The Canisius Golden Griffins football program were the intercollegiate

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team for Canisius College located in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. The team competed in the

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 ...

and were members of the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...

. The school's first football team was fielded in 1918. Canisius participated in football from 1918 to 1949, and again from 1975 to 2002, compiling an all-time record of 241–251–26. At the conclusion of the 2002 season, the Canisius football program was discontinued, along with seven other school athletic programs, as part of an effort to overhaul and streamline the school's athletic department.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: *

Tommy Colella Thomas Anthony Colella (July 3, 1918May 15, 1992) was an American football halfback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) and All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Rams, Cleveland Browns and Buffa ...

: Defensive back,

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 ...

1942–43,

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...

1944–45,

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 ( ...

1946–48,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

1949 * Ed Doyle: Offensive lineman,

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

1927 * Dick Poillon: Halfback,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

1942, 1946–49 *

Richard Nurse Richard Nurse (born March 13, 1966) is a Canadian former wide receiver who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the third round of the 1990 CFL Draft. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Nurse wa ...

: Wide receiver

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

1990-95

Year-by-year results

Championships

Conference championships

Conference affiliations: *1918–25,

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 ...

*1926–49,

Western New York Little Three Conference {{Location map+ , New York , caption = Locations in New York , width = 295 , places = {{Location map~ , New York , label = Canisius College , position = right , mark = Gold pog.svg , marksize = 7 , link = Can ...

*1950–66, No team *1967–72,

*1973–92, Division III Independent *1993–2002,

Bowl game appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canisius Golden Griffins Football American football teams established in 1918 American football teams disestablished in 2002 1918 establishments in New York (state) 2002 establishments in New York (state)