The Cumberland Phoenix football team represents

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The league is headquartered in Lou ...

. The Phoenix formerly competed in the

TranSouth Athletic Conference The TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC) was a college athletic conference for smaller colleges and universities located in the Southern United States. It was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compe ...

and

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

History

Cumberland football began on October 26, 1894 with a 6–6 tie with Peabody and finished that first year with a 2–1–1 season record. The early days of Cumberland football were very promising. The 1901 team played three games, with one recorded loss, but the following year, the 1902 team had a 3-5 record, with a victory over Mississippi A&M (now Mississippi State University). The pinnacle of the early days of CU football was the 1903 team. The season that began with a (6–0) win over Vanderbilt then a (0–6) loss to

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

and continued with a five-day road trip with victories over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(44–0) November 14, 1903,

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

(41–0) November 16, 1903, and

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

(28–0) November 18, 1903. Cumberland would play a postseason game against Coach

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

's Clemson team on Thanksgiving Day that ended in an 11–11 tie and a record of 4–1–1 which gave Coach

A. L. Phillips A. L. Phillips was an American college football player and coach. He played football as a halfback at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania and was captain of the 1900 Washington & Jefferson football team before graduating i ...

and Cumberland University the Championship of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The 1904 team went 3-1, a victory over Mississippi A&M (now Mississippi State University). The 1905 team had a 3-4 record, with victories over Georgia and Ole Miss. The 1916 game against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

is famous as the most lopsided-scoring game in the history of college football; Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland by a score of 222–0.Makes a Record Score
. ''The Washington Post''. October 8, 1916. p. S3. In 2001,

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

Gamecocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

placekicker Ashley Martin became the first woman to play and score in an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

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 ...

game when she kicked an

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

in the first quarter of a game against

. For the 2008 season, CU's football earned a share of the Mid-South Conference West Division. In 2016, the team changed its name from Bulldogs to the Phoenix.

Conference championships

Notable individual achievements

Cumberland Athletics Hall of Fame *

Joe Black Hayes Joe Black Hayes Sr. (September 20, 1915 − December 9, 2013) was an American football player and coach. Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Hayes played for the Tennessee Volunteers football, Tennessee Volunteers. Hayes was an assistant under Cha ...

Garland Morrow Garland Augustus "Gus" Morrow (February 14, 1899 – November 4, 1987) was an American college football and college basketball player and coach. Vanderbilt "Gus" played both sports for Vanderbilt University, including football under Dan McGugin. ...

Thug Murray Roger Goodman "Thug" Murray (May 8, 1898 – August, 1979) was an American college football player and coach. Naval Academy Murray played on Navy teams which beat Army twice. ''The New York Times'' wrote of Murray's play in the 1920 game, praisin ...

* Red Smith All-Southerns *1903: J. C. Anderson, halfback *1903:

Marvin O. Bridges Marvin Orestus Bridges (April 1, 1878 – January 13, 1962) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and football coach. He served in the Spanish-American War, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Cumberland Marvin B ...

, guard *1903: Red Smith, center *1904:

Willard Steele Willard Hugo Steele (December 11, 1884 – May 1, 1970) was a college football player and physician. He specialized in diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and throat. His wife was Kate Adelle Hinds. Early years Willard Steele was born on December ...

, halfback *1905: Red Smith, center

References

External links

* {{Mid-South Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1894 1894 establishments in Tennessee