Abilene Christian Wildcats football

Independent (1919–1924)
TIAA (1925–1932)
Texas (1933–1953)
Independent (1954)
GCC (1955–1956)
Independent (1957–1963)
SLC (1964–1973)
LSC (1973–2012)
FCS Independent (2013)
SLC (2014–2020)
WAC (2021–2022)

All-time record

540–459–14 (.540)

Claimed national titles

2 (2 NAIA)

Conference titles

14 (7 TCAC, 1 Gulf Coast, 4 Lone Star, 1 WAC, 1 UAC)

Division titles

3 (3 Lone Star South)

Colors

Purple and white

Outfitter

Under Armour

Website

ACUSports.com

The Abilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Abilene Christian University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team was a member of the Southland Conference through the 2020–21 season, but joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport. After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of the ASUN Conference, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference, and ACU accordingly moved its football team to the new league. The school's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the on-campus Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.

History

Football classifications

1951–1972: College Division (small school)

1973–1982: NAIA Division I
1982–2012: NCAA Division II
2013–present: NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision

• Abilene Christian did not field a team in 1943–1945.

Conference affiliations

1919–1924: Independent
1925–1932: Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1931–1932: Independent
1933–1942, 1946–1953: Texas Conference
- No team 1943–1945 due to World War II
1954: Independent
1955–1956: Gulf Coast Conference
1957–1963: Independent
1964–1972: Southland Conference
1973–2012: Lone Star Conference
2013: NCAA Division I FCS independent
2014–2020: Southland Conference
2021–2022: Western Athletic Conference
2023–present: United Athletic Conference

Head coaching history

Name	Seasons	Record	Pct
Vernon McCasland	1919	2–2	.500
Sewell Jones	1920	4–0–1	.900
Russell A. Lewis	1921	2–5	.286
Victor Payne	1922–1923	12–3	.800
A. B. Morris	1924–1941	66–77–18	.466
Tonto Coleman	1942–1949	28–15–2	.644
Garvin Beauchamp	1950–1955	39–18–4	.672
N. L. Nicholson	1956–1961	28–30–1	.483
Les Wheeler	1962–1967	29–28	.509
Wally Bullington	1968–1976	62–32–2	.656
DeWitt Jones	1977–1978	18–4–1	.804
Ted Sitton	1979–1984	34–27–1	.556
John Payne	1985–1990	26–34–1	.435
Ronnie Peacock	1991–1992	4–15	.211
Bob Strader	1993–1995	14–17	.452
Jack Kiser	1996–1999	22–19	.537
Gary Gaines	2000–2004	21–30	.412
Chris Thomsen	2005–2011	61–21	.744
Ken Collums	2012–2016	24–32	.429
Adam Dorrel	2017–2021	19–32	.373
Keith Patterson	2022–present	12–10	.545

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Championships

National championships

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record	Bowl
1973	Wally Bullington	NAIA Playoffs	11–1	Won NAIA Championship
1977	DeWitt Jones	NAIA Playoffs	11–1–1	Won NAIA Championship
National Championships			2

Conference championships

Year	Coach	Conference	Overall record	Conference record
1939†	A.B. Morris	Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	6–2–1	5–1
1940†	A.B. Morris		7–2	5–1
1946†	Tonto Coleman		8–1–1	5–0–1
1950	Garvin Beauchamp		11–0	5–0
1951†			6–4	3–1
1952			6–3–1	4–0
1953†			7–3	3–1
1955†		Gulf Coast Conference	3–5–2	2–1
1973	Wally Bullington	Lone Star Conference	11–1	9–0
1977†	DeWitt Jones		11–1–1	5–1–1
2008	Chris Thomsen		11–1	9–0
2010	Chris Thomsen		11–1	10–0
2022†	Keith Patterson	Western Athletic Conference	7–4	3–1
2024	Keith Patterson	United Athletic Conference	8–4	7–1
Conference Championships			14

† Co-champions

Division championships

Year	Coach	Division championship	Overall record	Conference record	Division record
2002†	Gary Gaines	LSC South	6–4	6–2	5–1
2008	Chris Thomsen		11–1	9–0	6–0
2010	Chris Thomsen		11–1	10–0	8–0
Division Championships			3

† Co-champions

Bowl games

Date	Bowl	Coach	Opponent	Result
December 2, 1950	Refrigerator Bowl	Garvin Beauchamp	Gustavus Adolphus College	W 14–7
December 4, 1976	San Jancinto Shrine Bowl	Wally Bullington	Harding	W 22–12

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I FCS

The Wildcats have made one appearance in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. They have a combined record of 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2024	First Round Second Round	Northern Arizona North Dakota State	W 24–0 L 31–51

NCAA Division II

The Wildcats appeared in the Division II playoffs six times with an overall record of 3–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2006	First Round	West Texas A&M	L 27–30
2007	First Round Second Round	Mesa State Chadron State	W 56–12 L 73–76
2008	Second Round Quarterfinals	West Texas A&M Northwest Missouri State	W 93–68 L 36–45
2009	First Round Second Round	Midwestern State Northwest Missouri State	W 24–21 L 10–35
2010	Second Round	Central Missouri	L 41–55
2011	First Round	Washburn	L 49–52

NAIA

The Wildcats appeared in the NAIA playoffs two times with an overall record of 4–0. They were National Champions in 1973 and 1977.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1973	Semifinals National Championship Game	Langston Elon	W 34–6 W 42–14
1977	Semifinals National Championship Game	Wisconsin–Stevens Point Southwestern Oklahoma State	W 35–7 W 24–7

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 10, 2024.

2024	2025	2026	2028
at Texas Tech	at Tulsa	at Texas Tech	at Texas A&M
at Northern Colorado	at TCU	at Idaho
Idaho	Stephen F. Austin
at Stephen F. Austin	at Incarnate Word

References

Abilene Christian University Branding and Editorial Style Guide. July 1, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
McMurphy, Brett. "Abilene Christian to Southland". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
"WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
"ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
"ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands as the United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
"Abilene Christian Wildcats Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

External links

Official website

v t e Abilene Christian Wildcats football
Venues	Shotwell Stadium (1959–2016) Wildcat Stadium (2017–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat (mascot)
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 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
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Abilene Christian University
Academics	Colleges: Arts and Sciences Biblical Studies Business Administration Education and Human Services Honors College Schools: Graduate School of Theology Information Technology and Computing Nursing
Athletics	Baseball Basketball men women Football Softball Facilities: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium Crutcher Scott Field Moody Coliseim Poly Wells Field
Campus facilities	Abilene Christian University Press
Student life	KACU

v t e United Athletic Conference
Teams	Abilene Christian Wildcats Austin Peay Governors Central Arkansas Bears Eastern Kentucky Colonels North Alabama Lions Southern Utah Thunderbirds Tarleton Texans Utah Tech Trailblazers West Georgia Wolves
Championships & awards	Conference champions All-time standings
Seasons	2021 2022 2023
See also	Atlantic Sun Conference Western Athletic Conference

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