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Fitchburg State Falcons football

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Fitchburg State Falcons football
First season1984
Athletic directorMatthew Burke
Head coachIzzy Abraham
1st season, 1–3 (.250)
StadiumElliot Field
(capacity: 1,200)
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationFitchburg, Massachusetts
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceMASCAC
Past conferencesNEFC
All-time record130–293–1 (.308)
Bowl record0–3 (.000)
Division titles2 NEFC Bogan Division (2004–2005)
RivalriesWorcester State (Sterling Cup)
ColorsGreen and yellow[1]
   
MascotFalcons
Websitefitchburgfalcons.com

The Fitchburg State Falcons football team represents Fitchburg State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Falcons are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, fielding its team in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference since 2013. The Falcons play their home games at Elliot Field in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.[2]

Fitchburg State is known for the longest college football losing streak at the time, which ended in 1989 after thirty-plus losses. The school was featured in many news sources, such as The New York Times, ESPN, and many local newspapers.[3] Fitchburg State defeated Southeastern Massachusetts on October 14, 1989, by the score of 33–7. Thanks to notable plays by the defence, including a recovered fumble by Paul Camick a sophomore at the time, It was the first Fitchburg State win in over four years. In the ensuing celebrations at Fitchburg, five people were arrested.[4]

On September 9, 2023, Taylor Crout became the first female football player to play a non-kicking position in an NCAA game at any level, which she did for the Falcons.[5]

The Falcons’ head coach is Izzy Abraham, who took over the position for the 2024 season.[6]

Conference affiliations

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Championships

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Division championships

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Fitchburg State claims 2 division titles, the most recent of which came in 2005.

Year Division Coach Overall Record Conference Record Opponent CG result
2004 NEFC Bogan Patrick Haverty 8–4 6–0 Curry L 7–17
2005 8–3 6–0 Curry L 7–14

Bowl games

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Bridgewater State has participated in three bowl games, and has a record of 0–3.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
2004 Patrick Haverty ECAC Bowl Springfield L 7–53
2005 ECAC Bowl Bridgewater State L 17–34
2015 ECAC Bowl Alfred L 10–11

List of head coaches

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Key

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Key to symbols in coaches list
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

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List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, and conference records
No. Name Season(s) GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C%
1 Dave Secino 1984–1989 53 4 49 0 0.058 2 24 0 0.058
2 Vin Keough[12] 1990–1992 27 4 23 0 0.148 3 17 0 0.150
3 Mike Woessner[13] 1993–1995 47 4 22 1 0.167 3 21 0 0.125
4 Chris Nugai[14] 1996–1997 19 3 16 0 0.158 1 15 0 0.063
5 Dave Flynn[15][16] 1998–2001 38 16 22 0 0.421 11 13 0 0.458
6 Patrick Haverty[17][18] 2002–2006, 2011–2017 121 62 59 0 0.512 44 41 0 0.518
7 Paul McGonagle[19][20] 2007–2010 39 12 27 0 0.308 10 18 0 0.357
8 Jim McGuire[21][22] 2018–2019 20 4 16 0 0.200 3 13 0 0.188
9 Scott Sperone[23][24] 2021–2022 15 1 14 0 0.067 0 10 0 .000
10 Mark Sullivan[25] 2022 (interim) 5 0 5 0 .000 0 5 0 .000
11 Zach Shaw[26][27][28] 2023 10 0 10 0 .000 0 8 0 .000
12 Izzy Abraham 2024–present 0 0 0 0 – 0 8 0 –

Year-by-year results

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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
Fitchburg State Falcons[29]
1984 1984 Dave Secino NCAA Division III Independent 0 9 0 — —
1985 1985 1 7 0 — —
1986 1986 NEFC 0 9 0 11th 0 9 0 — —
1987 1987 0 8 0 6th (South Div.) 0 5 0 — —
1988 1988 0 9 0 7th (South Div.) 0 6 0 — —
1989 1989 3 7 0 T–5th (South Div.) 2 4 0 — —
1990 1990 Vin Keough 2 7 0 T–4th (South Div.) 2 4 0 — —
1991 1991 2 7 0 T–6th (South Div.) 1 5 0 — —
1992 1992 0 9 0 9th 0 8 0 — —
1993 1993 Mike Woessner 0 8 1 9th 0 8 0 — —
1994 1994 3 6 0 7th 2 6 0 — —
1995 1995 1 8 0 9th 1 7 0 — —
1996 1996 Chris Nugai 0 9 0 9th 0 8 0 — —
1997 1997 3 7 0 8th 1 7 0 — —
1998 1998 Dave Flynn 3 7 0 T–5th (Red Div.) 2 4 0 — —
1999 1999 6 4 0 3rd (Red Div.) 4 2 0 — —
2000 2000 5 4 0 3rd (Bogan Div.) 4 2 0 — —
2001 2001 2 7 0 7th (Bogan Div.) 1 5 0 — —
2002 2002 Patrick Haverty 5 4 0 3rd (Bogan Div.) 4 2 0 — —
2003 2003 5 4 0 4th (Bogan Div.) 3 3 0 — —
2004 2004 8 4 0 1st (Bogan Div.) 6 0 0 L North Atlantic Bowl —
2005 2005 8 3 0 1st (Bogan Div.) 6 0 0 L Northeast Bowl —
2006 2006 4 5 0 T–4th (Bogan Div.) 3 4 0 — —
2007 2007 Paul McGonagle 3 6 0 T–5th (Bogan Div.) 3 4 0 — —
2008 2008 4 6 0 T–3rd (Bogan Div.) 4 3 0 — —
2009 2009 4 6 0 T–6th (Bogan Div.) 2 5 0 — —
2010 2010 1 9 0 T–7th (Bogan Div.) 1 6 0 — —
2011 2011 Patrick Haverty 2 8 0 8th (Bogan Div.) 1 6 0 — —
2012 2012 2 8 0 7th (Bogan Div.) 1 6 0 — —
2013 2013 6 4 0 T–3rd 5 3 0 — —
2014 2014 MASCAC 6 4 0 T–4th 4 4 0 — —
2015 2015 8 3 0 T–2nd 6 2 0 L Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw Bowl —
2016 2016 5 5 0 T–6th 3 5 0 — —
2017 2017 3 7 0 T–7th 2 6 0 — —
2018 2018 Jim McGuire 2 8 0 7th 2 6 0 — —
2019 2019 2 8 0 8th 1 7 0 — —
Season canceled due to Covid-19
2021 2021 Scott Sperone NCAA Division III MASCAC 0 10 0 9th 0 8 0 — —
2022 2022 Scott Sperone (games 1–5) / Mark Sullivan (games 6–10) 1 9 0 9th 0 7 0 — —
2023 2023 Zach Shaw 0 10 0 9th 0 8 0 — —

Notes

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  1. ^ 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.[9]
  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.
  3. ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[10]
  4. ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Fitchburg State University Logos". Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "Local Notebook: Falcons take to Elliot Field". Sentinel and Enterprise. August 23, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Fitchburg football celebration ends with five arrests". UPI. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  4. ^ UPI (October 15, 1989). "Fitchburg football celebration ends with five arrests". UPI. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Geoffrey C. Arnold (September 26, 2023). "Taylor Crout, not Hayley Van Voorhis, may have been the first female non-kicker to play in a NCAA game: Report". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  6. ^ "Israel "Izzy" Abraham Named Head Football Coach". April 23, 2024. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ NEFC Timeline
  8. ^ "FB: Panthers ground Fitchburg State". Plymouth State University. October 15, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "HIS OFFENSE MAY BE ANCIENT, BUT DENISON'S PIPER IS STILL YOUNG". Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1991. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Schools, Jim Wilson High. "Coaching change coming at Quabbin". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  14. ^ ALGERI, STEVE (February 6, 2017). "New Woburn football coach resigns abrubtly". Homenewshere.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  15. ^ By (April 2, 1998). "TRANSACTIONS". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Jarvey, Paul. "Fource of one". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  17. ^ "New coach takes command". The Point. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  18. ^ Chris Klingenberg. "College football: New faces set tone at Fitchburg State University". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  19. ^ "Paul McGonagle Named Endicott Football Head Coach". December 4, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ "FSC finds new coach". Sentinel and Enterprise. April 10, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  21. ^ "McGuire out at Fitchburg State". December 1, 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ "Fitchburg State football coach steps down". Sentinel and Enterprise. February 13, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  23. ^ "Sperone Named Head Football Coach at Fitchburg State - WPI Athletics - WPI Athletics". athletics.wpi.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "Fitchburg State coach resigns". October 14, 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ Merino, Nicholas Valdez and Jorge. "Fitchburg State's Scott Sperone Stepping Down from Head Coach Position amidst Verbal Abuse Allegations". The Point. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  26. ^ "Falcons pick Shaw to lead football program". Sentinel and Enterprise. January 9, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  27. ^ "Math Madness a hit with area schools thanks to Worcester State; Defense gives WPI a boost". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  28. ^ "Fitchburg State Announces Departure of Head Football Coach". April 1, 2024.
  29. ^ "Fitchburg State Football All-Time Coaching Records". fitchburgfalcons.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
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