American college football program
Howard Bison football First season 1893; 131 years ago (1893 ) Head coach Larry Scott 5th Season season, 18–29 (.383)Stadium William H. Greene Stadium (capacity: 10,000)Field surface Field Turf Location Washington, D.C. NCAA division Division I FCS Conference MEAC All-time record 525–504–40 [ 1] (.510) Bowl record 1–3 (.250) Playoff appearances 1 Playoff record 0–1 Claimed national titles 0 (FCS/I-AA )
5 (Black College ):1920, 1925, 1926, 1993, 1996 Unclaimed national titles 2 (Black College ): 1923, 1987 Conference titles CIAA : 1912, 1914 MEAC :1993, 2022, 2023Rivalries Hampton Morehouse Morgan State Colors Navy blue and white[ 2] Marching band "Showtime" Website www.hubison.com/football
The Howard Bison football team represents Howard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
First FBS Victory
On September 2, 2017, Howard football reached a milestone by defeating their first FBS opponent in program history. The Bison defeated the UNLV Rebels 43–40 in Sam Boyd Stadium . As of September 2017, Howard's victory against UNLV is the biggest point-spread upset in college football history, with UNLV being a 45.5 point favorite.[ 3] [ 4]
1937–1972: NCAA College Division
1973–1977: NCAA Division II
1978–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS
Conference memberships [ edit ]
National championships [ edit ]
Year
Coach
Record
Championship
1920
Edward Morrison
7–0
Black College National champions
1925
Louis L. Watson
6–0–1
Black College National Champions
1926
Louis L. Watson
7–0
Black College National Champions
1993
Steve Wilson
11–1
Black College National Champions
1996
Steve Wilson
10–2
Black College National Champions
Total national championships
5
Conference championships [ edit ]
See Note A
The Bison have appeared in four bowl games, with a current record of 1–3.
Division I-AA/FCS playoffs results[ edit ]
The Bison have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.
Season
Bowl
Opponent
Result
1993
First Round
Marshall
L 14–28
Over 20 Howard alumni have played in the NFL,[ 5] including:
Howard's top rival is Hampton University . The two schools call their intense rivalry Battle of "The Real HU" .[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] [ 10]
Howard also has a strong rivalry with Morgan State University in the Howard–Morgan State football rivalry .[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
Another of Howard's historic rivals is Morehouse College , more popularly known as the Howard/"Spel-House" rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCU Spelman College . This rivalry is not often played because Morehouse is a Division II athletic program, while Howard is Division I .[ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
A. ^ Howard went 9–1 and won the MEAC championship in 1987,[ 17] however a later investigation by Howard University and MEAC found that coach Willie Jeffries used ineligible players.[ 18] All wins from the 1987 season were vacated and the MEAC Championship was transferred to Delaware State , who had been the runner-up.
B. ^ Rayford Petty was an assistant coach under Gary Harrell in 2011 and 2012. Gary Harrell stepped away from coaching Howard for the 2013 season for personal reasons, but remained under contract as the head coach to return in 2014. Rayford Petty was promoted to head coach for the 2013 season only, in a temporary role.
^ https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/history?utf8=✓&org_id=290&sport_code=MFB&commit=Search
^ Howard Bison Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Identity Guide (PDF) . December 13, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022 .
^ Kirshner, Alex (September 3, 2017). "Cam Newton's little brother just led the biggest Vegas upset in college football history" . sbnation.com . SB Nation. Retrieved September 3, 2017 .
^ Bromberg, Nick (September 3, 2017). "Howard's win over UNLV is biggest upset vs. spread in college football history" . sports.yahoo.com . Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2017 .
^ "Howard Players/Alumni" . Pro-Football-Reference.com .
^ Webb, Brittany (September 15, 2016). "Column: Historically, Who's the Real HU" . The Hilltop . Washington . Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Wang, Gene (September 17, 2015). "Howard and Hampton reprise the battle for the 'real HU' " . The Washington Post . Washington. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Freeman, Dennis (September 22, 2016). "Howard-Hampton: the real 'HU' rivalry continues" . news4usonline.com . News4usonline. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Clarke, Chad (September 16, 2016). "HU VS HU: Nation's Classic To Highlight The Greatest HBCU Rivalry" . The Hilltop . Washington. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Cuddihy, Madeline (September 14, 2016). "Who is the real HU? 100 year old football rivalry kicks off" . WUSA 9 . Washington. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Wilbon, Michael (November 21, 1980). "Howard-Morgan State: The Game" . The Washington Post . Washington. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Freeman, Rasheim (October 2, 2005). "Rivalry And Revelry" . The Baltimore Sun . Baltimore . Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ "Howard & Morgan Take Rivalry North to a Big Stage in the Big Apple" . The Afro (Baltimore) . September 25, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Yates, Clinton (September 12, 2014). "With rivalry renewed, Morehouse and Howard wrap up four-year series at RFK Stadium" . The Washington Post . Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Crockett Jr., Stephen (September 13, 2014). "Howard vs. Morehouse: A Rivalry for the Ages" . theroot.com . The Root . Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ Seymore Jr., Add. "Morehouse and Howard Renew Rivalry in the 2011 Nation's Football Classic in Washington, D.C." morehouse.edu . Morehouse College . Retrieved December 27, 2016 .
^ "Howard Bison, 1987 Schedule" . cfbinfo.com . Retrieved February 13, 2019 .
^ "MEAC strips Howard of Division I-AA title" . Sun-Sentinel . Fort Lauderdale, Florida . September 26, 1989. p. 2C. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
Venues Bowls & rivalries People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Academics
Colleges
Arts and Sciences
Business
Communications
Dentistry
Divinity
Education
Engineering, Architecture & Computer Sciences
Graduate School
Law
Medicine
Nursing & Allied Health Sciences
Pharmacy
Social Work
Research People
Athletics
Broadcasting Campus Student life
Teams Championships & awards