Alabama State Hornets football
College football program of Alabama State University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alabama State Hornets are the college football team representing the Alabama State University. The Hornets play in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
5th season, 30–16 (.652)
| Alabama State Hornets football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
| First season | 1901; 125 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Jason Cable | ||
| Head coach | Eddie Robinson Jr. 5th season, 30–16 (.652) | ||
| Location | Montgomery, Alabama | ||
| Stadium | ASU Stadium (capacity: 26,500) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | SWAC | ||
| Division | East | ||
| Colors | Black and old gold | ||
| All-time record | 542–507–36 (.516) | ||
| Bowl record | 1–0 (1.000) | ||
| Black college national championships | |||
| 1991 | |||
| Conference championships | |||
| SIAC: 1935, 1939, 1965, 1966 SWAC: 1991, 2004 | |||
| Division championships | |||
| SWAC East: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2025 | |||
| Rivalries | Alabama A&M Bulldogs (rivalry) Tuskegee Golden Tigers | ||
| Fight song | Hail Alabama | ||
| Marching band | Mighty Marching Hornets | ||
| Website | bamastatesports.com | ||
ASU Stadium serves as the facility for Alabama State football games and practices. The 120-yard field turf playing field provides training to ASU football in all weather conditions. In June 2011, construction on the Houston Markham Football Complex was completed. The two-story, 30,000-square-foot facility serves as the new home of the football program.
Conference affiliations
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- Independent (1901–1912)
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1913–1975)
- NCAA Division II independent (1976–1981)
- Southwestern Athletic Conference (1982–present)
Championships
National
Alabama State has won one national championship.
| Year | Coach | Championship | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Houston Markham | Black College National Champions | 11–0–1 |
Conference
Alabama State has won six conference championships.[citation needed]
| Year | Coach | Conference | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Rufus A. Lewis | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 9–1–1 | |
| 1939 | Rufus A. Lewis | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 6–2–2 | |
| 1965 | Whitney L. Van Cleve | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Section B | 6–4 | |
| 1966 | Whitney L. Van Cleve | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Section B | 8–2 | |
| 1991 | Houston Markham | Southwestern Athletic Conference | 11–0–1 | |
| 2004 | Charles Coe | Southwestern Athletic Conference | 10–2 | |
| Total Conference Championships: | 6 | |||
Rivalries
The Magic City Classic is the highest attended and most anticipated regular season ASU football game every year. The Hornets take on in-state rival Alabama A&M Bulldogs in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Turkey Day Classic is an annual event played yearly on Thanksgiving between ASU and another opponent, most recently Prairie View A&M in 2019 and has been played almost consecutively since 1924, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alumni in the NFL
Over 20 Alabama State alumni have played in the NFL,[1] including:
Head coaches
| Name | Seasons | Record | Win pct. |
| Theodore Bradford | 1902–1904 | 0–2 | .000 |
| J. A. Welton | 1905–1908 | 4–5–1 | .444 |
| John Hope | 1909–1916 | 17–6–1 | .739 |
| Professor Kilpatrick | 1917–1920 | 1–3–1 | .250 |
| Ralph Harris | 1921–1925 | 21–13–3 | .618 |
| Bertrand C. Jacobs | 1926–1928 | 16–10–3 | .615 |
| Gaston F. Lewis | 1929–1933 | 31–13–4 | .705 |
| Rufus A. Lewis | 1934–1942 | 42–32–9 | .568 |
| John Brown | 1943, 1945–1948 | 10–24–1 | .249 |
| Hubert Lockhart & E. B. Campbella | 1944 | 0–7 | .000 |
| James H. Dixon | 1949–1951 | 5–20–3 | .179 |
| Arthur E. Simmons | 1952–1961 | 43–40–3 | .500 |
| C. E. Anderson | 1962 | 0–8 | .000 |
| Marino Casem | 1963 | 2–8 | .200 |
| Whitney L. Van Cleve | 1964–1968 | 35–14–1 | .710 |
| Henry Holbert | 1969–1972 | 21–21 | .500 |
| Willie Parker | 1973–1976, 1984, 1986 | 16–38 | .296 |
| George James Jr. | 1976–1983 | 43–39–2 | 0.524 |
| Ron Mitchell (interim) | 1985 | 3–8 | 0.273 |
| Houston Markham | 1987–1997 | 65–50–4 | .546 |
| Ron Dickerson | 1998–1999 | 7–15 | .318 |
| L. C. Cole | 2000–2002 | 20–15 | .571 |
| Charles Coe | 2003–2006 | 29–18 | .617 |
| Reggie Barlow | 2006–2014 | 49–42 | .538 |
| Brian Jenkins | 2015–2017 | 10–17 | .370 |
| Donald Hill-Eley | 2017–2021 | 20–21 | .488 |
| Travis Pearson (interim) | 2021 | 2–2 | .500 |
| Eddie Robinson Jr. | 2022–present | 30–16 | .652 |
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of February 1, 2026[2]
| 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|
| vs Southern Birmingham, AL |
vs Morgan State (Atlanta, GA) MEAC/SWAC Challenge |
| Lane College | |
| at Troy | |
| Tuskegee (Turkey Day Classic) |
Notes
- ^a At an unknown point in the 1944 season, Hubert Lockhart was replaced by E. B. Campbell. Both coaches share credit for the 1944 season.[3]
