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Tennessee State Tigers football

College football team

College football team

FieldValue
TeamNameTennessee State Tigers football
CurrentSeason2025 Tennessee State Tigers football team
FirstYear
ImageTennessee State Tigers wordmark.svg
ImageSize200
AthleticDirectorDr. Mikki Allen
head_coachReggie Barlow
HCWins2
HCLosses10
HeadCoachYear1st
StadiumNissan Stadium and Hale Stadium
StadiumBuilt1999
StadCapacity69,143 and 10,000
LocationNashville, Tennessee
NCAAdivisionI FCS
ConferenceOVC–Big South
ATWins597
ATLosses339
ATTies32
BowlWins8
BowlLosses1
BowlTies1
SmallNatlTitles1973
BlackNatlTitles1946, 1947, 1954, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1979, 1982, 2013
ConfTitlesMidwestern: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966OVC: 1998, 1999OVC–Big South: 2024
WebsiteNameTSUTigers.com
WebsiteURLhttps://tsutigers.com/sports/football?path=football

The Tennessee State Tigers football program represents Tennessee State University in the sport of American football. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as member of the OVC–Big South Football Association.

History

NCAA Relegation

In 1981, the Tennessee State Tigers were relegated from Division I-A to Division I-AA.

First FBS Victory

Tennessee State Tigers first FBS victory came in 2017 when they defeated the Georgia State Panthers 17-10 for Georgia State's season home opener.

Championships

National championships

2013Rod Reed10–4Black College National Champions

Conference championships

2024Eddie GeorgeBig South–OVC Football Association6–2

Postseason appearances

Bowl games

Tennessee State has competed in ten bowl games and has a record of 8–1–1.

1972Pioneer BowlDrakeW 29–7

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

The Tigers have made seven appearances in the NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship playoffs, with a combined record of 3–7.

2024First RoundMontanaL 27–41

College Football Hall of Fame members

John MerrittCoach1963–19831994

Alumni in the NFL

Over 100 Tennessee State alumni have played in the NFL, including:

  • Richard Dent
  • Onzy Elam
  • Joe Gilliam
  • Mike Hegman
  • Sylvester Hicks
  • Bennie Anderson
  • Claude Humphrey
  • Ed "Too Tall" Jones
  • Jim Kelly
  • Greg Kindle
  • Loaird McCreary
  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
  • Harold Rice
  • Anthony Shelton
  • Jim Thaxton
  • Mike Jones
  • Larry Kinnebrew
  • Steve Moore
  • Herman Hunter
  • Gilbert Renfroe
  • Malcolm Taylor

Annual Classic

  • Southern Heritage Classic

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 26, 2026.

Morgan Stateat Morgan State
  1. John A. Merritt Classic

References

References

  1. "Football History vs Georgia State University".
  2. (August 31, 2017). "2017's first FCS-over-FBS upset: Tennessee State vs. Georgia State".
  3. (January 2, 1945). "Tennessee State rips Tuskegee". The Tennessean.
  4. (January 2, 1946). "Texas negros lose Vulcan Bowl crown". The Austin American.
  5. (January 2, 1947). "Tennessee State wallops Louisville in Vulcan Bowl". The Tennessean.
  6. (December 5, 1954). "Tennessee State defeated 19 To 6". Bristol Herald Courier.
  7. (December 10, 1972). "Tennessee St. plugs Bulldogs". Wichita Falls Times.
  8. (December 2, 1956). "Fumbling A&M bows, 41–39 In Orange Blossom Classic". Tallahassee Democrat.
  9. (December 12, 1965). "Ball State, A&I battle to tie". The Jackson Sun.
  10. (December 11, 1966). "Tennessee A&I routs Muskingum 34–7". The Daily News Journal.
  11. (December 13, 1970). "Tennessee State nips USL Ragin' Cajuns". The Daily Advertiser.
  12. (December 12, 1971). "TSU denies McNeese an undefeated season". Daily World.
  13. "Inductee John Ayers Merritt 1994 College Football Hall of Fame".
  14. "Tennessee St. Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  15. "Tennessee State Tigers Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.
  16. "John A. Merritt Classic Weekend".
Info: 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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