The Richmond Spiders are a college football team representing the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond was the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision champion for the 2008 season. Richmond competes as an associate member of the Patriot League that competes in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Russ Huesman was named head coach of the Spiders, on December 14, 2016, replacing Danny Rocco who had departed to become head coach at the University of Delaware a day earlier.

In 2008, No. 7 Richmond beat Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian State, and Northern Iowa to advance to the NCAA Division I Football Championship against Montana. In the FCS National Championship Game on December 19, 2008, they defeated Montana 24–7 to win the first team NCAA national title for the University of Richmond in any sport.

Rivals Richmond's traditional rival in many sports is the College of William & Mary. Richmond and William & Mary have met 136 times since 1898, making the rivalry (sometimes referred to as "the South's oldest rivalry") the fourth most-played in Division I college football. Only Lafayette–Lehigh, Princeton–Yale, and Harvard–Yale have played more games. The winner of the annual W&M–Richmond match-up claims the Capital Cup (formerly the I-64 Trophy), which reflects the historical significance of the cities of Williamsburg and Richmond as the last two capitals of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Conference affiliations 1881–1900: Independent 1900–1920: Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association (EVIAA) 1911–1921: South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA) – participated simultaneously as a member of both organizations 1922–1926: Independent 1927–1935: Virginia Conference 1936–1975: Southern Conference 1976–1977: NCAA Division I independent 1978–1981: NCAA Division I-A independent 1982–1985: NCAA Division I-AA independent 1986–1996: Yankee Conference 1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference 2007–2024: CAA / CAA Football 2025–future: Patriot League

All-Americans Walker Gillette, SE – 1969 Consensus 1st Team (FWAA-1st; NEA-1st; TSN-1st; Time-1st) Walker Gillette, WR – 1969 (AP-1st) Barty Smith, RB – 1973 (AP-3rd) Jeff Nixon, DB – 1976 (AP-3rd)

Richmond Spiders in the NFL draft

Undrafted players and non-NFL draftees

Rick Sowieta, LB, Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders Carmen Cavalli, Oakland Raiders draft pick (1960) Reggie Evans, RB Bruce Gossett, K Matt Joyce, G/T Paris Lenon, LB Matt Snider, FB Brendan Toibin, K Stacy Tutt, FB Josh Vaughan, RB Danny Desriveaux, Montreal Alouettes Eric Ward, QB, Edmonton Eskimos (2011) Winston October, DB/KR, Montreal Alouettes, WR/KR, Washington Redskins and Edmonton Eskimos Ben Edwards, WR/KR, New York Giants Seth Williams, CFL player Martin Parker, DT Kerry Wynn, DE Kendall Gaskins, RB Mike Burkhead, QB Jacob Ruby, OL, Edmonton Eskimos Kyle Lauletta, QB, New York Giants Winston Craig, DT, Philadelphia Eagles David Jones, DB

Championships Conference championships Richmond has won seventeen conference championships, four outright and thirteen shared. According to their record books, they do not claim the Virginia Conference championships. 1932 Virginia Conference 4–2–2 3–0–2 1933† 5–4 2–1 1934† 8–1 2–1 1968 Southern Conference 8–3 6–0 1969† 6–4 5–1 1971 5–6 5–1 1975 5–6 5–1 1987† Yankee Conference 7–5 6–1 1998 Atlantic 10 Conference 9–3 7–1 2000† 10–3 7–1 2005† 9–4 7–1 2007† Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference 11–3 7–1 2009† 11–2 7–1 2012†8–3 6–2 2015† 10–4 6–22023† 9–4 7–1 2024† 10–3 8–0 † denotes co-champions

National championships Richmond has won one national championship. 2008 Mike London Division I FCS Playoffs 13–3 Won NCAA Division I Football Championship Game (24–7 over Montana)

Playoffs The Spiders have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs 14 times. Their combined record is 17–13. They were FCS National Champions in 2008.

1984 First RoundQuarterfinals Boston UniversityRhode Island W 35–33L 17–23 1987 First Round Appalachian State L 3–20 1998 First Round Lehigh L 23–24 2000 First RoundQuarterfinals Youngstown StateMontana W 10–3L 20–34 2005 First RoundQuarterfinals HamptonFurman W 38–10L 20–24 2007 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Eastern KentuckyWoffordAppalachian State W 31–14W 21–10L 35–55 2008 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game Eastern KentuckyAppalachian StateNorthern IowaMontana W 38–10W 33–13W 21–20W 24–7 2009 First RoundQuarterfinals ElonAppalachian State W 16–13L 31–35 2014 First RoundSecond Round Morgan StateCoastal Carolina W 46–24L 15–36 2015 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals William & MaryIllinois StateNorth Dakota State W 48–13W 39–27L 7–33 2016 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals North Carolina A&TNorth DakotaEastern Washington W 39–10W 27–24L 0–38 2022 First RoundSecond Round DavidsonSacramento State W 41–0L 31–38 2023 First RoundSecond Round North Carolina CentralAlbany W 49–27L 13–41 2024 First Round Lehigh L 16–20

Bowl games During their time as an NCAA University Division (Major College) team, Richmond appeared in two bowl games, both times in the Tangerine Bowl against the champion of the Mid-American Conference. They have a record of 1–1. 1968 Frank Jones Tangerine Bowl Ohio W 49–42 1971 Frank Jones Tangerine Bowl Toledo L 3–28

Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of August 31, 2026 at Louisville at Virginia at Pittsburgh at Virginia at VMI VMI VMI Morgan State at Harvard Harvard at Norfolk State at Furman

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