New Hampshire Wildcats football

Conference affiliations

• 1893–1922: Independent
• 1923–1946: New England Conference
• 1947–1996: Yankee Conference
• 1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference
• 2007–present: Coastal Athletic Association

Home venues

The Wildcats have played their home football games at several venues in Durham. Prior to the current stadium, which has been in use since 1936, the team played its home games on Memorial Field from 1921 through 1935. Memorial Field remains in use by the women's field hockey team. Memorial Field was constructed to "honor the memory of those New Hampshire men who gave their lives for their country during the great World War." which had been referred to as the College Oval.

• unknown–1920: College Oval
  • Last game: November 6, 1920, vs. Colby
• 1921–1935: Memorial Field
  • First game: November 12, 1921, vs. Massachusetts Agricultural College
  • Last game: November 9, 1935, vs. Tufts
• 1936–present: Wildcat Stadium
  • Originally known as Lewis Stadium / Lewis Field
    • First game: September 26, 1936, vs. Lowell Textile Institute
    • Dedicated: October 10, 1936, vs. Maine
  • Named Cowell Stadium from 1952 through 2015
  • Renamed Wildcat Stadium in 2016

Notable former players

Notable team captains during the program's early years include:

• E. Dewey Graham (captain 1919), went on to become head coach at Norwich University.
• Red Howard (freshman captain 1919), played varsity at Princeton and two seasons in the NFL in the mid-1920s.
• Dutch Connor (captain 1921), played two seasons in the NFL in the mid-1920s, and succeeded Graham as head coach at Norwich.
• Cy Wentworth (captain 1923 & 1924), played three seasons in the NFL in the late 1920s.

Notable alumni who played in the NFL, AFL or CFL include:

• WR Kamau Peterson (1997–2000)
• TB Jerry Azumah (1995–1998)
• WR David Ball (2003–2006)
• OL Jason Ball (1997–2001)
• DB Etienne Boulay (2002–2005)
• DL Joe Fleming (1991–1994)
• WR David Gamble (1990–1993)
• LB Dwayne Gordon (1989–1992)
• DB Corey Graham (2003–2007)
• WR R.J. Harris (2011–2014)
• LB Bruce Huther (1973–1976)
• RB Chad Kackert (2005–2009)
• OL Greg Krause (1994–1998)
• FB Dan Kreider (1995–1999)
• LB Dave Rozumek (1972–1975)
• LB Dwayne Sabb (1988–1991)
• QB Ricky Santos (2003–2007)
• TE Scott Sicko (2006–2009)
• RB Avrom Smith (1991–1994)
• DT Jared Smith (2009–2012)
• WR Randal Williams (1996–2000)
• RB Dylan Laube (2024–Present)

Alumni who are notable for other achievements, outside of playing professional football, include:

• QB John J. Ryan (1906), college sports head coach, including Wisconsin football and Marquette basketball
• RB Lou D'Allesandro (1958–1960), New Hampshire State Senator
• QB Ryan Day (1998–2001), Ohio State head coach
• DB Chip Kelly (1981–1984), NCAA and NFL coach
• LB Rod Langway (1975–1976), NHL player who played both football and ice hockey for UNH
• DB Sean McDonnell (1975–1978), Wildcats football head coach 1999–2018 and 2020–2021

Head coaches

The below table lists the win–loss record for head coaches throughout program history. The team had its first formal head coach, John Scannell, during the 1902 season. Some opponents in early years were high school teams; for example, the 1895 team did not face any college teams in its six-game schedule. Other opponents into the 1920s were military teams (different from service academy programs, such as Army); an example being the 1926 team facing the Quantico Marines.

The school was not a member of any conference prior to the 1923 season. Since 1973, the team has played in NCAA classifications with postseason tournaments (playoffs).

Updated through the 2025 season.

The 1944 schedule was limited to four games, with players restricted to 17-year-olds and returning veterans. McDonnell began a medical leave at the start of the 2019 season, with Santos named interim head coach; McDonnell returned the following season.

Postseason appearances

Bowl games

The team has appeared in one bowl game during its history:

Notes:

• While listed in NCAA records, the Glass Bowl is not considered an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.
• The Wildcats also played in one Division II playoff game that was known, for historical reasons, by a bowl name. As that game was part of a tournament bracket, it is not listed in this section (see below).

Division II playoffs

The team made the postseason twice during the time it competed in Division II (1973–1977), compiling an overall record of 1–2:

• In the 1975 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats defeated Lehigh in the first round, 35–21. The Wildcats then played Western Kentucky in the 1975 Grantland Rice Bowl semifinal game, losing 14–3.
• In the 1976 NCAA Division II postseason, the Wildcats lost to Montana State in the first round, 17–16; Montana State went on to win the Division II championship.

Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

The Wildcats have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs 19 times, playing 34 postseason games. Their overall record is 15–19.

Rivalries

Maine

Main article: Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket

The football programs of New Hampshire and the Maine Black Bears first met in 1903, and have met annually since 1922, except for two season during World War II and during the 2020 season due to impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1948, the winning team gets possession of an antique musket until the next season's game. The teams met for the 100th time in 2010.

UMass

Main article: Colonial Clash

The football programs of New Hampshire and the UMass Minutemen first met in 1897, and most recently in 2011, which was their 74th meeting. Since 1986, the most outstanding player of the matchup has been awarded the Bill Knight Trophy. However, the future of the rivalry is in question, as the two programs are now in different NCAA football classifications.

Dartmouth

Main article: Dartmouth–New Hampshire football rivalry

The football programs of New Hampshire and the Dartmouth Big Green first met in 1901, and most recently met in 2025, their 43rd meeting.

Donation controversy

A longtime UNH librarian, Robert Morin, died in 2015 and left $4 million to the University; $1 million of that money was spent on a new video scoreboard for the football stadium, and the decision to spend so much of the donation on a scoreboard became a controversial topic. University officials explained that there was no instruction on how to spend the money, other than $100,000 for the library. It was also noted that Morin started watching and became particularly interested in football towards the end of his life.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 16, 2025.

Note: FBS denotes a team that plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Notes

References

References

1. (December 29, 2025). "UNH names ex-star QB Sean Goldrich next football coach".
2. "Memorial Field Then".
3. (May 12, 1920). "Alumni Plan Memorial Field to Honor Men Who Died in War". [[The New Hampshire]].
4. (October 15, 1920). "New Hampshire State College vs. University of Vermont". [[The Portsmouth Herald]].
5. (November 10, 1920). "Colby Holds New Hampshire to 7-7 Tie in Final Home Game". [[The New Hampshire]].
6. (November 13, 1921). "New Hampshire Runs Wild Against M. A. C.". [[The Boston Globe]].
7. (November 9, 1935). "N. H.-Tufts". [[The Boston Globe]].
8. (September 27, 1936). "New Hampshire Opens New Field in Victory". [[Hartford Courant]].
9. (October 11, 1936). "Dedication Day At New Hampshire Spoiled By Maine". [[Hartford Courant]].
10. (June 19, 1952). "UNH Football Field Is Cowell Stadium". [[The Burlington Free Press]].
11. "Wildcats in the NFL".
12. (May 6, 1908). "Football Coach". [[The Burlington Free Press]].
13. (October 25, 1911). "Ray B. Thomas Returns as Coach: Coaching Situation Settled". [[The New Hampshire]].
14. (September 15, 1944). "High School Coach Will Lead Wildcats". [[The Portsmouth Herald]].
15. "Football {{!}} University of New Hampshire Library".
16. Bailey, David. (December 19, 2014). "Gridiron Garb: UNH Wildcats (1975)".
17. Pike, Al. "UNH football: McDonnell looks back at last game against Montana State".
18. "Fordham vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 6, 2014 - ESPN".
19. "Chattanooga vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 12, 2014 - ESPN".
20. "Illinois State vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - December 20, 2014 - ESPN".
21. "Colgate vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - November 28, 2015 - ESPN".
22. "Lehigh vs. New Hampshire - Game Summary - November 26, 2016 - ESPN".
23. "New Hampshire vs. James Madison - Game Summary - December 3, 2016 - ESPN".
24. Chappell, Bill. (September 15, 2016). "$1 Million Of Frugal Librarian's Bequest To N.H. School Goes To Football Scoreboard". [[NPR]].
25. "New Hampshire Wildcats Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.