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| Dubuque Spartans football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1909 |
| Athletic director | Dan Runkle |
| Head coach | Ryan Maiuri 1st season, 4–5 (.444) |
| Stadium | Chalmers Field (capacity: 4,000) |
| Field surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Dubuque, Iowa |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | A-R-C |
| Past conferences | HCC Independent |
| All-time record | 387–498–29 (.439) |
| Playoff appearances | 4 |
| Conference titles | 11 |
| Colors | Blue and white[1] |
| Mascot | Spartan |
| Website | udspartans.com |
The Dubuque Spartans football team represents the University of Dubuque in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Spartans are members of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), fielding its team in the A-R-C since 1929 when it was the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). The Spartans play their home games at Chalmers Field in Dubuque, Iowa.[2]
Their head coach is Ryan Maiuri, who took over the position December 28,2023.[3]
Dubuque claims 11 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2015.
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Hawkeye College Conference | 7–0 | N/A | John Chalmers |
| 1916 | 5–1 | N/A | ||
| 1917 | 5–0–1 | N/A | ||
| 1940 | Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 7–1 | 7–0 | Kenneth E. Mercer |
| 1942 | 8–0 | 8–0 | ||
| 1948† | 7–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1978† | 7–2 | 5–2 | Don Birmingham | |
| 1979 | 9–1 | 7–0 | ||
| 1980 | 8–2–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 2011 | 9–2 | 7–1 | Stan Zweifel | |
| 2015 | 8–3 | 7–0 |
† Co-champions
The Spartans have appeared in the Division III playoffs four times with an overall record of 0–4.
| Season | Coach | Playoff | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Don Birmingham | Quarterfinals | Ithaca | L 0–37 |
| 1980 | Quarterfinals | Minnesota Morris | L 35–41 | |
| 2011 | Stan Zweifel | First round | North Central (IL) | L 13–59 |
| 2015 | First round | Saint John's (MN) | L 7–51 |
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benson[8] | 1909 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0.643 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | John Saathoff[8] | 1912–1913 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | John Chalmers[9] | 1914–1924 | 67 | 41 | 21 | 5 | 0.649 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | Clarence Peterson[8] | 1929–1930 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0.269 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | Austin Griffen[8] | 1931–1933 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0.100 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | John McCaffrie[10] | 1934–1936 | 21 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0.333 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | Paul Fitzke[11] | 1937–1938 | 90 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0.594 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Kenneth Mercer[12] | 1939–1942, 1945–1961 | 166 | 95 | 65 | 6 | 0.590 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Owen Evans[8] | 1962–1968 | 62 | 24 | 33 | 5 | 0.427 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Maury Waugh[13] | 1969–1974 | 56 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 0.436 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Larry Pohlman[14] | 1975–1976 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0.250 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12 | Don Birmingham[15] | 1977–1983 | 69 | 42 | 26 | 1 | 0.616 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | Myron Smith[8] | 1984–1986 | 31 | 5 | 26 | 0 | 0.161 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 14 | Don Turner[16] | 1987–1989 | 31 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 0.419 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | Mike Messer[17] | 1990–1993 | 34 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 0.118 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | Don Caves (interim) | 1993 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.250 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | Jim Collins[18] | 1994–1996 | 30 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0.133 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 | Mike Murray[19] | 1997–2000 | 49 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 0.082 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | Vince Brautigam[20] | 2001–2008 | 80 | 22 | 58 | 0 | 0.275 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Stan Zweifel[21] | 2009–2023 | 141 | 85 | 56 | 0 | 0.603 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Ryan Maiuri | 2024-Present | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head Coach |
Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Dubuque Spartans | ||||||||||||||
| 1909 | 1909 | Benson | IAAUS | — | — | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| No team from 1910–1911 | ||||||||||||||
| 1912 | 1912 | John Saathoff | NCAA | — | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1913 | 1913 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1914 | 1914 | John Chalmers | HCC | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||
| 1915 | 1915 | 7 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||||||
| 1916 | 1916 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||||||
| 1917 | 1917 | 5 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | ||||||||
| 1918 | 1918 | Independent | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||||||
| 1919 | 1919 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1920 | 1920 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1921 | 1921 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1922 | 1922 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1923 | 1923 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1924 | 1924 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| No team from 1925–1928 | ||||||||||||||
| 1929 | 1929 | Clarence Peterson | NCAA | — | IIAC | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |
| 1930 | 1930 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1931 | 1931 | Austin Griffen | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1932 | 1932 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1933 | 1933 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1934 | 1934 | John McCaffrie | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1935 | 1935 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1936 | 1936 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1937 | 1937 | Paul Fitzke | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1938 | 1938 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4th | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1939 | 1939 | Kenneth E. Mercer | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1940 | 1940 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1941 | 1941 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3rd | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1942 | 1942 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| No team from 1943–1944 | ||||||||||||||
| 1945 | 1945 | Kenneth E. Mercer | NCAA | — | IIAC | 4 | 2 | 0 | T-4th | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| 1946 | 1946 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1947 | 1947 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1948 | 1948 | 7 | 1 | 0 | T-1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1949 | 1949 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1950 | 1950 | 3 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1951 | 1951 | 3 | 4 | 0 | T-2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1952 | 1952 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1953 | 1953 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1954 | 1954 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3rd | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1955 | 1955 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1956 | 1956 | College Division | 3 | 3 | 2 | T-5th | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |||
| 1957 | 1957 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8th | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1958 | 1958 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T-4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1959 | 1959 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1960 | 1960 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1961 | 1961 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1962 | 1962 | Owen Evans | 2 | 7 | 0 | 8th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1963 | 1963 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1964 | 1964 | 3 | 5 | 1 | T-5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1965 | 1965 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1966 | 1966 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1967 | 1967 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7th | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1968 | 1968 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1969 | 1969 | Maury Waugh | 1 | 7 | 0 | 8th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1970 | 1970 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1971 | 1971 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | 1972 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4th | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1973 | 1973 | Division III | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4th | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1974 | 1974 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | 1975 | Larry Pohlman | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1976 | 1976 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1977 | 1977 | Don Birmingham | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1978 | 1978 | 7 | 2 | 0 | T-1st | 5 | 2 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1979 | 1979 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1980 | 1980 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1st | 6 | 1 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1981 | 1981 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | 1983 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1984 | 1984 | Myron Smith | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||||
| 1986 | 1986 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1987 | 1987 | Don Turner | 6 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1988 | 1988 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T-6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | Mike Messer | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1991 | 1991 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1992 | 1992 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1993 | 1993 | Mike Messer (games 1–2) / Don Caves (remainder) | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1994 | 1994 | Jim Collins | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1995 | 1995 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T-6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 | Mike Murray | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 1998 | 1998 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 2000 | 2000 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 2001 | 2001 | Vince Brautigam | 2 | 8 | 0 | 10th | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2002 | 2002 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 10th | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T-8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T-8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | Stan Zweifel | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2010 | 2010 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 7 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 8 | 2 | 0 | T-2nd | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | A-R-C | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2019 | 2019 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2020–21 | 2020–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | T-2nd | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2022 | 2022 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||