Ouachita Baptist Tigers football

{{for|all information on Ouachita Baptist University sports|Ouachita Baptist Tigers}}

{{Infobox college football team

| TeamName = Ouachita Baptist Tigers football

| Image = Ouachita tigers wordmark.png

| ImageSize = 200

| CurrentSeason = 2024 Ouachita Baptist Tigers football team

| FirstYear = {{Start date and age|1896}}

| AthleticDirector = David Sharp

| HeadCoach = Todd Knight

| HeadCoachYear = 24th

| HCWins = 152

| HCLosses = 101

| HCTies =

| OtherStaff =

| Stadium = Benson-Williams Field at Cliff Harris Stadium

| StadCapacity = 4,500

| StadSurface = Artificial turf

| Location = Arkadelphia, Arkansas

| NCAAdivision = II

| Conference = Great American Conference

| ConfDivision =

| ATWins = 474

| ATLosses = 433

| ATTies = 43

| BowlWins =

| BowlLosses =

| BowlTies =

| PlayoffApps = 6 (NCAA Division II)
2 (NAIA Division I)

| Playoffs = 1–6 (NCAA Division II)
0–2 (NAIA Division I)

| NatlTitles =

| ConfTitles = 13

| DivTitles =

| AllAmericans =

| uniform =

| FightSong =

| MascotDisplay =

| MascotLink =

| MarchingBand =

| Rivalries = Henderson State (rivalry)
Harding

| WebsiteName = obutigers.com

| WebsiteURL = https://obutigers.com/sports/football

}}

The Ouachita Baptist Tigers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Ouachita Baptist University located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The team competes in NCAA Division II and are members of the Great American Conference. Ouachita Baptist's first football team was fielded in 1896. The team plays home games at Benson-Williams Field at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Todd Knight has served as head coach for the Tigers since 1999.

History

The Tiger football team is notable for participating in the first ever Intercollegiate game in Arkansas history, a 24–0 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the fall of 1897. The Ouachita Baptist Tigers compete in the Battle of the Ravine every year. This tradition started in 1895 when Ouachita Baptist played Arkadelphia Methodist College (currently known as Henderson State University), and won 8–0. This historical event was not played from 1951 to 1963 because of the excessive rivalry between the two schools. It resumed after 1963 and is still being played to this day.{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Rex |title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/battle-of-the-ravine-7939/#:~:text=of%20the%20Ravine-,Battle%20of%20the%20Ravine,Ouachita%20Baptist%20University%20(OBU).&text=Henderson%20controlled%20the%20series%20in,games%20from%201907%20to%201912. |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=July 26, 2020}}

The Ouachita Baptist head coach from 1965 to 1995 was former Oklahoma Sooner and Arkansas Razorbacks player Buddy Benson. Coach Benson compiled a record of 161–140–8. He played for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma, and Bowden Wyatt at Arkansas.{{Cite web |date=2011-05-03 |title=Benson lost the ‘Bob,’ not will to win {{!}} Arkansas Democrat Gazette |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2011/may/03/benson-lost-bob-not-will-win-20110503/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.arkansasonline.com |language=en}}

The Tiger's head coach since 1999 is Todd Knight.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-17 |title=HIGH PROFILE: Todd Knight, a coach at Ouachita Baptist University, helps develops young men — both on and off the field {{!}} Arkansas Democrat Gazette |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/sep/17/todd-knight/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.arkansasonline.com |language=en}} He has led OBU to six conference titles.

The longtime radio voice of the OBU Tigers is Rex Nelson.{{Cite web |title=Rex Nelson Interviews |url=https://pryorcenter.uark.edu/interview.php?thisProject=Arkansas%20Memories&thisProfileURL=Nelson-Rex-237&displayName=Rex%20Nelson&thisInterviewee=237#:~:text=Rex%20Nelson%20was%20born%20on,Ouachita%20Baptist%20University%20football%20games |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=pryorcenter.uark.edu}}{{Cite web |title=Rex Nelson (1959–) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/rex-nelson-15358/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |language=en-US}} Nelson is a member of the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

On October 19, 2024, the No. 9 nationally ranked Ouachita Baptist Tigers beat the No. 1 ranked Harding Bisons 17–13, marking the first time in OBU history that the Tigers beat the No. 1 team in nation.

=Conference affiliations=

Independent (1897, 1906–1926, 1928–1930)
No team (1898–1905, 1943–1944)
Arkansas Association (1927)
Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (1931–1942, 1945–1994)
NAIA Division I independent (1995–1996)
Lone Star Conference (1997–1999)
Gulf South Conference (2000–2010)
Great American Conference (2011–present)

{{Cite web|date=2007-06-08|title=Ouachita Baptist Historical Data|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ii/gsc/ouachita_baptist/index.php|access-date=2020-10-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608072936/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ii/gsc/ouachita_baptist/index.php|archive-date=2007-06-08}}

Championships

=Conference championships=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" {{CollegePrimaryHeader\|team=Ouachita Baptist Tigers\|Season\|Overall record\|Conference record}}
1927*	6–1–2	Arkansas Association
1934	8–2	Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC)
1941	8–3	AIC
1966*	6–4	AIC
1970*	8–2	AIC
1975*	9–2	AIC
1982	8–3	AIC
2011	7–3	Great American Conference (GAC)
2014	10–1	GAC
2017	9–3	GAC
2018	12–1	GAC
2019	11–1	GAC
2022	11–1	GAC
2024*	10–2	GAC