Kennesaw State Owls football
Kennesaw State Owls football | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
First season | 2015 | ||
Athletic director | Milton Overton | ||
Head coach | Brian Bohannon 9th season, 71–30 (.703) | ||
Stadium | Fifth Third Stadium (capacity: 8,318) | ||
Location | Kennesaw, Georgia | ||
NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
Conference | Independent | ||
All-time record | 71–30 (.703) | ||
Playoff appearances | 4 | ||
Playoff record | 5–4 | ||
Conference titles | 3 (2017, 2018, 2021) | ||
Colors | Black and gold[1] | ||
Fight song | The KSU Fight Song | ||
Mascot | Scrappy the Owl | ||
Website | ksuowls.com |
The Kennesaw State Owls football represents
The head coach of the Owls is
History
Planning stages (2007–2009)
Kennesaw State had considered adding a football team at various points in its history. The school had concluded a feasibility survey which affirmed it would be possible to have Division I football. On November 9, 2007, a survey was administered by the Student Government with 77.6 percent of respondents voting in favor of starting a football program. Participation in the survey was supposed to be restricted to enrolled students only; however, due to a design flaw, anyone could take the survey an unlimited number of times.[4][5][6][7][8]
Building stages (2009–2013)
In December 2009, KSU President Daniel S. Papp appointed a football exploratory committee headed by legendary University of Georgia coach, Vince Dooley. The committee announced a highly favorable recommendation for the creation of a football program at KSU in a 137-page report[9] on September 15, 2010, in a press conference at the KSU Convocation Center.
KSU
KSU is currently affiliated with the
Brian Bohannon is the first football coach at Kennesaw State.[14]
The start – 2015 season
The program began playing games in the fall of 2015, with a 56–16 win against East Tennessee State University. The Owls finished the season 6–5 (2–4 in the Big South).
Early success – 2017 and 2018
In the program's fourth year of existence (third season played, as the 2014 season was practice only and every player took a red shirt) the Owls won the 2017 Big South Championship, going 5–0 in conference play. Kennesaw State received the conference's automatic bid to the
In the 2018 season the Owls opened at fifth in both polls, the highest in program history. Kennesaw lost its third-straight season opener, a road loss to nearby Georgia State University. It was the program's first game against an FBS team and ended with a 24–20 loss at
At the conclusion of the 2019 season, in which Kennesaw was 11–3, the Owls tallied a 48–15 total record from the start of the program. That put the Owls as the winningest startup football program through the first five years of playing football.
Conference championships
Year | Coach | Conference | Overall record | Conference record | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Brian Bohannon | Big South Conference | 12–2 | 5–0 | |
2018 | 11–2 | 5–0 | |||
2021 | 11–2 | 7–0 | |||
Conference Championships | 3 |
Year-by-year results
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2019–20 college football season
NCAA Division I FCS champions | Conference champions |
Year | NCAA division | Conference division | Overall | Conference | Coach | Final regular season ranking | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Win | Loss | Pct. | Games | Win | Loss | Pct. | Standing | STATS | Coaches' | |||||
2015 | FCS |
Big South Conference | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | T–5th | Brian Bohannon | – | – | |
2016 | FCS | Big South Conference | 11 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | T–3rd | Brian Bohannon | – | – | |
2017 | FCS |
Big South Conference | 14 | 12 | 2 | .857 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | Brian Bohannon | 8 | 9 | |
2018 | FCS | Big South Conference | 13 | 11 | 2 | .846 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | Brian Bohannon | 5 | 4 | |
2019 | FCS | Big South Conference | 14 | 11 | 3 | .786 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 | 2nd | Brian Bohannon | 15 | 9 | |
2020* | FCS | Big South Conference | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2nd | Brian Bohannon | 17 | 15 | |
2021 | FCS | Big South Conference | 13 | 11 | 2 | .846 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | Brian Bohannon | 11 | 10 | |
2022 | FCS | ASUN Conference |
11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 5th | Brian Bohannon | - | - | |
2023 | FCS | Independent | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brian Bohannon | - | - |
*The 2020 FCS season was played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Playoff results
The Owls have appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs four times. Their record is 5–4.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | First round Second round Quarterfinals |
Samford Jacksonville State Sam Houston State |
W 28–17 W 17–7 L 27–34 |
2018 | Second round Quarterfinals |
Wofford South Dakota State |
W 13–10 L 17–27 |
2019 | First round Second round |
Wofford Weber State |
W 28–21 L 20–26 |
2021 | First round Second round |
Davidson East Tennessee State |
W 48–21 L 31–32 |
Notable former players
Travis Bell became the first Kennesaw State player to be selected in the NFL draft when he was selected in the seventh round, 218th overall, in the 2023 NFL draft.[18]
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of April 9, 2024.[19]
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
at Wake Forest | at Kent State | at Louisiana | Towson | at North Carolina | at Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | ||
at Indiana | at Arkansas State | at North Carolina | ||||||
Arkansas State | ||||||||
Chattanooga |
References
- ^ Kennesaw State University Athletics Style Guide (PDF). December 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ "Kennesaw State to Join Conference USA in 2024-25" (Press release). Kennesaw State Owls. October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "C-USA Adds Kennesaw State, Owls to Join in 2024" (Press release). Conference USA. October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "SGA survey goes live". KSU Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ "News at KSU - Kennesaw State Eyeing Football Program". kennesaw.edu.
- ^ "News at KSU - Kennesaw State launches Football Exploratory Committee". kennesaw.edu.
- ^ "Dooley leading Kennesaw State football quest". ajc.com.
- ^ "Vince Dooley to help start Kennesaw State football". The Augusta Chronicle.
- ^ "News at KSU". kennesaw.edu.
- ^ "News at KSU - Kennesaw State football would be about 'branding'". kennesaw.edu.
- ^ "Kennesaw State says it's ready for some football". ajc.com.
- ^ "News at KSU - Commentary: KSU football may be coming, but when?". kennesaw.edu.
- ^ "Kennesaw State joining Big South for football". ajc.com.
- ^ The Washington Post[dead link]
- ^ "2017 Football Schedule". Kennesaw State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ^ "Kennesaw State Football Top 25 History". Kennesaw State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ^ "How the 2020-21 FCS football season will work | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ^ Sugrue, Brendan (April 29, 2023). "New Bears DT Travis Bell is first player ever drafted from Kennesaw State". USA Today.
- ^ "Kennesaw State Owls Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.