| UConn Huskies football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1896; 129 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | David Benedict | ||
| Head coach | Jim L. Mora 4th season, 19–22 (.463) | ||
| Stadium | Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field (capacity: 40,000 {expandable to 42,704}) | ||
| Year built | 2003 | ||
| Field surface | Grass | ||
| Location | East Hartford, Connecticut | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | Independent | ||
| Past conferences | ALNESC (1897–1922) New England (1923–1946) Yankee (1947–1996) Atlantic 10 (1997–1999) Independent (2000–2003) Big East (2004–2012) The American (2013–2019) | ||
| All-time record | 531–615–38 (.465) | ||
| Bowl record | 5–5 (.500) | ||
| Conference titles | 26 | ||
| Rivalries | UMass (rivalry) Rhode Island (rivalry) Syracuse (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 3 | ||
| Colors | National flag blue and white[1] | ||
| Fight song | UConn Husky | ||
| Mascot | Jonathan | ||
| Marching band | The Pride of Connecticut | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | UConnHuskies.com | ||
TheUConn Huskies football team is acollege football team that represents theUniversity of Connecticut in the sport ofAmerican football. The team competes inNCAA Division I FBS as anindependent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896 and participated inDivision I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000 and became a full-fledged Division I-A team in 2002. From 2000 to 2003, the team played as an independent. The school's football team then joined the conference of its other sport teams, theBig East (later named theAmerican Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2013), taking effect in 2004, through 2019. In 2019, the UConn football team left the American to again play as an independent, as the school's current primary conference, thecurrent Big East, does not sponsor the sport. The Huskies are currently coached byJim Mora.[2]
TheUniversity of Connecticut began playing football in 1896 when the school was known as Storrs Agricultural College, and the team was known as the "Aggies." It teamed up withMassachusetts Agricultural College and the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts to form theAthletic League of New England State Colleges for the purpose of scheduling football matchups between the schools. The first year was spent playing against local high schools and YMCA clubs. The following year provided their first competition against future rivals Rhode Island, an opponent that would be played over 100 times, and Massachusetts. Other early rivals included theIvy League and the "Little Ivies", particularlyYale University starting in 1948, who have played the Huskies for 50 years.
Tragedy struck the team on September 27, 1919, whenGardner Dow died from injuries related to a flying tackle that he delivered in a game againstNew Hampshire.[3][4] The college would honor Dow by naming the athletic fields after him. These fields would become the home for most of the school's athletic teams for the next three decades.
In 1924, the Aggies celebrated their first undefeated season when they finished with six wins, no losses and two ties. The defense was the strength of the team, as they allowed a meager thirteen points to be scored against them over the entire season, including a total of three points over the final seven games.[5] The team was proclaimed byThe New York Times to be among the best in the country, and was led by the school's first All-America candidate in captain, Martin "Red" O'Neill.[6]
The UConn Club memorializes O'Neill with a yearly award given to a former student-athlete who has had a successful professional career.
Red O'Neill went on to become one of Connecticut's first players to play in theNFL. He played for theHartford Blues in 1926, their only year in the NFL.[7] Another player isArt "Pop" Williams, winning a championship with theProvidence Steam Roller in 1928 and also has the record for the most rushing career touchdowns inProvidence's franchise history.[8] TheSteam Roller areNew England's firstNFL champion.
The renamedHuskies went on to become long-time members of theYankee Conference, winning 15 conference championships.
In 2012,Bill Belichick stated in an interview on WEEI that in 1983 he applied for the Huskies' head coaching position but was eventually turned down in favor of an internal hire, Tom Jackson.
Connecticut hiredLew Perkins as itsathletic director in 1990. One of Perkins' first projects was to gather facts for a possible upgrade of the football program toDivision I-A.[9] Perkins feared that if the university did not upgrade the football program, that it ran the risk of falling behind other institutions that fielded both football and basketball teams at the highest level. However, UConn was in the middle of a budget deficit, and many faculty feared that an upgrade of the football program would result in a loosening of academic standards.[9]
Randy Edsall was named the 27th head football coach at the University of Connecticut on December 21, 1998, and led the Huskies from Division I-AA into Division I-A. UConn officially began the upgrade process in January 1999 by applying to join the Big East football conference.[10] They would receive a special waiver from the NCAA in order to play in Memorial Stadium whileRentschler Field was under construction.[11] UConn would become the first school to ever move from the FCS to the Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big East after three years as an independent. The Huskies would spend the2000 and2001 as a transitional Division I-A program as they built their scholarship base to the maximum of 85. They recorded their first win over a Division I-A opponent on September 18, 1999, when they defeatedBuffalo, 23-0. They would finish the 1999 season with a final record of 4-7 and the following 2000 season at 3-8.[12]
The 2001 season brought their first win over aBCS rival with a victory overRutgers on September 29, by a score of 20–19. The growing pains continued, as they finished the season at 2–9.
The breakthrough came during the Huskies' first year as a full-fledged member of Division I-A in2002. Led bysophomorequarterbackDan Orlovsky, they showed vast improvement over the previous two seasons, despite starting the season losing six of the first eight games. They closed Memorial Stadium in fashion by routing the last two opponents,Florida Atlantic andKent State, by a combined score of 124–35. The 63 points scored against Kent State in the Memorial Stadium finale were the most the Huskies ever scored in the 50 years of playing in the stadium. They concluded a successful season by defeatingNavy, 38–0, andIowa State, 37–20. The victory over Iowa State was the Huskies' first win over a bowl-bound team.
Connecticut was originally scheduled to join the Big East as a football member in 2005. However, following the departure ofMiami,Virginia Tech, the Huskies' entrance into the Big East was expedited by one year. Boston College would leave the Big East at the conclusion of the 2004 season.[13]
The success continued in2003, when Connecticut began play in Rentschler Field. They would finish the season with an overall record of 9–3. They opened the season with their first victory vs. aBig Ten team (34–10 overIndiana) and the final game of the season provided their first victory over anACC opponent, when they defeatedWake Forest, 51–17. It was only the third time that a non-conference team had scored over 50 points in an ACC stadium. Despite the stellar record, the Huskies were not invited to play in abowl game, largely due to their lack of conference affiliation.
The Huskies played their first Big East conference game on September 17, 2004, when they dropped a 27–7 decision atBoston College. Their first Big East conference win came only 13 days later, when they defeatedPittsburgh 29–17. They completed their first season in the conference in 5th place with a record of 3–3. That year's overall record of 8–4 was enough to garner an invitation to the2004 Motor City Bowl, the first bowl invitation in the school's history. The attendance of 52,552 was, at the time, a record crowd for the Bowl.
The Huskies were hit hard by graduation and injuries in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The program opened one of the best and newest college football facilities in 2006 with the completion of the $57.9 million (165,000 sq. ft.) Burton Family Football Complex & Mark R. Shenkman Training Center.[14]
The2007 season saw a quick turnaround with the Huskies' first-ever Big East Conference football title, which they shared withWest Virginia. For the first time, UConn beat a ranked opponent at home, defeatingSouth Florida 22–15. UConn participated in theMeineke Car Care Bowl, losing toWake Forest 24–10.
That was followed up with consecutive 8–5 seasons in2008 and2009 with wins in both of their bowl games (over Buffalo and the SEC'sSouth Carolina).
The team was hit hard in2009 by the on-campus murder of junior cornerbackJasper Howard, who was stabbed by a non-student outside a dance following their homecoming game win overLouisville. UConn struggled following his death, dropping their next three games and falling to 1–4 in-conference, but got a major win to break the streak atNotre Dame, a victory quoted byCoach Randy Edsall as being the program's "Best Win".[15] The game ball from that victory was sent to Howard's mother inMiami, one of many tributes throughout the year for the fallen player. The team honored Howard prior to every game through the 2010 season, which would have been his senior year.
The 2010 season brought a second Big East Championship in four years and a trip to the2011 Fiesta Bowl. After a loss in the Fiesta Bowl toOklahoma, Edsall did not fly home with or tell his players that he was leaving the UConn football program. He instead took a separate flight to Maryland to become their new head coach. It had also been noted in the media that Edsall's relationship with then-athletic director Jeff Hathaway had been strained for several years.
Two weeks after Edsall left forMaryland and after nearly seven years away from college football, Connecticut nativePaul Pasqualoni was hired away as defensive coordinator from theDallas Cowboys to lead the UConn football program, by the soon to be dismissed AD Hathaway.
The Big East's name changed in 2013 to the American Athletic Conference as a result of the non-FBS split that took place as part of the conference'sthree-way realignment between 2010 and 2013. Three members moved to theACC as full members, Notre Dame went to the ACC as a partial, Rutgers to the Big Ten and West Virginia to theBig 12. With the seven non-FBS basketball schools buying the Big East conference name fortheir own newly formed conference. Two teams departing to the ACC,Syracuse andPittsburgh left theBig East with losing records against the Huskies in football.[citation needed]
Following two seasons of mediocrity and a struggling offense, Pasqualoni was forced to replace his lifelong colleagueGeorge DeLeone as the offensive coordinator, just as he did prior to them both being fired atSyracuse. Pasqualoni namedT. J. Weist as his OC for 2013. But Pasqualoni and Deleone (now his OL coach) were both fired after starting 0–4 with UConn's first loss as full D-I member to an FCS team,Towson 33–18 and following a humiliating defeat toBuffalo (41–12), which UConn had never lost to (8–0) as an FBS team. Weist was named the interim head coach and finished the season strong on a 3-game winning streak after starting out 0–5 and totally revamping the offense free of Pasqualoni's control.
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Though Weist was considered for the head coaching job, UConn ADWarde Manuel announcedNotre Dame defensive coordinator andBroyles Award winnerBob Diaco as the new UConn head coach for the 2014 season. After a complete tear down of the program in 2014, which would lead to Diaco finishing the year with only around 60 scholarship players available and needing to use a dozen true freshmen, the team finished 2–10.
The 2015 season resulted in a revitalization for the program as they finished 6–6 and became bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2010 season.
On December 26, 2016, UConn announced that Diaco, who posted his 3rd straight losing year with a 3–9 record, would be fired effective January 2, 2017. By not making the move immediately, the school saved $1.6 million in buyout expenses.[16] He was replaced by former coach Edsall, making his return to the program after six years.[17]
Following a 3–9 third season with the Huskies, Diaco was terminated at the end of the 2016 season.[16] His replacement, Randy Edsall, returning to the program after six years, would not find similar success in his second go-around. In 2019, after several years of losing records with a $41 million sports created deficit, UConn made the choice to leave the AAC and rejoin the current edition of the Big East.[citation needed] This was seemingly a basketball move because the Big East does not have football.[citation needed] The path would be to play as an independent.[citation needed]
The UConn football team left the American and became independent in August 2020 as a result of UConn's other sports rejoining theBig East, which does not sponsor football.[18] UConn cancelled their 2020 season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Their first season competing independently was in 2021. After three straight losing campaigns and a season cancelled by theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Edsall elected to retire after a 0–2 start in 2021.[19]
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To replace Edsall, UConn hiredJim L. Mora. In his first season with the team, Mora would lead the Huskies to a surprising 6–6 regular season record, highlighted by an upset victory over then-No. 19Liberty. Bowl-eligible for the first time since 2015, UConn was selected to play in the2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl againstMarshall, in a rematch of their last bowl game.[20] In the 2024 season, UConn had an 8–4 record, their first winning season since 2010. They were invited to compete in theFenway Bowl againstNorth Carolina.[21] They would go on to defeatNorth Carolina in a 27-14 victory to win their first bowl game since 2009.
In 2010, Connecticut had 16 players named to the Big East All-Academic Football Team,[22] an honor which requires a cumulativeGrade Point Average (GPA) of at least a 3.0 in a minimum of two semesters. And several times UConn was ranked as one of the top bowl teams in the country per the annual Graduation Gap Bowl report.[23][24]In 2015, the team was honored by AF Coaches Assoc. for academic achievement, and the 990 single-year APR score in 2014–15 under head coach Diaco was also the highest in school history.
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| Season | Coach | Playoff | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Skip Holtz | First round Quarterfinals | Hampton Georgia Southern | W 42–34 L 52–30 |
Connecticut has participated in eight bowl games, with the Huskies garnering a record of 4–4.[25]
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Randy Edsall | Motor City Bowl | Toledo | W 39–10 |
| 2007 | Meineke Car Care Bowl | Wake Forest | L 10–24 | |
| 2008 | International Bowl | Buffalo | W 38–20 | |
| 2009 | PapaJohns.com Bowl | South Carolina | W 20–7 | |
| 2010 | Fiesta Bowl † | Oklahoma | L 20–48 | |
| 2015 | Bob Diaco | St. Petersburg Bowl | Marshall | L 10–16 |
| 2022 | Jim L. Mora | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Marshall | L 14–28 |
| 2024 | Fenway Bowl | North Carolina | W 27–14 |
Connecticut has won 26 conference championships, 17 shared and 9 outright.[citation needed]
| Season | Coach | Conference | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | T. D. Knowles | Athletic League of New England State Colleges | 8–2 | 1–0 |
| 1924 | Sumner Dole | New England Conference | 6–0–2 | 3–0 |
| 1926 | 7–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 1928† | 4–1–3 | 1–0–2 | ||
| 1936 | J. Orlean Christian | 7–2 | 2–0 | |
| 1937† | 6–2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 1942† | 6–2 | 2–0 | ||
| 1945† | 7–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 1946† | 4–3–1 | 2–0–1 | ||
| 1949† | Yankee Conference | 4–4–1 | 2–0–1 | |
| 1952† | Robert Ingalls | 5–3 | 2–1 | |
| 1956 | 6–2–1 | 3–0–1 | ||
| 1957† | 5–4–1 | 3–0–1 | ||
| 1958 | 7–3 | 4–0 | ||
| 1959 | 6–3 | 4–0 | ||
| 1960† | 5–4 | 3–1 | ||
| 1968† | John Toner | 4–6 | 4–1 | |
| 1970 | 4–4–2 | 4–0–1 | ||
| 1971† | Robert Casciola | 5–3–1 | 4–1–1 | |
| 1973 | Larry Naviaux | 8–2–1 | 5–0–1 | |
| 1982† | Walt Nadzak | 5–6 | 3–2 | |
| 1983† | Tom Jackson | 5–6 | 4–1 | |
| 1986† | 8–3 | 5–2 | ||
| 1989† | 8–3 | 6–2 | ||
| 2007† | Randy Edsall | Big East | 9–4 | 5–2 |
| 2010† | 8–5 | 5–2 |
† Co-champions
The Huskies have won one division title, which they shared withUMass.
| Season | Coach | Division | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 † | Skip Holtz | Atlantic 10 New England | 10–3 | 6–2 |
† Co-champions
The Yankee Conference rivalry dates back to 1897. The rivalry became dormant in 1999 as UConn moved up to the FBS and UMass remained at the FCS level. The rivalry would be revived in UMass's FBS debut, a 37–0 win for the Huskies. Since 2018, each school has won two of the four contests.
Better known for their men's basketball rivalry, the football rivalry between UConn andSyracuse dates back to 2004 and has been played 12 times.[26][27] The teams were members of the oldBig East until Syracuse left in 2012 to join theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in all sports.[28][29] Since becoming a non-conference matchup, the game has been played intermittently with the next meeting coming in 2024.[30]
The football rivalry dates back to 1897 and was centered around the Ramnapping Trophy after UConn students stole the URI mascot in 1934. The teams played nearly every year until the end of the Yankee Conference. Once UConn moved up to the FBS, the teams seldom play as Rhode Island remains an FCS program. Since 2000, there have been only three meetings: a UConn (52–7) win in 2006, a UConn (52–10) win in 2009, and a back-and-forth 56–49 UConn victory in 2018.
In 1997, theBig East Conference gave the University of Connecticut andVillanova University a December 31 deadline to decide if they were going to upgrade their respective football programs and join the Big East football conference.[31] Villanova, a private institution, declined the invitation. However, in October 1997, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees overwhelmingly endorsed, by a vote of sixteen to one, the football team's plan to upgrade the program to Division I-A status.[32] Part of the plan would be to build a new stadium, as the current stadium,Memorial Stadium, fell well below the minimum occupancy level of 30,000, as set by the NCAA. Originally, the new stadium was to be built on campus.
However, the enthusiasm toward the new stadium quickly faded as the estimated expenses rose, the idea of an on-campus stadium was tabled, and the upgrade of the program was put on hold by theConnecticut state legislature.[33] A year later, the stadium issue was rehashed during an attempt to bring theNew England Patriots toHartford, Connecticut. A proposed 70,000 seat, open-air stadium in downtown Hartford would also serve as the home of the Huskies football team.[34] The plans for this stadium also fell through and the Patriots announced that they would remain inFoxboro, Massachusetts. Eventually, a new site emerged across theConnecticut River inEast Hartford, whenPratt & Whitney donated land on the oldRentschler Airfield to the state for purposes of building an off-campus football stadium which is 20 miles away from the main campus.
The Huskies play their home football games at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field inEast Hartford, Connecticut, an off-campus facility located 20 miles (32 km) to the west of the main campus and only 3 miles east of the new Downtown Hartford-Uconn campus. The inaugural game took place on August 30, 2003, when Connecticut defeated theIndiana Hoosiers 34–10. Since the opening, Connecticut has enjoyed a decided home field advantage, posting a 74–60 record when playing at Rentschler. In2007, the Huskies completed their home season winning each of their seven home games, becoming only the second Big East team to compile a 7–0 home record. The stadium played to an average of 97% near capacity crowds for eight years (2003–2010), prior to Paul Pasqualoni's arrival and during the Big East.
The Huskies on-campus home is at the Burton Family Football Complex on Stadium Road in Storrs, Connecticut. It contains the coaches' offices, team meeting rooms, video facilities, dining hall and student-athlete lounge. Construction began in the fall of 2004 and it officially opened in July 2006.The building is named after Robert Burton, who in 2002 made a donation of $2.5 million to the University of Connecticut. The original location of the building was to be where Memorial Stadium stands.[35] However, it was later decided to construct the building across the street.
Alongside the Burton Family Football Complex is the 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m2) Mark R. Shenkman Training Center. The indoor training center includes a full-length football field and an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) strength and conditioning center.[36] The training center was made possible by a $2.5 million gift from Connecticut businessman and UConn alum Mark Shenkman.[37]Construction of the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center and the Burton Family Football Complex were handled in tandem by HOK Sport (nowPopulous) and JCJ Architecture. Upon completion in the summer of 2006, both buildings were granted aLEED silver designation. They are the first buildings on the University of Connecticut campus, and the first football facilities in the nation to be certified as a "green building."[38]
Official record against all formerBig East teams (2004–12):[39]
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Percentage | All Time | Streak | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2–13–2 | Won 1 | 1908 | 2025 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 6 | .250 | 3–13 | Lost 3 | 2001 | 2019 |
| Louisville | 4 | 4 | .500 | 4–6 | Lost 1 | 2000 | 2013 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | 4 | .556 | 5–4 | Won 1 | 2004 | 2012 |
| Rutgers | 3 | 6 | .333 | 11–22 | Won 1 | 1940 | 2013 |
| South Florida | 5 | 3 | .625 | 5–13 | Lost 9 | 2000 | 2023 |
| Syracuse | 6 | 3 | .667 | 6–8 | Lost 6 | 2004 | 2025 |
| Temple | 1 | 1 | .500 | 7–14 | Won 1 | 1963 | 2024 |
| West Virginia | 1 | 7 | .125 | 1–7 | Lost 1 | 2004 | 2011 |
| Totals | 27 | 35 | .435 |
Official record against all AAC opponents (2013–2019):[39][page needed]Teams no longer in The American are in italics.
|
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Percentage | All Time | Streak | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1–0 | Won 1 | 2009 | 2009 |
| Player | Position | Team | First year | Draft round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Boyle | QB | Tennessee Titans | 2019 | Undrafted |
| Nathan Carter | RB | Atlanta Falcons | 2025 | Undrafted |
| Folorunso Fatukasi | DT | Houston Texans | 2018 | 6 |
| Christian Haynes | OG | Seattle Seahawks | 2024 | 3 |
| Travis Jones | DT | Baltimore Ravens | 2022 | 3 |
| Chase Lundt | OT | Buffalo Bills | 2025 | 6 |
| Matt Peart | OT | Denver Broncos | 2020 | 3 |
| Ryan Van Demark | OT | Buffalo Bills | 2022 | Undrafted |
| Eric Watts | DE | New York Jets | 2024 | Undrafted |
| Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Jamar Summers | CB | Arlington Renegades |
The Brian Kozlowski Award was first awarded in 1998. It honors the formerUConn Husky and formerNew York Giants,Atlanta Falcons, andWashington Redskins tight end,Brian Kozlowski, who through hard work, effort and dedication has been able to have a lengthy NFL career.[50]: 86
| Year | Recipients |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Jamie Lenkaitis |
| 2002 | Wes Timko |
| 2003 | Sean Mulcahy |
| 2004 | Ryan Krug |
| 2005 | Taurien Sowell |
| 2006 | Matt Applebaum, Matt Nuzie |
| 2007 | Larry Taylor |
| 2008 | Julius Williams |
| 2009 | Robert McClain |
| 2010 | Anthony Sherman |
| 2011 | Twyon Martin |
| 2012 | Dwayne Gratz |
| 2013 | Jesse Joseph |
| 2014 | Graham Stewart |
| 2015 | Luke Carrezola |
| 2016 | Luke Carrezola |
| 2018 | Aaron McLean |
Announced schedules as of August 13, 2025.[51]
| Week | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 0 | ||||||||
| Week 1 | Lafayette(FCS) | Temple | atSouth Florida | atPurdue | atDuke | Boston College | ||
| Week 2 | Maryland | atDuke | ||||||
| Week 3 | North Carolina | atNorth Carolina | atWake Forest | Wyoming | atBoston College | Indiana | ||
| Week 4 | atMiami (Ohio) | Old Dominion | Buffalo | atBuffalo | Miami (Ohio) | |||
| Week 5 | Syracuse | atFIU | atTemple | Duke | ||||
| Week 6 | atTemple | Rice | ||||||
| Week 7 | atUMass | |||||||
| Week 8 | UMass | Duke | Boston College | |||||
| Week 9 | atAir Force | atPittsburgh | ||||||
| Week 10 | atDuke | Syracuse | Pittsburgh | |||||
| Week 11 | James Madison | atLiberty | atSyracuse | |||||
| Week 12 | atOld Dominion | Army | ||||||
| Week 13 | atWyoming | Delaware | Army | |||||
| Week 14 |
