Tulane Green Wave football
The Tulane Green Wave football team represents Tulane University in the sport of American football. The Green Wave compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The football team is coached by Willie Fritz, and plays its home games in Yulman Stadium on its campus in Uptown New Orleans.[4]
| Tulane Green Wave football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1893 |
| Athletic director | Troy Dannen |
| Head coach | Willie Fritz 7th season, 43–45 (.489) |
| Stadium | Yulman Stadium (capacity: 30,000) |
| Year built | 2014 |
| Field surface | UBU Speed Series S5-M[1] |
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| NCAA division | Division I FBS |
| Conference | The American |
| Past conferences | SIAA (1896–1922) SoCon (1922–1932) SEC (1932–1965) Independent (1966-1995) C-USA (1996–2014) |
| All-time record | 553–671–38 (.453) |
| Bowl record | 7–8 (.467) |
| Conference titles | 10 SIAA: 1920[2] SoCon: 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931 SEC: 1934, 1939, 1949 C-USA: 1998 AAC: 2022 |
| Division titles | 1 |
| Rivalries | LSU (rivalry) Southern Miss (rivalry) Auburn (rivalry) Ole Miss (rivalry) |
| Consensus All-Americans | 5 |
| Colors | Olive green and sky blue[3] |
| Fight song | The Olive and the Blue |
| Mascot | Riptide |
| Marching band | Tulane University Marching Band |
| Outfitter | Nike |
| Website | TulaneGreenWave.com |
History
Conference affiliations
Tulane has been both an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences.[5]: 183–210
- Independent (1893–1894)[6]
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1895–1921)[7]
- Southern Conference (1922–1932)[8]
- Southeastern Conference (1933–1965)[9]
- Independent (1966–1995)[10]
- Conference USA (1996–2013)[11]
- American Athletic Conference (2014–present)[12]
Championships
Conference championships
Tulane has won 10 conference football championships in five different conferences. As of 2023, Tulane's three Southeastern Conference titles are more than seven current members of the SEC: Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M, or Vanderbilt.[13]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conf. Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920† | SIAA | Clark Shaughnessy | 6–2–1 | 5–0 |
| 1925† | SoCon | 9–0–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1929 | Bernie Bierman | 9–0 | 6–0 | |
| 1930† | 8–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1931 | 11–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 1934† | SEC | Ted Cox | 10–1 | 8–0 |
| 1939† | Red Dawson | 8–1–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1949 | Henry E. Frnka | 7–2–1 | 5–1 | |
| 1998 | C-USA | Tommy Bowden | 12–0 | 6–0 |
| 2022 | AAC | Willie Fritz | 12–2 | 7–1 |
† Co-championship
Division championships
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018† | AAC West | Willie Fritz | N/A lost tiebreaker to Memphis | |
† Co-championship
Bowl games
Tulane has played in 15 official bowl games, with the Green Wave garnering a record of 7–8. Tulane also played in the Bacardi Bowl in 1909, playing the Havana Athletic Club, losing 11–0. This was not sanctioned by the NCAA, and thus the Green Wave do not recognize the bowl appearance. Notably, Tulane's first bowl win was the inaugural Sugar Bowl, played in their home stadium.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Bernie Bierman | Rose Bowl | USC | L 12–21 |
| 1934 | Ted Cox | Sugar Bowl | Temple | W 20–14 |
| 1939 | Red Dawson | Sugar Bowl | Texas A&M | L 13–14 |
| 1970 | Jim Pittman | Liberty Bowl | Colorado | W 17–3 |
| 1973 | Bennie Ellender | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | Houston | L 7–47 |
| 1979 | Larry Smith | Liberty Bowl | Penn State | L 6–9 |
| 1980 | Vince Gibson | Hall of Fame Classic | Arkansas | L 15–34 |
| 1987 | Mack Brown | Independence Bowl | Washington | L 12–24 |
| 1998 | Chris Scelfo | Liberty Bowl | BYU | W 41–27 |
| 2002 | Chris Scelfo | Hawaii Bowl | Hawaii | W 36–28 |
| 2013 | Curtis Johnson | New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana–Lafayette | L 21–24 |
| 2018 | Willie Fritz | Cure Bowl | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 41–24 |
| 2019 | Willie Fritz | Armed Forces Bowl | Southern Miss | W 30–13 |
| 2020 | Willie Fritz | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Nevada | L 27–38 |
| 2022 | Willie Fritz | Cotton Bowl | USC | W 46–45 |
Head coaches
The team has had 39 head coaches and 1 interim head coach since Tulane began playing football in 1893. 13 coaches have led the program to postseason bowl games: R. R. Brown, Bernie Bierman, Ted Cox, Red Dawson, Jim Pittman, Bennie Ellender, Larry Smith, Vince Gibson, Mack Brown, Tommy Bowden, Chris Scelfo, Curtis Johnson, and Willie Fritz. While Tommy Bowden led the 1998 team to a perfect 11–0 regular season and the 1998 Liberty Bowl, Chris Scelfo coached the team during that game.[14] Seven coaches have led the team to conference championships: Clark Shaughnessy (1 SIAA and 1 SoCon), Bernie Bierman (3 SoCon), Ted Cox (1 SEC), Red Dawson (1 SEC), Henry E. Frnka (1 SEC), Tommy Bowden (1 C-USA), and Willie Fritz (1 AAC).
Clark Shaughnessy and Chris Scelfo are tied as the all-time leaders in games coached at Tulane with 94 each. Clark Shaughnessy is the all-time leader in years coached (11) and total wins (59). The current head coach, Willie Fritz, has the second-most program wins (43) of all time.
Home stadium
The Green Wave have played their home games in Yulman Stadium on its Uptown campus since 2014. Prior to that season, Tulane played home games in the Louisiana Superdome for nearly 40 seasons, and in its previous on-campus venue, the third Tulane Stadium, before that. The Green Wave have also played at the second Tulane Stadium, first Tulane Stadium, Athletic Park and Crescent City Base Ball Park.[15]
Because Tulane's campus is landlocked within Uptown New Orleans, Yulman is tightly fit within its athletic footprint and directly abutting the surrounding neighborhood. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators and was constructed with the ability to expand.[16][17]
Rivalries
LSU
Tulane's biggest and oldest rival was LSU. It began in 1893 with a 34–0 Green Wave victory over the Tigers. The teams stopped meeting every year in the Battle for the Rag in 2009. The rivalry became less competitive after 1948, until Tulane broke a 25-game non-winning streak in 1973 with a 14–0 victory in front of a Tulane Stadium record crowd of 86,598 in the final installment of the long-time rivalry played on Tulane's campus. Between 1979 and 1982, Tulane won three out of four games against the Tigers; the 1982 win was the last win to date. The two schools stopped playing annually after the 1994 game; however, they have met six times (1996, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009) since. As a condition of the broken series agreement made in 2006, a potential future game will be played in a future season in New Orleans.[18] LSU leads the series 69–23–7 through the 2019 season.[19]
Southern Miss
Known as the Battle for the Bell, Tulane's rivalry with Southern Miss was played yearly from 1979 until 2006 and alternates sites between New Orleans and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. As a result of Conference USA splitting into East and West divisions in 2005, the game was played two out of every four years.[20] The rivalry was put on hold as a result of Tulane's move to The American Athletic Conference in 2014, but in 2017 the schools announced new games slated for 2022, 2023, 2026, and 2027.[21] Southern Miss leads the series 24–9 through the 2022 season.[19]
Auburn
Tulane leads the series with Auburn 17–15–6 through the 2019 season.[22]
Ole Miss
Ole Miss leads the series 42–28 through the 2018 season.[23]
Culture
Marching band
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) was founded in 1920 as a military band. It dissolved shortly after the team's move to the Superdome in the 1970s and did not formally return until 2006.[24] The TUMB performs at home games each fall and in Mardi Gras parades each spring.
Mascot
Riptide the Pelican debuted in 1998 with the re-branding of Tulane athletics. Prior to that, the school used an angry wave nicknamed "Gumby" by fans, and before that a John Chase creation named "Greenie."[24]
Individual honors
All-Americans
Tulane has had 19 players named to first-team All-America teams. Of those 19, five were consensus selections, with one being a unanimous selection.[25]
All-time record vs. AAC teams
Records current as of January 2, 2023 [26]
|
Future opponents
Non-conference
Announced schedules as of January 12, 2023.[27][28]
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | Southeastern Louisiana | Northwestern | at Duke | Louisiana-Lafayette | at Iowa State | Iowa State | at Mississippi State | Mississippi State | |
| Ole Miss | Kansas State | at South Alabama | South Alabama | at Southern Miss | |||||
| at Southern Miss | at Oklahoma | Duke | at Kansas State | at Wake Forest | |||||
| at Louisiana-Lafayette | at Ole Miss | Southern Miss |
See also
References
- ^ "Tulane University Football Making Waves for 2014 Season". PR.com. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ "SIAA Conference Champions". CFDataWarehouse.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ 2019 Tulane Athletics Art Sheet (PDF). October 10, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ Tammy Nunez (December 8, 2011). "Tulane plans to build a 30,000-plus seat on-campus football stadium". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
- ^ "2018 Media Guide" (PDF). tulanegreenwave.com. Tulane Athletics.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu. Issuu.inc. p. 124. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu. Issuu.inc. p. 124. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu. Issuu.inc. p. 124. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu.inc. pp. 124–125. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu.inc. p. 125. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu.inc. p. 125. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Tulane Football Media Guide" (pdf). Issuu.inc. p. 125. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "Football SEC Champions". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ . Tulane University Athletics. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ "The History of Tulane Stadium(s)". bestofneworleans.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
- ^ "Tulane University Yulman Stadium". Woodward Design+Build. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ Christopher Dabe (September 4, 2014). "High demand for Tulane football tickets could lead to Yulman expansion, AD Rick Dickson says". nola.com. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ "LSU, Tulane in discussions to play each other in football in 2013". nola.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ a b "Winsipedia - Tulane Green Wave vs. LSU Tigers football series history".
- ^ Richie Weaver (2010-11-05). "Football to "Battle for the Bell" Saturday vs. C-USA Rivals Southern Miss". TulaneGreenWave.com. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
- ^ "Football Announces Four-Game Series with Southern Miss". TulaneGreenWave.com. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
- ^ "Winsipedia - Tulane Green Wave vs. Auburn Tigers football series history".
- ^ "Winsipedia - Tulane Green Wave vs. Ole Miss Rebels football series history".
- ^ a b "Tulane University Traditions". Tulane.edu. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
- ^ "Tulane Green Wave All-America Selections". Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "Tulane Green Wave football all-time record, wins, and statistics". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ "Tulane Green Wave Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 1 Nov 2022.
- ^ "Fritz: Nicholls to round out 2023 Tulane football schedule". crescentcitysports.com. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 12 Jan 2023.
External links
- Official website