The Carthage Firebirds football program, previously known as Redmen and more recently as Red Men, with the change to "Firebirds" occurring on February 19, 2021, is a college football team that represents Carthage College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, a part of NCAA Division III. The team has had 22 head coaches since its first recorded football game in 1895. The current coach is Matt Popino, who first took the position for the 2024 season.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
Statistics correct as of the end of the 2022 college football season.
| No. | Name | Term | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | CCs | NCs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph McKee | 1895–1900 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 1 | .788 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2 | Ben Mathis | 1901 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 3 | Wilber Larrick | 1902–1904 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .563 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 4 | Bud Hendrickson | 1905 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 5 | Carl Sundberg | 1906 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 6 | Russell Osborne | 1907 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 7 | J. Arthur Baird | 1908–1914 | 46 | 24 | 19 | 3 | .554 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 8 | Stewart Clark | 1915–1919 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 9 | Forest Loudin | 1916–1920 | 23 | 8 | 13 | 2 | .391 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 10 | Lewis Omer | 1921–1935 | 120 | 50 | 52 | 18 | .492 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 11 | Hub Wagner | 1936–1942 | 55 | 20 | 29 | 6 | .418 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||
| X | No team during WWII | 1943–1944 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 12 | Paul LaVinn | 1945–1946 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 1 | .192 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 13 | Roscoe W. Scott | 1947–1949 | 25 | 11 | 12 | 2 | .480 | 6 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 14 | Loel D. Frederickson | 1950–1951 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | .111 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 15 | Art Keller | 1952–1982 | 272 | 178 | 87 | 7 | .667 | 105 | 53 | 3 | — | 2 | 8 | — | ||
| 16 | Ken Wagner | 1983–1984 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 17 | Roger Scott | 1985–1987 | 27 | 6 | 21 | 0 | .222 | 6 | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 18 | Jack Synold | 1988–1991 | 36 | 12 | 24 | 0 | .333 | 10 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 19 | Mike Larry | 1992–1994 | 27 | 2 | 25 | 0 | .074 | 2 | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 20 | Tim Rucks | 1995–2012 | 175 | 95 | 79 | 1 | .546 | 55 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| 21 | Mike Yeager | 2012–2017 | 53 | 23 | 30 | 0 | .434 | 16 | 21 | 0 | .432 | — | — | — | — | |
| 22 | Dustin Hass | 2018–2023 | 52 | 19 | 33 | 0 | .365 | 19 | 28 | 0 | .404 | — | — | — | — | |
| 23 | Matt Popino | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | — | — | — | — |
table reference
Notes
Table header notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
Table content notes
- The 1971 NAIA Division II Semifinal Playoff Game against Westminster (PA) ended in a tie score 28-28. Because it was a playoff situation, Westminster was "declared winner based on penetrations" and was allowed to advance to the finals. While officially a "tie game" the tournament situation renders the result the same as a loss.
References
- "Carthage Selects Firebirds as New Team Name" (Press release). Carthage College. February 19, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- Ramczyk, Mike (January 7, 2024). "New Carthage coach Matt Popino ready to stress love, energy and relationships". Kenosha News. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- DeLassus, David. "Coaching Records Arthur T. "Art" Keller (1971)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- DeLassus, David. "Carthage Redmen". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- "All-time football records". Carthage Red Men. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- Shafer, Ian. "Carthage College (All seasons results)". College Football Reference. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
| Carthage Firebirds head football coaches | |
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