The McMurry War Hawks football team represents McMurry University in college football in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division III level. The War Hawks are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), fielding its team in the SCAC since 2024. The War Hawks play their home games at Wilford Moore Stadium in Abilene, Texas. The team was known as the McMurry Indians until 2011.

Their head coach is Jordan Neal, who took over the position for the 2019 season.

Conference affiliations Independent (1923–1925) Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1926–1932) Texas Conference (1933–1942) No team (1943–1945) Texas Conference (1946–1955) Independent (1956–1964) Lone Star Conference (1965–1972) Independent (1973–1975) Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association* (1976–1995) American Southwest Conference (1996–2011) NCAA Division II independent (2012–2013) Lone Star Conference (2014) American Southwest Conference (2015–2023) Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (2024–present)

List of head coaches Key

Coaches + List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records and conference records No. Name Season(s) GC OW OLOT O% CW CLCT C% 1 Randolph M. Medley 1923–1938 139 61 5820 38 238 2 Dale Morrison 1939–1941 26 6 191 4 161 3 Jim Conger 1942 8 2 60 1 30 4 Vernon Hilliard 1946 9 4 41 2 20 5 Wilford Moore 1947–1954 83 49 295 22 111 6 Douglas Cox 1955 10 8 20 2 00 7 Tommy Ellis 1956–1959 40 24 160 — —— — 8 Grant Teaff 1960–1965 60 23 352 0 00 9 Buddy Fornes 1966–1972 70 27 421 16 300 10 Don Newson 1973–1975 29 11 180 — —— — 11 Spud Aldridge 1976–1981 63 36 270 26 180 12 Rodney Murphy 1982–1983 19 8 110 6 80 13 Don Birmingham 1984–1985 20 4 160 3 90 14 Cliff Odenwald 1986–1987 20 7 112 3 72 15 Mark Cox 1988–1990 30 4 260 4 220 16 Joe George 1991–1994 39 18 210 7 130 17 Steve Keenum 1995–2004 98 36 620 26 500 18 Joe Crousen 2005–2006 20 8 120 6 110 19 Donny Gray 2007–2008 20 2 180 1 150 20 Hal Mumme 2009–2012 43 27 160 15 90 21 Mason Miller 2013 11 3 80 — —— — 22 Lance Hinson 2014–2018 49 14 350 7 240 23 Jordan Neal 2019–present 44 11 330 7 290

Year-by-year results National championsConference championsBowl game berthPlayoff berth SeasonYearHead coachAssociationDivisionConferenceRecordPostseasonFinal rankingOverallConferenceWinLossTieFinishWinLossTieMcMurry Indians 1923 1923Randolph M. MedleyNCAA—Independent231— — 1924 1924521— — 1925 1925341— — 1926 1926TIAA1906th120— — 1927 19274121st302— — 1928 1928630T–2nd410— — 1929 19294133rd311— — 1930 19303425th321— — 1931 1931260T–3rd (Western)220— — 1932 19322424th230— — 1933 1933Texas Conference442T–3rd320— — 1934 19343334tth213— — 1935 19356302nd420— — 1936 19368113rd511— — 1937 19377213rd520— — 1938 19381809th160— — 1939 1939Dale Morrison1608th160— — 1940 19401907th160— — 1941 19414415th241— — 1942 1942Jim Conger2604th130— —No team from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. 1946 1946Vernon HilliardNCAA—Texas Conference4413rd220— — 1947 1947Wilford Moore731T–1st410L Boys' Ranch Bowl — 1948 19486401st410— — 1949 19498211st401W Oleander Bowl — 1950 1950450T–3rd230— — 1951 19513704th130— — 1952 19524412nd310— — 1953 1953811T–1st310— — 1954 19546312nd110— — 1955 1955Douglas Cox8201st200— — 1956 1956Tommy EllisNAIA—Independent550— — 1957 1957550— — 1958 1958640— — 1959 1959820— 9 1960 1960Grant Teaff370— — 1961 1961640— — 1962 1962640— — 1963 1963370— — 1964 1964181— — 1965 1965LSC451N/A000— — 1966 1966Buddy Fornes1818th061— — 1967 1967640T–3rd430— — 1968 19688203rd520— — 1969 19692808th160— — 1970 1970Division I560T–5th450— — 1971 1971280T–8th270— — 1972 1972360N/A000— — 1973 1973Don Newson?Independent360— — 1974 1974640— — 1975 1975280— — 1976 1976Spud AldridgeDivision IITIAA*380T–3rd130— — 1977 19776403rd220— — 1978 19787302nd530— — 1979 19798302nd620— — 1980 19809201st910L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal8 1981 19813704th370— — 1982 1982Rodney Murphy2804th260— — 1983 1983630T–1st420— — 1984 1984Don Birmingham3703rd240— — 1985 19851904th150— — 1986 1986Cliff Odenwald460T–2nd240— — 1987 19873523rd132— — 1988 1988Mark Cox1906th190— — 1989 1989280T–5th280— — 1990 19901907th150— — 1991 1991Joe George3706th050— — 1992 1992460T–3rd230— — 1993 19938202nd410— 18 1994 19943605th140— — 1995 1995Steve Keenum1905th080— — 1996 1996ASC370T–4th130— — 1997 1997NCAADivision III550T–3rd230— — 1998 19988202nd610— — 1999 19997202nd610— — 2000 20006405th540— — 2001 200109010th080— — 2002 2002010010th090— — 2003 2003460T–5th450— — 2004 2004280T–9th180— — 2005 2005Joe Crousen5507th450— — 2006 20063709th260— — 2007 2007Donny Gray280T–9th170— — 2008 200801009th080— — 2009 2009Hal Mumme4605th440— — 2010 2010640T–4th440— —McMurry War Hawks 2011 2011Hal MummeNCAADivision IIIASC9302nd710L NCAA Division III Second Round 14 2012 2012Division IIIndependent830W C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl — 2013 2013Mason Miller380— — 2014 2014Lance HinsonLSC2807th160— — 2015 2015Division IIIASC460N/A000— — 2016 20164505th240— — 2017 2017280T–7th270— — 2018 2018280T–7th270— — 2019 2019Jordan Neal010010th090— — 2020–21 20202304th (West)130— — 2021 2021270T–8th270— — 2022 2022190T–8th170— — 2023 2023640T–3rd330— — 2024 2024SCAC730T–1st710— — 2025 20256402nd410——

Wilford Moore Stadium

Wilford Moore Stadium is a football stadium in Abilene, Texas, with a seating capacity of 3,550. It is home to McMurry University War Hawks football team. It is named after Wilford Moore who was the head football coach from 1947 to 1954 after being previously known as Indian Stadium.

The stadium initially had a capacity of 4,500 but has since been lowered to 3,550.

Rivalries Hardin–Simmons The Hardin–Simmons–McMurry football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys and McMurry War Hawks, with the rivalry referred to as the Crosstown Showdown, with both universities located approximately 10 minutes from each other in Abilene. The winner is given the Wilford Moore Trophy, named after Wilford Moore, who was a player at Hardin–Simmons and a coach at McMurry. Moore is the only person to be inducted into the athletic halls of fame at both Hardin–Simmons University and McMurry University. Following the 2023 meeting, Hardin–Simmons leads the all-time series 33–4.

Sul Ross The Battle of I-20 is the name given to the McMurry–Sul Ross football rivalry. Going into the 2019 match-up McMurry led the all-time series 46–40–2; the Lobos would win that year's game 21–7. As of the 2023 season, the two teams have met 93 times with McMurry leading the series 48–43–2. The future of the rivalry remains uncertain as Sul Ross joined the Lone Star Conference in 2024, which competes at the Division II level, while McMurry competes in the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

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