Savannah State Tigers football

Savannah State Tigers
First season	1912
Last season	2010
Athletic director	Horace Broadnax (interim)
Head coach	Steve Davenport
	1st year, 0–0–0  (—)
Home stadium	Ted Wright Stadium
Year built	1967
Stadium capacity	7,500
Stadium surface	Grass
Location	Savannah, Georgia
League	Division I - FCS
Conference	MEAC
All-time record	264–409–29 (.397)
Postseason bowl record	0–0–0
Consensus All-Americans	3[1]
Colors	Burnt Orange and Reflex Blue
Marching band	Savannah State Marching Tiger Band
Website	SSU Tigers Football

The Savannah State Tigers football team represents Savannah State University in college football. The Tigers are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).^[2] The football team is traditionally the most popular sport at Savannah State and home games are played at Ted A. Wright Stadium in Savannah, Georgia.

Since moving to NCAA Division I - FCS in 2000, the Tigers have compiled a 17-88-0 record as of the 2009–2010 season.^[3] Prior to moving to Division I - FCS the team compiled a 97-108-4 record in NCAA Division II (1981–2000), a 15-20-0 record in NCAA Division III (1973–1980) and a 1-1-0 record as a member of the NAIA.^[4][5]

The program's largest margin of victory was 67 points against Miles College in 1992 (Savannah State, 73 – Miles College, 6). The largest margin of defeat was 98 points against Bethune-Cookman College in 1953 (Bethune-Cookman 98, Savannah State 0).^[6]

The team regularly participates in one or more black football classics each season including the CSRA Football Classic and the Joe Turner Classic. The team has previously participated in the Gateway Classic, the Miami Classic, the Palmetto Capital City Classic, and the Circle City Classic.

Contents 1 Head Coach 2 Conference affiliations 3 Conference championships and NCAA Playoff Appearances 4 Season-by-Season Records 5 Notable players and coaches 6 References 7 External links

Head Coach

On January 7, 2011, Savannah State University named Steve Davenport as its new head football coach. Davenport replaced Robert "Robby" Wells who left the program before the 2010 football season. Davenport, the former offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is the 22nd head football coach at Savannah State.

Conference affiliations

• 1915–1928 Independent
• 1929–1961 Southeastern Athletic Conference
• 1962–1968 Independent
• 1969–1999 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 2000–2001 Division II Independent
• 2002–2009 Division I-AA Independent
• 2010–Present Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

No Team: 1916–1922, 1924, 1943–1945

On September 8, 2011, Savannah State University was confirmed as a full member of the MEAC Conference, making the Tigers eligible to participate in all conference championships and earn the conference's automatic berth to NCAA postseason competition in all sponsored sports.^[7]

Conference championships and NCAA Playoff Appearances

The Tigers were Southeastern Athletic Conference champions in 1938, 1948, 1950 and 1956.^[8][9] The teams only NCAA playoff appearance occurred in 1992. The Tigers, led by Head Coach Bill Davis, were defeated by Jacksonville State University in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, 41-16.^[5]

Season-by-Season Records

     NCAA I-AA MEAC      NCAA I-AA Independent      SIAC (NCAA Division II)      NCAA Division III      NAIA Southeastern

Season	Wins	Losses	Ties	Conference Record	Head Coach	Notes	References
2010	0	2	0		Julius Dixon (interim)	team admitted to the MEAC but ineligible for MEAC title until 2011 football season
2009	2	8	0		Robert Wells		[10]
2008	5	7	0		Robert Wells		[10]
2007	1	9	0		Theo Lemon		[11]
2006	2	9	0		Theo Lemon	Savannah State University football program was placed on probation for three years by the NCAA in 2006 [1]	[1] Prior to moving to Division I - FCS the team compiled a 97-108-4 record in NCAA Division II (1981–2000), a 15-20-0 record in NCAA Division III (1973–1980) and a 1-1-0 record as a member of the NAIA.[4][5] [12]
2005	0	11	0		Richard Basil		[1]
2004	2	8	0		Richard Basil		[1]
2003	0	12	0		Kenneth Pettiford Richard Basil		[1]
2002	1	9	0		Kenneth Pettiford		[1]
2001	2	7	0		Bill Davis		[1][13]
2000	2	8	0		Bill Davis		[1][13]
1999	5	6	0	3-4	Steven Wilks		[14]
1998	7	4	0	6-3	Daryl McNeill	Savannah State placed on four years probation and scholarships reduced in six sports	[15][16]
1997	3	8	0	2-6	Daryl McNeill		[15]
1996	6	5	0	5-4	Wendell Avery		[17]
1995	7	4	0	4-4	Wendell Avery		[17]
1994	8	3	0	5-3	Joseph Crosby		[18]
1993	5	3	2	4-2-2	Joseph Crosby		[18]
1992	8	4	0	6-2	Bill Davis	Lost in first round of NCAA Division II playoffs	[5][13]
1991	7	4	0	4-3	Bill Davis		[13]
1990	7	4	0	5-2	Bill Davis		[13]
1989	8	1	0		Bill Davis		[13][19]
1988	7	3	0	6-1	Bill Davis		[13][19]
1987	4	6	0	3-3	Bill Davis		[13]
1986	6	4	0	4-3	Bill Davis		[13]
1985	2	9	0	2-4	Frank Ellis		[20]
1984	2	7	1	1-5-1	Frank Ellis		[21]
1983	2	9	0		Frank Ellis		[21]
1982	4	6	0	2-4	Frank Ellis		[21]
1981	5	5	0	2-3	Frank Ellis		[21]
1980	5	5	0		Frank Ellis		[21]
1979	6	3	1	4-1-1	Frank Ellis		[22]
1978	4	6	0	4-3	Frank Ellis		[22]
1977	4	5	0	4-2	Frank Ellis		[22]
1976	0	9	0	0-6	John H. Myles		[22]
1975	3	7	0	2-3	John H. Myles		[22]
1974	2	4	1	2-1	John H. Myles		[23]
1973	3	6	0	2-4	John H. Myles		[23]
1972	6	3	0	3-2	John H. Myles		[23]
1971	5	4	1	4-1	John H. Myles		[23]
1970	3	5	0	3-1	John H. Myles		[23]
1969	3	5	0	2-2	John H. Myles		[24]
1968	2	6	0		Leo Richardson		[24]
1967	6	2	1		Leo Richardson		[24]
1966	3	5	0		Leo Richardson		[24]
1965	1	6	1		Leo Richardson		[24]
1964	0	6	0		Leo Richardson		[25]
1963	0	4	0		Leo Richardson		[25]
1962	4	5	0	2-3	Richard K. Washington		[25]
1961	4	4	1	2-2-1	Richard K. Washington		[25]
1960	3	5	1	2-2	Richard K. Washington		[25]
1959	3	4	2	2-1-1	Richard K. Washington		[26]
1958	5	4	0	3-2	Richard K. Washington		[26]
1957	3	3	2	2-2-1	Richard K. Washington		[26]
1956	4	4	0	4-1	Ross F. Pearly	Southeastern Athletic Conference Co-Champions	[8][9][26]
1955	2	4	1	2-2-1	Ross F. Pearly		[26]
1954	1	7	0	1-5	Ross F. Pearly		[27]
1953	0	8	0	0-5	Albert Frazier		[27]
1952	1	8	0	1-4	John H. Martin		[27]
1951	5	4	1	2-2-1	John H. Martin		[27]
1950	4	3	1	4-0-1	John H. Martin	Southeastern Athletic Conference Champions	[8][9][27]
1949	3	5	0	3-1	Theodore A. "Ted" Wright		[28]
1948	5	3	0	4-1	Theodore A. "Ted" Wright	Southeastern Athletic Conference Champions	[8][9][28]
1947	1	5	1	1-3-1	Theodore A. "Ted" Wright		[28]
1946	2	1	1	1-1-1	John W. Myles		[28]
1942	4	2	1		John W. Myles		[28]
1941	1	3	1		W. McKinley King		[28]
1940	3	3	1		W. McKinley King		[28]
1939	3	0	1		Arthur Dwight		[29]
1938	4	1	0		Arthur Dwight	Southeastern Athletic Conference Champions	[9][29]
1937	1	2	1		Arthur Dwight		[29]
1936	1	3	0		Arthur Dwight		[29]
1935	3	3	0		Arthur Dwight		[29]
1934	0	4	1		Richard Richardson		[30]
1933	3	1	0		Richard Richardson		[30]
1932	1	2	1		Richard Richardson		[30]
1931	1	3	1		Richard Richardson		[30]
1930	1	0	1		Richard Richardson		[30]
1929	1	2	0		Richard Richardson		[31]
1928	0	3	0		W.P. Tucker		[31]
1927	1	3	0		W.P. Tucker		[31]
1926	0	1	0		W.P. Tucker		[31]
1925	1	0	0		W.P. Tucker		[31]
1923	1	0	0		W.P. Tucker		[32]
1915	1	1	0		W.P. Tucker		[32]
Totals	11	74	0	NCAA Division I-AA Independent results [1]
				NCAA Division II results
				NCAA Division III results
	44	72	11	NAIA results
	253	381	28	Regular season results
	0	1	0	Playoff results
	253	383	28	All games including playoffs

Notable players and coaches

Some notable Savannah State football players and coaches include:

Name	Class year	Position	Notability	References
Steven Aycock	1993	Offensive lineman	Head football coach at Johnson C. Smith University	[33]
Eric Brown	1989	Cornerback/Safety	former National Football League player with the Dallas Cowboys	[34]
Chad Cone	2006	Running Back	Signed by the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League in 2006 and the Columbus Lions of the American Indoor Football Association in 2009	[35][36]
Bobby Curtis	1987	Linebacker	former National Football League player with the Washington Redskins and New York Jets	[35]
Ken Dawson	1981	Running Back	10th round pick by the Seattle Seahawks; #252 overall pick	[34][37][38]
Roy Ellison	1987	Guard/Center	National Football League official and umpire during Super Bowl XLIII	[39]
Aaron Fields	2000	Defensive End	former National Football League player with the Dallas Cowboys	[34]
Troy Hambrick	2000	Running Back	former National Football League player who averaged 4.1 yards per carry in his 5 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2000–2003) and the Arizona Cardinals (2004).	[34][35]
Britt Henderson	1996	Defensive Back	1996 First Team All American	[1]
Patrick Jackson		unknown	former United Indoor Football player who played with the Rock River Raptors	[35]
Jonathan Johnson		unknown	former United Indoor Football player who played with the Rock River Raptors	[35]
Lemuel Ligdon		unknown	former NFL Europe player who played with the Rhein Fire	[35]
Wesley McGriff	1990	Outside Linebacker	current defensive backs coach and defensive recruiting coordinator for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Former defensive backs coach for the Miami Hurricanes and former interim coach and defensive coordinator at Savannah State University.	[40][41]
Ernest "The Cat" Miller		Linebacker	All-American linebacker and former professional wrestler	[42]
Andrew Mitchell		unknown	former Arena Football League player who played with the Arizona Rattlers	[35]
Tahj Mowry		Running Back	former child actor from the sitcom "Smart Guy", played football at SSU for 1 season
Wes Phillips	1979	Offensive Tackle	former National Football League player with the Houston Oilers	[34]
Shannon Sharpe	1986-89	Wide Receiver / Tight End	1989 First team All American, former National Football League player with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, three-time Super Bowl champion, and NFL's all-time leader in receptions (815) by a tight end. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.	[1][34][43]
Tim Walker	1980	Linebacker	1979 First Team All American and former National Football League player with the Seattle Seahawks	[1][34]
Steven Wilks	1999	Head Coach	the current defensive backs coach of the Chicago Bears	[14]

References

External links

• Savannah State Tigers football

Savannah State Tigers football Venues Ted Wright Stadium (1967–present) People Head coaches Seasons 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

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