The Sam Houston Bearkats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Sam Houston State University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Conference USA. Sam Houston's first football team was fielded in 1912. The team plays its home games at the 14,000-seat Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. On December 18, 2024, Phil Longo was named the 16th head coach in Sam Houston program history.
In July 2021, the Bearkats left the Southland Conference to join the Western Athletic Conference, which relaunched its football league at the FCS level at that time. Just a few months later, on November 5, 2021, the school accepted an invitation to join Conference USA at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level beginning in the 2023–24 season.
History
Sam Houston has fielded a football team since 1912 and have played continuously since 1946 following World War II. The only times the Bearkats did not field a football team were in 1918 for World War I, from 1943 to 1945 for World War II, and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (although they did get a make-up season in the spring of 2021). The Bearkats competed independently from 1912 through 1923, in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) from 1924 to 1931, in the Lone Star Conference from 1932 to 1984, in the Gulf Star Conference from 1982 to 1985 and in the Southland Conference from 1986 to 2021. In July 2021, The Bearkats left the Southland Conference to join the Western Athletic Conference, which relaunched its football league at the FCS level at that time. Just a few months later, on November 5, 2021, the school accepted an invitation to join FBS Conference USA beginning in the 2023–24 season.
The Bearkats won their first FCS National Championship in the 2020–21 college football season, beating South Dakota State 23–21.
The Bearkats have won 15 conference championships, and have seen postseason NCAA playoff action in 13 seasons, with back-to-back NCAA Division I Championship game appearances in 2011–2012. Sam Houston State also has 3 bowl victories in four games, and one claimed National Championship from NAIA in the 1964 season.
Head coaches Ron Randleman is Sam Houston's and the Southland Conference's all-time winningest coach with 131 wins over a span of 23 years. Randleman also won conference Coach of the Year honors on four occasions, in the Gulf Star Conference in 1985 and 1986, and in the Southland Conference in 1991, and 2001.
Paul Pierce coached the Bearkats to its only National Championship as a member of NAIA, and also won the 1965 Knute Rockne Little All-American Coach of the Year award.
Willie Fritz coached Sam Houston to back-to-back conference championships and back-to-back national title game appearances in only three years, while being awarded the 2011 AFCA National Coach of the Year award and the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. He was also named the 2012 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year.
On January 23, 2014, former Delaware head coach K. C. Keeler was named the 15th head coach in Sam Houston program history. Under Keeler, Sam Houston consistently made deep runs in the FCS playoffs, making appearances every year from 2014-2017 and claimed the ultimate prize winning the FCS National Championship in 2020 (played in Spring 2021).
Keeler finished with a record of 97-39, winning four conference titles in his 11 seasons as head coach. The winner of the 2016 Eddie Robinson Award, as a Bearkat, Keeler became both the all-time FCS playoffs wins leader and the only coach to win an FCS title with two different schools. After the 2024 season Keeler left to accept the head coaching job at Temple leaving Brad Cornelsen as interim head coach for the Bearkats' first Bowl Game.
In 2025, former Wisconsin offensive coordinator, Phil Longo was named the 17th head coach of the program.
NameFromToSeason(s)RecordPostseasonWLTS. R. Warner191219132531Gene Berry19141919614151Mutt Gee192019223674J. W. Jones19231935135452101930 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association championsHenry O. Crawford1936193727120Puny Wilson193719511550496Paul Pierce1952196716945271955 Lone Star Conference co-champions, 1956 LSC champions, 1964 LSC, NAIA National co-champions, 3 bowl wins in 4 appearancesTom Page19681971420193Allen Boren1972197327140Billy Tidwell19741977411301Melvin Brown19781981412290Ron Randleman198220042313112531985 Gulf Star Conference co-champions, 1986 GSC champions, 2001 Southland Conference co-champions, 2004 SLC co-championsTodd Whitten20052009525280Willie Fritz201020145401502011 SLC champions, 2011 NCAA Division I Finalist, 2012 SLC co-champions 2012 NCAA Division I FinalistK. C. Keeler2014202411973902014 SLC co-champions, 2014 NCAA Division I Semifinalist, 2015 NCAA Division I Semifinalist, 2016 SLC champions, 2016 NCAA Division I Quarterfinalist, 2017 NCAA Division I Semifinalist, 2020 SLC champions, 2020 NCAA Division I National Champions, 2021 WAC champions, 2021 NCAA Division I QuarterfinalistBrad Cornelsen†2024––1002024 New Orleans Bowl ChampionsPhil Longo2025present12100Composite record1912present11557549936
† Interim head coach
Championships
National championships Sam Houston has two national championships, with one during their tenure in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the other coming in FCS. In their NAIA championship game, they played Concordia Cobbers for the championship, with the game resulting in a tie, becoming co-champions with Moorhead. In their third FCS championship game, they defeated South Dakota State to win their first FCS national championship. 1964 Paul Pierce National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 9–1–1 T 7–7 Concordia College 2020 K. C. Keeler NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision 10–0 W 23–21 South Dakota State
Conference championships Sam Houston has won 15 conference titles, seven shared and eight outright. 1930 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association J. W. Jones 9–1 5–0 1955† Lone Star Conference Paul Pierce 6–1–2 5–1–1 1956 10–0 7–0 1961 8–1 7–0 1964†* 9–1–1 5–1 1985† Gulf Star Conference Ron Randleman 8–3 4–1 1986 9–3 4–1 2001† Southland Conference 10–3 5–1 2004† 8–3 4–1 2011 Willie Fritz 14–1 7–0 2012† 11–4 6–1 2014† K. C. Keeler 11–5 7–1 2016 12–1 9–0 2020 10–0 6–0 2021 Western Athletic Conference 11–1 5–0
† Denotes shared title.
Conference affiliations
1912–1923: Independent 1924–1930: Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1931–1981: Lone Star Conference (NAIA) 1982–1983: Lone Star Conference (NCAA Division II) 1984–1986: Gulf Star Conference (Division I FCS) 1987–2020: Southland Conference (Division I FCS) 2021–2022: Western Athletic Conference (Division I FCS) 2023–present: Conference USA (Division I FBS)
Bowl game appearances Sam Houston appeared in five bowl games during their time in the NAIA, going 3–0–1 in these bowl games, with the final one notably being for the NAIA championship. Since joining Division I FBS, the Bearkats have been invited to one bowl game.
1952 Shrimp Bowl Northeastern State (OK) W 41–20 1953 Refrigerator Bowl College of Idaho W 14–12 1956 Refrigerator Bowl Middle Tennessee State W 27–13 1958 Christmas Festival Bowl Northwestern State L 11–18 1964 Championship Bowl Concordia College T 7–7 2024 New Orleans Bowl Georgia Southern W 31–26
non-Division I bowl game
Playoff appearances NCAA Division I-AA/FCS The Bearkats have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs 13 times, with an overall record of 24–12. They were NCAA Division I National Champions in 2020.
1986 First Round Arkansas State L 7–48 1991 First Round Middle Tennessee State L 19–20 OT 2001 First RoundQuarterfinals Northern ArizonaMontana W 34–31L 24–49 2004 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Western KentuckyEastern WashingtonMontana W 54–21W 35–34L 13–34 2011 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game Stony BrookMontana StateMontanaNorth Dakota State W 34–27W 49–13W 31–28L 6–17 2012 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game Cal PolyMontana StateEastern WashingtonNorth Dakota State W 18–16W 34–16W 45–42L 13–39 2013 First RoundSecond Round Southern UtahSoutheastern Louisiana W 51–20L 29–30 2014 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Southeastern LouisianaJacksonville StateVillanovaNorth Dakota State W 21–17W 37–26W 34–31L 3–35 2015 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Southern UtahMcNeese StateColgateJacksonville State W 42–39W 34–29W 48–21L 10–62 2016 Second RoundQuarterfinals ChattanoogaJames Madison W 41–36L 7–65 2017 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals South DakotaKennesaw StateNorth Dakota State W 54–42W 34–27 L 13–55 2020 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game MonmouthNorth Dakota StateJames MadisonSouth Dakota State W 21–15W 24–20W 38–35W 23–21 2021 Second RoundQuarterfinalsIncarnate WordMontana State W 49–42L 19–42
NAIA The Bearkats appeared in the NAIA playoffs one time, with a combined record of 1–0–1.
1964 SemifinalsNational Championship FindlayConcordia–Moorhead W, 32–12T, 7–7
Home stadiums
Pritchett Field (1912–1985) The Bearkats' home for football was on Pritchett Field for 73 years (1912–1985) beginning with their first football game against Rice University in 1912. The field was named after Joseph Pritchett, brother of the university's fourth president Henry Carr Pritchett, and former owner of the land the field rests on.
The final football game played on Pritchett Field was a victory for the Bearkats with a score of 51–7, defeating Washburn University. Sam Houston Football began playing games at Bowers Stadium following the 1985 season. The complex is currently home to Sam Houston Women's Soccer and Club Lacrosse.
On April 18, 2013, football was played on Pritchett Field for the first time since 1985 for the annual Orange-White spring game. The event also included the presentation of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award to head coach Willie Fritz.
Bowers Stadium (1986–present)
Bowers Stadium, formerly Bearkat Stadium (1986–1989), is currently home to both Sam Houston football and track and field programs, beginning with the 1986 season. Bowers Stadium has a capacity of 14,000. However, 16,148 fans packed Bowers Stadium in 1994 to watch Alcorn State led by NFL bound quarterback Steve McNair in a 48–23 SAM HOUSTON victory on regional ABC-TV.
Shell Energy Stadium (2025) Due to renovations at Bowers Stadium, specifically the construction of a new press box, the Bearkats are playing their 2025 home games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, home of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Houston Dash. Going into the 2025 season, the Bearkats had played 47 games in Houston, although only one had been at the venue now known as Shell Energy Stadium. According to the Sam Houston athletic administration, the temporary move "allows Sam Houston Athletics to offer expanded fan amenities and a full gameday experience which would not be possible in a reduced-capacity Bowers Stadium during the renovation process."
Rivalries
Stephen F. Austin
The Sam Houston/Stephen F. Austin rivalry game, also known as the Battle of the Piney Woods, is a yearly rivalry held at NRG Stadium in Houston. The two teams have met 91 times, with Sam Houston leading the series 60–34–2. The Battle of the Piney Woods is Texas' second longest FCS rivalry. The most recent meeting ending with the Bearkats defeating the Lumberjacks 21–20 and clinching their 10th win in a row. However, the rivalry is now in question as Sam Houston left the Western Athletic Conference for Conference USA in 2023.
Texas State