Fitchburg State Falcons football
College football team
The Fitchburg State Falcons football team represents Fitchburg State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Falcons are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, fielding its team in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference since 2013. The Falcons play their home games at Elliot Field in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.[2]
Fitchburg State is known for the longest college football losing streak at the time, which ended in 1989 after thirty-plus losses. The school was featured in many news sources, such as The New York Times, ESPN, and many local newspapers.[3] Fitchburg State defeated Southeastern Massachusetts on October 14, 1989 by the score of 33–7. It was the first Fitchburg State win in over four years. In the ensuing celebrations at Fitchburg, five people were arrested.[4]
Fitchburg State's head coach is Izzy Abraham, who took over the position for the 2024 season.[5]
Conference affiliations
- New England Football Conference (1986–2012)[6]
- Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present)[7]
List of head coaches
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Secino | 1984–1989 | 53 | 4 | 49 | 0 | 0.058 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0.058 |
| 2 | Vin Keough[11] | 1990–1992 | 27 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 0.148 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0.150 |
| 3 | Mike Woessner[12] | 1993–1995 | 47 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 0.167 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0.125 |
| 4 | Chris Nugai[13] | 1996–1997 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0.158 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0.063 |
| 5 | Dave Flynn[14][15] | 1998–2001 | 38 | 16 | 22 | 0 | 0.421 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0.458 |
| 6 | Patrick Haverty[16][17] | 2002–2006, 2011–2017 | 121 | 62 | 59 | 0 | 0.512 | 44 | 41 | 0 | 0.518 |
| 7 | Paul McGonagle[18][19] | 2007–2010 | 39 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 0.308 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0.357 |
| 8 | Jim McGuire[20][21] | 2018–2019 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0.200 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0.188 |
| 9 | Scott Sperone[22][23] | 2021–2022 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0.067 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 |
| 10 | Mark Sullivan[24] | 2022 (interim) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 11 | Zach Shaw[25][26][27] | 2023 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| 12 | Izzy Abraham | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | 0 | – |
Year-by-year results
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Fitchburg State Falcons[28] | ||||||||||||||
| 1984 | 1984 | Dave Secino | NCAA | Division III | Independent | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1986 | 1986 | NEFC | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11th | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1987 | 1987 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6th (South Div.) | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | 1988 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7th (South Div.) | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–5th (South Div.) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | Vin Keough | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–4th (South Div.) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1991 | 1991 | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–6th (South Div.) | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 1993 | Mike Woessner | 0 | 8 | 1 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1994 | 1994 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | 1995 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | Chris Nugai | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1997 | 1997 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1998 | 1998 | Dave Flynn | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–5th (Red Div.) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1999 | 1999 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (Red Div.) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | 2000 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (Bogan Div.) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | 2001 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7th (Bogan Div.) | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | Patrick Haverty | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3rd (Bogan Div.) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2003 | 2003 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4th (Bogan Div.) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1st (Bogan Div.) | 6 | 0 | 0 | L North Atlantic Bowl | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st (Bogan Div.) | 6 | 0 | 0 | L Northeast Bowl | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T–4th (Bogan Div.) | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | Paul McGonagle | 3 | 6 | 0 | T–5th (Bogan Div.) | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2008 | 2008 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–3rd (Bogan Div.) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th (Bogan Div.) | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 1 | 9 | 0 | T–7th (Bogan Div.) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | Patrick Haverty | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th (Bogan Div.) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2012 | 2012 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th (Bogan Div.) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | MASCAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2015 | 2015 | 8 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | L Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | Jim McGuire | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2019 | 2019 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| Season canceled due to Covid-19 | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | Scott Sperone | NCAA | Division III | MASCAC | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — |
| 2022 | 2022 | Scott Sperone (games 1–5) / Mark Sullivan (games 6–10) | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2023 | 2023 | Zach Shaw | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||
Notes
- ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[8]
- ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[9]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[10]
References
- ^ "Fitchburg State University Logos". Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ "Local Notebook: Falcons take to Elliot Field". Sentinel and Enterprise. August 23, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Fitchburg football celebration ends with five arrests". UPI. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ UPI (October 15, 1989). "Fitchburg football celebration ends with five arrests". UPI. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Israel "Izzy" Abraham Named Head Football Coach". April 23, 2024.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "NEFC Timeline".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "FB: Panthers ground Fitchburg State". Plymouth State University. October 15, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ "HIS OFFENSE MAY BE ANCIENT, BUT DENISON'S PIPER IS STILL YOUNG". Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1991. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ Schools, Jim Wilson High. "Coaching change coming at Quabbin". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ ALGERI, STEVE (February 6, 2017). "New Woburn football coach resigns abrubtly". Homenewshere.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ By (April 2, 1998). "TRANSACTIONS". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ Jarvey, Paul. "Fource of one". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "New coach takes command". The Point. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ Correspondent, Chris Klingenberg. "College football: New faces set tone at Fitchburg State University". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Paul McGonagle Named Endicott Football Head Coach". December 4, 2017.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "FSC finds new coach". Sentinel and Enterprise. April 10, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "McGuire out at Fitchburg State". December 1, 2019.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Fitchburg State football coach steps down". Sentinel and Enterprise. February 13, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Sperone Named Head Football Coach at Fitchburg State - WPI Athletics - WPI Athletics". athletics.wpi.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Fitchburg State coach resigns". October 14, 2022.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Merino, Nicholas Valdez and Jorge. "Fitchburg State's Scott Sperone Stepping Down from Head Coach Position amidst Verbal Abuse Allegations". The Point. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Falcons pick Shaw to lead football program". Sentinel and Enterprise. January 9, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Math Madness a hit with area schools thanks to Worcester State; Defense gives WPI a boost". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Fitchburg State Announces Departure of Head Football Coach". April 1, 2024.
- ^ "Fitchburg State Football All-Time Coaching Records". fitchburgfalcons.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- v
- t
- e
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football
- Anna Maria Amcats (joining in 2025)
- Dean Bulldogs (joining in 2025)
