Centre Colonels football

On April 9, 1880, a Centre College team traveled to Lexington to play against Transylvania University in the first football game south of the Ohio River. The Colonels lost that game, and a rematch at home later in the month, but it was the start of a long-running rivalry with their in-state opponent.{{cite web|title=Centre College Football Record|url=http://library.centre.edu/sc/digital/football_1890.html|website=library.centre.edu|access-date=14 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011642/http://library.centre.edu/sc/digital/football_1890.html|archive-date=12 February 2019|url-status=dead}} The first officially recognized game of Centre and the University of Kentucky took place in 1891. In that series, the Colonels compiled a 20–13–2 record before the Kentucky athletic council decided to permanently drop Centre from their schedule after the 1929 season.[http://www.centre.edu/web/library/ency/f/football_uk.html Centre vs. University of Kentucky] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531195751/http://www.centre.edu/web/library/ency/f/football_uk.html |date=May 31, 2010 }}, CentreCyclopedia, retrieved March 14, 2009.{{cite web|title=25 Oct 1929, Page 1 - The Advocate-Messenger at Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/143145486|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=14 October 2016}}

From 1917 to 1924, Centre compiled a 57–8 record while playing against some of the best teams in the nation. The team was retroactively selected by Jeff Sagarin as co-national champion for the 1919 season.{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2015/FBS.pdf |title=National Poll Rankings |author=National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) |year=2015|work=NCAA Division I Football Records |publisher=NCAA |page=108 |access-date=January 4, 2016 }} After the 1920 season, Centre faced Texas Christian (TCU) in the Fort Worth Classic. The Colonels convincingly routed them, 63–7.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", The Washington Times. December 21, 1997. Page A1.

File:Coolidge & Sen. Ernst with Center College football team, 11-14-25 LCCN2016841358.jpg and Senator Richard P. Ernst in 1921.|Members of the Centre College football team meeting with President Calvin Coolidge and Senator Richard P. Ernst in 1921.]]

The 1921 Centre–Harvard game resulted in one of the most shocking upsets in college football, with the Colonels winning, 6–0.[http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=22929&format=html ESPN ranks 1921 Centre-Harvard game among college football's greatest upsets] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217070838/http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory |date=2004-12-17 }}, The Advocate-Messenger (Danville, Kentucky), June 26, 2006.{{cite web | url=http://chronicle.com/subscribe/login?url=/che-data/articles.dir/art-43.dir/issue-06.dir/06a04601.htm | title=Centre College Remembers Day When It Was King of the Gridiron | access-date=2009-03-13 | archive-date=2007-09-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181217/http://chronicle.com/subscribe/login?url=%2Fche-data%2Farticles.dir%2Fart-43.dir%2Fissue-06.dir%2F06a04601.htm | url-status=dead }} The star of that game, back Alvin "Bo" McMillin, was twice named a consensus All-American, in 1919 and 1921. Center Red Weaver was named a consensus All-American alongside him in 1919.Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 218, 2007. The Colonels finished the 1921 season undefeated, outscoring their opponents, 314–6.{{cite web|url=http://www.centre.edu/web/library/sc/special/C6h0/season.html#1921 |title=1921 Season |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203212547/http://www.centre.edu/web/library/sc/special/C6h0/season.html |archive-date=2008-12-03 }} In the Dixie Classic, precursor to the modern Cotton Bowl Classic, Centre faced Texas A&M. Miscues contributed to the Colonels' defeat, 22–14.{{cite book|author=Gene Schoor|author-link=Gene Schoor|title=The Fightin' Texas Aggies: 100 Years of A&M Football|publisher=Taylor Publishing Company|location=Dallas, Texas|year=1994}} This is also the game in which Texas A&M's 12th man tradition originated. In 1924 Centre defeated Georgia and Alabama and claims a southern title. As early as 1927, a writer noted that its glory days were short-lived as losses mounted and it fell out of the limelight.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2229950//|title=Centre College Loses Sportlight After Flash of Football Fame|date=December 11, 1927|work=The Billings Gazette|page=31|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2015}} {{Open access}}

Centre again found success during the 1950s. In 1951, the Colonels finished the season with a 5–1 record and were invited to play Northern Illinois State in the Corn Bowl. The invitation, however, was rejected by the school administration who wished to de-emphasize football.[http://www.centre.edu/web/library/ency/f/football_bowls.html Football Bowls] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531195813/http://www.centre.edu/web/library/ency/f/football_bowls.html |date=May 31, 2010 }}, CentreCyclopedia, retrieved March 13, 2009. From 1954 to 1956, Centre compiled a sixteen-game winning streak. In 1955, the undefeated Colonels were again invited to a postseason game, the Tangerine Bowl, but once more declined.

In recent years, Centre has secured eight SCAC championships between 1980 and 2003. Jack "Teel" Bruner, a safety from 1982 to 1985, became the second Centre Colonel inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1984, he recorded five interceptions against Rose-Hulman, tying the all-time record.[https://archive.today/20120723201805/http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=80021 Teel Bruner], College Football Hall of Fame, retrieved March 13, 2009.

In 2011, the Colonels' final SCAC season, they finished second in the conference, but received an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament. The Colonels defeated Hampden–Sydney in the first round to earn their first Division III tournament win, and lost in the next round to traditional D-III powerhouse Mount Union.{{cite press release |url=http://www.centreathletics.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/20111220dmflrm |title=Colonels finish 16th in final D3football.com Poll, 18th in AFCA |publisher=Centre College |date=December 30, 2011 |access-date=April 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918011646/http://www.centreathletics.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/20111220dmflrm |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

The Colonels' 2014 season was arguably their most successful in decades. They won their first SAA championship and finished the regular season 10–0, marking the team's first unbeaten regular season since 1955 and only the third in school history. The season ended in the first round of the Division III playoffs against John Carroll.{{cite web |url=http://www.centreathletics.com/sports/fball/information/history/history |title=Centre Football History |publisher=Centre College Athletics |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916160725/http://www.centreathletics.com/sports/fball/information/history/history |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

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• Independent (1880, 1894–1923)
• Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1924–1941)
• Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (1962–2011)
• Southern Athletic Association (2012–present)

The Colonels have made four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 2–4.

Centre won its lone national championship in 1919.{{cite book | url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2018/FBS.pdf | title=2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records | publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association | date=August 2018 | access-date=December 12, 2018 | page=111}} Centre claims this championship.{{cite web|url=https://centrecolonels.com/news/2014/1/31/1_31_2014_532.aspx|title=Centre College to be inducted into Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame|date=January 1, 2014|access-date=December 13, 2018}}

Centre has three consensus All-America selections.{{cite web |title=Consensus All-Americans by School |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2018/awards.pdf |website=ncaa.org |publisher=NCAA |page=19 |access-date=August 19, 2019}}

• Bo McMillin, B (1919, 1921)
• Red Weaver, C (1919)

{{See also|College Football Hall of Fame}}

Two former Centre players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, located in Atlanta, Georgia.{{cite web |url=https://www.cfbhall.com/about/inductees/ |title=College Football Hall of Fame Inductees|website=www.cfbhall.com |publisher=Atlanta Hall Management, Inc. |access-date=August 19, 2019}}

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Category:American football teams established in 1880

Category:1880 establishments in Kentucky