Missouri Southern Lions football
| Missouri Southern Lions football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1968 | ||
| Head coach | 1st season, 1–10 (.091) | ||
| Stadium | Fred G. Hughes Stadium (capacity: 7,000) | ||
| Year built | 1975 | ||
| Field surface | SpinTurf | ||
| Location | Joplin, Missouri | ||
| NCAA division | NCAA Division II | ||
| Past conferences | Central States Intercollegiate Conference | ||
| All-time record | 229–250–7 (.478) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 1 (1973) | ||
| Conference titles | 2 | ||
| Colors | Green and gold[1] | ||
| Fight song | Southern Fight Song | ||
| Mascot | Roary the Lion | ||
| Marching band | Lion Pride Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Rival | Pittsburg State | ||
| Website | www.mssulions.com | ||
The Missouri Southern Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Missouri Southern State University located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The team plays its home games at the 7,000 seat Fred G. Hughes Stadium in Joplin, Missouri. Denver Johnson became the Lions' head coach on April 1, 2015,[2] replacing Daryl Daye, who resigned after the 2014 season to take over as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State.[3][4]
History
The Lions football program began in 1968. Their first head coach was Jim Johnson. Under coach Jim Frazier the Lions won the 1972 NAIA Division II football championship.[3]
Conferences
From its inaugural season in 1968 until 1975, Missouri Southern played as an independent program. In 1976, it joined the Central States Intercollegiate Conference in which the school won one conference championships before leaving to play as an NCAA Division II member of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later renamed Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in 1989, where the Lions have since remained a member and have won one conference championship.
Championships
National championship seasons
| Season | Coach | Selectors | Record | Bowl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Jim Frazier | NAIA Division II Playoffs | 12–0 | Won NAIA Championship | |
| National Championships | 1 | ||||
Conference championship seasons
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976† | Central States Intercollegiate Conference | Jim Frazier | 8–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 1993 | Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association | Jon Lantz | 9–1–1 | 9–0 | ||
| Total Conference Championships: | 2 | |||||
| † Denotes co-champions | ||||||
Notable former players
- Allen Barbre, a current offensive lineman of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League
- Richard Jordan, NFL player
- Brandon Williams (defensive tackle), a current nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.
- Rod Smith, a former wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Smith has the 2nd most receptions of any undrafted player in the history of the NFL
References
- ^ Missouri Southern State University Official Brand Guidelines (PDF). June 1, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ Mark Schremmer, "Lions to hire former Tulsa assistant as head coach", The Joplin Globe, April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b "Missouri Southern State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "Daryl Daye resigns to take Division I job". mssulions.com. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ DeLassus, David (2014). "Missouri Southern State Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
External links
| Academics |
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Established: 1937 – Students: 5,721 (Fall 2015) | |||||