Abilene Christian Wildcats football
Intercollegiate American football team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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,[2] but joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport.[3] 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.[4][5] 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.
5th season, 29–19 (.604)
| Abilene Christian Wildcats football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
| First season | 1919; 107 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Zack Lassiter | ||
| Head coach | Keith Patterson 5th season, 29–19 (.604) | ||
| Location | Abilene, Texas | ||
| Stadium | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium (capacity: 12,000) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | UAC | ||
| Colors | Purple and white[1] | ||
| All-time record | 549–464–14 (.541) | ||
| NAIA national championships | |||
| NAIA Division I: 1973, 1977 | |||
| Conference championships | |||
| TCAC: 1939, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 GCC: 1955 LSC: 1973, 1977, 2008, 2010 WAC: 2022 UAC: 2024, 2025 | |||
| Division championships | |||
| LSC South: 2002, 2008, 2010 | |||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | ACUSports.com | ||
History
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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 | 29–19 | .604 |
Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
- Charcandrick West
- Mitchell Gale
- Grant Feasel
- James Hill
- Ove Johansson
- Johnny Knox
- Clint Longley
- Danieal Manning
- Reggie McGowan
- Wilbert Montgomery
- Cleo Montgomery
- Johnny Perkins
- Bernard Scott
- Major Culbert
- Taylor Gabriel
- Clyde Gates
- Bob Oliver
- Daryl Richardson
- John Layfield
- Bernie Erickson
- Wayne Walton
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† | 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 | 11–1 | 10–0 | |||
| 2022† | Keith Patterson | Western Athletic Conference | 7–4 | 3–1 | |
| 2024 | United Athletic Conference | 8–4 | 7–1 | ||
| 2025† | 7–1 | ||||
| Conference Championships | 15 | ||||
† 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 | 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 two appearances in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. They have a combined record of 2–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | First Round Second Round |
Northern Arizona North Dakota State |
W 24–0 L 31–51 |
| 2025 | First Round Second Round |
Lamar Stephen F. Austin |
W 38–20 L 34–41 |
NCAA Division II
The Wildcats have made six appearances in the Division II playoffs, with an combined record of 3–6.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | First Round | West Texas A&M | L 27–30 OT |
| 2007 | First Round Second Round | Mesa State Chadron State | W 56–12 L 73–76 3OT |
| 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 made two appearances in the NAIA playoffs 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 July 23, 2026.[6]
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at Lamar | Lamar | at Texas A&M | at Lamar | Lamar | |
| at Texas Tech | at Stephen F. Austin | ||||
| Stephen F. Austin | |||||
| at Idaho | |||||
| Mercer |
