017
South Carolina 4–20 .167 Lost 17 1895 2017
South Carolina State 6–3 .667 Lost 1 1974 2019
The Citadel 30–42–1 .418 Won 4 1916 2019
Total: 124–169–11

Notable former players

Main article: List of Wofford Terriers in the NFL draft

Yearly results

Year[4] Coach Win Loss Tie
1889 Edwin Kerrison 2 0 0
1890 0 2 0
1893 0 1 0
1894 0 1 0
1895 William Wertenbaker 3 1 0
1896 2 2 0
1900 1 2 1
1901 J. Norman Walker 2 3 0
1914 Curtis McCoy 1 6 1
1915 Harvey Hester 3 5 0
1916 Leslie Moser 2 7 0
1917 Leslie Moser 5 4 0
1918 Bernard Peters 0 3 0
1919 J.P. Major 3 2 1
1920 John F. Gorsuch 0 8 1
1921 John Gilroy 2 7 0
1922 J.P. Major 2 7 0
1923 J.P. Major 6 3 0
1924 J.P. Major 3 7 0
1925 J.P. Major 3 7 0
1926 J.P. Major 2 8 0
1927 Tommy Scaffe 2 4 3
1928 Tommy Scaffe 7 2 1
1929 Tommy Scaffe 3 6 0
1930 Tommy Scaffe 2 9 0
1931 Tommy Scaffe 4 5 0
1932 Tommy Scaffe 3 6 1
1933 Tommy Scaffe 3 6 0
1934 Jules Carson 4 4 1
1935 Jules Carson 4 4 1
1936 Jules Carson 1 7 1
1937 Jules Carson 2 7 0
1938 Jules Carson 0 8 1
1939 Jules Carson 1 5 3
1940 Jules Carson 3 4 2
1941 Jules Carson 4 6 0
1942 Ted Petoskey 2 5 0
1946 Ted Petoskey 1 8 0
1947 Phil Dickens 6 5 0
1948 Phil Dickens 4 0 5
1949 Phil Dickens 11 1 0
1950 Phil Dickens 7 2 1
1951 Phil Dickens 6 3 1
1952 Phil Dickens 6 5 0
1953 Conley Snidow 6 4 1
1954 Conley Snidow 8 2 0
1955 Conley Snidow 7 4 0
1956 Conley Snidow 7 3 0
1957 Conley Snidow 8 2 0
1958 Conley Snidow 3 7 0
1959 Conley Snidow 5 5 0
1960 Conley Snidow 5 3 0
1961 Conley Snidow 5 4 2
1962 Conley Snidow 2 8 0
1963 Conley Snidow 4 6 0
1964 Conley Snidow 6 4 0
1965 Conley Snidow 5 4 0
1966 Conley Snidow 6 3 1
1967 Jim Brakefield 4 6 0
1968 Jim Brakefield 4 7 0
1969 Jim Brakefield 9 2 0
1970 Jim Brakefield 11 1 0
1971 Jack Peterson 6 4 0
1972 Jack Peterson 6 4 0
1973 Jack Peterson 4 6 1
1974 Steve Satterfield 7 4 0
1975 Steve Satterfield 7 3 1
1976 Steve Satterfield 4 7 0
1977 Buddy Sasser 7 3 1
1978 Buddy Sasser 3 8 0
1979 Buddy Sasser 5 5 0
1980 Buddy Sasser 7 2 2
1981 Buddy Sasser 6 5 0
1982 Buddy Sasser 8 3 0
1983 Bill Parker 6 5 0
1984 Bill Parker 2 9 0
1985 Rick Gilstrap 3 8 0
1986 Rick Gilstrap 4 6 1
1987 Rick Gilstrap 1 10 0
1988 Mike Ayers 5 5 0
1989 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
1990 Mike Ayers 9 3 0
1991 Mike Ayers 9 3 0
1992 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
1993 Mike Ayers 7 3 1
1994 Mike Ayers 5 6 0
1995 Mike Ayers 4 7 0
1996 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
1997 Mike Ayers 3 7 0
1998 Mike Ayers 4 7 0
1999 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
2000 Mike Ayers 7 4 0
2001 Mike Ayers 4 7 0
2002 Mike Ayers 9 3 0
2003 Mike Ayers 12 2 0
2004 Mike Ayers 8 3 0
2005 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
2006 Mike Ayers 7 4 0
2007 Mike Ayers 9 4 0
2008 Mike Ayers 9 3 0
2009 Mike Ayers 3 8 0
2010 Mike Ayers 10 3 0
2011 Mike Ayers 8 4 0
2012 Mike Ayers 9 4 0
2013 Mike Ayers 5 6 0
2014 Mike Ayers 6 5 0
2015 Mike Ayers 5 6 0
2016 Mike Ayers 10 4 0
2017 Mike Ayers 10 3 0
2018 Josh Conklin 9 4 0
2019 Josh Conklin 8 4 0
2020 Josh Conklin 1 4 0
2021 Josh Conklin 1 10 0
2022 Josh Conklin 0 5 0
2022 Shawn Watson 3 3 0
2023 Shawn Watson 2 9 0
Total 551 543 36

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of July 9, 2024.[5]

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
at Gardner–Webb at South Carolina State at South Carolina South Carolina State at South Carolina
at Richmond Richmond at Clemson
William & Mary at Virginia Tech
at South Carolina

References

  1. ^ Wofford College Athletics Brand Book 2023. January 1, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  2. ^ From the archives - Sports: The early years on Wofford.edu
  3. ^ Hoffer, Richard. "The Franchise". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  4. ^ "2023 Football Media Guide (PDF)" (PDF). Wofford College Athletics. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Wofford Terriers Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
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