Samford Bulldogs football

Samford Bulldogs football
2025 Samford Bulldogs football team
First season1902; 123 years ago
Athletic directorMartin Newton
Head coachJohn Grass
1st season, 0–0 (–)
StadiumBobby Bowden Field at Pete Hanna Stadium
(capacity: 6,700)
LocationHomewood, Alabama
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceSouthern
All-time record474–464–47 (.505)
Conference championships
Dixie: 1933, 1935, 1936
SoCon: 2013, 2022
Consensus All-Americans27
RivalriesJacksonville State (rivalry)
Furman
Chattanooga
Mercer
Tennessee Tech
ColorsBlue and red[1]
   
MascotSam, changed from Spike in 2017
WebsiteSamfordSports.com

The Samford Bulldogs football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Samford University located in Homewood, Alabama. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). Samford's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team was known as the Howard Bulldogs through the 1965 season when Howard College was renamed as Samford University. Howard was located in Birmingham, Alabama prior to 1957. Since 1958, the Bulldogs have played their home games at Pete Hanna Stadium, which now has a seating capacity of 6,700, in Homewood. Chris Hatcher served as Samford's head coach since the from 2015 to 2025.[2]

History

Classifications

Conference memberships

Conference Championships

The Bulldogs have won 4 conference championships, with three coming in the Dixie Conference and two in the Southern Conference.

Season Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
1933 Dixie Conference Eddie McLane 8–5 6–2
1935 Billy Bancroft 7–1–2 3–0–1
1936 5–3–1 4–1–1
2013† Southern Conference Pat Sullivan 8–5 6–2
2022 Southern Conference Chris Hatcher 11-2 8–0

† Co-champions

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoff results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs six times with an overall record of 3–6.

Year Round Opponent Result
1991 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		 New Hampshire
James Madison
Youngstown State		 W 29–13
W 24–21
L 0–10
1992 First Round Delaware L 21–56
2013 First Round Jacksonville State (#20) L 14–55
2016 First Round Youngstown State (#13) L 24–38
2017 First Round Kennesaw State (#16) L 17–28
2022 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		 BYE Week
Southeastern Louisiana (#17)
North Dakota State (#3)		 N/A
W 48–42 OT
L 9–27

Notable former players

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 12, 2025.[3]

2026 2027 2028 2029
Southern Illinois at Georgia Southern vs Austin Peay at Southern Illinois
at UAB at UAB
at Auburn
 

References

  1. ^ Samford Brand Identity Standards (PDF). April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Ashworth, Thomas (November 10, 2025). "Samford parts ways with longtime head football coach Chris Hatcher". al. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "Samford Bulldogs Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
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