The West Georgia football team, originally known as the Braves (which was the nickname until 2006), was founded in 1946, when the school, then known as West Georgia College, was a two-year institution.[2] They had their first practice on September 30, 1946, with 54 players reporting, and ended their first season with a record of 2–5–1.[2] Prior to the 1958 season, the school became a four-year institution, and the football team played one year with only freshmen and sophomores before being discontinued.[3][4] In total, from 1946 to 1958, West Georgia won only 13 games.[5]
On May 14, 1980, it was announced that West Georgia was reviving its football team, with intentions to play in 1981 as an NCAA Division III independent.[6]Bobby Pate was hired as head coach and the team had around 385 players try out, with 115 making the squad.[7] Despite them being in their first season in 23 years, West Georgia compiled a perfect 9–0 regular season record and reached the Division III playoffs, where they lost in the first round to the ultimate national champions Widener, by one score.[8][9] In their second season back, West Georgia compiled a perfect 12–0 record and won the national championship with a shutout win over Augustana (IL).[8][10]
The team moved up to the NCAA Division II level after two years in Division III, joining the Gulf South Conference (GSC), where they remained through 2023.[11][12] In their GSC tenure, the Braves / Wolves won four conference championships (1997, 1998, 2000, 2015), two NCAA regional championships (2014, 2015) and reached the Division II playoffs nine times.[13][14]
