The Wabash Little Giants football team represents Wabash College in the sport of college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Little Giants have competed as a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) since 2000. Wabash plays home games at Hollett Little Giant Stadium in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Don Morel served as the team's head coach from 2016 to 2024, amassing a 61-20 record overall and a 54-15 record in conference play. Jake Gilbert (Wabash '98) will take over as head coach for the 2025 season.
History In 1884, Wabash played its first game of intercollegiate football when it defeated a team from Butler University on October 25, 4–0.Edwin R. Taber, Ancestry Web, retrieved June 29, 2009. The first intercollegiate game in the state took place on May 31, between Butler and DePauw University. From the 1890s to the 1910s, the Wabash football team played schedules against many much larger colleges, such as Illinois, Indiana and Purdue, against whom the Little Giants occasionally won impressive upsets. For instance Wabash won all five games against Purdue between 1906 and 1911.
In 1903, the Wabash football team fielded its first black player, Samuel S. Gordon, and the following season added another, Walter M. Cantrell. Many opposing teams threatened boycotts, but school president William Patterson Kane insisted the men be allowed to play. Some opponents did cancel their games, but Gordon and Cantrell continued to play for Wabash. The 1904 football team adopted the nickname the "Little Giants", which was the first time that moniker was used by the school. That season, Wabash won decisive victories over , 81–0, , 51–0, and , 35–0, and they lost close contests to Illinois, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Michigan Agricultural (Michigan State).The Originals of 1904, Wabash College, October 31, 2008.
The Little Giants' most prominent football game came against Notre Dame at South Bend, Indiana on October 21, 1905. Wabash took a first-half lead, 5–0, through a dominating performance by their backfield and linemen. In the second half, Notre Dame advanced inside the Wabash five-yard line three times, but was repelled on each occasion. The Little Giants won, 5–0,The Little Giants (PDF), College Football Historical Society Newsletter, vol. 19, no. 4, p. 5, August 2006. and it proved the only Notre Dame home-field loss in 125 games between 1899 and 1928.Notre Dame Game-by-Game Results , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 30, 2009.Sideline Chatter (PDF), College Football Historical Society Newsletter, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 1, November 2006. The Little Giants and Fighting Irish played several more times after that, and the last game took place in 1924. Incidentally, both head coaches that season, Pete Vaughan of Wabash and Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, had played college football together for the Fighting Irish.Wabash Yearly Results: 1920 , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 30, 2009.Little Giants , Dear Old Wabash, Wabash College, December 19, 2008. A further connection between the schools was College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jesse Harper, who coached Wabash from 1909 to 1912, and then Notre Dame from 1913 to 1917.[ Jesse Harper], College Football Hall of Fame, National Football Foundation, retrieved June 30, 2009. Century Milstead played for the 1921 team.
Postseason appearances NCAA Division III playoffs The Little Giants have made ten appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 13–10.
1977 First RoundSemifinalsStagg Bowl Saint John's (MN)Minnesota–MorrisWidener W, 20–9W, 37–21L, 36–39 2002 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals MacMurrayWittenbergMount Union W, 42–7W, 25–14L, 16–45 2005 First RoundSecond Round AlbionCapital W, 38–20L, 11–14 2007 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Mount St. JosephCase Western ReserveWisconsin–Whitewater W, 31–21W, 38–23L, 7–47 2008 First RoundSecond Round Case Western ReserveWheaton (IL) W, 20–17L, 28–59 2009 First Round Illinois Wesleyan L, 35–41 2011 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Illinois CollegeNorth Central (IL)Mount Union W, 38–20W, 29–28L, 8–20 2014 First Round Second Round FranklinWisconsin–Whitewater W, 33–14L, 14–38 2015 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals AlbionThomas MoreSt. Thomas (MN) W, 35–14W, 33–27 OTL, 7–38 2019 First Round North Central (IL) L, 15–51
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