Vanderbilt Commodores football
| Vanderbilt Commodores football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1890 | ||
| Athletic director | Candice Storey Lee | ||
| Head coach | Clark Lea 1st season, 1–1 (.500) | ||
| Stadium | Vanderbilt Stadium (capacity: 40,550) | ||
| Field | Dudley Field | ||
| Year built | 1922 | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee | ||
| NCAA division | Division I | ||
| Conference | Southeastern Conference | ||
| Division | Eastern | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1890–1894) SIAA (1895–1921) Southern Conference (1922–1932) | ||
| All-time record | 609–629–50 (.492) | ||
| Bowl record | 4–4–1 (.500) | ||
| Unclaimed national titles | 2 (1921, 1922) | ||
| Conference titles | 14 (0 SEC) | ||
| Rivalries | Tennessee (rivalry) Georgia (rivalry) Ole Miss (rivalry) Kentucky (rivalry) Georgia Tech (rivalry) Sewanee (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 7[1] | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Black and gold[2] | ||
| Fight song | Dynamite! | ||
| Mascot | Mr. C | ||
| Marching band | Spirit of Gold Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | vucommodores.com | ||
The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They are led by head coach Clark Lea. Vanderbilt plays their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium, located on the university's Nashville, Tennessee campus.
History[]
Vanderbilt has a winning percentage of .492, the lowest among all members in the Southeastern Conference.
Head coaches[]
Adopting the nickname the Commodores after the 1897 season, the team has played in 1,250 games over 126 seasons. In that time, six coaches have led the Commodores to a postseason bowl appearance: Art Guepe, Steve Sloan, George MacIntyre, Bobby Johnson, James Franklin and Derek Mason. Four have led them to a conference championship: R. G. Acton, W. H. Watkins, James R. Henry, and Dan McGugin. McGugin is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 198 victories during his 30 years at Vanderbilt. He was awarded two National Championships retroactively by Clyde Berryman.
Of the 29 different head coaches who have led the Commodores, McGugin,[3] Ray Morrison,[4] Red Sanders,[5] and Bill Edwards[6] have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The head coach is Clark Lea, who was hired on December 14, 2020.
Conference affiliations[]
Vanderbilt has been affiliated with the following conferences.[citation needed]
- Independent (1890–1894)
- SIAA (1895–1921)
- Southern Conference (1922–1932)
- Southeastern Conference (1933–present)
Championships[]
Conference championships[]
Vanderbilt has won 13 conference championships, with five shared and eight won outright.
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | SIAA | R. G. Acton | 6–0–1 | 3–0–1 |
| 1901 | W. H. Watkins | 6–1–1 | 6–0–1 | |
| 1904 | Dan McGugin | 9–0 | 5–0 | |
| 1905 | 7–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 1906† | 8–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 1907 | 5–1–1 | 4–0 | ||
| 1910† | 8–0–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1911 | 8–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 1912 | 8–1–1 | 4–0–1 | ||
| 1915 | 9–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1921† | 7–0–1 | 4–0–1 | ||
| 1922† | SoCon | 8–0–1 | 3–0 | |
| 1923† | 5–2–1 | 3–0–1 |
† Co-champions
Bowl games[]
Vanderbilt has been invited to nine bowl games, with the Commodores garnering a record of 4–4–1 in bowl games.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Art Guepe | Gator Bowl | Auburn | W 25–13 |
| 1974 | Steve Sloan | Peach Bowl | Texas Tech | T 6–6 |
| 1982 | George MacIntyre | Hall of Fame Classic | Air Force | L 28–36 |
| 2008 | Bobby Johnson | Music City Bowl | Boston College | W 16–14 |
| 2011 | James Franklin | Liberty Bowl | Cincinnati | L 24–31 |
| 2012 | Music City Bowl | NC State | W 38–24 | |
| 2013 | BBVA Compass Bowl | Houston | W 41–24 | |
| 2016 | Derek Mason | Independence Bowl | NC State | L 17–41 |
| 2018 | Texas Bowl | Baylor | L 38–45 |
Rivals[]
Tennessee[]
Vanderbilt and Tennessee have played 112 times since 1892 , Tennessee leads the series 75–32-5.[7] When the rivalry first started Vanderbilt dominated by taking 19 of the first 24 with 3 ties. From 1928 to 2011, Tennessee went 71–9–2 against Vanderbilt. But since 2012, Vanderbilt has won five of the last nine. The largest margin of victory for Vanderbilt was by 76 points in 1918 at Old Dudley Field in Nashville. (Vanderbilt 76, Tennessee 0) The largest defeat was 65 points in 1994 at Vanderbilt Stadium (Tennessee 65, Vanderbilt 0). The longest win streaks for Vanderbilt is (9) from 1901 to 1913. The longest win streak for Tennessee is 22, from 1983 to 2004.[8]
Georgia[]
Having started in 1893, the Georgia-Vanderbilt football series has been played annually since 1968. The two are divisional opponents in the SEC East. The series, which rotates between Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia, stands with Georgia leading 57-20–2 through the 2020 season.[9]
Ole Miss[]
Ole Miss is Vanderbilt's cross-divisional rival in the SEC.
Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have played 92 times since 1894.[10] Ole Miss leads the series 51-39-2.[10] The largest margin of victory was by 91 points won by Vanderbilt in 1915. Vanderbilt also holds the longest win streaks in the series (18) from 1894 to 1938.
Kentucky[]
Having started in 1896, the Kentucky-Vanderbilt football series has been played annually since 1953.[11] The two are divisional opponents in the SEC East. The series, which rotates between Nashville, Tennessee and Lexington, Kentucky, is led by Kentucky at 44-42–4 with the average score being Vanderbilt 16.9-Kentucky 15.6.[12]
Sewanee[]
Vanderbilt and the Sewanee Tigers were both founding members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), the Southern Conference, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is the oldest of Vanderbilt's rivalries;[13] dating back to 1891 when Vanderbilt played its second football game. Vanderbilt leads the series 40–8–4.[14] The largest margin of victory was in 1905 when Vanderbilt won 68–4. Usually played towards the end of the season on Thanksgiving Day, the two teams have not met again since 1944 and are unlikely to anytime soon as Sewanee plays in NCAA Division III.
Uniforms[]
Traditionally, Vanderbilt has featured differing designs of gold helmets, black jerseys, and gold or black pants at home, and gold helmets, white jerseys and gold, or white pants on the road. Meanwhile, the traditional alternate uniform saw gold helmets and jerseys matched with white pants.
During the James Franklin-era (2011–2013), "blackout” (i.e. all black) alternate uniforms featuring new black helmets, and "whiteout" (i.e. all white) alternate uniforms featuring new white helmets, were unveiled. The team's gold alternate jerseys were also re-designed with the addition of black shoulders and a more muted gold color.
Derek Mason's tenure (2014–2020) saw the team adopt a primary home uniform of black matte helmets, black jerseys and black pants, and a primary road uniform of black matte helmets, white jerseys and black pants. Additionally, the team utilized several alternate combinations including among others a black matte helmet, gold jersey and gold pant set, “traditional” looks featuring gold helmets, and an updated version of the “whiteout” alternate from the Franklin-era.
Individual awards[]
College Football Hall of Fame[]
Vanderbilt Commodore football personnel have been inducted into the National Football Foundation's National College Football Hall of Fame.[15]
Players[]
| Name | Position | Career |
|---|---|---|
| John J. Tigert | HB | 1901–1903 |
| Josh Cody | T | 1914–1916, 1919 |
| Lynn Bomar | End | 1921–1924 |
| William Spears | QB | 1925–1927 |
| Carl Hinkle | C | 1935–1937 |
Coaches[]
| Name | Career |
|---|---|
| Dan McGugin | 1904–1917, 1919–1934 |
| Ray Morrison | 1918, 1935–1939 |
| Jess Neely | 1920–1922* |
| Red Sanders | 1940–1942, 1946–1948 |
| Bill Edwards | 1949–1952 |
- Jess Neely played for Vanderbilt from 1920 to 1922, but he never coached at Vanderbilt.
All-Americans[]
| Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Cunningham | 2016 | LB |
| Jordan Matthews | 2013 | WR |
| Casey Hayward | 2011 | CB |
| D.J. Moore | 2008 | DB |
| Earl Bennett | 2006 | WR |
| Jamie Winborn | 1999 | LB |
| Jamie Duncan | 1997 | LB |
| Bill Marinangel | 1996 | P |
| Boo Mitchell | 1988 | WR |
| Chris Gaines | 1987 | LB |
| Ricky Anderson | 1984 | P |
| Leonard Coleman | 1983 | DB |
| Chuck Scott | 1983 | TE |
| Jim Arnold | 1982 | P |
| Allama Matthews | 1982 | TE |
| Preston Brown | 1979 | Back |
| Barry Burton | 1974 | TE |
| Bob Asher | 1969 | T |
| Chip Healy | 1968 | LB |
| George Diedrich | 1958 | G |
| Charley Horton | 1955 | RB |
| Bill Wade | 1951 | QB |
| Bob Werckle | 1951 | T |
| Bucky Curtis | 1950 | End |
| Bob Gude | 1941 | C |
| Carl Hinkle | 1937 | C |
| Pete Gracey | 1932 | C |
| Bull Brown | 1929 | G |
| Dick Abernathy | 1928 | End |
| Bill Spears | 1926, 1927 | QB |
| Gil Reese | 1923, 1924 | Back |
| Henry Wakefield | 1923, 1924 | End |
| Oliver Kuhn | 1922 | QB |
| Lynn Bomar | 1922, 1923 | End |
| Josh Cody | 1914, 1915, 1919 | T |
| Irby Curry | 1916 | QB |
| Lewie Hardage | 1912 | Back |
| Ray Morrison | 1911 | QB |
| W. E. Metzger | 1910 | G |
| Bob Blake | 1907 | E |
| Owsley Manier | 1906 | Back |
Consensus All-American[]
Vanderilt has had seven consensus All-Americans in their history. In 2016, Zach Cunningham became the first unanimous All-American in Vanderbilt's history.[16]
| Player | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Lynn Bomar | 1923 | E |
| Hek Wakefield | 1924 | E |
| Pete Gracey | 1932 | C |
| George Deiderich | 1958 | G |
| Jim Arnold | 1982 | P |
| Ricky Anderson | 1984 | P |
| Zach Cunningham | 2016 | LB |
All-Southerns[]
Captains[]
| Year | Captain |
|---|---|
| 1890–1892 | Elliott Jones |
| 1893–1894 | W. J. Keller |
| 1895–1896 | Phil Connell |
| 1897 | Howard Boogher |
| 1898 | Joe Goodson |
| 1899 | Walter H. Simmons |
| 1900 | John F. H. Barbee |
| 1901 | John Edgerton |
| 1902 | H. W. Davis |
| 1903 | Frank Kyle |
| 1904 | Irish Graham |
| 1905 | Innis Brown |
| 1906 | Dan Blake |
| 1907 | Bob Blake |
| 1908 | Vaughn Blake |
| 1909 | H. H. Williams |
| 1910 | Bill Neely |
| 1911 | Ray Morrison |
| 1912 | Lew Hardage |
| 1913 | Enoch Brown |
| 1914 | Ammie Sikes |
| 1915 | Russ Cohen |
| 1916 | Irby Curry |
| 1917 | Alfred T. Adams |
| 1918 | Herman Daves |
| 1919 | Josh Cody |
| 1920 | Johnny "Red" Floyd |
| 1921 | Pink Wade |
| 1922 | Jess Neely |
| 1923 | Doc Kuhn |
| 1924 | Tuck Kelly |
| 1925 | Gil Reese |
| 1926 | Neil Cargile |
| 1927 | Vernon Sharpe |
| 1928 | Jimmy Armistead |
| 1929 | Bull Brown |
| 1930 | Joe Scheffer |
| 1931 | Amos Leonard |
| 1932 | Chosen by game |
| 1933 | Chosen By Game |
| 1934 | Eugene Beck |
| 1935 | Charles W. Geny |
| 1936 | Dick Plasman |
| 1937 | Carl Hinkle |
| 1938 | Marvin. A. Franklin |
| 1939 | Raymond Andrus |
| 1940 | John Ellis |
| 1941 | Joe Atkinson |
| 1942 | Fred Holder |
| 1943 | James & Bob Hamilton |
| 1944 | Lee Austin & Dick Bostick |
| 1945 | Dick Bostick & James Hamilton |
| 1946 | Alf Satterfield |
| 1947 | John North & Tex Robertson |
| 1948 | John Clark |
| 1949 | Carl Copp |
| 1950 | Russ Faulkinberry |
| 1951 | Bob Werckle |
| 1952 | John Cheadle & Don Wade |
| 1953 | Larry Stone |
| 1954 | Pete Williams & John Hall |
| 1955 | Larry Frank & Jim Cunningham |
| 1956 | Don Orr & Art Demmas |
| 1957 | Bob Laws & Phil King |
| 1958 | Billy Grover |
| 1959 | No permanent captain |
| 1960 | Fred Riggs |
| 1961 | Cody Brinkley & Ed Creagh |
| 1962 | Jule Crocker & Mike Reese |
| 1963 | Sam Sullins |
| 1964 | Dave Malone, Bill Juday, & Wilford Fuqua |
| 1965 | Lane Wolbe |
| 1966 | Dave Maddux & Jim Thomas |
| 1967 | Bob Goodridge & Sid Ransom |
| 1968 | Mike Giltner & Rex Raines |
| 1969 | Bob Asher & Bill McDonald |
| 1970 | Steve Fritz, Mal Wall, & John Robinson |
| 1971 | John Carney & John Drake |
| 1972 | Jim Avery, Joe Cook, & Ken Stone |
| 1973 | Mark Ilgenfritz & Bo Patton |
| 1974 | David Lee |
| 1975 | Lonnie Sadler & Tom Galbierz |
| 1976 | Tom Ballman & David Hale |
| 1977 | Ed Parrish, Mike Birdsong, Reggie Calvin, & Mitch Lilly |
| 1978 | Randy Sittason & John Wooten |
| 1979 | Mike Ralston, Preston Brown, & Ronnie Myrick |
| 1980 | Phil Swindoll, Keith Phillips, & Rodney Gurley |
| 1981 | Rodney Gurley, Ken Hammond, & Andrew Coleman |
| 1982 | Whit Taylor, Allama Matthews, & Joe Staley |
| 1983 | Tom Moore, Steve Bearden, & Phil Roach |
| 1984 | Rob Monaco, Steve McCoy, Chuck Scott, & Manuel Young |
| 1985 | Steve Wade, Kermit Sykes, & Will Wolford |
| 1986 | Thanh Anderson, Mark Wracher, Mark Woehler, & Carl Woods |
| 1987 | Chris Gaines, Everett Crawford, Daryl Holt, & Carl Parker |
| 1988 | Eric Jones, Brent Turner, Joe Gentry, & Mike Johnson |
| 1989 | John Gromos, DeMond Winston, Andy McCarroll, & Greg Smith |
| 1990 | No permanent captains. |
| 1991 | Bobby Craycraft & Rod Keith |
| 1992 | Marcus Wilson & Marcus Young |
| 1993 | Gerald Collins, Tony Jackson, & Eric Dahlberg |
| 1994 | Gerald Collins & Eric Lewis |
| 1995 | No permanent captains. |
| 1996 | No permanent captains. |
| 1997 | Jamie Duncan, Corey Chavous, Jay Stallworth, Damian Allen, & John Bradley |
| 1998 | Rahim Batten, Clay Condrey, Jared McGrath, & Fred Vinson |
| 1999 | Jeff Barnett, Ainsley Battles, Lamont Turner, & Todd Yoder |
| 2000 | Ryan Aulds, Elliott Carson, John Markham; & Matt Stewart |
| 2001 | Jamie Byrum, Antuian Bradford, Nate Morrow, & Dan Stricker |
| 2002 | Jamie Byrum, Rushen Jones, & Dan Stricker |
| 2003 | Jay Cutler, Justin Geisinger, & Jovan Haye |
| 2004 | Jay Cutler, Justin Geisinger, Jovan Haye, & Chris Young |
| 2005 | Jay Cutler & Moses Osemwegie |
| 2006 | Brian Stamper & Jonathan Goff |
| 2007 | Jonathan Goff, Chris Williams, & Theo Horrocks |
| 2008 | Reshard Langford, Bradley Vierling, & George Smith |
| 2009 | Patrick Benoist, Ryan Hamilton, & Bradley Vierling |
| 2010 | Joey Bailey, T. J. Greenstone, Adam Smotherman, & Chris Marve |
| 2011 | Kyle Fischer, Casey Hayward, Chris Marve, Larry Smith, & Carey Spear |
| 2012 | Jordan Rodgers, Walker May, Archibald Barnes, Zac Stacy, Johnell Thomas, Javon Marshall, Wesley Johnson, & Carey Spear |
| 2013 | Austyn Carta-Samuels, Wesley Johnson, Jordan Matthews, Walker May, Chase Garnham, Andre Hal, Javon Marshall, Carey Spear, & Andrew East |
| 2014 | Andrew East, Joe Townsend, and Kyle Woestmann |
| 2015 | Darreon Herring, Spencer Pulley, and Ryan White |
| 2016 | Ryan White and Ralph Webb |
Conference recognition[]
Vanderbilt Commodores personnel, including coaches and players, have received recognition from the Southeastern Conference for their performances on the football field.[15]
Most Valuable Player[]
Five Vanderbilt players have been awarded Most Valuable Player, with three of them being awarded over a six year span to Commodores.
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Bob Goodridge | 1967 |
| Bill Wade | 1951 |
| Jack Jenkins | 1941 |
| Carl Hinkle | 1937 |
| Willie Geny | 1935 |
Offensive Player of the Year[]
One Vanderbilt player has won Offensive Player of the Year honors.
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Jay Cutler | 2005 |
Freshman of the Year[]
Two players have won Freshman of the Year while at Vanderbilt.
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Kwane Doster | 2002 |
| Warren Norman | 2009 |
Best Blocker[]
One Commodore has won Best Blocker, doing so twice.
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Jack Jenkins | 1941, 1942 |
Best Wide Receiver[]
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Earl Bennett | 2005–2007 |
Coach of the Year[]
Five Vanderbilt coaches have won Coach of the Year honors over the past century.
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Bobby Johnson | 2008 |
| George MacIntyre | 1982 |
| Art Guepe | 1955 |
| Red Sanders | 1941 |
| Ray Morrison | 1937 |
Future opponents[]
Non-division opponents[]
Vanderbilt plays Ole Miss as a permanent non-division opponent annually and rotates around the West division among the other six schools.[17]
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| at Ole Miss | vs Ole Miss | at Ole Miss | vs Ole Miss | at Ole Miss |
| vs Mississippi State | at Alabama | vs Auburn | at LSU | vs Arkansas |
Non-conference opponents[]
Announced schedules as of April 26, 2020[18]
- No games are scheduled for the 2030-2031 seasons.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2032 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | at Hawaii | Hawaii | vs. Virginia Tech1 | at Virginia Tech | Austin Peay | Eastern Kentucky | SMU | Purdue | at Stanford | Stanford |
| at Colorado State | Elon | Charleston Southern | Norfolk State | Georgia State | NC State | at Stanford | at NC State | at SMU | ||
| Stanford | Wake Forest | at Wake Forest | SMU | Colorado State | at Colorado State | |||||
| UConn | at Northern Illinois | at UNLV | at Georgia State |
- The 2024 game with Virginia Tech will be played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN.
References[]
- ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/Awards.pdf
- ^ "Vanderbit Art Sheet" (PDF). Vanderbilt University Division of Communications. October 25, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ Dan McGugin at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ Ray Morrison at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ Red Sanders at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ Bill Edwards at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ "mcubed.net : NCAAF Football : Series records : Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt". mcubed.net.
- ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/vand/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/2012-fb-154-160-media2.pdf
- ^ http://www.winsipedia.com/georgia/vs/vanderbilt
- ^ Jump up to: a b "mcubed.net : NCAAF Football : Series records : Mississippi vs. Vanderbilt". mcubed.net.
- ^ "mcubed.net : NCAAF Football : Series records : Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt". mcubed.net.
- ^ "Kentucky Vanderbilt series". Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ William L. Traughber. "CHC- Sewanee Was Vandy's First Rival".
- ^ cf. William L. Traughber (2011). Vanderbilt Football: Tales of Commodore Gridiron History. p. 26. ISBN 9781609494230.
- ^ Jump up to: a b According to the Vanderbilt 2006 Football Media Guide.
- ^ "SEC Consensus All-Americans by the Numbers: Alabama has half the league's 2016 haul".
- ^ "SEC Future Football Schedule Rotation Announced". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
- ^ "Vanderbilt Commodores Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
Further reading[]
- Rosenberg, Michael (September 19, 2011). "Ultimate Underdog: For Vanderbilt, playing in the nation's toughest conference is a losing proposition. But the only team in the SEC that everyone can love is 2—0, thanks to a new coach who has turned a blind eye to the past". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vanderbilt Commodores football. |
- Vanderbilt Commodores football
- American football teams established in 1890
- 1890 establishments in Tennessee