The Samford Bulldogs football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Samford University located in Homewood, Alabama. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). Samford's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team was known as the Howard Bulldogs through the 1965 season when Howard College was renamed as Samford University. Howard was located in Birmingham, Alabama prior to 1957. Since 1958, the Bulldogs have played their home games at Pete Hanna Stadium, which now has a seating capacity of 6,700, in Homewood. Chris Hatcher served as Samford's head coach from 2015 to 2025.
History Classifications 1937–1971: NA 1972: NCAA College Division 1973: NCAA Division III 1974–1983: no program 1984–1988: NCAA Division III 1989–present: NCAA Division I-AA/FCS
Conference memberships 1902–1905: independent 1906–1931: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1931–1954: Dixie Conference 1955–1972: independent 1973: NCAA Division III independent 1974–1983: no program 1984–1988: NCAA Division III independent 1989–2002: NCAA Division I-AA independent 2003–2007: Ohio Valley Conference 2008–present: Southern Conference
Conference Championships
The Bulldogs have won 4 conference championships, with three coming in the Dixie Conference and two in the Southern Conference.
1933 Dixie Conference Eddie McLane 8–5 6–2 1935 Billy Bancroft 7–1–2 3–0–1 1936 5–3–1 4–1–1 2013† Southern Conference Pat Sullivan 8–5 6–2 2022 Southern Conference Chris Hatcher 11-2 8–0 † Co-champions
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoff results The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs six times with an overall record of 3–6.
1991 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals New HampshireJames MadisonYoungstown State W 29–13W 24–21L 0–10 1992 First Round Delaware L 21–56 2013 First Round Jacksonville State (#20) L 14–55 2016 First Round Youngstown State (#13) L 24–38 2017 First Round Kennesaw State (#16) L 17–28 2022 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals BYE WeekSoutheastern Louisiana (#17)North Dakota State (#3) N/AW 48–42 OTL 9–27
Notable former players Michael “The Steel” Deen Bobby Bowden James Bradberry Cortland Finnegan Jimbo Fisher Scott Fountain Jeremy Towns Ahmad Gooden Efrem Hill Devlin Hodges Chris Oladokun Michael Pierce Nate Schenker Jaquiski Tartt Montrell Washington Corey White Nick Williams
Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of January 23, 2026.
vs North Alabama(Huntsville, AL) at Georgia Southern vs Austin Peay at Southern Illinois Southern Illinois at UAB at UAB at Auburn
References
External links