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Slippery Rock football

First season	1898; 126 years ago (1898)
Head coach	Shawn Lutz 7th season, 70–19 (.787)
Stadium	Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (capacity: 10,000)
Field	Dispirto Field
Year built	1974
Field surface	AstroPlay
Location	Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Conference	PSAC
All-time record	527–354–38 (.594)
Bowl record	1–2 (.333)
Conference titles	9
Colors	Green and white
Fight song	Slippery Rock fight song
Mascot	Rocky
Marching band	Slippery Rock University Marching Pride
Website	rockathletics.com

The Slippery Rock football program, nicknamed The Rock, represents Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania in the sport of college football. Slippery Rock competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference which is a part of NCAA Division II football. They play their home games at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, a 10,000-seat capacity stadium named after Rock coaches N. Kerr Thompson and George Mihalik.

History

Slippery Rock's inaugural football season was in 1898. During their first season, the team compiled a 1–0 record, beating New Castle High School. Slippery Rock did not hire a head coach until the 1906 season, when John B. Price became the first coach in Slippery Rock football history. Over the course of 112 seasons of football, (no season in 1943–44 because of WWII) Slippery Rock has compiled a total record of 527–354–38. The team has captured 9 PSAC Championships: 1939, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1997 (PSAC-W), 1998 (PSAC-W), 1999 (PSAC-W), 2000 (PSAC-W), 2011 (PSAC-W); as well as 6 state championships: 1924, 1939, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1974. Slippery Rock has had two undefeated seasons, 1924 finishing 9–0 and 1938 ending 8–0. In 1958, Slippery Rock played in its first bowl game, the Beaver Bowl where they defeated the Edinboro Fighting Scots 6–0. Slippery Rock has played in two bowl games since. The 1963 All-Sports Bowl, where they were defeated by Northeast Oklahoma St. 59–12. The most recent bowl game was the 1972 Knute Rockne Bowl losing 27–22 to Bridgeport. Slippery Rock has played in 24 total playoff games and has compiled a record of 12–12.

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division II

Slippery Rock have made twelve appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record is 15–12.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1997	First Round Quarterfinals	Ashland New Haven	W, 30–20 L, 21–49
1998	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Grand Valley State Shepherd Carson–Newman	W, 37–14 W, 41–39 L, 21–47
1999	First Round	IUP	L, 20–27
2013	First Round	Winston-Salem State	L, 20–27
2014	First Round	West Chester	L, 20–46
2015	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Virginia Union Assumption Shepherd	W, 40–21 W, 41–39 L, 16–28
2018	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	LIU Post New Haven Notre Dame (OH)	W, 20–14 W, 59–20 L, 17–21
2019	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Shepherd Notre Dame (OH) Minnesota State	W, 51–30 W, 65–59 L, 15–58
2021	First Round	Notre Dame (OH)	L, 27–37
2022	First Round Second Round	Assumption Shepherd	W, 17–14 L, 27–37
2023	First Round Second Round Regional Final	East Stroudsburg Tiffin Kutztown	W, 45–14 W, 45–35 L, 16–28
2024	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	New Haven Kutztown California (PA) Ferris State	W, 14–7 W, 25–24 W, 31–13 L, 38–48

NCAA Division III

Slippery Rock have made one appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1974	Semifinals	Ithaca	L, 14–27

Bowl games

Date	Bowl	Opponent	Result
November 15, 1958	Beaver Bowl	Edinboro	W, 6–0
December 7, 1963	All-Sports Bowl	Northeastern State (OK)	L, 19–52
November 24, 1972	Knute Rockne Bowl	Bridgeport	L, 22–27

Head coaches

John B. Price – 1906–07. 3–2–2 record, .571 winning percentage.
Harry Snyder – 1908–09, 1911–13. 18–8–3 record, .679 winning percentage. Became athletic director a few years later.
Emil Miller – 1910. 5–3–0 record, .625 winning percentage.
Arthur Gaut – 1914–17. 16–10–3 record, .603 winning percentage.
Loyal S. Marshall – 1918–19. 3–7–0 record, .300 winning percentage.
N. Kerr Thompson – 1920–42, 1945. 126–58–22 record, .674 winning percentage. Led Slippery Rock to 12 Division championships and 8 state championships. Led four of the five unbeaten seasons at the school for football. Also coached basketball and baseball while at Slippery Rock.
William "Pop" Storer – 1946–52. 30–22–4 record, .571 winning percentage.
Chester Stackhouse – 1953–54. 5–10–1 record, .344 winning percentage.
William Meise – 1955–58. 12–17–1 record, .471 winning percentage. Also Track assistant coach at Slippery Rock.
Charles Godlasky – 1959–64. 31–19–4 record, .611 winning percentage. Took Slippery Rock to three PSAC-Western Division championship, and state championship in 1962. His team also played in the 1963 All-Sports Bowl.
Jack Olcutt – 1965–66. 7–11–2 record, .400 winning percentage.
Bob Dispirito – 1967–80, 1987. 79–60–3 record, .567 winning percentage. Coached Slippery Rock to three straight PSAC championships from 1972–74. Earned 2 bowl appearances for Slippery Rock, and led them to the first trip into Michigan Stadium.
Fred Goldsmith – 1981. 2–7–0 record, .222 winning percentage. Led Slippery Rock team in second trip to Michigan Stadium, losing 14–13 to Wayne State.
Don Ault – 1982–86. 27–23–0 record, .540 winning percentage. In his first season at Slippery Rock, he was named Coach of the Year by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
George Mihalik – 1988 – 2015. 185–109–4 record, .628 winning percentage. Mihalik has the highest wins in school history, and is among the most successful. He has also led Slippery Rock to 12 straight winning seasons at one point during his tenure. He is part of an elite group of college football head coaches in the nation to own a doctorate degree.
Shawn Lutz – 2016 – Present.

Facilities

The Rock play their games at N. Kerr Thompson-Mihalik Stadium on Dispirito Field. The stadium name, however, has been changed starting with the 2011 season to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, in honor of then-current head coach George Mihalik. It is one of few college football stadiums where stadium was named in honor of the then-current head coach. The stadium name is also in honor of N. Kerr Thompson, who was one of the most successful coaches in Slippery Rock history. Dispirito Field was named for former head coach Bob Dispirito who also was a successful coach in Slippery Rock history.

Traditions

"The Rock", located just outside the East endzone of the stadium, was donated by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1995. Players rub the rock every time they take the field prior to each home game.

Announcing the Slippery Rock score has been a tradition at University of Michigan football games since 1959, begun by Michigan Stadium announcer Steve Filipiak. Slippery Rock's scores have also been announced at the games of many other major schools, including Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Stanford, and California. Michigan is the only school that still continues this tradition.

Such is Slippery Rock's popularity in Ann Arbor that The Rock has played three times at the massive Michigan Stadium. First, in front of a Division II-record 61,143 fans, Slippery Rock lost to Shippensburg, 45–14, in 1979. Two years later, over 35,000 were in attendance in 1981 when the Rock took on Wayne State, with Wayne State winning, 14–13. Slippery Rock returned to Michigan Stadium in 2014, against Mercyhurst, losing again, this time by a 45–23 score. There would be 15,121 people who would attend, tiny by Michigan standards but still the largest crowd to watch a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game that season.

Alumni

Greg Hopkins – Arena Football League wide receiver/linebacker, Los Angeles Avengers, was a four year letterman and was a three time All American honoree. Along with being a three time all PSAC selection, he set nine separate school records and had 215 receptions for 3,382 yards.
Matt Kinsinger – Arena Football League fullback/linebacker for the Chicago Rush. At Slippery Rock, Kinsinger was a defensive lineman and was named Football Gazette All-American.
Brandon Fusco – Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 6th round. Played center while at Slippery Rock. Became first player in school history to compete in Senior Bowl.
Ricky Porter – Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 12th round, 319th overall in 1982.
Chuck Sanders – Drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 11th round, 293rd overall in 1986.
Greg Paterra – Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 11th round, 286th overall in 1989.
Mike Butterworth – 2008 Free Agent, Atlanta Falcons
David Flick – Canadian Football League
John Sikora – Arena Football League

References

SRU Publications Guidelines and Graphic Identity Standards. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
"Football".
"Bowl Game Rematches STC Foes". The Pittsburgh Press. November 4, 1958. Retrieved January 11, 2023. the Beaver Bowl, a benefit game arranged by two civic groups for Corry High School Field (Erie County) Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p. m.
^ Elliott, Mal (November 28, 1963). "Really, There Is a Slippery Rock College!". The Tulsa Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
"The Gazette Times - Google News Archive Search".
"Don Ault (1996) - Hall of Fame".
Preimesberger, Chris (January 19, 2011). "The Voice of Stanford Stadium is Silenced". www.almanacnews.com. The Almanac.
"Big House Battle Homepage (Oct. 18, 2014)".

External links

Official website

v t e Slippery Rock football
Venues	Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (1974–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football
East Division	Bloomsburg Huskies East Stroudsburg Warriors Kutztown Golden Bears Lock Haven Bald Eagles Millersville Marauders Shepherd Rams Shippensburg Raiders West Chester Golden Rams
West Division	California Vulcans Clarion Golden Eagles Edinboro Fighting Scots Gannon Golden Knights IUP Crimson Hawks Seton Hill Griffins Slippery Rock
Championships	Conference champions All-time standings Championship Game
Seasons	1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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