The Lindenwood Lions football team represents

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Lindenwood is a member of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

(OVC). The Lions were provisional members of the

NCAA Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

for the 2022 season before becoming an active member during the 2023–2024 academic year. Lindenwood was previously a member of the NAIA and played in the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) from 1996 to 2010. The Lions play in

Harlen C. Hunter Stadium Harlen C. Hunter Stadium, or Hunter Stadium, is an outdoor 7,450-seat multi-purpose stadium located in St. Charles, Missouri located on the campus of Lindenwood University. It is the home for Lindenwood Lions football, men's and women's soccer ...

on the campus of Lindenwood University in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

, which has a seating capacity of 7,450.

History

Early history and NAIA years

Lindenwood University football began in 1990 under head coach David Schroeder. LU competed as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for the first four seasons. The program's first win came in the first ever football for the university on September 8, 1990 when the Lions defeated

Dana College Dana College was a private college in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre (607,000 m²) campus is approximately 26 miles (40 km) northwest of Omaha and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley. The campus was planned to be purchase ...

. The Lions finished the inaugural season with a record of 6–4. Despite a 3–5–0 start to the first half of the 1991 season, a program highlight came on October 12, 1991 when Lindenwood tied 17–17 on the road in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

with

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

Alabama-Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

before the UAB program upgraded to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

. Following that game, the Lions lost the following game to

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

but finished the season with a three-game win streak to finish the season 5–4–1. During the next several years of the football program, bright spots began to emerge, a couple of the original players from the first team ever at the school were named to the All American team. Hoyt Gregory made all American in 1992 and two players from the original football class Steve Pinkerton and Jim Paddock were signed and drafted into professional football. This gave the program the status that it could recruit and maintain top level athletes.

Jeff Driskill Jeff Driskill is a former American football coach. He served as the second head football coach at Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mar ...

became the second coach in program history in 1992. In 1994 Lindenwood became one of the founding members of the

Mid-States Football Association The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition b ...

along with five schools from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. After three 2-win seasons

Dan Kratzer Daniel Leon Kratzer (born July 7, 1949) is a former American football player and coach. Kratzer served as the head football coach at Ohio Northern (1984–1985), Hastings (1990–1994), Lindenwood (1995–2000), and South Dakota Mines (2005–20 ...

took over the program and lead the Lions to a 4–7–0 season in 1995. In 1996 the program became a member of the

. The Lions recorded back-to-back 4–6–0 seasons in 1996 and 1997. In 1998 the program saw drastic improvement when Kratzer lead the lions to an 8–2–0 regular season. Including a 34–33 win against

NCAA Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

. The win marked the first and only win over an NCAA DI-AA opponent, as LU lost 16–27 to Butler in 1997 and 6–27 to

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

in 2002. The 1996 also marked the first time Lindenwood football received a bid to the NAIA Playoffs before losing in the first round 10–12 to Southwestern College. In 2000 Kratzer lead the Lions to their first of two

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

appearances, when the Lions received a bid to the

Wheat Bowl The Wheat Bowl was the only National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics endorsed pre-season bowl game that operated from 1995 until 2006. The Wheat Bowl Football Classic was headquartered in the Central Kansas town of Ellinwood and was play ...

– NAIA Kickoff Classic against Concordia University (Nebraska). Rick Gorzynski became the fourth coach in program history in 2001 and after three sub .500 season in which the Lions recorded two 3–8–0 seasons and a 1–10–0 season,

Patrick Ross Patrick Ross is an American football coach. He is the head football coach for Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, a position he has held since 2022. Ross served as the head football coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas from 2002 to 2003 ...

became the fifth football coach in Lindenwood history. Ross quickly turned the program around from a 3–8–0 season in 2003 to an 11–1–0 season in his first as LU head coach in 2004. The Lions also won their first HAAC Championship after an 11–0–0 regular season, the only loss, a 19–20 loss in the opening round of the NAIA Playoffs to

Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Ha ...

Under Ross the Lions recorded their first playoff win in program history in the 2008 when the Lions defeated

Lambuth University Lambuth University was a private Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee. It was active from 1843 to 2011 and was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The university began as the Memphis Conference Female ...

65–48. That same season Lindenwood advanced to the NAIA Semifinal Game with a quarterfinal 34–31 win over

Morningside College Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

. Lindenwood would eventually be defeated by the defending NAIA national champions

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

in the semifinal game 37–38. In 2009, Ross lead to become the HAAC Champions for the third-straight season. The Lions entered the 2009 NAIA Playoffs and won 42–14 over

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state. Though located in a rural setting east of Guthrie, Langston also serves an urban missio ...

. In the second round game Lindenwood defeated Ottawa University (KS) to reach the semifinal game where LU again faced Carroll College. Lindenwood defeated the Carroll Fighting Saints 42–35 to reach the

NAIA Football National Championship The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football National Championship is decided by a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA college football teams in the United States. Under sponsorship of the National Associa ...

for the team's first and only appearance. LU became the NAIA national runner-up in 2009 after a 22–25 loss to

University of Sioux Falls The University of Sioux Falls (USF) is a private BaptistChristian university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. In fall 2014, the university enrolled a total of 1,142 undergraduate students and ...

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

and came into the 2010 season ranked #2 in the nation in 2010 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Spring Poll. In June 2010 LU applied to join the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA), as part of the conference's expansion from 12 to 16 members for 2012. Lindenwood was approved for membership into the MIAA on September 24, 2010 with the affiliation taking place in 2012–2013 school year. Under Ross the Lions set a school offensive record with a 90–19 week 7 win over Culver-Stockton. Lindenwood also moved from fifth to first in average offensive points in all of college football with a 56.5 scoring average. In the NAIA, Saint Xavier ranked second with 52.6 and the only NCAA program scoring over 50 is

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

with 54.3. In that win Lindenwood set school offensive records with 721 yards of total offense, second in program history, record 376 rushing yards, and record 8 rushing touchdowns. Despite only losing one close game in the regular season to

MidAmerica Nazarene University MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a private Nazarene (evangelical Christian) university in Olathe, Kansas in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It was established in 1966. History Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC) was founded in 1966. ...

20–26 on September 25, 2010, Lindenwood Football suffered a 38–46 loss at home in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series to the University of Saint Francis. LU finished the 2010 season 9–2 overall, ranked 1st in scoring with an average of 52.5 points per game and 1st in total offensive yards with an average of 551.5 yards per game. Senior quarterback Philip Staback finished the season ranked 1st in pass efficiency and total passing yards per game.

Recent history, move to the NCAA

As part of the transition to Division II, the 2010 schedule would be the last NAIA schedule played by Lions Football, as it was announced the Lions will play an independent schedule of NCAA Division I FCS, Division II, and NAIA schools. Lindenwood opened the 2011 on the road at

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

when kicker, James Neal kicked a 21-yard fieldgoal as time expired to win the game. The win was the programs first over a Division I football team since Lindenwood defeated NCAA Division 1AA (Now FCS)

34–33 in 1998. The team then returned the 2011 home opener that saw the Lions beat former conference and NAIA rival, Graceland 67–10. The win marked the ninth straight home opener win and improved the program to a 16–6 all-time record on home openers. In the third game of the season, saw Lindenwood play against its first Division II opponent; in which the Lions defeated Saint Joseph's (IN) 55–14. After back-to-back losses, including 21st ranked Division I FCS

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, Lindenwood rebounded with four straight wins. The winning streak was the longest of the season and included a 41–35 win over perennial Division II power, Texas A&M–Kingsville. The team finished the season splitting wins against two future MIAA rivals, when the team lost to

Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

28–47 in the final home contest of the season; followed by a 48–14 win on the road to end the season at

Central Oklahoma Central Oklahoma is the geographical name for the central region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is also known by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism designation, Frontier Country, defined as the twelve-county region including Canadian, Grady, ...

Lindenwood played its first full NCAA Division II and MIAA schedule during the 2012 season. The Lions defeated Lincoln University 49–28 in its MIAA debut and followed with a 35–14 home-opening win in week two against Southwest Baptist. The team lost to

, but followed the loss with a three game win streak that included a come-from-behind win versus non-conference opponent, Glenville State. The Lions then lost back-to-back games to ranked opponents,

Emporia State Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

and

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

. Senior Day versus Missouri Southern marked a big turning point in the season for the Lions. Down 14–0 early, Lindenwood rallied with 31 unanswered points to take a 31–14 lead. Missouri Southern State scored late in the half but Lindenwood continued to pull away in the second half, adding 14 points while holding MSSU to just 9 in the second half. The 45–30 win snapped the team's losing streak but the win was not without a big loss. Late in the game, Lindenwood freshman cornerback Sterling Thomas suffered a severe spinal cord injury. The team rallied around Thomas' injury and finished the regular season with back-to-back wins, including a 44–33 win against the defending national champion, Pittsburg State. The Lions finished the regular season with an 8–3 overall record and 7–3 conference record. The team ranked fourth in the conference after being selected 8th in the preseason polls. With the top-four finish, the Lions were selected to play in the

Mineral Water Bowl The Mineral Water Bowl is an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game between teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and an at large opponent hosted in Excelsior Springs, Missouri at Tiger Stadium. History ...

to play Winona State. In the team's first NCAA bowl game, the Lions kept the game close through the first quarter and a half but WSU scored 24 unanswered points to stretch their lead. Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hand Lindenwood its fourth loss of the season and bring the Lions overall record to 8–4.

Conference affiliations

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:24 Period = from:1990 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:0 left:0 bottom:50 top:0 Colors = id:barcolor value:black id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:NAIA value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) id:MSFA value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) id:HAAC value:rgb(0.10,0.80,0.00) id:NCAA value:rgb(0.78,0.391,0.654) id:MIAA value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) id:GLVC value:rgb(0.10,0.75,0.00) id:OVC value:rgb(0.98,0.3,0.445) PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(3,-5) anchor:from fontsize:M bar:1 color:NAIA from:1990 till:1994 text: NAIA Independent bar:2 color:MSFA from:1994 till:1996 text:

bar:3 color:HAAC from:1996 till:2011 text:

bar:4 color:NCAA from:2011 till:2012 text: NCAA Division II Independent bar:5 color:MIAA from:2012 till:2019 text: Mid-America bar:6 color:GLVC from:2019 till:2022 text: GLVC bar:7 color:OVC from:2022 till:end text:

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:1990 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(300,25) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Lindenwood Conference membership history"

Coaches

The current head football coach at Lindenwood is

Jed Stugart Jed Lance Stugart (born March 4, 1970) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, a position he assumed after the 2016 season. Prior to that, ...

, who was hired on December 5, 2016.

, Lindenwood's 15th head coach, held the position from 2004 to 2016. The program began in 1990 under David Schroeder and has accumulated an overall record of 134 wins, 121 losses, and 2 ties.(as of conclusion of the 2012 season)

Coaching records

Championships

Conference championships

Lindenwood has won a conference championship three times. As of 2015, all in the

Playoff appearances

NAIA

The Lions made six appearances in the NAIA playoffs, with a combined record of 5–6.

NCAA Division II

The Lions have made two appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 1–2.

Bowl games

Lindenwood has participated in three

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s with an overall record of 0 wins and 3 losses. In 2000, the Lions went to the first bowl game in school history, the

, against Concordia University (Nebraska) and lost 14–31. 2006 saw Lindenwood return to the Wheat Bowl, this time against

Northwestern Oklahoma State University Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) is a public university in Alva, Oklahoma, with satellite campuses in Enid, Oklahoma, Enid and Woodward, Oklahoma, Woodward. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. History In 1897, a normal ...

. NWOSU defeated the Lions in a close game 14–13. Most recently, the Lions were defeated 41–21 by Winona State in the 2012

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 17, 2023.

Notable players

All-Americans

Eight players have garnered All-American honors: *

DeDe Dorsey DeDe Dorsey (born August 1, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Lindenwood University#Athletic Teams, Lindenwood. Dorsey was a ...

(2005) * Connor Harris (2014, 2015, 2016)

NFL alumni

– NFL running back for the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...

of the United Football League, previously with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. *

Brian Schaefering Brian Schaefering (born August 20, 1983) is a former American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Lindenwood Lions and for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Early years Scha ...

– NFL defensive end for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. *

Pierre Desir Pierre Desir ( ; born September 8, 1990) is a Haitian American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Lindenwood and Washburn, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He ...

– NFL cornerback for the Cleveland Browns * Connor Harris Linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals *

Jonathan Harris Jonathan Harris (born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin, November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles we ...

Defensive Lineman for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Former players as coaches

* David Beaty, wide receiver from 1990 to 1993, former head

coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

References

External links

* {{Ohio Valley Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1990 1990 establishments in Missouri