The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Tigers play in the American Conference as an all-sports member. They play home games at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The team's newly hired head coach is Charles Huff. Since their inaugural season in 1912, the Memphis Tigers have won over 500 games and have appeared in 17 bowl games.
For much of its history, the Memphis Tigers football program was subpar with occasional flashes of moderate success while being overshadowed by the university's more successful men's basketball program. However, since the tenure of former head coach Justin Fuente, the Tigers football program has been more successful. As of the end of the 2025 season, Memphis has earned bowl eligibility by winning at least six of 12 regular season games every year since 2014. This is the seventh-longest active streak in the FBS. The program has also claimed eight conference championships, most recently in 2019.
History
Conference affiliations
Independent (1912–1927, 1947–1967, 1973–1995) Mississippi Valley Conference (1928–1934) SIAA (1935–1942) Missouri Valley (1968–1972) Conference USA (1996–2012) American Athletic Conference (2013–present)
Championships Conference championships 1929 Mississippi Valley Conference Zach Curlin 8–0–2 5–0–1 1930 6–3–1 6–1 1938 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Allyn McKeen 10–0 7–0 1968 Missouri Valley Conference Billy J. Murphy 6–4 4–0 1969 8–2 4–0 1971 5–6 2–1 2014†American Athletic Conference Justin Fuente 10–3 7–1 2019 Mike Norvell 12–1 7–1 † Co-champions
Division championships 2017 AAC West Mike Norvell UCF L 55–622OT 2018† UCF L 41–56 2019† Cincinnati W 29–24 † Co-champions
Bowl games The Memphis Tigers have received 19 bowl invitations in their history and hold a record of 9–9 in bowl games with one cancellation. This includes the 1956 Burley Bowl, which was not an NCAA sanctioned bowl. Memphis went through a 32-year bowl game drought from 1971 to 2003, but has since had a five-year bowl streak (2003–2008) and the current twelve-year streak (since 2014). The team made its first appearance in a New Years Six bowl when they were selected to play in the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic as the highest ranked (AP #15) Group of Five conference champion. The Tigers’ 2023 Liberty Bowl victory was the school's first over a Power 5 opponent.
1956 Ralph Hatley Burley Bowl East Tennessee State W 32–12 1971 Billy J. Murphy Pasadena Bowl San Jose State W 28–9 2003 Tommy West New Orleans Bowl North Texas W 27–17 2004 GMAC Bowl Bowling Green L 35–52 2005 Motor City Bowl Akron W 38–31 2007 New Orleans Bowl Florida Atlantic L 27–44 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl South Florida L 14–41 2014 Justin Fuente Miami Beach Bowl BYU W 55–48 2015 Darrell Dickey (interim) Birmingham Bowl Auburn L 10–31 2016 Mike Norvell Boca Raton Bowl Western Kentucky L 31–51 2017 Liberty Bowl Iowa State L 20–21 2018 Birmingham Bowl Wake Forest L 34–37 2019 Ryan Silverfield Cotton Bowl Classic † Penn State L 39–53 2020 Montgomery Bowl Florida Atlantic W 25–10 2021 Hawaii Bowl Hawaii Canceled 2022 First Responder Bowl Utah State W 3810 2023 Liberty Bowl Iowa State W 3626 2024 Frisco Bowl West Virginia W 4237 2025 Reggie Howard (interim) Gasparilla Bowl NC State L 7–31 † New Year's Six
Head coaches
+ Clyde H. Wilson 1912–1915 4 9–12–1 Tom Shea 1916 1 2–3–1 V. M. Campbell 1917, 1919 2 6–6 John Childerson 1918 1 2–4 Elmore George 1920 1 0–5 Rollin Wilson 1921 1 4–5–1 Lester Barnard 1922–1923 2 11–5–3 Zach Curlin 1924–1936 13 43–60–14 Allyn McKeen 1937–1938 2 13–6 Cecil C. Humphreys 1939–1941 3 14–15 Charlie Jamerson 1942 1 2–7 Ralph Hatley 1947–1957 11 59–43–5 Billy J. Murphy 1958–1971 14 91–44–1 Fred Pancoast 1972–1974 3 20–12–1 Richard Williamson 1975–1980 6 31–35 Rex Dockery 1981–1983 3 8–24–1 Rey Dempsey 1984–1985 2 7–12–3 Charlie Bailey 1986–1988 3 12–20–1 Chuck Stobart 1989–1994 6 29–36–1 Rip Scherer 1995–2000 6 22–44 Tommy West 2001–2009 9 49–61 Larry Porter 2010–2011 2 3–21 Justin Fuente 2012–2015 4 26–24 Mike Norvell 2016–2019 4 38–15 Ryan Silverfield 2019–2025 7 50–25 Charles Huff 2026—present 1 0–0
Rivalries Arkansas State
The series with bordering-state rival Arkansas State dates to 1914. Memphis leads 31–24–5 with the last game played on September 17, 2022.
Cincinnati
The series with Cincinnati dates to 1966. Memphis leads 23–14 with the last game played in 2020.
Louisville
The hatred between the Louisville Cardinals and the Memphis Tigers runs strong. The Tigers' rivalry with bordering-state opponent Louisville dates back to 1948. Louisville leads 24–19 with the last game played in 2013. Both teams were at once in the American Athletic Conference Football for 1 year until Louisville joined the Atlantic Coastal Conference in 2014. Both teams are better known for their rivalry on the basketball court than on the football field, but both schools share the same hatred between each other in any sport including football.
Ole Miss
The Tigers' football rivalry with regional and bordering-state opponent Ole Miss dates to 1921. Ole Miss leads 47–12–2 through the 2019 season. Ole Miss is Memphis' oldest football rivalry and is tied with Southern Miss as Memphis' most-played football opponent all-time while Memphis is Ole Miss' most-played football opponent who has never been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Southern Miss
The Memphis Tigers' football rivalry with bordering-state opponent Southern Miss is officially named the Black and Blue Bowl and dates back to 1935. Southern Miss is tied with Ole Miss as Memphis' most-played football opponent all-time. Southern Miss leads the all-time series 40–22–1 with the last game played in 2012. The annual series between the Tigers and Golden Eagles ended after Memphis joined the American Athletic Conference in 2013. The rivalry will be renewed in 2027 and 2030 as a nonconference game after more than a decade of dormancy.
UAB
Memphis and bordering-state opponent UAB annually play a football rivalry game called “The Battle of the Bones” where the winning team receives a 100 lb bronze statue of a rack of ribs. This pays homage to both school's cities prominence in BBQ. The rivalry temporarily ended when Memphis moved to the American Athletic Conference after the 2012 season. UAB leads the all-time series 10–5, but Memphis won the last matchup which allowed the Tigers to keep the Bones Trophy. The rivalry was rekindled in 2023 when UAB joined Memphis in the American Conference.
Facilities Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, originally Memphis Memorial Stadium, is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home of the Memphis Tigers football team. It has also been the host of several attempts at professional sports in the city, as well as other local football games and other gatherings. The stadium was originally built as Memphis Memorial Stadium in 1965 for $3 million, as a part of the Mid-South Fairgrounds, then home to one of the South's most popular fairs, but now conducted in neighboring Desoto County, Mississippi. The fairgrounds also included the now-defunct Mid-South Coliseum (formerly the city's major indoor venue) as well as the now-closed Libertyland amusement park, which has been demolished and replaced with a disc golf course. It was dedicated as a memorial to the citizens of Memphis who had served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The facility was built partially as a way to bring the Liberty Bowl to a permanent home in Memphis (the game had started in Philadelphia, but because of poor attendance as a northern bowl, it left the city, playing one year in Atlantic City before settling in Memphis). The game was such a success for Memphis that the stadium was renamed Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in 1976. As originally built, the stadium was lopsided, with the southwest side being taller than the northeast side. A 1987 expansion brought it to its current, balanced configuration, although with a much greater hospitality building topping the northeast section. Its design is similar to that of old Tampa Stadium ("The Big Sombrero"), with the endzone grandstands being much shorter than the sidelines. The field, which had been natural grass since its inception, was replaced with a FieldTurf surface before the 2005 season; this was subsequently replaced with the modern version of AstroTurf. The stadium is designed in such a way that all of its seats have a relatively good view of most of the playing surface. This is due primarily to two design factors. The stands are relatively steep for a one-tier, true bowl stadium. Also, there is little space between the side and end lines of the playing surface and the stands. In December 1983, the playing field was renamed Rex Dockery Field in honor of Rex Dockery, a former Memphis Tigers football coach who died in a plane crash.
Traditions Tiger Lane "Tiger Lane" refers to the pre-game tailgating spots for Memphis Tigers football fans. It is equipped with electrical hookups at each spot, trees, grassy areas and all pre-game tailgating activities. Tiger Lane stretches over 550 yards from East Parkway in mid-town Memphis amidst parking lots towards the northwest side of the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Tiger Walk About two and a half hours prior to kickoff at home games, Tiger fans line up for the "Tiger Walk": the football team and coaching staff parade over Tiger Lane and into the stadium tunnel with the fans and cheerleaders cheering them on to victory. The tradition involves the Mighty Sound of the South marching band, thousands of fans and the University of Memphis cheer and pom-pom squads. After the team has passed by, the Tiger cheerleaders lead the fans in the "Tiger Spellout", "T-I-G-E-R-S."
Motto The football team's motto is "Let's Go Tigers Go, Go On To Victory".
School colors The University of Memphis' official school colors of Blue and Gray were selected by the students in the early 1900s. The colors were chosen in an effort to show unity in a nation that was still recovering from the effects of the Civil War. The student body thought that by picking the colors of the North and the South, the school would show a togetherness among all students. Typically, the team wears blue jerseys paired with gray or white pants at home games, and white jerseys with blue and gray numbering or trim at away games.
Retired numbers
Memphis has retired numbers for seven players in their history. Charles Greenhill only played one season at Memphis, but his number was retired after he died in a plane crash that also took the life of head coach Rex Dockery.
Memphis Tigers retired numbers No. Player Pos. Tenure Ref. 8 Charles Greenhill DB 1983 Tigers to retire number of legendary linebacker on Nov. 19 By Jacob Gallant at Actionnew5.com – Oct. 27, 2022 20 DeAngelo Williams RB 2002–2005 30 Dave Casinelli FB 1960–1963 59 Danton Barto LB 1990–1993 Former Memphis linebacker Danton Barto dies from COVID-19 complications by Evan Barnes at Memphis Commercial Appeal, 23 Aug 2021 64 John Bramlett LB 1959–1962 79 Harry Schuh OT 1962–1964 83 Isaac Bruce WR 1992–1993
Memphis Tigers in the NFL draft
Memphis Tigers awards and honors Pro Football Hall of Fame Isaac Bruce – WR (1992–1993); HoF Class of 2020 College Football Hall of Fame Allyn McKeen – Head Coach (1937–1938); HoF Class of 1991 Billy Jack "Spook" Murphy – Head Coach (1958–1971); HoF Class of 2022 DeAngelo Williams – RB (2002–2005); HoF Class of 2023 National Coach of the Year 1963 – Billy Jack "Spook" Murphy (Detroit News) Lou Groza Award 1992 – Joe Allison Ray Guy Award 2013 – Tom Hornsey Paul Warfield Trophy 2017 – Anthony Miller Jim Brown Award 2018 – Darrell Henderson William V. Campbell Trophy 2020 – Brady White College Football All-America Team selections
Consensus All-Americans listed in bold