The Rhode Island Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Rhode Island located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (CAA Football). Rhode Island's first football team was fielded in 1895. The team plays its home games at the 6,555 seat Meade Stadium in Kingston, Rhode Island.

Conference affiliations

Rhode Island has played as both an independent and conference-affiliated team. Independent / Athletic League of New England State Colleges (1895–1946) Yankee Conference (1947–1996) Atlantic 10 Conference (1997–2006) Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (2007–present)

Playoffs NCAA Division I-AA/FCS The Rams have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs five times with a combined playoff record of 4–5.

1981 Quarterfinals Idaho State L 0–51 1984 QuarterfinalsSemifinals RichmondMontana State W 23–17L 20–32 1985 First RoundQuarterfinals AkronFurman W 35–27L 15–59 2024 First RoundSecond Round Central ConnecticutMercer W 21–17L 10–17 2025 First RoundSecond Round Central ConnecticutUC Davis W 27–19L 26–47

Championships

Conference championships The Rams have won eight conference championships, seven in the Yankee Conference and two in the Coastal Athletic Association, with their lone outright title coming in 2025.

The Yankee Conference titles were highlighted by two separate runs of numerous championships (four in five years during the 1950s and three in four years during the 1980s) and respective droughts between those run: a 24-year drought between titles in 1957 and 1981 and a 39-year drought between Rhode Island's final Yankee title in 1985 and their first CAA title in 2024.

1952† Yankee Conference (7) Hal Kopp (3) 7–1 3–1 1953† 6–2 3–1 1955 6–1–2 4–0 1957† Herb Maack (1) 5–2–1 3–0–1 1981† Bob Griffin (3) 6–6 4–1 1984† 10–3 4–1 1985 10–3 5–0 2024† Coastal Athletic Association (2) Jim Fleming (2) 10–2 7–1 2025 8–0 † notes Co-championship

Divisional championships The Rams have won one division title, in 1995: the Yankee Conference's New England Division. 1995 Yankee New England Division Delaware L 19–24

Rivalries Brown

UConn

Retired numbers

Rhode Island Rams retired numbers No. Player Pos. Tenure No. ret. Ref. 12 Tom Ehrhardt 1983–1985 QB 1996

Notable former players

Derek Cassidy Chy Davidson Tom Ehrhardt Frank Ferrara Steve Furness Andy Gresh Chris Hixson Pat Narduzzi

Current NFL players As of April 28, 2025, there are three former Rhode Island Rams player listed on team roster in the National Football League (NFL).

Ajani Cornelius, right tackle, Dallas Cowboys Jordan Colbert, safety, Miami Dolphins Rex Sunahara, long snapper, Cleveland Browns

Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of July 28, 2026.

at Merrimack at Bowling Green Brown at Brown at West Virginia at Brown at Temple at Boston College at Northern Illinois Yale Brown Brown at Brown at Yale Merrimack

References

External links