The Citadel Bulldogs football program represents The Citadel in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Bulldogs play in the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936. The Bulldogs are coached by Maurice Drayton, who was hired on January 12, 2023, to replace Brent Thompson, whose contract was not renewed.
History
Facilities The Bulldogs first recorded stadium was College Park, located in the northeast corner of Hampton Park in Charleston, South Carolina. This field predated the current College Park at the same site, which is used as a practice facility for The Citadel Bulldogs baseball. Due to increasing attendance and the poor state of the stadium, the Bulldogs moved to the original Johnson Hagood Stadium in 1927. In 1948, that stadium was replaced by the current Johnson Hagood Stadium, which lies just to the south of The Citadel's gates in Charleston.
Johnson Hagood is a 21,000-seat stadium, in which The Citadel routinely ranks in the top 25 in attendance at the FCS level. In 2001, the Altman Athletic Center opened in the south end zone, complete with new home and visitor's locker rooms, official's locker rooms, and an upstairs hospitality area for donors. In 2008, The Citadel completed a re-construction of the west stands and West Side Tower. The stands contain reserved premium seats and bleacher seats, while the tower, shared with the South Carolina National Guard, contains twelve suites, a club level, and state of the art press box. During preparation for construction, workers discovered the remains of sailors from failed test runs of the H.L. Hunley. These remains were reinterred in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
Beginning in 2012, The Citadel implemented a points system for parking and seat selection in Johnson Hagood Stadium, joining many large programs who use similar systems. The program is designed to reward long-time and large donors to The Citadel athletics by giving them preference in selecting seat and parking locations.
In 2016, The Citadel determined that lead paint needed remediation on the east (visitor's) side of the stadium. The work resulted in the entire east side being closed for the first game of the 2016 season and some sections being opened for subsequent games. The capacity was thus 10,500 for the first game and about 15,000 for later games. The Board of Visitors decided to fully renovate the east side of the stadium, announcing that decision on December 2, 2016.
Practice and on-campus facilities Practices are held at the Maybank Triplets Practice Facility, an artificial turf field at the north edge of campus. The Bulldogs utilize Seignious Hall, located across from McAlister Field House for weightlifting, locker rooms, team meeting and video space, and academic tutoring. The Citadel Sports Medicine Department also utilizes Seignious Hall.
Coaches and staff Coaches from The Citadel have often been targeted for larger programs. Former head and assistant coaches at The Citadel include Bobby Ross, Charlie Taaffe, Ellis Johnson, Frank Beamer, Al Davis, Ralph Friedgen, and Mike Houston.
Head coaches
NameFirst YearFinal YearNo. SeasonsSyd Smith190519051Ralph Foster190619083Sam Costen190919102Louis LeTellier191119122George Rogers191319194Harvey O'Brien191619215Carl Prause192219298Johnny Floyd193019312Tatum Gressette193219398Bo Rowland194019423J. Quinn Decker194619527John D. McMillan195319542John Sauer195519562Eddie Teague195719659Red Parker196619727Bobby Ross197319775Art Baker197819825Tom Moore198319864Charlie Taaffe198719959Don Powers199620005Ellis Johnson200120033John Zernhelt200420041Kevin Higgins200520139Mike Houston201420152Brent Thompson201620226Maurice Drayton2023recent3
Seasons and results
Conference championships The Citadel has won four conference championships, three outright and one shared.
1961Southern ConferenceEddie Teague7–35–11992Charlie Taaffe11–2 6–12015†Mike Houston 9–4 6–12016Brent Thompson 10–28–0 † denotes co–champions
Postseason appearances Bowl games 1960 Eddie Teague Tangerine Bowl Tennessee Tech W 27–0
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results The Citadel has appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs five times, posting a 2–5 record.
1988 First Round Georgia Southern L 20–38 1990 First Round Georgia Southern L 0–31 1992 First RoundQuarterfinals North Carolina A&TYoungstown State W 44–0L 17–42 2015 First RoundSecond Round Coastal CarolinaCharleston Southern W 41–38L 6–14 2016 Second Round Wofford L 3–17
Rivalries
The Citadel's primary rivals are the VMI Keydets football and Furman Paladins football. The game with VMI is known as the Military Classic of the South. The Citadel and Furman have been heated, annual rivals since both joined the Southern Conference in 1936. The Citadel is 151-174-9 all-time against in-state opponents.
Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win VMI 45 33 2 1920 2024 2023 Furman 37 64 3 1913 2020–21 2024
Record vs. Current SoCon opponents Excludes Furman and VMI, listed above. East Tennessee State returned to the SoCon in 2016. Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win Chattanooga 20 35 2 1926 2021 2023 East Tennessee State 14 19 0 1966 2022 2024 Mercer 11 10 1 1906 2019 2024 Samford 8 10 0 1989 2024 2023 Western Carolina 27 21 1 1972 2022 2024 Wofford 44 32 1 1916 2021 2023
Record vs instate opponents Division I, non-SoCon only Opponent Wins Losses Ties First meeting Last Citadel win Last Opponent win Charleston Southern 8 6 — 2002 2024 2021 Clemson 5 34 1 1909 1931 2024 Coastal Carolina 1 1 — 2014 2015 2014 Presbyterian 51 11 1 1915 2017 1979 South Carolina 8 40 3 1905 2015 2011 South Carolina State 4 2 0 1989 2001 2024
Bulldogs in professional football
Many Citadel alumni have played in various professional leagues, including the National Football League, Canadian Football League and Arena Football League. Sixteen players have been drafted in the NFL draft and AFL draft, and other players have signed as undrafted free agents. Likely the most famous Citadel alumni in professional football are Running Back Stump Mitchell and broadcaster Paul Maguire. Andre Roberts is a recent player who achieved success in the NFL and Cortez Allen recently played with the Pittsburgh Steelers for 5 seasons; Running Back Travis Jervey played in 2 Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers and was named to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
NFL draft YearNameRoundOverallTeam1939Andy Sabados13111Chicago Cardinals1959Pete Davidson14165Los Angeles Rams1960Harry Rakowski15169Los Angeles RamsJoe Davis17194Chicago Cardinals1969Jim McMillan16415Baltimore Colts1970John Small112Atlanta Falcons1977Brian Ruff11304Baltimore Colts1981Stump Mitchell9226St. Louis Cardinals1987Greg Davis9246Tampa Bay Buccaneers1995Travis Jervey5170Green Bay Packers2005Nehemiah Broughton7222Washington Redskins2010Andre Roberts388Arizona Cardinals2011Cortez Allen4128Pittsburgh Steelers
AFL draft YearNameRoundOverallTeam1960Wayne StewartLos Angeles ChargersJoe DavisPaul MaguirePete DavidsonHarry RakowskiBuffalo Bills1964Vince Petno863Oakland Raiders
Individual honors
All-Americans This list includes selected First Team All-Americans at The Citadel Year Name AFCA AP Walter Camp Sports Network/STATS Football Gazette 1976 Brian Ruff 1985 Jim Gabrish 1986 Scott Thompson 1988 Carlos Avalos 1990 J. J. Davis 1991 Lester Smith 1992 Lester Smith Carey Cash Terrence Forney Lance Hansen 1994 Levi Davis 1995 Brad Keeney 1997 Carlos Frank 2008 Andre Roberts 2012 Mike Sellers 2015 Tyler Renew Dee Delaney 2016 Dee Delaney Isaiah Pinson Tyler Renew
Honored jerseys The Citadel has retired six jersey numbers. The most recent jersey retired was for Marc Buoniconti in 2006. The Citadel Bulldogs honored jerseys No. Player Pos. Tenure 14 Jack Douglas QB 1989–1992 15 Lester Smith S 1988–1992 35 Stump Mitchell RB 1977–1980 51 Brian Ruff LB 1973–1976 59 Marc Buoniconti LB 1985 66 John Small LB 1967–1970
Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of December 18, 2025.
at Charlotte at Navy Gardner–Webb at Army at Army Charleston Southern at Virginia Tech at Clemson at South Carolina State at Texas A&M
References
External links