Albany State Golden Rams football

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Albany State Golden Rams
Albany State Golden Rams wordmark.svg
Athletic directorTony Duckworth
Head coachGabe Giardina
4th season, 30–14 (.682)
StadiumAlbany State University Coliseum
(capacity: 10,000)
Year built2004
LocationAlbany, Georgia
NCAA divisionDivision II
ConferenceSIAC
DivisionEast
Bowl record1–1 (.500)
Playoff record3-14
Conference titles16[1]
1984–1986, 1988, 1993–1997, 2003–2006, 2010, 2013, 2021
RivalriesFort Valley State
ColorsRoyal blue and gold[2]
   
WebsiteASUGoldenRams.com

The Albany State Golden Rams football team represents Albany State University (ASU) in the sport of American football. The Golden Rams compete in the Division II of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the East Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). They play their home games at Albany State University Coliseum on the university's Albany, Georgia, campus, and are currently led by coach Gabe Giardina.

In 2003, the Golden Rams played Fayetteville State in the Pioneer Bowl. Albany State won, 52–30.

The Albany State Golden Rams were named the 2010 SBN Black college Football National Champions.

Former Golden Rams players that have played in the NFL include current Indianapolis Colt Grover Stewart, former Golden Rams Head Coaches Mike White and Dan Land, Steve Carter, Kenneth Gant, Arthur Green, Jeff Hunter, Keyon Nash, Clarence Benford III and Chris Sheffield.[3]

Rapper Rick Ross played briefly for the Golden Rams during the mid 1990s.

Rivalries[]

Fort Valley State University[]

The rivalry began in the first meeting of the two schools in 1945, when FVSU beat ASU, 27-21. The two schools did not play each other in 1946 and 1947. While the rivalry between the two teams spans more than half a century, Fountain City Classic officials moved the game to Columbus in 1990 to attract more corporate support.[4] FVSU leads the series 44-39-4.

Albany State won their last meeting in 2021, 57-0.

Head coaches[]

Coach Seasons Years Games W L T Pct.
4 1945–1948 16 2 12 2 .188
2 1949–1950 18 6 9 3 .417
17 1951–1967 146 79 57 10 .575
2 1968–1969 17 5 12 0 .294
1 1970 10 4 6 0 .400
Hampton Smith 24 1971–1976, 1982–1999 251 157 90 4 .633
Whitney L. Van Cleve 3 1977–1979 31 12 17 2 .419
Willie Williamson 2 1980–1981 (first 3 games in 1981) 14 4 10 0 .286
John Wright 1 1981 (last 7 games) 7 0 7 0 .000
Mike White 15 2000–2014 163 112 51 0 .687
Dan Land 2 2015–2016 19 11 8 0 .579
4 2017–present 44 30 14 0 .682

Championships[]

SEAC[]

1955 • 1957 • 1959 • 1960 • 1962 • 1966

SIAC[]

1984 · 1985 · 1986 • 1988 • 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 • 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 • 2010 • 2013 • 2021

East Division Champions[]

2011 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2018 • 2019 • 2021

Pioneer Bowl Champions[]

2003

Black College National Championships[]

2003 • 2004 • 2010

Postseason[]

Season Coach Playoff Opponent Result
1952 Obie O’Neal Tropical Bowl Bethune-Cookman L 0-54
1993 Hampton Smith First Round Hampton L 7–33
1994 Hampton Smith First Round Valdosta State L 7–14
1995 Hampton Smith First Round North Alabama L 28–38
1996 Hampton Smith First Round Valdosta State L 28–38
1997 Hampton Smith First Round
Quarterfinals
 Southern Arkansas
Carson-Newman
 W10–6
L 22-23
2003 Mike White Pioneer Bowl Fayetteville State W 52–30
2004 Mike White Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Arkansas Tech
Valdosta State		 W 42–24
L 24–38
2005 Mike White First Round Central Arkansas L 20–28
2006 Mike White First Round Newberry L 28–34
2007 Mike White First Round Catawba L 35–66
2008 Mike White First Round Tusculum L 22–34
2009 Mike White First Round West Alabama L 22-24
2010 Mike White Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Wingate
Delta State
 W 30-28
L 7-28
2011 Mike White First Round North Greenville L 14–63
2021 Gabe Giardina First Round West Georgia L 7–23

All-Americans[]

Year Player Pos Team Publication Award
1978 Mike White DT 3rd Team AP Little All-America[5]
1984 Steve Carter WR Honorable Mention AP Little All-America
1995 Antonio Leroy RB 3rd Team AP Little All-America
2004 Rodney Magwood OL 2nd Team AP Little All-America
2004 Walter Curry DL 2nd Team AP Little All-America
2004 Walter Curry DL 1st Team Daktronics[6]
2005 Alton Pettway DL 2nd Team AP Little All-America
2006 Alton Pettway DL 1st Team AFCA[7]
2006 Alton Pettway DL 1st Team AP Little All-America
2006 Alton Pettway DL 1st Team Daktronics[8]
2011 Jamarkus Gaskins LB 1st Team Daktronics[9] DPOY
2011 Jamarkus Gaskins LB 1st Team AP Little All-America
2013 Dexter Moody DB Honorable Mention Beyond Sports Network[10]
2014 Jarvis Small RB 3rd Team Beyond Sports Network[11]

NFL draft picks[]

See also: List of Albany State Golden Rams in the NFL Draft
Draft Player Pos Team Round Pick
1968 Frank Brown DE Dallas Cowboys 8th 211
1969 Joe Walker DE Boston Patriots 9th 214
1970 Willie Dixon DB Buffalo Bills 10th 238
1974 Art Cameron TE Buffalo Bills 10th 241
1974 Eddie Wilson WR Atlanta Falcons 11th 277
1975 Greg Wells OL New York Jets 16th 405
1975 Lester Sherman RB Denver Broncos 17th 433
1976 Jeremiah Cummings DE Baltimore Colts 14th 394
1979 Mike White DL Cincinnati Bengals 4th 84
1979 Curtis Bunche DL Philadelphia Eagles 7th 185
1982 George Thompson WR Dallas Cowboys 11th 295
1989 Jeff Hunter DE Phoenix Cardinals 11th 291
1990 Kenneth Gant DB Dallas Cowboys 9th 221
2002 Keyon Nash DB Oakland Raiders 6th 189
2017 Grover Stewart DL Indianapolis Colts 4th 144

Undrafted[]

Players that went undrafted but spent at least one season on a team's active roster.

Steve Carter: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987)
Arthur Green: New Orleans Saints (1972)
Dan Land: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987), Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders (1989-1997)
Chris Sheffield: Pittsburgh Steelers (1986-1987), Detroit Lions (1987)

References[]

  1. ^ "All-Time Conference Champions" (PDF). NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 18. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  2. ^ Albany State University Athletics Abbreviated Style Guide (PDF). January 23, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "Albany State (GA) Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "Fountain City Classic". Fountaincityclassic.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "AP Little All-America Archive (1934–2017)" (PDF). Static.esuwarriors.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Koenen named second-team Daktronics, Inc., Division II All-American". Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Chadron State's Danny Woodhead, Albany State's Alton Pettway Headline 2006 AFCA Division II Coaches'-America Team" (PDF). Ferris-pages.org. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "MSU's Burson named Daktronics, Inc. All-American - Midwestern State University". MSUMustangs.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Deonte? Gist named to Daktronics All-America Football Team". December 14, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "2013 Beyond Sports Network Division II All-America Team Announced".
  11. ^ "2014 Beyond Sports Network Division II All-America and All-Super Region 4 teams".

External links[]

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