Richmond Spiders football

Richmond Spiders football
Richmond Spiders football
	2024 Richmond Spiders football team
First season	1881; 143 years ago
Athletic director	John Hardt
Head coach	Russ Huesman ; 7th season, 52–36 (.591)
Stadium	Robins Stadium; (capacity: 8,217)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	CAA Football; (Patriot League in 2025)
All-time record	593–673–53 (.470)
Bowl record	1–1 (.500)
Claimed national titles	1 (2008)
Conference titles	14
Rivalries	William & Mary (rivalry) ; James Madison (rivalry) ; VMI (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans	1 (1969)
Colors	Blue and red;
Uniform outfitter	Nike
Website	RichmondSpiders.com

The Richmond Spiders are a college football team representing the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond was the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision champion for the 2008 season. Richmond competes in CAA Football, a legally separate football league operated by the multi-sports Coastal Athletic Association that competes in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Russ Huesman was named head coach of the Spiders, on December 14, 2016, replacing Danny Rocco who had departed to become head coach at the University of Delaware a day earlier.^[2]

In 2008, No. 7 Richmond beat Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian State, and Northern Iowa to advance to the NCAA Division I Football Championship against Montana. In the FCS National Championship Game on December 19, 2008, they defeated Montana 24–7 to win the first team NCAA national title for the University of Richmond in any sport.

Richmond's traditional rival in many sports is the College of William & Mary. Richmond and William & Mary have met 135 times since 1898, making the rivalry (sometimes referred to as "the South's oldest rivalry") the fourth most-played in Division I college football. Only Lafayette–Lehigh, Princeton–Yale, and Harvard–Yale have played more games. The winner of the annual W&M–Richmond match-up claims the Capital Cup (formerly the I-64 Trophy), which reflects the historical significance of the cities of Williamsburg and Richmond as the last two capitals of the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[3]

Conference affiliations

1881–1900: Independent
1900–1920: Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association (EVIAA)
1911–1921: South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA) – participated simultaneously as a member of both organizations
1922–1926: Independent
1927–1935: Virginia Conference
1936–1975: Southern Conference
1976–1977: NCAA Division I independent
1978–1981: NCAA Division I-A independent
1982–1985: NCAA Division I-AA independent
1986–1996: Yankee Conference
1997–2006: Atlantic 10 Conference
2007–2024: CAA / CAA Football
2025–future: Patriot League^[4]

All-Americans

Walker Gillette, SE- 1969 Consensus 1st Team (FWAA-1st; NEA-1st; TSN-1st; Time-1st)
Walker Gillette, WR- 1969 (AP-1st)
Barty Smith, RB- 1973 (AP-3rd)
Jeff Nixon, DB- 1976 (AP-3rd)

Richmond Spiders in the NFL Draft

Undrafted players and non-NFL draftees

Aerial view of E. Claiborne Robins Stadium, the Spiders home

Rick Sowieta, LB, Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders
Carmen Cavalli, Oakland Raiders draft pick (1960)
Reggie Evans, RB
Bruce Gossett, K
Matt Joyce, G/T
Paris Lenon, LB
Matt Snider, FB
Brendan Toibin, K
Stacy Tutt, FB
Josh Vaughan, RB
Danny Desriveaux, Montreal Alouettes
Eric Ward, QB, Edmonton Eskimos (2011)
Winston October, DB/KR, Montreal Alouettes, WR/KR, Washington Redskins and Edmonton Eskimos
Ben Edwards, WR/KR, New York Giants
Seth Williams, CFL player
Martin Parker, DT
Kerry Wynn, DE
Kendall Gaskins, RB
Mike Burkhead, QB
Jacob Ruby, OL, Edmonton Eskimos
Kyle Lauletta, QB, New York Giants
Winston Craig, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
David Jones, DB

Playoffs

The Spiders have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs 14 times. Their combined record is 17–13. They were FCS National Champions in 2008.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1984	First Round Quarterfinals	Boston University Rhode Island	W 35–33 L 17–23
1987	First Round	Appalachian State	L 3–20
1998	First Round	Lehigh	L 23–24
2000	First Round Quarterfinals	Youngstown State Montana	W 10–3 L 20–34
2005	First Round Quarterfinals	Hampton Furman	W 38–10 L 20–24
2007	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Eastern Kentucky Wofford Appalachian State	W 31–14 W 21–10 L 35–55
2008	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game	Eastern Kentucky Appalachian State Northern Iowa Montana	W 38–10 W 33–13 W 21–20 W 24–7
2009	First Round Quarterfinals	Elon Appalachian State	W 16–13 L 31–35
2014	First Round Second Round	Morgan State Coastal Carolina	W 46–24 L 15–36
2015	Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	William & Mary Illinois State North Dakota State	W 48–13 W 39–27 L 7–33
2016	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	North Carolina A&T North Dakota Eastern Washington	W 39–10 W 27–24 L 0–38
2022	First Round Second Round	Davidson Sacramento State	W 41–0 L 31–38
2023	First Round Second Round	North Carolina Central Albany	W 49–27 L 13–41
2024	First Round	Lehigh	L 16–20

Bowl games

During their time as an NCAA University Division (Major College) team, Richmond appeared in two bowl games, both times in the Tangerine Bowl against the champion of the Mid-American Conference. They have a record of 1–1.