Austin Peay

For most of its history, Austin Peay was a middle-of-the-pack Ohio Valley Conference program, punctuated by occasional championships (1948 Volunteer State Athletic Conference, 1977 OVC) but little sustained relevance. That changed starting in 2019, when Mark Hudspeth's Governors went 11-4, shared the OVC title with Southeast Missouri State, and won the program's first two FCS playoff games ever before losing to Montana State in the quarterfinals. Scotty Walden took over in 2020 and built on it, sharing the 2022 ASUN title and then winning the 2023 United Athletic Conference title outright at 9-3, riding a nine-game win streak into the UAC's first-ever playoff appearance (a 24-21 First Round loss to Chattanooga). Walden left for UTEP after that season.

Jeff Faris, hired from UCLA's staff in December 2023, delivered the signature moment of modern Austin Peay football in his second season. On August 30, 2025, the Governors routed FBS Middle Tennessee 34-14 — Austin Peay's first win over an FBS opponent since 1987 (when they beat Kansas State) and just the second FBS win in program history. Austin Peay finished 2025 at 7-5, went a perfect 6-0 at Fortera Stadium (the program's first unbeaten home slate since 1949), and quarterback Chris Parson closed the year as a Stats Perform Walter Payton Award finalist, setting Austin Peay single-season records for total offense and rushing production by a quarterback. On November 28, 2025, the university signed Faris to a five-year contract extension through 2030.

Austin Peay plays in Clarksville, Tennessee, next to Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division — a military-town identity that shapes the fanbase as much as any on-field result. The open question for 2026: whether the Middle Tennessee win and the 2019/2022/2023 conference-title stretch add up to a genuine new baseline, or whether 2025 was the ceiling inside a still-middling season.