Centenary Gentlemen football
| Centenary Gentlemen football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1894 |
| Last season | 1947 (Returned in 2024) |
| Athletic director | David Orr |
| Head coach | Byron Dawson 1st season, 4–4 (.500) |
| Stadium | Atkins Field (capacity: 2000) |
| Year built | 1979 |
| Field surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | SCAC |
| All-time record | 140–95–20 (.588) |
| Bowl record | 0–0–1 (.500) |
| Conference titles | 1 LIAA (1923) 2 SIAA (1926–1927) |
| Colors | Maroon and white[1] |
| Website | gocentenary.com |
The Centenary Gentlemen football team represent Centenary College of Louisiana in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Gentlemen are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) starting 2024. The Gentlemen play their home games at Mayo Field in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The team's head coach, Byron Dawson, assumed the role during their 2023 exhibition season.
History
[edit]The school assembled several makeshift teams for the 1894, 1895, and 1896 seasons. However, in 1898, the Board of Trustees prohibited participation in intercollegiate athletics. The ban was implemented following significant losses to Louisiana State University in football, which led to the hospitalization of two Centenary players. In 1901, the ban was relaxed, permitting the college to form a baseball team. Full participation in intercollegiate athletics was restored when the school relocated to Shreveport in 1908[2] The 1927 team, coached by Homer H. Norton, is considered one of the school's best teams in its history,[3] achieving an undefeated 10–0 record that season.
Centenary fielded a college football team until 1941. The program was discontinued during World War II due to budget deficits and declining fan interest. An effort to revive the team in 1947 was unsuccessful,[3] A later attempt to reinstate the football program in the 1960s was also unsuccessful.[4]
On November 10, 2021, Centenary College announced the return of its football program. On March 30, 2022, a historic decision was made with the appointment of Shreveport native Byron Dawson, a former Evangel and LSU standout, as the Gents' new head coach. Dawson became the first African-American head football coach in the school's history. The team began exhibition play in 2023 and officially started NCAA competition in 2024.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Centenary Brand & Graphic Standards". April 27, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ Sloane, Bentley. The Glory Years of Football, Centenary College of Louisiana 1922-1942. http://wikiurls.com/?https://archive.org/stream/gloryyearsoffoot00sloa/gloryyearsoffoot00sloa_djvu.txt.
- ^ a b "The Glory Years of Football:Centenary College of Louisiana 1922-1942". Internet Archive. Internet Archive. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Centenary Announces Return of Football". 10 November 2021.