| UT Permian Basin Falcons football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| First season | 2016; 9 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Todd Dooley | ||
| Head coach | Kris McCullough 3rd season, 27–9 (.750) | ||
| Stadium | Ratliff Stadium (capacity: 17,931) | ||
| Year built | 1982 | ||
| Location | Odessa, Texas | ||
| NCAA division | Division II | ||
| Conference | LSC | ||
| All-time record | 45–40 (.529) | ||
| Playoff record | 1–1 (.500) | ||
| Bowl record | 0–2 (.000) | ||
| Playoff appearances | |||
| 2 | |||
| Conference titles | |||
| 1LSC (2023) | |||
| Colors | Falcon orange and black[1] | ||
| Fight song | Fighting Falcons | ||
| Mascot | Freddy Falcon | ||
| Website | utpbfalcons.com | ||
TheUT Permian Basin Falcons football team represents theUniversity of Texas Permian Basin (abbreviated asUTPB) incollege football at theNCAA Division II level. The Falcons are members of theLone Star Conference (LSC), fielding its team in the LSC since 2016. The Falcons play their home games atRatliff Stadium inOdessa, Texas whileAstound Broadband Stadium in the neighboring city ofMidland, Texas serves as an alternate home stadium.[2]
Their head coach isKris McCullough, who took over the position for the 2023 season.[3]
In December 2013, theUniversity of Texas System Regents approved the business plan that theUniversity of Texas Permian Basin needed to secure $9.5 million be the end of 2014 in order to support the first five years of theirAmerican football program, including start-up costs and four seasons of play. In order to help fund the required amount, the $35 student union fee was transformed into an athletic fee.[4] The school hoped to expand the school's student body up to 8,000 students by 2020, hoping that football would help expand the student population.[5]
On October 15, 2014, the UTPB announced that the school had secured the necessary $9.5 million in funding to move forward with establishing the school's football program. The team was slated to begin play for the 2016 season. The school began its search for ahead coach in November 2014.[5]
On January 8, 2015, the school hired formerTarleton Stateoffensive coordinatorJustin Carrigan as the school's first head coach.[6] Carrigan playedcollege football forAngelo State and also coached forMidwestern State andUTEP along with his stint at Tarleton State.[6]
The team's first season consisted of seven home games and four away games. The team's home games were played atRatliff Stadium inOdessa, Texas, and also hosted a game annually atAstound Broadband Stadium inMidland, Texas, Starting off the season they facedDivision IIISul Ross in their first-ever game.[7] The Falcons won 27–6 and the school's football program officially played, and won, its first ever game as aDivision II school.[7] The team won their next game againstNAIA opponentArizona Christian before losing their remaining nine games of the season.[8]
The following three seasons, the team went 2–9 in 2017,[9] 2–9 in 2018,[10] and an improved 4–7 in 2019.[11] In 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, theLone Star Conference announced that it would not be holding conference play. Despite the conference not officially holding in-conference play, UTPB still played fellow conference members,Western New Mexico,Texas A&M–Kingsville, andMidwestern State as the games were not counted as conference games.[12] Due to Ratliff Stadium being used as a massCOVID-19 vaccination hub, the school usedGrande Communications Stadium as their home field.[13] In the shortened season, the Falcons won all five of their matchups and finished the season with a 5–0 record—their highest win total under Carrigan.[14] In 2021 and 2022, the team finished 5–6 and made it to theHeritage Bowl in 2021.[15][16] On November 28, 2022, Carrigan announced that he was stepping down as the head coach of the school's football team after reaching the team's first-ever bowl game a year prior.[17]
On December 22, 2022, the school hired formerEast Central head coachKris McCullough to be the school's second head coach.[18] McCullough previously coached forHenderson State,Old Dominion, andFairmont State before joining East Central. He was promoted to head coach for the 2022 season and lead the team to a Heritage Bowl win.[19]
In McCullough's coaching debut he helped lead the Falcons to a 96–0 win overNAIA opponentTexas College; the 96 points scored are the most in program history.[20] Two weeks later, the Falcons would score 80-plus points again, defeatingSouthwest Baptist 86–7.[21] On October 16, 2023, the Falcons were ranked no. 25 in the D2 Football poll, marking the first time in program history that the Falcons were ranked in a national poll.[22] A week later, October 23, the Falcons were ranked in theAFCA poll for the first time in program history, entering the poll at no. 22.[23] The Falcons would finish the regular season at 10–1, 8–0 in LSC play, securing both the program's first winning season (outside of the amendedspring 2021 season) and first conference title.[24] McCullough would be named LSC coach of the year while quarterbackKenny Hrncir was named LSC Offensive Player of the Year.[25] The Falcons received a bid for theNCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in program history, hostingBemidji State in the first round.[26]
The2024 team finished with an overall record of 7–5 (6–3 in LSC play), marking the first time in program history that the Falcons finished with a winning record in back-to-back seasons.[27] The team received the conference's bid for the Heritage Bowl, which was the program's second bowl appearance.[28]
The Falcons would finish the2025 regular season with an overall record of 9–2, going 7–2 in LSC play to finish in a three-way tie for second. The team received a bid for theNCAA Division II playoffs, facing off againstCSU Pueblo in the first round. The Falcons defeated the TunderWolves 37–24 for the first playoff win in program history.[29]
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overallwinning percentage[A 4] | ||||
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | O% | CW | CL | C% | PW | PL | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Carrigan[34] | 2016–2022 | 61 | 25 | 36 | 0.410 | 11 | 28 | 0.282 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | Kris McCullough[35] | 2023–present | 24 | 17 | 7 | 0.708 | 14 | 3 | 0.824 | 0 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2023 LSC Coach of the Year |
| UT Permian Basin Falcons | ||||
| Name | Position | Consecutive season at UT Permian Basin in current position | Previous position | UTPB profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Crayton | Assistant head coach /Tackles andtight ends | 1st | Western Illinois – Tight ends / fullbacks / co-special teams coordinator (2023) | [36] |
| Blake Crandall | Co-offensive coordinator /wide receivers | 2nd | East Central – Running backs (2022) | [37] |
| Kenny Hrncir | Co-offensive coordinator /quarterbacks | 1st | None | [38] |
| Jake Shaw | Defensive coordinator | 1st | East Central – Defensive coordinator / inside linebackers (2022–2023) | [39] |
| Devin Gaulden | Co-defensive coordinator / secondary | 1st | Delta State – Defensive backs (2022–2023) | [40] |
| Zack Santolla | Defensive line / run game coordinator | 1st | Charleston – Defensive line / defensive run game coordinator (2016–2023) | [41] |
| Spencer Region | Interioroffensive line | 1st | UT Permian Basin – Assistant offensive line and tight ends (2023) | [42] |
| Marquez Gollman | Safeties | 1st | Louisiana Tech – Graduate assistant (2023) | [43] |
| Hayden Kelly | Linebackers | 1st | None | [44] |
| Reference:[45] | ||||
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head Coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final AFCA ranking | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | ||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Finish | Win | Loss | |||||||||
| UT Permian Basin Falcons | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | 2016 | Justin Carrigan | NCAA | Division II | LSC | 2 | 9 | 10th | 0 | 9 | — | — | |
| 2017 | 2017 | 2 | 9 | T–8th | 1 | 7 | — | — | |||||
| 2018 | 2018 | 2 | 9 | 8th | 1 | 7 | — | — | |||||
| 2019 | 2019 | 4 | 7 | 7th | 2 | 6 | — | — | |||||
| 2020–21 | 2020 | 5 | 0 | N/A | 0 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 5 | 6 | T–5th | 3 | 4 | LHeritage Bowl | — | |||||
| 2022 | 2022 | 5 | 6 | 7th | 4 | 5 | — | — | |||||
| 2023 | 2023 | Kris McCullough | 10 | 2 | 1st | 8 | 0 | LNCAA Division II First Round | 18 | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 7 | 5 | T–3rd | 6 | 3 | L Heritage Bowl | — | |||||
| 2025 | 2025 | 9 | 2 | T–2nd | 7 | 2 | — | — | |||||
| Year | Player name | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Chris Hoad | LB | Second Team[46] |
| 2020 | Chris Hoad | LB | Second Team |
| Year | Player name | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Kenny Hrncir[47] | QB |
| Year | Player name | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Tristan Exline[48] | LB |
Official record (including anyNCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current LSC opponents as of the completion of the 2025 season.[49]
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Pct. | Streak | First meeting | Latest meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelo State | 2 | 7 | .222 | Won 1 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Central Washington | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost 1 | 2022 | 2025 |
| Eastern New Mexico | 6 | 3 | .667 | Won 6 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Midwestern State | 4 | 6 | .400 | Won 2 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Oklahoma Panhandle State* | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost 1 | 2016 | 2016 |
| Simon Fraser* | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 1 | 2022 | 2022 |
| Sul Ross | 3 | 1 | .750 | Won 2 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Tarleton State* | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost 4 | 2016 | 2019 |
| Texas A&M–Commerce* | 0 | 5 | .000 | Lost 5 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Texas A&M–Kingsville | 4 | 6 | .400 | Won 1 | 2016 | 2025 |
| West Texas A&M | 4 | 5 | .444 | Won 3 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Western New Mexico | 8 | 2 | .800 | Won 5 | 2016 | 2025 |
| Western Oregon | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost 2 | 2022 | 2025 |
| Totals | 36 | 44 | .450 |
* Signifies former LSC members
The Falcons have an all-time bowl game record of 0–2.
| Season | Event | Opponent | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Heritage Bowl | Oklahoma Baptist | L 21–24 | [50] |
| 2024 | Heritage Bowl | Central Missouri | L 37–392OT | [51] |
The Falcons have made twoappearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a record of 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | First Round | Bemidji State | L, 3–10 |
| 2025 | First Round Second Round | CSU Pueblo Western Colorado | W, 37–24 TBD |
