Grambling State Tigers football
| Grambling State Tigers football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1928 95 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Dr. Trayvean D. Scott | ||
| Head coach | Hue Jackson 2nd season, 3–8 (.273) | ||
| Stadium | Eddie Robinson Stadium (capacity: 19,600) | ||
| Field surface | Artificial Turf | ||
| Location | Grambling, Louisiana | ||
| Conference | SWAC (since 1958) | ||
| Division | West | ||
| All-time record | 534–239–18 (.686) | ||
| Bowl record | 19–8 (.704) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 15 (Black College): 1955, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2016 | ||
| Conference titles | 26 | ||
| Rivalries | Southern Jackson State Prairie View A&M | ||
| Colors | Black, gold, and red[1] | ||
| Website | gsutigers.com | ||
The Grambling State Tigers are the college football team representing the Grambling State University. The Tigers play in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The prominence of Grambling football is longstanding. The Tigers, under Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson, who guided them to 408 victories in 55 seasons from 1941 to 1942 and 1945 to 1997, were built as a small-school powerhouse with more than 200 players who played professional football.[2]
On September 24, 1976, Grambling State and Morgan State became the first collegiate football teams from the United States to play a game in the continent of Asia. GSU defeated Morgan State 42–16 in Tokyo, Japan. In fall 1977, the GSU Tigers were invited back to Tokyo where they defeated Temple University 35–32 in the inaugural Mirage Bowl game.[3]
Among its accomplishments include: 15 Black college football national championships (tied for second most in HBCU history) and 26 Conference Championships (1 Midwest Conference & 25 SWAC). The Tigers have won the most SWAC Championships to date.[4]
Football classifications
- 1937–1952: NA
- 1953–1972: NCAA College Division (Small College)
- 1973–1976: NCAA Division II
- 1977: NCAA Division I
- 1978–present: NCAA Division I-AA (FCS)
Conference affiliations
- 1928–1951: Independent
- 1952–1957: Midwestern Conference
- 1958–present: Southwestern Athletic Conference
Annual Classics
Championships
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record[5][6] | Conference record[5][6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Midwestern Conference | Eddie Robinson | 10-0-0 | 2-0-0 |
| 1960 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 9-1-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 1965 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 8-3-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 1966 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 6-2-1 | 4-2-1 |
| 1967 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 9-1-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 1968 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 9-2-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 1971 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 9-2-0 | 5-1-0 |
| 1972 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 11**-2-0 | 5**-1-0 |
| 1973 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 10-3-0 | 5-1-0 |
| 1974 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 11-1-0 | 5-1-0 |
| 1975 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* (vacated)[7] | Eddie Robinson | 10-2**-0 | 4-2**-0 |
| 1977 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 10-1-0 | 6-0-0 |
| 1978 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 9-1-1 | 5-0-1 |
| 1979 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 8-3-0 | 5-1-0 |
| 1980 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 10-2-0 | 5-1-0 |
| 1983 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 10-2-0 | 6-0-1 |
| 1985 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 9-3-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 1989 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | Eddie Robinson | 9-3-0 | 7-0-0 |
| 1994 | Southwestern Athletic Conference* | Eddie Robinson | 9-3-0 | 6-1-0 |
| 2000 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Doug Williams | 10-2 | 6-1 |
| 2001 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Doug Williams | 11**-0 | 6**-1 |
| 2002 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Doug Williams | 11-2 | 6-1 |
| 2003 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division* | Doug Williams | 9-3 | 6-1 |
| 2005 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Melvin Spears | 11-1 | 9-0 |
| 2007 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division | Rod Broadway | 8-4 | 8-1 |
| 2008 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Rod Broadway | 11-2 | 7-0 |
| 2010 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division* | Rod Broadway | 9-2 | 8-1 |
| 2011 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Doug Williams | 8-4 | 6-3 |
| 2015 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division | Broderick Fobbs | 9-3 | 9-0 |
| 2016 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Broderick Fobbs | 11-1 | 9-0 |
| 2017 | Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Broderick Fobbs | 11-2 | 7-0 |
| Total conference and division championships | 26 (+1 vacated) conference and 10 division | |||
Notes: an asterisk denotes co-championships; a double-asterisk denotes forfeits
- Midwestern Conference Championships[5]
- 1955
- 1960 (shared with Prairie View A&M and Southern)
- 1965
- 1966 (shared with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southern, and Texas Southern)
- 1967
- 1968 (shared with Alcorn State and Texas Southern)
- 1971
- 1972 (shared with Jackson State)
- 1973 (shared with Jackson State)
- 1974 (shared with Alcorn State)
- 1975 (shared with Jackson State and Southern; vacated[7] due to violation of SWAC rules for scheduling opponents)[8]
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979 (shared with Alcorn State)
- 1980 (shared with Jackson State)
- 1983
- 1985 (shared with Jackson State)
- 1989
- 1994 (shared with Alcorn State)
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2005
- 2008
- 2011
- 2016
- 2017
- 1955
- 1967 (shared with Morgan State)
- 1972
- 1974 (shared with Alcorn State)
- 1975 (shared with Southern)
- 1977 (shared with Florida A&M and South Carolina State)
- 1980
- 1983 (shared with Central State and Tennessee State)
- 1992 (shared with Central State)
- 2000
- 2001 (shared with Florida A&M and Tuskegee)
- 2002 (shared with Bethune–Cookman)
- 2005 (shared with Hampton)
- 2008 (shared with South Carolina State)
- 2016
Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results
The Tigers have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs three times with a record of 0–3.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Semifinals | Boise State | L 9–14 |
| 1985 | First Round | Arkansas State | L 7–10 |
| 1989 | First Round | Stephen F. Austin | L 56–59 |
Division II Playoffs results
The Tigers have appeared in the Division II playoffs one time with an overall record of 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Quarterfinals | Delaware | W 17–8 | Boardwalk Bowl |
| Semifinals | WKU | L 20–28 | Grantland Rice Bowl |
College Football Hall of Fame members
- Buck Buchanan - OT, 1959–1962, inducted 1996
- Gary "Big Hands" Johnson - DT, 1971–1974, inducted 1997
- Eddie Robinson - Coach, 1941–1997, inducted 1997 (third most victories in college football history)
- Doug Williams - QB, 1974–1977, inducted 2001
- Paul "Tank" Younger - FB, 1945–1948, inducted 2000
Pro Football Hall of Fame members
Over 100 Grambling State alumni have played in the NFL,[9] including four Pro Football Hall of Famers:
- Willie Brown, inducted 1984
- Buck Buchanan, inducted 1990
- Willie Davis, inducted 1981
- Charlie Joiner, inducted 1996
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of June 17, 2023.[10]
| 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|
| vs Hampton | at Louisiana |
| at LSU | |
| Florida Memorial |
See also
- List of Grambling State Tigers in the NFL Draft
- List of NCAA Division I FCS football programs
- Grambling State Tigers
- Season of the Tiger
- Grambling's White Tiger
References
- ^ Grambling State University Logos and Marks (PDF). July 14, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "The 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history". 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Back in the day: 40 years ago, Morgan State and Grambling played in Tokyo". 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Grambling's Eddie Robinson changed college football and his legacy still impacts the game".
- ^ a b c "Conference Champions". Cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ a b c "2015 SWAC Football Media Day by SWAC". issuu. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ a b "Log in to NewsBank".
- ^ "Log in to NewsBank".
- ^ "Grambling St. Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
- ^ "Grambling State Tigers Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.