| Tulane Green Wave football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1893; 132 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | David Harris | ||
| Head coach | Jon Sumrall 2nd season, 15–6 (.714) | ||
| Stadium | Yulman Stadium (capacity: 30,000) | ||
| Year built | 2014 | ||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | The American | ||
| All-time record | 567–678–38 (.457) | ||
| Bowl record | 7–10 (.412) | ||
| National finalist | |||
| 1931[1] | |||
| Conference titles | |||
| SIAA:1920[2] SoCon:1925,1929,1930,1931 SEC:1934,1939,1949 C-USA:1998 American:2022 | |||
| Conference division titles | |||
| American West:2018 | |||
| Consensus All-Americans | 5 | ||
| Rivalries | Auburn (rivalry) LSU (rivalry) Ole Miss (rivalry) Southern Miss (rivalry) | ||
| Colors | Olive green and sky blue[3] | ||
| Fight song | The Olive and the Blue | ||
| Mascot | Riptide | ||
| Marching band | Tulane University Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | TulaneGreenWave.com | ||
TheTulane Green Wave football team representsTulane University in the sport ofAmerican football. TheGreen Wave compete in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of theAmerican Athletic Conference (The American). The football team is coached byJon Sumrall, and plays its home games inYulman Stadium on its campus inUptown New Orleans.[4]
Tulane has been both an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences.[5]: 183–210
Tulane has won 10 conference football championships in five different conferences. As of 2019[update], Tulane's threeSoutheastern Conference titles are more than nine current members of the SEC:Arkansas,Kentucky,Mississippi State,Missouri,South Carolina,Texas A&M,Texas,Oklahoma orVanderbilt.[9]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conf. Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920† | SIAA | Clark Shaughnessy | 6–2–1 | 5–0 |
| 1925† | SoCon | 9–0–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1929 | Bernie Bierman | 9–0 | 6–0 | |
| 1930† | 8–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1931 | 11–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 1934† | SEC | Ted Cox | 10–1 | 8–0 |
| 1939† | Red Dawson | 8–1–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1949 | Henry E. Frnka | 7–2–1 | 5–1 | |
| 1998 | C-USA | Tommy Bowden | 12–0 | 6–0 |
| 2022 | AAC | Willie Fritz | 12–2 | 7–1 |
† Co-championship
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018† | AAC West | Willie Fritz | N/A lost tiebreaker toMemphis | |
† Co-championship
Tulane has played in 17 official bowl games, with the Green Wave garnering a record of 7–10. Tulane also played in theBacardi Bowl in1909, playing the Havana Athletic Club, losing 11–0. This was not sanctioned by the NCAA, and thus the Green Wave do not recognize the bowl appearance. Notably, Tulane's first bowl win was the inauguralSugar Bowl, played in their home stadium.
The team has had 39 head coaches and 1 interim head coach since Tulane began playing football in 1893. 13 coaches have led the program to postseason bowl games:R. R. Brown,Bernie Bierman,Ted Cox,Red Dawson,Jim Pittman,Bennie Ellender,Larry Smith,Vince Gibson,Mack Brown,Tommy Bowden,Chris Scelfo,Curtis Johnson, and Willie Fritz. While Tommy Bowden led the1998 team to a perfect 11–0 regular season and the1998 Liberty Bowl, Chris Scelfo coached the team during that game.[10] Seven coaches have led the team to conference championships:Clark Shaughnessy (1 SIAA and 1 SoCon), Bernie Bierman (3 SoCon), Ted Cox (1 SEC), Red Dawson (1 SEC),Henry E. Frnka (1 SEC), Tommy Bowden (1 C-USA), and Willie Fritz (1 American).
Clark Shaughnessy and Chris Scelfo were at one time tied for all-time leaders in games coached at Tulane with 94 each until Willie Fritz surpassed them in 2023. Clark Shaughnessy is the all-time leader in years coached (11) and total wins (59). Presently, former head coach Willie Fritz, has the second-most program wins (43) of all time.
The Green Wave have played their home games in Yulman Stadium on its Uptown campus since 2014. Prior to that season, Tulane played home games in theCaesars Superdome for nearly 40 seasons, and in its previous on-campus venue, the thirdTulane Stadium, before that. The Green Wave have also played at the second Tulane Stadium, first Tulane Stadium,Athletic Park andCrescent City Base Ball Park.[11]
Because Tulane's campus is landlocked withinUptown New Orleans, Yulman is tightly fit within its athletic footprint and directly abutting the surrounding neighborhood. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators and was constructed with the ability to expand.[12][13]
Tulane leads the series withAuburn 17–15–6 through the 2019 season.[14]
Tulane's biggest and oldest rival is LSU. It began in 1893 with a 34–0 Green Wave victory over the Tigers. The teams stopped meeting every year in theBattle for the Rag in 2009. The rivalry became less competitive after 1948, until Tulane broke a 25-game non-winning streak in 1973 with a 14–0 victory in front of a Tulane Stadium record crowd of 86,598 in the final installment of the long-time rivalry played on Tulane's campus. Between 1979 and 1982, Tulane won three out of four games against the Tigers; the 1982 win was the last win to date. The two schools stopped playing annually after the 1994 game; however, they have met six times (1996, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009) since. As a condition of the broken series agreement made in 2006, a potential future game will be played in a future season in New Orleans.[15] LSU leads the series 69–23–7 through the 2019 season.[16]
Ole Miss leads the series 43–28 through the 2023 season.[17]
Known as theBattle for the Bell, Tulane's rivalry withSouthern Miss was played yearly from 1979 until 2006 and alternates sites between New Orleans andHattiesburg, Mississippi. As a result ofConference USA splitting into East and West divisions in 2005, the game was played two out of every four years.[18] The rivalry was put on hold as a result of Tulane's move to theAmerican Athletic Conference in 2014, but in 2017 the schools announced new games slated for 2022, 2023, 2026, and 2027.[19] Southern Miss leads the series 24–10 through the 2023 season.[16]
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) was founded in 1920 as a military band. It dissolved shortly after the team's move to the Superdome in the 1970s and did not formally return until 2006.[20] The TUMB performs at home games each fall and inMardi Gras parades each spring.
Riptide the Pelican debuted in 1998 with the re-branding of Tulane athletics. Prior to that, the school used an angry wave nicknamed "Gumby" by fans, and before that a John Chase creation named "Greenie."[20]
Tulane has had 19 players named to first-teamAll-America teams. Of those 19, five were consensus selections, with one being a unanimous selection.[21]
Records current as of January 2, 2023[22]
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Announced schedules as of July 7, 2025.[24]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | atDuke | Louisiana | atIowa State | Iowa State | atMississippi State | Mississippi State | |
| atSouth Alabama | South Alabama | atSouthern Miss | |||||
| Duke | atKansas State | atWake Forest | |||||
| atOle Miss | Southern Miss | Nicholls |
With the Albert Russell Erskine national football championship at stake, Tulane University's Green Wave today met the University of Southern California Trojans at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.
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