The Nelson Lions football team represents Nelson University (formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God University) in college football in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Lions are members of the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC), fielding its team in the GPAC since 2013. The Lions play their home games at Lumpkins Stadium in Waxahachie, Texas.[1]
| Nelson Lions football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1996 |
| Athletic director | Jesse Godding |
| Head coach | Jared Hudgins 1st season, 0–0 (–) |
| Stadium | Lumpkins Stadium (capacity: 9,500) |
| Year built | 1972 |
| Field surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Waxahachie, Texas |
| Conference | SAC |
| Past conferences | NCCAA independent (1996–1997) NAIA independent (1998–1999, 2005–2007, 2012) CSFL (2000–2004, 2008–2017) |
| All-time record | 97–173–2 (.360) |
| Mascot | Judah the Lion |
| Website | sagulions.com |
Their head coach is Jared Hudgins, who took over the position for the 2024 season.
Conference affiliations
edit- NCCAA independent (1996–1997)
- NAIA independent (1998–1999, 2005–2007, 2012)
- Central States Football League (2000–2004, 2008–2017)
- Sooner Athletic Conference (2018–present)
List of head coaches
editKey
edit| 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
edit| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Allen | 1996–1997 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0.231 | — | — | — | – |
| 2 | Tommy Sugg | 1998 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 | — | — | — | – |
| 3 | Paul Burgard | 1999 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.100 | — | — | — | – |
| 4 | Tim Truman | 2000–2001 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0.150 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.111 |
| 5 | Jesse Godding | 2002–2014 | 137 | 43 | 94 | 0 | 0.314 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 0.333 |
| 6 | Frank Tristan[5] | 2015–2017 | 32 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0.625 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0.650 |
| 7 | Ryan Smith[6][7] | 2018–2021 | 37 | 18 | 19 | 0 | 0.486 | 13 | 19 | 0 | 0.406 |
| 8 | Greg Ellis[8] | 2022–present | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.615 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.600 |
Year-by-year results
edit| 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 | ||||||||
| Nelson Lions | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | 1996 | John Allen | NCCAA | — | Independent | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 1998 | 1998 | Tommy Sugg | NAIA | Independent | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||||
| 1999 | 1999 | Paul Burgard | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 2000 | 2000 | Tim Truman | CSFL | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||
| 2001 | 2001 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | Jesse Godding | 0 | 9 | 0 | N/A | — | — | ||||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | Independent | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||
| 2009 | 2009 | CSFL | 3 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2010 | 2010 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | Independent | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| 2013 | 2013 | CSFL | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2014 | 2014 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 | Frank Tristan | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | Won 2015 Victory Bowl | — | |||
| 2016 | 2016 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–4th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 7 | 1 | 0 | Lost 2017 Victory Bowl | 19 | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | Ryan Smith | SAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||
| 2019 | 2019 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2020 | 2019 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 9 | 3 | 0 | T–4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | Won 2021 Victory Bowl | — | ||||
| 2022 | 2022 | Greg Ellis | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | Lost 2022 Victory Bowl | — | |||
| 2023 | 2023 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| Nelson Lions | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | Jared Hudgins | NAIA | — | SAC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |
Notes
edit- ^ 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.[2]
- ^ 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.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Football opener moves to Midlothian". SAGU. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. 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 September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ "SAGU Football Coach Frank Tristan Announces Resignation". SAGU. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "Ryan Smith Announced as New SAGU Head Football Coach". SAGU. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "SAGU Head Football Coach Announces Resignation". Southwestern Assemblies of God University. May 24, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "Ellis Has Been Hired as Southwestern Assemblies of God Coach". soonerathletic.org. June 20, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "Southwestern Assemblies Historical Data". July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2023.