| Yale Bulldogs football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1872; 153 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Victoria Chun | ||
| Head coach | Tony Reno 13th season, 74–46 (.617) | ||
| Stadium | Yale Bowl (capacity: 61,446) | ||
| Location | New Haven, Connecticut | ||
| Conference | Ivy League | ||
| All-time record | 944–393–55 (.698) | ||
| Claimed national titles | |||
| 27 (1872,1874,1876,1877,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1886,1887,1888,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1897,1900,1901,1902,1905,1906,1907,1909,1927)[1] | |||
| Playoff appearances | |||
| 1 (Div. I FCS):2025 | |||
| Conference titles | |||
| 19 (1956,1960,1967,1968,1969,1974,1976,1977,1979,1980,1981,1989,1999,2006,2017,2019,2022,2023,2025) | |||
| Heisman winners | Larry Kelley – 1936 Clint Frank – 1937 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 100 | ||
| Rivalries | Harvard (rivalry) Princeton (rivalry) | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Yale blue and white[2] | ||
| Fight song | "Down the Field" | ||
| Mascot | Handsome Dan | ||
| Website | yalebulldogs.com | ||
TheYale Bulldogs football program representsYale University incollege football in theNCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Yale's football program, founded in 1872, is one of the oldest in the world. Since their founding, the Bulldogs have won 27national championships, two of the first threeHeisman Trophy winners (Larry Kelley in 1936 andClint Frank in 1937), 100 consensus All-Americans, 28College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including the "Father of American Football"Walter Camp, the first professional football playerPudge Heffelfinger, and coaching giantsAmos Alonzo Stagg,Howard Jones,Tad Jones andCarmen Cozza. With over 900 wins, Yale ranks in the top ten for most wins in college football history.
The Bulldogs were the dominant team in the early days of intercollegiate football, winning 27college football national championships, including 26 in 38 years between 1872 and 1909.[3]Walter Camp, known as the "Father of Football", graduated fromHopkins Grammar School in 1876, and playedcollege football atYale College from 1876 to 1882. He later served as the head football coach at Yale from 1888 to 1892.[4] It was Camp who pioneered the fundamental transition of American football from rugby when in 1880, he succeeded in convincing the Intercollegiate Football Association to discontinue the rugby "scrum", and instead have players line up along a "line of scrimmage" for individual plays, which begin with the snap of the ball and conclude with the tackling of the ballcarrier.[5] In 1916, against the advisement of coach Tad Jones, Yale quarterback Chester J. LaRoche (1918s) helped lead the Yale team in a win against Princeton by turning the momentum of the game with a fourth-down call in the huddle to go for first down rather than punt. The team made the down and went on to win the game in one of Yale's greatest victories in its history. LaRoche went on to spearhead the creation of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.[6]
By the 1940s, however, Yale's success in football had waned at the national level. The famed sportswriterGrantland Rice wrote that Yale, along with Harvard and Princeton, was one of the top teams in the late 19th and early 20th century. However, "It was has been a different story in the later years when the far west, the midwest, the southwest, and the south have taken charge as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton fell behind."[7]
When theIvy League athletic conference was formed in 1955, conference rules prohibited post-season play in football. While Yale had always abstained from post-season play, other member schools had participated inbowls before, and the new policy further insulated Yale and the Ivy League from the national spotlight. In 2024, the Ivy presidents voted to allow Ivy League football teams to take part in NCAA FCS post-season play.[8] Yale claimed the league's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2025 by "dominat[ing]" then-undefeated Harvard in a 45-28 win in the final regular season game.[9]
TheNCAA decided to split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978, then calledI-A for larger schools, andI-AA for the smaller ones. The NCAA had devised the split, in part, with the Ivy League in mind, but the conference did not move down for four seasons despite the fact that there were many indications that the ancient eight were on the wrong side of an increasing disparity between the big and small schools. In 1982, the NCAA created a rule that stated a program's average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the conference's hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. Choosing to stay together rather than stand their ground separately in the increasingly competitive I-A subdivision, the Ivy League moved down into I-AA starting with the 1982 season.[10] In 2024, the Ivy presidents voted to allow football to compete in the NCAA post-season. By virtue of an upset win over then-undefeated Harvard in fall 2025, Yale received the first-ever Ivy League automatic bid to NCAA football FCS post-season play.[11][12]
Yale has been both an independent and affiliated with the Ivy League.[13]
Yale has won 27 national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors.[14][15]: 110–112 [16]
| Season | Coach | Selectors | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | No coach | Parke Davis | 1–0 |
| 1874 | No coach | National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 3–0 |
| 1876 | No coach | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 3–0 |
| 1877 | No coach | Billingsley,[17] National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 3–0–1 |
| 1879 | No coach | Parke Davis | 3–0–2 |
| 1880 | No coach | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 4–0–1 |
| 1881 | No coach | National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 5–0–1 |
| 1882 | No coach | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 8–0 |
| 1883 | No coach | Billingsley,Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 9–0 |
| 1884 | No coach | Billingsley,[17] Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 8–0–1 |
| 1886 | No coach | Billingsley,[17] Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 9–0–1 |
| 1887 | No coach | Billingsley, Helms,Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 9–0 |
| 1888 | Walter Camp | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 13–0 |
| 1891 | Walter Camp | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 13–0 |
| 1892 | Walter Camp | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 13–0 |
| 1893 | William Rhodes | Parke Davis | 10–1 |
| 1894 | William Rhodes | Billingsley, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 16–0 |
| 1895 | John A. Hartwell | Parke Davis | 13–0–2 |
| 1897 | Frank Butterworth | Parke Davis | 9–0–2 |
| 1900 | Malcolm McBride | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 12–0 |
| 1901 | George S. Stillman | n/a[a][b] | 11–1–1 |
| 1902 | Joseph R. Swan | Parke Davis | 11–0–1 |
| 1905 | Jack Owsley | Parke Davis,Whitney | 10–0 |
| 1906 | Foster Rockwell | Billingsley, Parke Davis, Whitney | 9–0–1 |
| 1907 | William F. Knox | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis, Whitney | 9–0–1 |
| 1909 | Howard Jones | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | 10–0 |
| 1927 | Mal Stevens | Football Research | 7–1 |
Yale has won 19 conference championships, all in theIvy League, as of 2025 with nine outright and ten shared.[20] In 2025, Yale's upset victory over Harvard in The Game gave Yale a share of the Ivy title and, by virtue of the head-to-head win over the Crimson, the first automatic bid to the NCAA FCS tournament in Ivy League football history.[21]
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Ivy League | Jordan Olivar | 8–1 | 7–0 |
| 1960 | 9–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 1967 | Carmen Cozza | 8–1 | 7–0 | |
| 1968 | 8–0–1 | 6–0–1 | ||
| 1969† | 7–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 1974† | 8–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 1976† | 8–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 1977 | 7–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 1979 | 8–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 1980 | 8–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 1981† | 9–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 1989† | 8–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 1999† | Jack Siedlecki | 9–1 | 6–1 | |
| 2006† | 8–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 2017 | Tony Reno | 9–1 | 6–1 | |
| 2019† | 9–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 2022 | 8–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 2023† | 7–3 | 5–2 | ||
| 2025† | 6–1 |
† Co-championship
Career records of Yale head coaches:[22]
| Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| No coach | 1872–1887 | 79–5–8 | .902 |
| Walter Camp | 1888–1892 | 67–2–0 | .971 |
| William Rhodes | 1893–1894 | 26–1–0 | .963 |
| John A. Hartwell | 1895 | 13–0–2 | .933 |
| Sam Thorne | 1896 | 13–1–0 | .929 |
| Frank Butterworth | 1897–1898 | 18–2–2 | .864 |
| James O. Rodgers | 1899 | 7–2–1 | .750 |
| Malcolm McBride | 1900 | 12–0–0 | 1.000 |
| George S. Stillman | 1901 | 11–1–1 | .885 |
| Joseph R. Swan | 1902 | 11–0–1 | .958 |
| George B. Chadwick | 1903 | 11–1–0 | .917 |
| Charles D. Rafferty | 1904 | 10–1–0 | .909 |
| Jack Owsley | 1905 | 10–0–0 | 1.000 |
| Foster Rockwell | 1906 | 9–0–1 | .950 |
| William F. Knox | 1907 | 9–0–1 | .950 |
| Lucius Horatio Biglow | 1908 | 7–1–1 | .833 |
| Howard Jones | 1909, 1913 | 15–2–3 | .825 |
| Ted Coy | 1910 | 6–2–2 | .700 |
| John Field | 1911 | 7–2–1 | .750 |
| Art Howe | 1912 | 7–1–1 | .833 |
| Frank Hinkey | 1914–1915 | 11–7–0 | .611 |
| Tad Jones | 1916–1917, 1920–1927 | 60–15–4 | .785 |
| Albert Sharpe | 1919 | 5–3–0 | .625 |
| Mal Stevens | 1928–1932 | 21–11–8 | .625 |
| Reginald D. Root | 1933 | 4–4–0 | .500 |
| Ducky Pond | 1934–1940 | 30–25–2 | .544 |
| Spike Nelson | 1941 | 1–7–0 | .125 |
| Howie Odell | 1942–1947 | 35–15–2 | .692 |
| Herman Hickman | 1948–1951 | 16–17–2 | .486 |
| Jordan Olivar | 1952–1962 | 61–32–6 | .646 |
| John Pont | 1963–1964 | 12–5–1 | .694 |
| Carmen Cozza | 1965–1996 | 179–119–5 | .599 |
| Jack Siedlecki | 1997–2008 | 71–48 | .597 |
| Tom Williams | 2009–2011 | 16–14 | .533 |
| Anthony Reno | 2012–present | 82-48 | .631 |
Harvard and Yale have been competing against each other in football since 1875. The annual rivalry game between the two schools, known as "The Game", is played in November at the end of the football season. As of 2023, Yale leads the series 70-61-8.[23]
The Game is the second oldest continuing rivalry and also the third most-playedrivalry game in college football history, after theLehigh–Lafayette Rivalry (1884) and thePrinceton–Yale game (1873).Sports Illustrated On Campus rated the Harvard–Yale rivalry the sixth-best in college athletics in 2003. After Harvard had a decided edge in the rivalry in the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century, Yale has won 7 out of the last 10 contests; the last three wins over Harvard cost the Crimson the outright league title and, in 2023 and 2025, earned Yale a share of the title. The 2025 multiple-touchdown win over a then-undefeated Harvard squad also earned Yale the first automatic bid to NCAA FCS post-season play in Ivy League history.[24]
The Game is significant for historical reasons as the rules of The Game soon were adopted by other schools. Football's rules, conventions, and equipment, as well as elements of "atmosphere" such as themascot andfight song, include many elements pioneered or nurtured at Harvard and Yale.[25][26]
The series withPrinceton dates to 1873.
.jpg)
TheYale Bowl is Yale's footballstadium inNew Haven, Connecticut about 1-1/2 miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadiumseats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869.[27]
Ground was broken on the stadium in August 1913. It was the first bowl-shaped stadium in the country, and provided inspiration for the design of such stadiums as theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, theRose Bowl, andMichigan Stadium. Through its inspiration of the Rose Bowl stadium, its name is also the origin of college football'sbowl games. It was the perfect setting for New Haven native Albie Booth, also known as "Little Boy Blue" to perform his heroics vs. Army in November 1929 and for the 47-yard "kick that made history" by Randall "Randy" C. Carter, '77, snapped by the stalwart center from Illinois, Ralph Bosch, '77 and surely placed by John "Nubes" Nubani, '78, in the last seconds of the 1975 Yale-Dartmouth game to win the game for Yale, 16–14. The victory lifted head coach Carm Cozza into a tie with the legendary Walter Camp for most victories by a Bulldog mentor.[28] The current scoreboard (notable for the time clock being arranged vertically instead of horizontally) was added in 1958, and in 1986 the current press box was added. The first night game at the Bowl was played in 2016. The Bowl was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1987.[27][29]
As of 2024, 29 Yale Bulldogs players and coaches have been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[30]
| Name | Position | Years | Inducted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mal Aldrich | HB | 1919–1921 | 1972 |
| Doug Bomeisler | End | 1910–1912 | 1972 |
| Albie Booth | HB | 1929–1931 | 1966 |
| Gordon Brown | G | 1897–1900 | 1954 |
| Walter Camp | Coach | 1888–1895 | 1951 |
| Pa Corbin | C | 1886–1888 | 1969 |
| Ted Coy | FB | 1907–1909 | 1951 |
| Carmen Cozza | Coach | 1965–1996 | 2002 |
| Clint Frank | HB | 1935–1937 | 1955 |
| Pudge Heffelfinger | G | 1888–1891 | 1951 |
| Bill Hickock | G | 1892–1894 | 1971 |
| Frank Hinkey | End | 1891–1894 | 1951 |
| James Hogan | T | 1901–1904 | 1954 |
| Art Howe | QB | 1909–1911 | 1973 |
| Dick Jauron | RB | 1970–1972 | 2015 |
| Howard Jones | Coach | 1908–1940 | 1951 |
| Tad Jones | Coach | 1909–1927 | 1958 |
| Larry Kelley | End | 1934–1936 | 1969 |
| Hank Ketcham | C,G | 1911–1913 | 1968 |
| John Kilpatrick | End | 1908–1910 | 1955 |
| Alex Kroll | C | 1956, 1960–1961 | 1997 |
| Bill Mallory | FB | 1921–1923 | 1964 |
| Lee McClung | HB | 1888–1891 | 1963 |
| Century Milstead | T | 1920–1921, 1923 | 1977 |
| Tom Shevlin | End | 1902–1905 | 1954 |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg | End | 1885–1889 | 1951 |
| Mal Stevens | QB,HB | 1919–1921, 1923 | 1974 |
| Herbert Sturhahn | G | 1924–1926 | 1981 |
| Sam Thorne | HB | 1893–1895 | 1970 |
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
More than 30 players from Yale have gone on to play in theNational Football League, including running backsCalvin Hill,Chuck Mercein andChris Hetherington, defensive backsDick Jauron,Gary Fencik andKenny Hill, tight endsEric Johnson andJohn Spagnola, quarterbackBrian Dowling, and linemen Fritz Barzilauskas,Century Milstead andMike Pyle.
Since the first All-American team was selected byCaspar Whitney in 1889, more than 100 Yale football players have been selected as first-team All-Americans. Consensus All-Americans are noted below with bold typeface.
Announced schedules as of October 14, 2025.[33]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Cross | atHoly Cross | atAlbany | atHoly Cross |
| atLehigh | Holy Cross | Albany | |
| Stonehill |
Located in:New Haven, Connecticut | |||||||||||
| People |
|  | |||||||||
| Schools |
| ||||||||||
| Campus | |||||||||||
| Residential | |||||||||||
| Library and museums | |||||||||||
| Research | |||||||||||
| Athletics |
| ||||||||||
| Artistic |
| ||||||||||
| Traditions | |||||||||||
| Publications | |||||||||||
| Student Life | |||||||||||
| Programs | |||||||||||
