The Westfield State Owls football team represents Westfield State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Owls are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, fielding its team in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference since 2013. The Owls play their home games at Alumni Field in Westfield, Massachusetts.[2]
| Westfield State Owls football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1982 |
| Athletic director | Richard Lenfest |
| Head coach | Lou Conte 1st season, 2–2 (.500) |
| Stadium | Alumni Field (capacity: 4,000) |
| Year built | 1974 |
| Field surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Westfield, Massachusetts |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | MASCAC |
| Past conferences | NEFC |
| All-time record | 178–224–1 (.443) |
| Bowl record | 0–1 (.000) |
| Playoff appearances | 1 (2001) |
| Playoff record | 0–1 (.000) |
| Conference titles | 1 |
| Division titles | 3 |
| Colors | Blue, white, and gold[1] |
| Mascot | Owl |
| Website | westfieldstateowls.com |
Their head coach is Lou Conte, who took over the position for the 2024 season.
Conference affiliations
edit- New England Football Conference (1982–2012)[3]
- Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present)[4]
Championships
editConference championships
editWestfield State claims 1 conference title, which came in 2001.
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | New England Football Conference | 10–1 | 6–0 | Steve Marino |
† Co-champions
Division championships
editWestfield State claims 3 division titles, the most recent of which came in 2003.
| Year | Division | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | NEFC Bogan | Steve Marino | 10–1 | 6–0 | Nichols | W 12–0 |
| 2002 | 8–3 | 6–0 | UMass Dartmouth | L 0–16 | ||
| 2003 | 7–3 | 6–0 | Curry | L 0–36 |
† Co-champions
Postseason games
editNCAA Division III playoff games
editWestfield State has appeared in the Division III playoffs one time, with an overall record of 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | First Round | Western Connecticut | L, 7–8 |
Bowl games
editWestfield State has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Steve Marino | ECAC Bowl | Cortland | L 7–30 |
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% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roger LeClerc[8] | 1982 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Howard Murphy[9] | 1983–1985 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0.393 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0.393 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Jake Murdock[10] | 1986–1989 | 37 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 0.514 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 0.577 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Steve Marino[11] | 1990–2013 | 235 | 119 | 115 | 1 | 0.509 | 90 | 75 | 0 | 0.545 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Pete Kowalski[12][13] | 2014–2023 | 82 | 22 | 60 | 0 | 0.268 | 18 | 46 | 0 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 | ||||||||
| Westfield State Owls | ||||||||||||||
| 1982 | 1982 | Roger LeClerc | NCAA | Division III | NEFC | 2 | 7 | 0 | T–8th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — |
| 1983 | 1983 | Howard Murphy | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9th | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1984 | 1984 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T–6th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | Jack Murdock | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1987 | 1987 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (South) | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | 1988 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd (South) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–2nd (South) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | Steve Marino | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–4th (South) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1991 | 1991 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th (South) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T–3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 1993 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | 1994 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | 1995 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1998 | 1998 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–5th (Red) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th (Red) | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | 2000 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T–5th (Bogan) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | 2001 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1st (Bogan) | 6 | 0 | 0 | L NCAA Division III First Round | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st (Bogan) | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st (Bogan) | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd (Bogan) | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th (Bogan) | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 1 | 8 | 0 | T–7th (Bogan) | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd (Bogan) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–3rd (Bogan) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd (Bogan) | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd (Bogan) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4th (Bogan) | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th (Bogan) | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | MASCAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2014 | 2014 | Pete Kowalski | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2015 | 2015 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T–8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 9th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2019 | 2019 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| Season canceled due to COVID-19[15] | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2021 | Pete Kowalski | NCAA | Division III | MASCAC | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — |
| 2022 | 2022 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 | — | — | |||||||||||
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.[5]
- ^ 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.[6]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Westfield State Graphic Identity Manual" (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "Alumni Field".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ NEFC Timeline
- ^ "FB: Panthers ground Fitchburg State". Plymouth State University. Retrieved March 18, 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.
- ^ "Former WSU Head Coach, NFL Standout Roger Leclerc Passes". January 27, 2021.
- ^ "Westfield State Coaching Records". November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Jack Murdock Obituary (1930 - 2007) - Akron, OH - Akron Beacon Journal". Legacy.com. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Westfield State University". Westfield State University. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Pete Kowalski Named Football Head Coach". May 16, 2014.
- ^ "All-Time Leading Scorers and Coaching History".
- ^ "Role Model Takes Helm of Football Team". Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "MASCAC cancels, but Plymouth State football exploring other options". unionleader.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.