Tulane Green Wave football

Tulane Green Wave football
First season	1893
Athletic director	Rick Dickson
Head coach	Curtis Johnson 1st year, 2–10  (.167)
Home stadium	Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Year built	1975
Stadium capacity	73,208
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
League	NCAA Division I FBS
Conference	C-USA (1995–present)
Division	West (2005–present)
Past conferences	SIAA (1896–1922) SoCon (1922–1932) SEC (1932–1966)
All-time record	496–602–38 (.453)
Postseason bowl record	4–7
Conference titles	9 SIAA: 1920 SoCon: 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931 SEC: 1934, 1939, 1949 C-USA: 1998
Consensus All-Americans	5
Colors	Olive Green and Sky Blue
Fight song	The Olive and the Blue
Mascot	Riptide
Marching band	Tulane University Marching Band
Outfitter	Nike
Rivals	LSU Tigers Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Website	TulaneGreenWave.com

The Tulane Green Wave football team represents Tulane University in the sport of American football. The Green Wave competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). Tulane University announced November 27, 2012 that they will leave Conference USA and join the Big East Conference in 2014 in all sports.

The football team is currently led by Curtis Johnson and plays its home games off-campus in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In 2011, Tulane announced it would build a new on-campus stadium in time for the 2014 season.

History

Early years

Tulane's first intercollegiate football team in 1893

Tulane's earliest athletic traditions are tied to its football team. Football was introduced to Tulane by Hugh and Thomas Bayne, who played the game at Yale University. The first organized game was played on New Year's Day in 1890 and was the first football game in New Orleans or Louisiana by dividing the students into two teams. Tulane football began playing intercollegiate in 1893 and hit its stride in 1900 with a perfect 5–0 season, beating the Southern Athletic Club, Alabama, Millsaps, LSU, and Ole Miss. In a 1912 game against Southwestern Louisiana, Tulane set records of 15 rushing touchdowns and 95 points that still stand. In 1925 the Green Wave again went undefeated, with only a tie against Missouri to blemish its record. The administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, however, in order to keep the students in class.

Tulane Stadium

1926 saw the completion of a new stadium on campus, Tulane Stadium. Tulane's third and fourth perfect regular seasons came in 1929 and 1931, with a single loss to Northwestern in Chicago, Illinois marring the 1930 campaign. The 1931 team did go to the Rose Bowl, losing 21–12 to Southern California, and Gerald "Jerry" Dalrymple became the only unanimous All-American selection that year. In 1932 Tulane joined the Southeastern Conference as a charter member. In 1935 Tulane began hosting the Sugar Bowl in Tulane Stadium, an annual contest that eventually lent its name to the stadium itself. In 1939 the team completed its fifth unbeaten season, losing a close 14–13 battle to Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. Tulane left the SEC in 1966 to become an independent. They had some success in the 1970s with three bowl invitations in the decade, including a memorable 17–3 victory in the 1970 Liberty Bowl over the heavily favored Colorado Buffaloes.

Louisiana Superdome

Mercedes-Benz Superdome

A seminal moment in the history of Tulane football occurred following the 1974 season, when the Green Wave moved all of its home games to the new Louisiana Superdome in downtown New Orleans which was renamed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2011. Tulane has the dubious distinction of being the only Division I-A football team ever to move from a larger, on-campus stadium to a smaller, off-campus stadium. Tulane Stadium was subsequently demolished in 1980.

The 1980s and most of the 1990s were mainly down seasons for Tulane, with the lone highlight season coming in 1987, when the Green Wave finished 6–6 under then head coach Mack Brown, and lost to Washington 24–12 in the Independence Bowl. The Green Wave that season were led by dynamic quarterback Terrence Jones and wide receiver Marc Zeno. Brown subsequently left Tulane for the head coaching post at the University of North Carolina. He was succeeded at Tulane by his offensive coordinator Greg Davis. Davis failed to garner a winning season at Tulane and was fired in 1991 following a 1–10 campaign. Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens was hired to turn the program around, but he too failed to muster a winning season during his tenure at Tulane and was fired following the 1996 season. In 1995, Tulane left the ranks of the independents and joined a new all-sports league called Conference USA, formed by the merger of the Metro Conference, the non-football conference it belonged to at the time, and the Great Midwest Conference.

Tommy Bowden

Tommy Bowden coached Tulane for two seasons

The 1997 football season at Tulane football program started fresh with a new coach: Tommy Bowden. Using players recruited during the Teevens era, Bowden's first season produced a 7–4 season, its first winning regular season since 1987; however, the Green Wave did not participate in a bowl game that year. The dramatic turnaround was only a preview of what was to come in Bowden's second year as coach. In 1998, Tulane went undefeated for the first time since 1931. Quarterback Shaun King led the Green Wave to a 12–0 record, a Conference USA championship and a final No. 7 national ranking. Despite a perfect regular season, the Green Wave was not invited to a BCS bowl game — an event which contributed to questions about how college football championships and revenues are managed. All the more remarkable about this season was that King played with a cast on his left wrist, which was broken in the third game of the 1998 season. That year, King set the all-time NCAA passing efficiency record for quarterbacks, a record which, at 183.3, was not surpassed until 2006.

Tommy Bowden departed Tulane to become head coach at Clemson University after the 1998 regular season. He was replaced by Georgia assistant and South Louisiana native Chris Scelfo, who was chosen over popular Tulane offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the architect of the devastating spread offense that averaged 45 points per game during the 1998 season. On December 7, 1998, Tulane named Chris Scelfo head coach. Scelfo coached the Green Wave in the 1998 Liberty Bowl, a 41–27 victory over the BYU Cougars which completed the perfect 12–0 season. Rodriguez, who had hoped to be named head coach, followed Bowden to Clemson to serve as offensive coordinator. He subsequently was hired in 2001 as the head coach of West Virginia University, his alma mater, until he took the head coaching position at the University of Michigan in December 2007.

Chris Scelfo

Tulane players warming up for a game against Texas

The Chris Scelfo era was highlighted by a 6–5 record in 2000 and a 2002 Hawaiʻi Bowl victory over the University of Hawaiʻi, which completed an 8–5 overall season for the Green Wave. Unfortunately for Scelfo and Tulane fans, the 2002 season was the final winning season under Scelfo. Scelfo and his staff showed great resolve and courage in guiding Tulane football through an extraordinary 2005 season in which the Green Wave was displaced from New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina and forced to play 11 games in 11 stadiums; the team finished the season at 2–9. After returning to a normal 2006 home schedule in the Superdome, Scelfo was fired by the University following a 4–8 season, his sixth losing season in eight years as head coach. Scelfo finished his career at Tulane with a 37–57 overall record.

Two quarterbacks developed by Scelfo and his staff, Patrick Ramsey and JP Losman, were selected in the first round of the 2002 and 2004 NFL Drafts by the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills, respectively. A third quarterback, Lester Ricard, was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2007 and was on their practice squad the entire season. Mewelde Moore, a lightly recruited running back out of Belaire High School in Baton Rouge, LA, was signed by Scelfo in 2000 and ultimately finished his four-year career as Tulane's all-time leading rusher, surpassing the legendary Eddie Price. Moore was selected in the 4th round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, where Moore was primarily used as a kick and punt returner.

Bob Toledo

On December 11, 2006, former UCLA Bruins head coach and University of New Mexico offensive coordinator Bob Toledo was selected as the 37th head coach in Tulane football history. Toledo, age 60, compiled a 49–32 overall record while at UCLA from 1996–2002, which included a Pac-10 title in 1998 and a 20-game winning streak between the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Ironically, Toledo became head coach at a school whom he lost a prized recruit to; J. P. Losman signed with UCLA in 1999 but transferred following UCLA's Spring practice to play for Scelfo at Tulane. It has been thought that Losman's transfer was one of the events that ultimately led to the demise of Toledo's tenure at UCLA.

Tulane record-holder Matt Forté

Prior to his time as Bruins head coach, Toledo served as offensive coordinator at UCLA (1994–95), Texas A&M (1989–93) and Oregon (1983–89). He also had stints as head coach at the University of Pacific and UC Riverside. The Green Wave finished 4–8 in Toledo's inaugural season, highlighted by the individual performance of running back Matt Forté, who shattered several Green Wave records on his way to rushing for 2,127 yards and 23 touchdowns. In 2007, Forté broke the 200-yard rushing barrier five times and the 300-yard barrier twice, which included a Green Wave and Conference USA single game record 342 rushing yards against SMU on October 20, 2007.

Toledo resigned on October 18, 2011, after the team started 2–5. Co-offensive coordinator Mark Hutson then became interim head coach, going 0-6 to finish the season.

Curtis Johnson

On December 5, 2011, New Orleans Saints Wide Receivers Coach Curtis Johnson was introduced as the new head coach of Tulane football. Four days later, with $40 million already raised, it was announced that the university was embarking on a $70 million fundraising campaign known as "Home Field Advantage." The campaign looks to raise $60 million for construction of a new 30,000-seat stadium on the Uptown campus - to be opened by 2014 - and $10 million for the football program itself, to be put toward locker room, weight room, and academic advising upgrades. It will be called "Benson Field at Yulman Stadium."

Culture

Tulane University Marching Band

Main article: Tulane University Marching Band

The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) was founded in 1920 as a military band. It dissolved shortly after the team's move to the Superdome in the 1970s and did not formally return until 2006. The TUMB performs at home games each fall and in Mardi Gras parades each spring.

Mascot

Riptide the Pelican debuted in 1998 with the re-branding of Tulane athletics. Prior to that, the school used an angry wave nicknamed "Gumby" by fans, and before that a John Chase creation named "Greenie."

Rivalries

LSU Tigers

Main article: Battle for the Flag

Tulane's biggest and oldest rival is LSU. It began in 1893 with a 34–0 Green Wave victory over the Tigers. Since then the teams have met nearly every year in the Battle for the Flag. The rivalry became less competitive after 1948, until Tulane broke a 25-game losing streak in 1973 with a 14–0 victory in front of a Tulane Stadium record crowd of 86,598 in the final installment of the long-time rivalry played on Tulane's campus. Between 1979 and 1982, Tulane won three out of four games against the Tigers; the 1982 win was the last win to date. The two schools stopped playing annually after the 1994 game; however, they have met six times (1996, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009) since. LSU currently leads the series 69–22–7 and has won 45 of the last 50 games. As a condition of the broken series agreement made in 2006, a game will be played in a future season in New Orleans.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Main article: Battle for the Bell (Southern Miss vs Tulane)

Known as the Battle for the Bell, Tulane's rivalry with Southern Miss was played yearly from 1979 until 2006 and alternates sites between New Orleans and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. As a result of Conference USA splitting into divisions in 2005, the game is now played two out of every four years.

Team achievements

Conference championships

Season	Conference	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1920†	SIAA	Clark Shaughnessy	6-2-1	5-0
1925†	SoCon	Clark Shaughnessy	9-0-1	5-0
1929	SoCon	Bernie Bierman	9-0	6–0
1930†	SoCon	Bernie Bierman	8-1	5–0
1931	SoCon	Bernie Bierman	11-1	8-0
1934†	SEC	Ted Cox	10-1	8–0
1939†	SEC	Red Dawson	8-1-1	5-0
1949	SEC	Henry E. Frnka	7-2-1	5-1
1998	C-USA	Tommy Bowden	12-0	6-0
Conference Championships			9
† Denotes co-champions

Yearly records

Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP# BCS° Independent (1893–1894) 1893 T.L. Bayne 1–2 — — — — 1894 Fred Sweet 0–4 — — — — Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1895–1921) 1895 T.L. Bayne 3–2 1–2 — — — 1896 Harry Baum 3–2 1–2 — — — 1897 No Team — — — — — 1898 John Lombard 1–1 1–1 — — — 1899 H. T. Collier 0–6–1 0–5 — — — 1900 H.T. Summersgill 5–0 3–0 — — — 1901 H.T. Summersgill 5–1 3–0 — — — 1902 Virginius Dabney 1–4–2 0–4–2 — — — 1903 Charles Eshleman 2–2–1 0–1–1 — — — 1904 Thomas Barry 5–2 3–2 — — — 1905 John Tobin 0–1 0–1 — — — 1906 John Russ 0–4–1 0–3 — — — 1907 Joe Curtis 3–2 0–1 — — — 1908 Joe Curtis 7–1 3–0 — — — 1909 Buster Brown 4–3–2 2–0–2 — L 0–11 Bacardi Bowl — — 1910 Appleton Mason 0–7 0–5 — — — 1911 Appleton Mason 5–3–1 2–3 — — — 1912 Appleton Mason 5–3 2–2 — — — 1913 Arthur Hoffman 3–5 0–4 — — — 1914 Edwin Sweetland 3–3–1 0–3–1 — — — 1915 Clark Shaughnessy 4–4 0–4 — — — 1916 Clark Shaughnessy 4–3–1 2–0–1 — — — 1917 Clark Shaughnessy 5–3 2–1 — — — 1918 Clark Shaughnessy 4–1–1 0–0 — — — 1919 Clark Shaughnessy 6–2–1 3–1–1 — — — 1920 Clark Shaughnessy 6–2–1 5–0 T-1st — — 1921 Myron Fuller 4–6 2–2 — — — Southern Conference (1922–1931) 1922 Clark Shaughnessy 4–4 1–4 — — — 1923 Clark Shaughnessy 6–3–1 2–2–1 — — — 1924 Clark Shaughnessy 8–1 4–1 — — — 1925 Clark Shaughnessy 9–0–1 5–0 T-1st — — 1926 Clark Shaughnessy 3–5–1 2–4 — — — 1927 Bernie Bierman 2–5–1 2–5–1 — — — 1928 Bernie Bierman 6–3–1 3–3–1 — — — 1929 Bernie Bierman 9–0 6–0 1st Declined Rose — — 1930 Bernie Bierman 8–1 5–0 T-1st — — 1931 Bernie Bierman 11–1 8–0 1st L 12–21 Rose — — 1932 Ted Cox 6–2–1 5–2–1 — — — Southeastern Conference (1932–1965) 1933 Ted Cox 6–3–1 4–2–1 5th — — 1934 Ted Cox 10–1 8–0 T-1st W 20–14 Sugar — — 1935 Ted Cox 6–4 3–3 T-6th — — 1936 Red Dawson 6–3–1 2–3–1 8th — 1937 Red Dawson 5–4–1 2–3–1 9th — 1938 Red Dawson 7–2–1 4–1–1 T-2nd 19 — 1939 Red Dawson 8–1–1 5–0 T-1st L 13–14 Sugar 5 — 1940 Red Dawson 5–5 1–3 10th — 1941 Red Dawson 5–4 2–3 8th — 1942 Claude Simons, Jr. 4–5 1–4 10th — 1943 Claude Simons, Jr. 3–3 1–1 T-2nd — 1944 Claude Simons, Jr. 4–3 1–2 8th — 1945 Claude Simons, Jr. 2–6–1 1–3–1 10th — 1946 Henry E. Frnka 3–7 2–4 9th — 1947 Henry E. Frnka 2–5–2 2–3–2 7th — 1948 Henry E. Frnka 9–1 5–1 3rd 13 — 1949 Henry E. Frnka 7–2–1 5–1 1st — 1950 Henry E. Frnka 6–2–1 3–1–1 4th 20 — 1951 Henry E. Frnka 4–6 1–5 12th — 1952 Raymond Wolf 5–5 3–5 8th — 1953 Raymond Wolf 1–8–1 0–7 12th — 1954 Andy Pilney 1–6–3 1–6–1 10th — 1955 Andy Pilney 5–4–1 3–3–1 T-6th — 1956 Andy Pilney 6–4 3–3 T-6th — 1957 Andy Pilney 2–8 1–5 10th — 1958 Andy Pilney 3–7 1–5 11th — 1959 Andy Pilney 3–6–1 0–5–1 11th — 1960 Andy Pilney 3–6–1 1–4–1 10th — 1961 Andy Pilney 2–8 1–5 T-10th — 1962 Tommy O'Boyle 0–10 0–7 12th — 1963 Tommy O'Boyle 1–8–1 0–6–1 12th — 1964 Tommy O'Boyle 3–7 1–5 11th — 1965 Tommy O'Boyle 2–8 1–5 T-9th — Independent (1966–1995) 1966 Jim Pittman 5–4–1 — — — 1967 Jim Pittman 3–7 — — — 1968 Jim Pittman 2–8 — — — 1969 Jim Pittman 3–7 — — — 1970 Jim Pittman 8–4 — — W 17–3 Liberty 17 — 1971 Bennie Ellender 3–8 — — — 1972 Bennie Ellender 6–5 — — — 1973 Bennie Ellender 9–3 — — L 7–47 Bluebonnet 20 — 1974 Bennie Ellender 5–6 — — — 1975 Bennie Ellender 4–7 — — — 1976 Larry Smith 2–9 — — — 1977 Larry Smith 3–8 — — — 1978 Larry Smith 4–7 — — — 1979 Larry Smith 9–3 — — L 6–9 Liberty — 1980 Vince Gibson 7–5 — — L 15–34 Hall of Fame Classic — 1981 Vince Gibson 6–5 — — — 1982 Larry Smith 4–7 — — — 1983 Wally English 2–9 — — — 1984 Wally English 3–8 — — — 1985 Mack Brown 1–10 — — — 1986 Mack Brown 4–7 — — — 1987 Mack Brown 6–6 — — L 12–24 Independence — 1988 Greg Davis 5–6 — — — 1989 Greg Davis 4–8 — — — 1990 Greg Davis 4–7 — — — 1991 Greg Davis 1–10 — — — 1992 Buddy Teevens 2–9 — — — 1993 Buddy Teevens 4–8 — — — 1994 Buddy Teevens 1–10 — — — 1995 Buddy Teevens 2–9 — — — Conference USA (1996–present) 1996 Buddy Teevens 2–9 1–4 6th — 1997 Tommy Bowden 7–4 5–1 2nd — 1998 Tommy Bowden Chris Scelfo 12–0 6–0 1st W 41–27 Liberty 7 10 1999 Chris Scelfo 3–8 1–5 T-6th 2000 Chris Scelfo 6–5 3–4 T-5th 2001 Chris Scelfo 3–9 1–6 9th 2002 Chris Scelfo 8–5 4–4 5th W 36–28 Hawaii 2003 Chris Scelfo 5–7 3–5 8th 2004 Chris Scelfo 5–6 3–5 T-6th 2005 Chris Scelfo 2–9 1–7 T-5th (West) 2006 Chris Scelfo 4–8 2–6 6th (West) 2007 Bob Toledo 4–8 3–5 T-3th (West) 2008 Bob Toledo 2–10 1–7 5th (West) 2009 Bob Toledo 3–9 1–7 6th (West) 2010 Bob Toledo 4–8 2–6 6th (West) 2011 Bob Toledo Mark Hutson 2–11 1–7 6th (West) 2012 Curtis Johnson 2–10 2–6 6th (West) Total: 496–602–38       National championship         Conference title         Conference division title #Rankings from final AP Poll. °Rankings from final BCS Poll.

Coaches and staff

Current staff

Name	Position	Season at Tulane
Curtis Johnson	Head coach	1st
Eric Price	Offensive Coordinator	1st
Jon Sumrall	Co-Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Line	1st
Lionel Washington	Co-Defensive Coordinator, Secondary	1st
David Johnson	Tight Ends, Running Backs	1st
Barry Lamb	Linebackers, Special Teams	1st
John McDonell	Offensive Line	1st
Mike Neu	Quarterbacks	1st
Jason Rollins	Secondary	5th
Keith Williams	Wide Receivers	1st
Doug Lichtenberger	Operations/Recruiting	5th
Kwahn Drake	Graduate Assistant, Defense	1st
Chad Jenkins	Graduate Assistant, Defense	2nd
Mike McCarthy	Graduate Assistant Coach, Offense	1st
Casey Robottom	Graduate Assistant Coach, Offense	1st
Reference:

Bowl appearances

Main article: List of Tulane Green Wave bowl games

Tulane has been to 11 bowls in its history, winning 4. Its victories include the inaugural Sugar Bowl (held in the team's home stadium and the game's namesake, Tulane Stadium), the 1970 Liberty Bowl, the 1998 Liberty Bowl (after a perfect 11–0 season), and the 2002 Hawaiʻi Bowl.

Future non-conference opponents

2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	TBA
vs Jackson State	vs Southeastern Louisiana	vs Duke	at Mississippi State	at Ole Miss	at Georgia Tech	vs South Alabama	at South Alabama	at Ole Miss	at Syracuse
vs South Alabama	at Duke	at Georgia Tech	vs UL–Lafayette			at Duke			vs LSU
at UL–Monroe	vs Georgia Tech					vs Georgia Tech
at Syracuse	at Rutgers

External links

• Official website