Nichols Bison football
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First season1932
Athletic directorJack Hayes
Head coachVinny Marino
2nd season, 5–15 (.250)
2nd season, 5–15 (.250)
StadiumVendetti Field
(capacity: 2,000)
(capacity: 2,000)
| Nichols Bison football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1932 |
| Athletic director | Jack Hayes |
| Head coach | Vinny Marino 2nd season, 5–15 (.250) |
| Stadium | Vendetti Field (capacity: 2,000) |
| Location | Dudley, Massachusetts |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | CNE |
| All-time record | 267–361–11 (.426) |
| Conference championships | |
| 5 NEFC (1973–1976, 1978) | |
| Conference division championships | |
| 1 NEFC Boyd Division (2001) | |
| Colors | Black and green[1] |
| Mascot | Bison |
| Website | nicholsathletics.com |
The Nichols Bison football team represents Nichols College in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Bison are members of the Conference of New England (CNE), fielding its team in the CNE since 1972 when it was named the New England Football Conference (NEFC). The Bison play their home games at Vendetti Field in Dudley, Massachusetts.[2][3]
Their head coach is Vinny Marino, who will take over the position for the 2024 season.[4]
- Independent (1932–1942, 1947–1971)
- New England Football Conference (1972–1991)
- Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (1992–1997)
- New England Football Conference / Commonwealth Coast football / Conference of New England (1998–present)
Championships
Conference championships
Nichols claims 5 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2023.
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | New England Football Conference | 8–1 | 4–0 | Michael Vendetti |
| 1974 | 7–1–1 | 6–0–1 | ||
| 1975† | 6–2 | 6–2 | ||
| 1976 | 8–1 | 7–1 | ||
| 1978† | 6–2 | 6–2 |
† Co-champions
Division championships
Nichols claims 1 division title, which came in 2001.
| Year | Division | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | NEFC Boyd | Bill Carven | 6–4 | 5–0 | Westfield State | L 0–12 |
Postseason games
Bowl games
Nichols has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Bill Carven | ECAC Bowl | Western Connecticut | L 10–63 |
List of head coaches
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | 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[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unknown | 1932–1942 | — | — | — | — | — | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | Hal Chalmers | 1947–1958 | 68 | 25 | 38 | 5 | 0.404 | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | Harry Gaffney | 1959–1961 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0.412 | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | Michael Vendetti | 1962–1985 | 191 | 103 | 83 | 5 | 0.552 | 65 | 43 | 2 | 0.600 |
| 5 | Jack Charney | 1986–1992 | 63 | 34 | 28 | 1 | 0.548 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 6 | Jim Crowley | 1993–1995 | 27 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0.111 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0.105 |
| 7 | Jim Foster | 1996–1998 | 29 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 0.310 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0.294 |
| 8 | Bill Carven[8] | 1999–2010 | 115 | 51 | 64 | 0 | 0.443 | 34 | 41 | 0 | 0.455 |
| 9 | Kevin Loney[9] | 2011–2013 | 29 | 2 | 27 | 0 | 0.069 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0.048 |
| 10 | Dale Olmsted[10] | 2014–2023 | 90 | 30 | 60 | 0 | 0.333 | 12 | 44 | 0 | 0.214 |
| 11 | Vinny Marino | 2024–present | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0.250 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0.167 |
Year-by-year results since 1947
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Nichols Bison | ||||||||||||||
| 1947 | 1947 | Hal Chalmers | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | — | ||||
| 1948 | 1948 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1949 | 1949 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1950 | 1950 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1951 | 1951 | 5 | 0 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1952 | 1952 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1953 | 1953 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1954 | 1954 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1955 | 1955 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1956 | 1956 | College Division | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1957 | 1957 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1958 | 1958 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1959 | 1959 | Harry Gaffney | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1960 | 1960 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1961 | 1961 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1962 | 1962 | Michael Vendetti | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1963 | 1963 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1964 | 1964 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1965 | 1965 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1966 | 1966 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1967 | 1967 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1968 | 1968 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1969 | 1969 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1970 | 1970 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1971 | 1971 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1972 | 1972 | NEFC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4th | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1973 | 1973 | Division III | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 4 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1974 | 1974 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1st | 6 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1975 | 1975 | 6 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 6 | 2 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1976 | 1976 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1977 | 1977 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | 1978 | 6 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 6 | 2 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1979 | 1979 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1980 | 1980 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8th | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | 1981 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–4th | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | 1983 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1984 | 1984 | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 10th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | Jack Charney | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1987 | 1987 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (North) | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | 1988 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3rd (North) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4th (North) | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4th (North) | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1991 | 1991 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd (North) | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | ECFC | 7 | 1 | 1 | T–2nd | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1993 | 1993 | Jim Crowley | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1994 | 1994 | Division II | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1995 | 1995 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | Jim Foster | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1997 | 1997 | Division III | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1998 | 1998 | NEFC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th (Blue) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1999 | 1999 | Bill Carven | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4th (Blue) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2000 | 2000 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (Boyd) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | 2001 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1st (Boyd) | 5 | 0 | 0 | Division champions | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd (Boyd) | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd (Boyd) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–4th (Boyd) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7th (Boyd) | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd (Boyd) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd (Boyd) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th (Boyd) | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–4th (Boyd) | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 7th (Boyd) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | Kevin Loney | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8th (Boyd) | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2012 | 2012 | 1 | 9 | 0 | T–6th (Boyd) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | Dale Olmsted | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2015 | 2015 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | CCC Football | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2018 | 2018 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2019 | 2019 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| No team in 2020 due to COVID-19. | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | Dale Olmsted | NCAA | Division III | CCC Football | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| 2022 | 2022 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–5th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | Vinny Marino | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2025 | 2025 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||