| Catholic University Cardinals football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 1895; 130 years ago (1895) |
| Head coach | Mike Gutelius 8th season, 30–41 (.423) |
| Stadium | Cardinal Stadium (capacity: 3,500) |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Conference | Landmark |
| All-time record | 324–368–15 (.469) |
| Bowl record | 2–1–1 (.625) |
| Conference titles | |
| 2 | |
| Consensus All-Americans | 2 |
| Colors | Cardinal red and black[1] |
| Website | CatholicAthletics.com |
TheCatholic University Cardinals football team represents theCatholic University of America inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division IIIcollege football competition as a member of theLandmark Conference. The team played its first game in 1895 and was a major college team in the first half of the 20th century, into the 1940s. The football program was put on hiatus duringWorld War II, and then discontinued shortly afterwards. In 1965, football returned to the university at the club level, and, in 1977, re-entered NCAA competition as part of Division III. The Cardinals have participated in theDivision III playoffs three times in the late 1990s and have secured twoOld Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championships. The head coach isMike Gutelius.
Catholic's first known intercollegiate football game came onThanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, inEmmitsburg, Maryland. They facedMount Saint Mary's, of which six of the eleven Catholic players were alums. A contemporary article inThe Mountaineer, the Mount Saint Mary's student newspaper, described it as being "rather warm for hard foot-ball playing, and consequently neither team seemed to play with much snap or vim." The Mountaineers scored atouchdown immediately before halftime to take a 4–0 lead. Catholic recovered a blockedfield goal attempt and ran it back 92 yards for the equalizing score. Mount Saint Mary's later pulled away with asafety and a touchdown with two-point kick. The final result was 12–4.[2]
In the 1920s, the Catholic "Red and Black" became known as the "Cardinals", sometimes expanded to the "Flying Cardinals" or, less often, the "Fighting Cardinals".[3]Brookland Stadium/ Killion Field opened on October 4, 1924, and helped to increase the prominence of the football team. In 1930, Catholic secured formerMinnesota assistantArthur "Dutch" Bergman as their new head coach. During his tenure, Bergman scheduled teams farther afield such asDetroit,DePaul,South Dakota State, andSt. Mary's (Texas).[4]
In 1935, the Cardinals finished the regular season with a 7–1 record. The Catholic defense recorded three shutouts, allowed only 34 points, and norushing touchdowns. The performance impressed the Orange Bowl committee enough for it to extend an invitation to play againstMississippi in the1936 Orange Bowl. During the game, Bill Adamaitis caught a pass for the first touchdown and then threw for another score. He became the first of only three players to score both receiving and passing touchdowns in the same Orange Bowl. Ole Miss responded when Ned Peters ran for a 67-yard touchdown for a 13–6 halftime mark. In the second half, the Cardinals blocked apunt and returned it 20 yards for the score. Ole Miss recorded two more touchdowns, but missed the penultimateextra point, which proved Catholic'smargin of victory, 20–19.[5]
In 1939, Catholic achieved five shutouts in its 8–1 regular season record, and secured its second bowl game appearance. They facedTempe Normal Teacher's College (now Arizona State) in the1940 Sun Bowl. The result was a scoreless stalemate, unusual in the fact that the teams had scored a total of 512 points during the season. After the game, both coaches claimed to have the superior team to the media.Dixie Howell of Tempe said, "I believe we had the better team ... and would have won if we had gotten a break at the right time." Bergman responded, "Tempe is a fast, powerful team, but we didn’t play our top game by any means ... I think we are capable of beating Tempe six days out of the week."[6] During that gameWashington Redskins player and futurePro Football Hall of FamerWayne Millner served as an assistant coach.[7]
From 1941 to 1946, football was discontinued due toWorld War II. Bergman finished his career at Catholic with a 59–31–4 record as thewinningest coach in school history. He later coached theWashington Redskins in 1943, when they made anNFL playoff appearance.[6] When the team was resurrected after the war, the Cardinals could not replicate their previous success. In four seasons, three different coaches posted a combined 7–18–2 record. The team was disbanded in 1950.[4] A trial game was played againstSaint Peter's College in 1965, and football revived the following year at the club level.[8]
In 1977, varsity football returned to Catholic with its entry intoNCAADivision III competition. The team joined theOld Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) in 1981, leaving the conference in 1989 to be a founding member of theCapital Athletic Conference (CAC). In 1997, the Cardinals, under head coachTom Clark, made their first appearance in theDivision III playoffs, losing 44–33 againstTrinity.[9] They returned to the playoffs in 1998, where they lost toLycoming College, 49–14,[10] In 1999, CUA returned to the ODAC[11] and that season they secured the conference championship with a 6–0 conference record[12] and made their third consecutive NCAA playoff appearance.[13] They lost those NCAA playoffs to Western Maryland College (now calledMcDaniel College), 20–16.[14]
In 2008, the Cardinals finished 4–2 in the ODAC and earned a four-way share of the conference title.[12] Catholic earned a bid to theECAC Southeast Bowl againstJohns Hopkins and won, 18–17. It was the first postseason victory for the Cardinals since 1936.[15] In 2011, Catholic's quarterbackGreg Cordivari won theMelberger Award, for Division III's top football player in the nation.
The team joined theNew England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference on July 1, 2017 as an affiliate member, and left after the 2022-2023 season for theLandmark Conference.
An important rivalry in Cardinals' history has been the game against the Division IGeorgetown Hoyas, where theSteven Dean Memorial Trophy was in dispute. The series started atBrookland Stadium in 1976. There was a 16-year gap between the 1993 meeting atCardinal Stadium[16] and the 2019 season opener atCooper Field.[17] The record now stands with Georgetown having 10 wins and the Cardinals having nine.
Catholic University has played in four bowl games, two of which occurred during their tenure prior to the birth of separate Divisions for the NCAA. The Cardinals have a 2–1–1 record.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Dutch Bergman | Orange Bowl | Ole Miss | W 20–19 |
| 1940 | Dutch Bergman | Sun Bowl | Arizona State | T 0–0 |
| 2008 | Dave Dunn | ECAC Southeast Bowl | Johns Hopkins | W 18–17 |
| 2022 | Mike Gutelius | New England Bowl | Bridgewater State | L 24–34 |
| Year | Location | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | San Antonio, Texas | Trinity | L 44–33 |
| 1998 | Williamsport, Pennsylvania | Lycoming | L 49–14 |
| 1999 | Westminster, Maryland | McDaniel | L 20–16 |
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999[18] | Old Dominion Athletic Conference | Tom Clark | 9–2 | 5–0 |
| 2008[19] | Old Dominion Athletic Conference | Dave Dunn | 9–2 | 4–2 |
Latest season's W–L–T records:[20]
| Season | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2–8 | 2–5 |
| 2018 | 1–9 | 1–6 |
| 2017 | 5–5 | 3–4 |
| 2016 | 3–7 | 0–7 |
| 2015 | 3–7 | 1–6 |
| 2014 | 3–7 | 1–6 |
| 2013 | 6–4 | 3–4 |
| 2012 | 3–7 | 2–5 |
| 2011 | 5–5 | 1–5 |
| 2010 | 4–6 | 2–4 |
| 2009 | 1–9 | 0–6 |
| 2008 | 9–2 | 4–2 |
| 2007 | 5–5 | 1–5 |
| 2006 | 3–7 | 1–5 |
| 2005 | 2–8 | 0–5 |
| 2004 | 0–10 | 0–5 |
| 2003 | 3–7 | 1–4 |
| 2002 | 4–6 | 2–3 |
| 2001 | 3–7 | 1–4 |
| 2000 | 6–4 | 4–2 |
| 1999 | 9–2 | 5–0 |
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