Program Prestige · The Citadel1960 Tangerine Bowl victory
The Citadel defeated Tennessee Tech 27-0, marking the program's sole bowl game victory
The Citadel
1-2Southern · Johnson Hagood Stadium · 11,427 · 9,875 avg in 2026
The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The marketno line yetvs Chattanooga · our model 51% The Citadel · a number, not a pick
LastL 20–26 vs Charleston Southern · Sat Sep 12 · D'Angelo Sheppard 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 tackles
Nextvs Chattanooga · Sat Sep 26 · 2 pm ET · Johnson Hagood Stadium · series 14-21-1 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
Program Prestige · The Citadel
National Program
The CFP Era
12 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality
AP Rank (inverted)
CFP Appearance
The Citadel's 2014–2025 record is 56-75. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.
Program outlook
The Citadel is a military academy where football players are cadets bound for commissioned service. The Bulldogs won four Southern Conference championships and ranked #1 for four weeks in 1992, but the 2025 season (4-8, 3-5 SoCon) tests Maurice Drayton's multi-year rebuild.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
The Citadel is not a program chasing NFL pipeline prestige or regional brand dominance. It is a senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, where every football player is a cadet enrolled in a disciplined military academy, bound for commissioned service in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines. That mission shapes everything.
The Bulldogs' football identity is inseparable from the academy's Honor Code — a cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal — and from the visible presence of the Corps of Cadets in dress uniform, standing in regimented formation in the stands at every home game in Johnson Hagood Stadium. The stadium atmosphere is shaped by cadets, not casual fans. Games are a pageant of military order as much as they are a football contest.
The Citadel's most successful era came in 1992, when the Bulldogs ranked #1 in the nation for four weeks, ran a dominant defense built on assignment-perfect discipline, and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals. That team won the Southern Conference championship, one of four the program has claimed (1961, 1992, 2015, 2016). Stump Mitchell, a program legend and later NFL hall of famer, rushed for 4,062 career yards at The Citadel. His No. 35 is one of five retired jerseys.
Maurice Drayton arrived as head coach in December 2022 and has spent three seasons rebuilding a program constrained by its mission. The 2025 season ended 4-8 overall and 3-5 in Southern Conference play. In April 2025, Drayton added FBS veteran Phill Guard to oversee the offensive line and promoted Jason Simmons Jr. to lead safeties, signaling a modernization of the coaching infrastructure. The internal debate — between those who believe pure military discipline will drive wins and those who argue the program must adapt to the transfer portal to compete in the modern FCS — will shape the next two years. The 2026 offseason is a checkpoint in a multi-year building effort toward a Southern Conference championship.
On the field
Disciplined, assignment-oriented football built on cadet execution and understanding. The Citadel prioritizes fundamentals, gap integrity, and conditioning over recruiting rank and portal acquisitions. In a modern college football landscape of tempo spread and transfer-portal arms races, the program's emphasis on military discipline and preparation is a philosophical outlier — preparation over flash, assignment-perfect execution over individual talent — and that same discipline occasionally produces surprising competitiveness against larger, better-funded Southern Conference programs.
All-time record · The Citadel
The Citadel has won 44% of its games since 1909 — 61% at home, 28% on the road.
403-489-23 all-time · 114 seasons · 1909–2026
Home
265-164-8
Away
132-322-15
Neutral
6-3
9 g
1900s
46%
1910s
45%
1920s
42%
1930s
43%
1940s
42%
1950s
49%
1960s
48%
1970s
44%
1980s
36%
1990s
40%
2000s
50%
2010s
28%
2020s
Program memory
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
1992 national ranking and SoCon championship
The Bulldogs ranked #1 in the nation for four weeks, advanced to the FCS quarterfinals, and claimed the Southern Conference championship
2015 FCS playoff appearance
The Citadel made a playoff run and won the Southern Conference championship as part of a back-to-back title era
2025 rebuilding checkpoint
A 4-8 season (3-5 SoCon) and a 17-13 Military Classic loss to VMI test Maurice Drayton's multi-year building plan
Restoration
Moment of the season — so far · The Citadel · 2026
Moment of the season — so far · The Citadel · 2026Won 43-41 at Charlotte
Week 1 of 2026. Won as a 20.5-point underdog — the result the market didn't see coming. It turned on one snap in Q6 — Cole Gonzales to Jaylen Hampton, a 37-point win-probability swing.
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Conference
Southern standing · 2026
10th in the Southern
The Citadel is 10th of 10 in the Southern at 0-1. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee Tech | 2-0 |
| 2 | Furman | 1-0 |
| 3 | Wofford | 1-0 |
| – | East Tennessee State | 0-0 |
| – | VMI | 0-0 |
| – | Western Carolina | 0-0 |
| 7 | Chattanooga | 0-1 |
| 8 | Mercer | 0-1 |
| 9 | Samford | 0-1 |
| 10 | The Citadel | 0-1 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Art Baker departs
- Hired Art Baker
- Bobby Ross departs
- Hired Bobby Ross
- Red Parker departs
- Hired Red Parker
- Johnnie McMillan departs
- Hired Johnnie McMillan
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
The Honor Code
since 1842
more
The Citadel's Honor Code — 'A cadet does not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do' — is the foundational standard of every cadet's life, on and off the field. The code is not a slogan; it is a binding commitment that shapes how players approach the game and their future service.
Military Classic of the South
since 1920
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The Citadel's rivalry with VMI, another senior military college and Southern Conference foe, is the Military Classic of the South. Dating to 1920 and played nearly continuously since World War II, the game represents the bond between two service academies competing at the FCS level. The Citadel leads the series 45-33-2, and the Silver Shako Trophy is awarded to the victor.
Cadet Corps Involvement
since 1842
more
The entire Corps of Cadets attends home games in uniform, sitting together in block formation. The pageantry and discipline of the cadet body in the stands—every member in dress uniform, standing in unison for anthems—is a visual marker of the program's military mission and sets Citadel football apart from civilian college programs.
Commissioned Officers Path
since 1842
more
Unlike any other FCS program, Citadel football players graduate as commissioned officers in the U.S. Army or other armed services. The program measures success not only in wins and losses but in the development of principled leaders. Players understand that their four years are preparation for a life of service.
Cultural identity
Reddit blowups
r/cfb moments
249
[Postgame Thread] Army Defeats The Citadel 14-9
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