| Abilene Christian Wildcats football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1919; 106 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Zack Lassiter | ||
| Head coach | Keith Patterson 3rd season, 20–14 (.588) | ||
| Stadium | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium (capacity: 12,000) | ||
| Year built | 2016 | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Abilene, Texas | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | United Athletic Conference | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1919–1924) TIAA (1925–1932) Texas (1933–1953) Independent (1954) GCC (1955–1956) Independent (1957–1963) SLC (1964–1973) LSC (1973–2012) FCS Independent (2013) SLC (2014–2020) WAC (2021–2022) | ||
| All-time record | 540–459–14 (.540) | ||
| Claimed national titles | NAIA Div. I: 2 (1973,1977) | ||
| Conference titles | 14 (7 TCAC, 1 Gulf Coast, 4 Lone Star, 1 WAC, 1 UAC) | ||
| Division titles | 3 (3 Lone Star South) | ||
| Colors | Purple and white[1] | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | ACUSports.com | ||
TheAbilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiateAmerican football team for theAbilene Christian University located in the U.S. state ofTexas. The team was a member of theSouthland Conference through the 2020–21 season,[2] but joined theWestern Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport.[3] After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of theASUN Conference, creating what eventually became theUnited Athletic Conference, and ACU accordingly moved its football team to the new league.[4][5] The school's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the on-campusAnthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
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• Abilene Christian did not field a team in 1943–1945.
| Name | Seasons | Record | Pct |
| Vernon McCasland | 1919 | 2–2 | .500 |
| Sewell Jones | 1920 | 4–0–1 | .900 |
| Russell A. Lewis | 1921 | 2–5 | .286 |
| Victor Payne | 1922–1923 | 12–3 | .800 |
| A. B. Morris | 1924–1941 | 66–77–18 | .466 |
| Tonto Coleman | 1942–1949 | 28–15–2 | .644 |
| Garvin Beauchamp | 1950–1955 | 39–18–4 | .672 |
| N. L. Nicholson | 1956–1961 | 28–30–1 | .483 |
| Les Wheeler | 1962–1967 | 29–28 | .509 |
| Wally Bullington | 1968–1976 | 62–32–2 | .656 |
| DeWitt Jones | 1977–1978 | 18–4–1 | .804 |
| Ted Sitton | 1979–1984 | 34–27–1 | .556 |
| John Payne | 1985–1990 | 26–34–1 | .435 |
| Ronnie Peacock | 1991–1992 | 4–15 | .211 |
| Bob Strader | 1993–1995 | 14–17 | .452 |
| Jack Kiser | 1996–1999 | 22–19 | .537 |
| Gary Gaines | 2000–2004 | 21–30 | .412 |
| Chris Thomsen | 2005–2011 | 61–21 | .744 |
| Ken Collums | 2012–2016 | 24–32 | .429 |
| Adam Dorrel | 2017–2021 | 19–32 | .373 |
| Keith Patterson | 2022–present | 12–10 | .545 |
Notable alumni include:
| Season | Coach | Selectors | Record | Bowl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Wally Bullington | NAIA Playoffs | 11–1 | WonNAIA Championship | |
| 1977 | DeWitt Jones | NAIA Playoffs | 11–1–1 | WonNAIA Championship | |
| National Championships | 2 | ||||
| Year | Coach | Conference | Overall record | Conference record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939† | A.B. Morris | Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 6–2–1 | 5–1 | |
| 1940† | 7–2 | 5–1 | |||
| 1946† | Tonto Coleman | 8–1–1 | 5–0–1 | ||
| 1950 | Garvin Beauchamp | 11–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 1951† | 6–4 | 3–1 | |||
| 1952 | 6–3–1 | 4–0 | |||
| 1953† | 7–3 | 3–1 | |||
| 1955† | Gulf Coast Conference | 3–5–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 1973 | Wally Bullington | Lone Star Conference | 11–1 | 9–0 | |
| 1977† | DeWitt Jones | 11–1–1 | 5–1–1 | ||
| 2008 | Chris Thomsen | 11–1 | 9–0 | ||
| 2010 | 11–1 | 10–0 | |||
| 2022† | Keith Patterson | Western Athletic Conference | 7–4 | 3–1 | |
| 2024 | United Athletic Conference | 8–4 | 7–1 | ||
| Conference Championships | 14 | ||||
† Co-champions
| Year | Coach | Division championship | Overall record | Conference record | Division record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002† | Gary Gaines | LSC South | 6–4 | 6–2 | 5–1 |
| 2008 | Chris Thomsen | 11–1 | 9–0 | 6–0 | |
| 2010 | 11–1 | 10–0 | 8–0 | ||
| Division Championships | 3 | ||||
† Co-champions
| Date | Bowl | Coach | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 1950 | Refrigerator Bowl | Garvin Beauchamp | Gustavus Adolphus College | W 14–7 |
| December 4, 1976 | San Jancinto Shrine Bowl | Wally Bullington | Harding | W 22–12 |
The Wildcats have made one appearance in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs. They have a combined record of 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | First Round Second Round | Northern Arizona North Dakota State | W 24–0 L 31–51 |
The Wildcats appeared in the Division II playoffs six times with an overall record of 3–6.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | First Round | West Texas A&M | L 27–30OT |
| 2007 | First Round Second Round | Mesa State Chadron State | W 56–12 L 73–763OT |
| 2008 | Second Round Quarterfinals | West Texas A&M Northwest Missouri State | W 93–68 L 36–45 |
| 2009 | First Round Second Round | Midwestern State Northwest Missouri State | W 24–21 L 10–35 |
| 2010 | Second Round | Central Missouri | L 41–55 |
| 2011 | First Round | Washburn | L 49–52 |
The Wildcats appeared in the NAIA playoffs two times with an overall record of 4–0. They were National Champions in 1973 and 1977.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Semifinals National Championship Game | Langston Elon | W 34–6 W 42–14 |
| 1977 | Semifinals National Championship Game | Wisconsin–Stevens Point Southwestern Oklahoma State | W 35–7 W 24–7 |
Announced schedules as of February 19, 2025.[6]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| atTulsa | atTexas Tech | atStephen F. Austin | atTexas A&M |
| Stephen F. Austin | Stephen F. Austin | ||
| atTCU | atIdaho | ||
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