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South Carolina State Bulldogs football

American college football organization

Summary

American college football organization

FieldValue
TeamNameSouth Carolina State Bulldogs football
CurrentSeason2025 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team
ImageScsu bulldogs wordmark.png
ImageSize200
HeadCoachChennis Berry
HeadCoachYear2nd
HCWins19
HCLosses6
StadiumOliver C. Dawson Stadium
StadCapacity22,000
ConferenceMEAC
FirstYear
LocationOrangeburg, South Carolina
WebsiteNamescsuathletics.com
WebsiteURLhttp://www.scsuathletics.com/index.aspx?path=football
ATWins577
ATLosses364
ATTies27
BowlWins8
BowlLosses8
BlackNatlTitles1976, 1977, 1981, 1994, 2009, 2021, 2025
ConfTitlesMEAC: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1994, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025
MarchingBandThe Marching 101
NCAAdivisionI FCS

The South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represents South Carolina State University in college football. The Bulldogs play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

A historically dominant football program, the Bulldogs lead the MEAC in conference championships. The school has produced four players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame including Harry Carson, Deacon Jones, Marion Motley, and Donnie Shell. Other legendary Bulldog players include Robert Porcher, Shaquille Leonard, Barney Chavous, Charlie Brown and Orlando Brown Sr., Javon Hargrave, Decobie Durant, among others.

Former SC State Coach Willie Jeffries became the first African American Head Coach of a predominantly white Division I-A football program, when he was hired to coach the Wichita State football program in 1979. Jeffries is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

History

List of South Carolina State Bulldogs football seasons

Classifications

  • 1956–1972: NCAA College Division
  • 1967–1969: NAIA
  • 1970–1978: NAIA Division I
  • 1973–1977: NCAA Division II
  • 1978–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

  • 1907–1928: Independent
  • 1929–1934: Southeastern Athletic Conference
  • 1935–1970: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
  • 1971–present: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Bulldogs vs. in-state NCAA Division I schools

SchoolRecordPercentageStreakFirst MeetingLast Meeting
Charleston Southern7–1Lost 119912025
Clemson0–5Lost 520082021
Coastal Carolina0–5Lost 520052015
Furman5–12Lost 119822015
Presbyterian2–0Won 219891990
South Carolina0–3Lost 320072025
The Citadel3–4.428Won 219892024
Wofford4–6Won 219742025
South Carolina State 21 – in-state NCAA Division I Schools 35

Championships

National championships

The Bulldogs have been awarded a NCAA-recognized black college football national championship seven times in program history.

2025Chennis BerryCelebration Bowl10–3W Celebration Bowl

Conference championships

South Carolina State has won twenty Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles, twelve outright and eight shared. Asterisk denotes shared title.

2025Chennis Berry10–35–0

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs six times with a record of 2–6.

2013First RoundFurmanL 20–30

Bowl game results

The Bulldogs have appeared in 16 bowl games, with a record of 8–8.

2025Celebration BowlPrairie View A&MW 40–38 4OT

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

Main article: Pro Football Hall of Fame

South Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}Pro Football Hall of Fame membersSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= 150pxPlayerSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= pxPos.South Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width=100pxYears at SCSUSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= pxYear inductedSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= pxRef.
Harry CarsonLB1972–19752006
Deacon JonesDE19581980url=https://www.profootballhof.com/players/david-deacon-jones/title=David (Deacon) Jones | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Sitewebsite=www.profootballhof.com}}
Marion MotleyFB1939–19401968
Donnie ShellS1970–19732020

College Football Hall of Fame members

Main article: College Football Hall of Fame

South Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}College Football Hall of Fame membersSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= 150pxPlayerSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= pxPos.South Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width=100pxYears at SCSUSouth Carolina State Bulldogscolor=white}}; width= pxYear inducted
Harry CarsonDE1972–19752002
Willie JeffriesHC1973–1978, 1989–20012010
Donnie ShellS1970–19731998

Alumni in the NFL

Over 40 South Carolina State alumni have played in the NFL, including:

  • Phillip Adams
  • Charlie Brown
  • Orlando Brown Sr.
  • Rafael Bush
  • Barney Bussey
  • Harry Carson
  • Barney Chavous
  • Anthony Cook
  • Cobie Durant
  • John Gilliam
  • Javon Hargrave
  • Dwayne Harper
  • Antonio Hamilton
  • Temarrick Hemingway
  • Michael Hicks
  • Willie Holman
  • Deacon Jones
  • William Judson
  • Angelo King
  • James Lee
  • Shaquille Leonard
  • Marshall McFadden
  • Kimario McFadden
  • Ervin Parker
  • Robert Porcher
  • Joe Thomas
  • Christian Thompson
  • Chuck Darby

Rivalries

SC State has maintained heated rivalries with the North Carolina A&T Aggies, Florida A&M Rattlers, and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.

NCAA Record

On November 19, 2016, Joe Thomas Sr., father of Green Bay Packers linebacker Joe Thomas, became the oldest player to play in an NCAA Division I game. At 55 years of age, Thomas Sr. had one carry for three yards as a running back in a contest versus Savannah State.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 26, 2026

References

  1. "NCAA Statistics".
  2. ""ESPN SportsCentury" Willie Jeffries (TV Episode 2002)". IMDb.
  3. "Football championship subdivision records".
  4. "Bowl/all star game records".
  5. "Harry Carson | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
  6. "David (Deacon) Jones | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
  7. "Donnie Shell | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
  8. "South Carolina St. Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  9. D'Andrea, Christian. (December 18, 2016). "Bears' Ka'Deem Carey gets helmet decal knocked off by huge hit".
  10. (24 November 2016). "Joe Thomas Sr. runs S.C. State into college football history, is ready to play again".
  11. Wire, S. I.. (19 November 2016). "55-year-old running back makes D-I football history".
  12. "Future South Carolina State Bulldogs Football Schedules". FBSchedules.com.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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