Holy Cross Crusaders football
Holy Cross Crusaders football | |||
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| |||
First season | 1891 | ||
Athletic director | Kit Hughes | ||
Head coach | Dan Curran 1st season, 0–0 (–) | ||
Stadium | Fitton Field (capacity: 23,500) | ||
Field surface | Grass | ||
Location | Worcester, Massachusetts | ||
Conference | Patriot League | ||
All-time record | 632–515–55 (.549) | ||
Bowl record | 0–1 (.000) | ||
Playoff appearances | 6 (1983, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) | ||
Playoff record | 2–6 | ||
Unclaimed national titles | 1 (1987) | ||
Conference titles | 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 (Co-Champion) (Patriot League) | ||
Rivalries | Boston College Eagles Fordham Rams | ||
Current uniform | |||
Colors | Royal purple[1] | ||
Fight song | Chu! Chu! Rah! Rah! | ||
Marching band | Holy Cross Goodtime Marching Band | ||
Outfitter | Adidas | ||
Website | GoHolyCross.com |
The Holy Cross Crusaders football team is the
History
Football began at Holy Cross in 1884, with games against teams from other schools beginning in 1891. Early home games were played at several off-campus facilities in Worcester, including the Worcester College Grounds,
The original Fitton Field was built with wooden and concrete stands. These were replaced with steel stands in 1924 and aluminum seating in 1986. The largest crowd ever to pack Fitton Field was the 27,000 who showed up to see Holy Cross's
Boston College rivalry
In 1896, Holy Cross and
But fortune did not always favor the Crusaders, and the series was suspended in 1986 after BC had won 17 games over a 20-year span. After an over three-decade hiatus, the series resumed in 2018 as Holy Cross traveled to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College. A rematch was held in 2023, which BC won 31–28.
1946 Orange Bowl
In 1945, Holy Cross brought its best team in school history to the
A glorious decade
In 1969, Holy Cross had to cancel the final eight games of the season when a contaminated faucet on a practice field led to an outbreak of hepatitis. Through the 1970s Holy Cross continued to play major East Coast football powers, but the Crusaders struggled to compete with the bigger schools.
In 1981, the NCAA dropped Holy Cross from the upper tier of football competition to Division I-AA. Holy Cross enjoyed a football renaissance over the next decade under coaches
In the midst of these winning seasons, Holy Cross changed the direction of its football program. In 1986 it joined the Colonial League, a football-only conference that adopted the
2009 season
In 2009, Holy Cross had one of its best teams since the founding of the Patriot League, led by star quarterback Dominic Randolph. The Crusaders won the league title and earned an automatic berth to the FCS playoffs, where they lost in the first round to eventual national champion Villanova.
The Chesney era
Bob Chesney took over as Holy Cross head coach in 2018. In his first season, the Crusaders won their last 4 games to finish second in the Patriot League. In 2019 the Crusaders won the league title and earned an automatic berth to the FCS playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Monmouth. In a shortened 2021 spring season, the Crusaders went undefeated and won the league title for the second year in a row. In the fall 2021 season, the Crusaders won their third Patriot League Championship in a row. The season also marked the first FCS playoff victory for Holy Cross, a 13-10 win over Sacred Heart in the first round. The Crusaders saw their season end once again at the hands of Villanova, however. The 2022 season saw the team post an undefeated 11–0 regular season record, highlighted by a win at FBS opponent Buffalo and a sweep of Harvard and Yale. Their success saw them receive the #8 seed in the FCS playoffs, which carried with it a first-round bye and a home game in the round of 16. In poor weather conditions, the Crusaders took out New Hampshire 35-19 in Worcester to advance to play #1 overall seed South Dakota State.
Chesney left the program following the 2023 season after being hired as head coach of James Madison.[3]
Bowl game appearances
Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1945 | John DaGrosa |
Orange Bowl | Miami | L 6–13 |
Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results
The Crusaders have appeared in the FCS playoffs six times with an overall record of 2–6.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Quarterfinals | Western Carolina | L 21–28 |
2009 | First Round | Villanova | L 28–38 |
2019 | First Round | Monmouth | L 27–44 |
2020 |
First Round | South Dakota State | L 3–31 |
2021 | First Round Second Round |
Sacred Heart Villanova |
W 13–10 L 16–21 |
2022 | Second Round Quarterfinals |
New Hampshire South Dakota State |
W 35–19 L 21–42 |
Appearances in the final Associated Press poll
Holy Cross has made 39 appearances in the
Year | Rank | Record |
---|---|---|
1937 | 14 | 8–0–2 |
1938 | 9 | 8–1 |
1942 | 19 | 5–4–1 |
1945 | 16 | 8–1 |
1951 | 19 | 8–2 |
Hall of Fame honors
- George Connor – ex-class of 1948
College Football Hall of Fame:
- Eddie Anderson – coach 1933–1938, 1950–1964
- George Connor – ex-class of 1948
- Ed Healey – ex-class of 1917
- Gordie Lockbaum – class of 1988
- Bill Osmanski – class of 1939
- Bill Swiacki – ex-class of 1945
Future non-conference opponents
Future non-conference opponents announced as of January 19, 2023.[5]
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merrimack | at Rhode Island | at Northern Illinois | at Miami (OH) | Central Connecticut | at Central Connecticut | at San Jose State |
at Boston College | New Hampshire | at New Hampshire | Yale | at Yale | Yale | |
at Yale | at Bryant | at Yale | ||||
Harvard | Yale | Rhode Island | ||||
at Army | at Syracuse | |||||
at Harvard |
References
- ^ "College of the Holy Cross". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ ""Goodtime" Marching and Pep Band | College of the Holy Cross". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^ "JMU hires Holy Cross' Chesney as head coach". ESPN.com. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Holy Cross AP Football Poll Summary – College Poll Archive – Historical College Football and Basketball Polls and Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Holy Cross Crusaders Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.