Western Connecticut Wolves football
College football team
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The Western Connecticut Wolves football (often stylized as WestConn) team represents Western Connecticut State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Wolves are members of the Landmark Conference, fielding its team in the Landmark Conference since 2025. The Wolves play their home games at the WAC in Danbury, Connecticut.[3] The team was previously known as the Western Connecticut Colonials and Western Connecticut Indians.
First season1969
Athletic directorLori Mazza
Head coachKevin Jones (interim)
1st season, 0–0 (–)
1st season, 0–0 (–)
LocationDanbury, Connecticut
| Western Connecticut Wolves football | |
|---|---|
| |
| First season | 1969 |
| Athletic director | Lori Mazza |
| Head coach | Kevin Jones (interim) 1st season, 0–0 (–) |
| Location | Danbury, Connecticut |
| Stadium | The WAC (capacity: 4,500) |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | Landmark |
| Colors | Deep blue and Starbust orange[1] |
| All-time record | 230–282–4 (.450) |
| Bowl record | 4–2 (.667) |
| Conference championships | |
| 4 | |
| Rivalries | Framingham State[2] |
| Mascot | Wolves |
| Website | westconnathletics.com |
Their head coach is Kevin Jones, who took over the position for the 2025 season.[4]
History
Western Connecticut State College, now known as Western Connecticut State University, established its college football team in 1969, initially named the Western Connecticut Indians. The team's first head coach was Jim Krayeske, who guided them to a 2–2–1 record during their debut season in the Freedom Football League.[5] In recognition of his contributions, Krayeske was inducted into the WestConn Hall of Fame in 2013.[6] The team held their inaugural home game on October 25, 1969, at Osborne Street Field, where they faced New Haven.[7]
Conference affiliations
- NAIA Independent (1970–1976)
- New England Football Conference (1979–1985)
- Division III Independent (1986–1991)
- Freedom Football Conference (1992–2003)[8]
- New Jersey Athletic Conference (2004–2012)[9]
- Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–2024)[10]
- Landmark Conference (2025-Present)[11]
Championships
Conference championships
Western Connecticut claims 4 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2023.
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985† | New England Football Conference | 10–2 | 8–1 | Paul Pasqualoni |
| 1999 | Freedom Football Conference | 10–1 | 6–0 | John Cervino |
| 2001† | 8–2 | 5–1 | Bob Surace | |
| 2023† | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference | 10–2 | 8–1 | Joe Loth |
† Co-champions
Postseason games
NCAA Division III playoff games
The Wolves have made four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 1–4.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | First Round | Montclair State | L, 0–28 |
| 1999 | Second Round | Montclair State | L, 24–32 |
| 2001 | First Round Second Round |
Westfield State Rowan |
W, 8–7 L, 14–43 |
| 2023 | First Round | Johns Hopkins | L, 20–62 |
Bowl games
Western Connecticut has participated in ten bowl games, and has a record of 4–2.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Bob Surace | ECAC Bowl | Nichols | W 63–10 |
| 2013 | Joe Loth | ECAC Bowl | Salve Regina | W 48–35 |
| 2014 | ECAC Bowl | St. John Fisher | L 14–28 | |
| 2019 | New England Bowl | WPI | L 6–35 | |
| 2024 | ECAC Bowl | Alfred | W 45–14 | |
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% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Krayeske[5] | 1969 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | Nick Cutulle[15] | 1970–1971 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| 3 | Dave Rice[16] | 1972–1974 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0.346 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | Bill Sferro[17] | 1975–1976 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0.375 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | Carl Paight[18] | 1977–1979 | 26 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0.115 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.111 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | Steve Golden | 1980–1981 | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0.083 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0.088 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | Paul Pasqualoni[19] | 1982–1986 | 51 | 34 | 17 | 0 | 0.667 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0.667 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | – | – |
| 8 | Chris Rippon[20] | 1987–1989 | 30 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 0.217 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Ken Brasington[21] | 1990–1991 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0.200 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | John Cervino[22] | 1992–1999 | 81 | 39 | 41 | 1 | 0.488 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 0.458 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Bob Surace[23] | 2000–2001 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0.857 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.833 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | – | – |
| 12 | John Burrell[24] | 2002–2011 | 100 | 37 | 63 | 0 | 0.370 | 20 | 54 | 0 | 0.270 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | Joe Loth[25] | 2012–2024 | 122 | 77 | 45 | 0 | 0.631 | 63 | 34 | 0 | 0.649 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 1 | – | – |
| 14 | Kevin Jones[26] | 2025–Present | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.500 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Year-by-year results
| 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 | ||||||||
| Western Connecticut Indians | ||||||||||||||
| 1969 | 1969 | Jim Krayeske | — | — | FFL | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Western Connecticut Colonials | ||||||||||||||
| 1970 | 1970 | Nick Cutulle | NAIA | Division I | Independent | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971 | 1971 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | 1972 | Dave Rice | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1973 | 1973 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1974 | 1974 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | 1975 | Bill Sferro | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1976 | 1976 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1977 | 1977 | Carl Paight | NCAA | Division III | — | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | 1978 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | 1979 | NEFC | 1 | 8 | 0 | 10th | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1980 | 1980 | Steve Golden | 0 | 8 | 1 | 10th | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1981 | 1981 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | Paul Pasqualoni | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–8th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1983 | 1983 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1984 | 1984 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 10 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 8 | 1 | 0 | L NCAA Division III First Round | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | Independent | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1987 | 1987 | Chris Rippon | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1988 | 1988 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | Ken Brasington | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1991 | 1991 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | John Cervino | FFC | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||
| 1993 | 1993 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | 1994 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | 1995 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1998 | 1998 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 6 | 0 | 0 | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 14[28] | ||||
| 2000 | 2000 | Bob Surace | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 0 | W ECAC Northeast Bowl | 20[29] | |||
| 2001 | 2001 | 8 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 5 | 1 | 0 | L NCAA Division III Second Round | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | John Burrell | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2003 | 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | NJAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2005 | 2005 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–8th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10th | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10th | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | Joe Loth | 1 | 8 | 0 | T–8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | MASCAC | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | W ECAC Northeast Bowl[30] | — | |||
| 2014 | 2014 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | L ECAC Northeast Bowl[31] | — | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | 8 | 2 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2019 | 2019 | 8 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | L New England Bowl[32] | — | ||||
| Season canceled due to COVID-19 | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | Joe Loth | NCAA | Division III | MASCAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Western Connecticut Wolves | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2022 | Joe Loth | NCAA | Division III | MASCAC | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| 2023 | 2023 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | L NCAA Division III First Round[33] | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 8 | 1 | 0 | W ECAC Bushnell Bowl [34] | — | ||||
| 2025 | 2025 | Kevin Jones | Landmark | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||
Notes
- 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.
