Sacred Heart Pioneers football
Intercollegiate American football team for Sacred Heart University
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The Sacred Heart Pioneers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Sacred Heart University located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. In its most recent 2025 season, it was one of two NCAA Division I FCS independent schools. The school's first football team was fielded in 1991.[2] The 2001 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team compiled a perfect 11–0 record and won the school's first conference championship. The team plays its home games at the 3,334-seat Campus Field.
14th season, 82–72 (.532)
| Sacred Heart Pioneers football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First season | 1991; 35 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Judy Ann Riccio | ||
| Head coach | Mark Nofri 14th season, 82–72 (.532) | ||
| Location | Fairfield, Connecticut | ||
| Stadium | Campus Field (capacity: 3,334) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Independent (CAA Football in 2026) | ||
| Colors | Red and white[1] | ||
| All-time record | 174–194 (.473) | ||
| Playoff record | 0–4 (.000) | ||
| Bowl record | 1–0 (1.000) | ||
| Conference championships | |||
| NEC: 2001, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021 | |||
| Consensus All-Americans | 3 | ||
| Website | sacredheartpioneers.com | ||
The Pioneers started competing as an NCAA Division I FCS independent in 2024. Their departure from the Northeast Conference (now officially known as the NEC) coincided with the move of the Sacred Heart Pioneers athletic program to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which has not supported football competition since 2007. They joined the Merrimack Warriors football program, also joining the MAAC as a full member, as the only two schools competing in the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season independent of conference affiliation, and remained in that status in the 2025 season. On July 22, 2025, CAA Football announced Sacred Heart would be its newest football member and begin conference play in the 2026 season.[3]
History
Classifications
- 1991–1992: NCAA Division III
- 1993–1997: NCAA Division II
- 1998–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS
Conference memberships
- 1991–1992: NCAA Division III independent
- 1993–1994: NCAA Division II independent
- 1995–1996: Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
- 1997: Eastern Football Conference
- 1998–2023: Northeast Conference
- 2024–2025: NCAA Division I FCS independent
- 2026–present: CAA Football
Notable former players
Championships
Conference championships
| Year | Coach | Conference | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Jim Fleming | Northeast Conference | 11–0 |
| 2013 | Mark Nofri | Northeast Conference | 10–3 † |
| 2014 | Mark Nofri | Northeast Conference | 9–3 † |
| 2018 | Mark Nofri | Northeast Conference | 7–4 † |
| 2020 | Mark Nofri | Northeast Conference | 3–1 |
| 2021 | Mark Nofri | Northeast Conference | 6–1 |
| Conference Championships | 6 | ||
† denotes co-championship
Playoff appearances
NCAA Division I
Sacred Heart has made four appearances in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. The Pioneers combined record is 0–4.
Future non-conference opponents
Future non-conference opponents announced as of December 16, 2025.[4]
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| at UMass (9/12) | Morgan State (9/11) | at Morgan State (9/2) |
| Stonehill (10/10) | Brown (9/16) | |
| at Merrimack (11/21) |