The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football program is 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

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina ( Southern Baptist Convention). It was founded as Boi ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Big South Conference. Gardner–Webb's first football team was fielded in 1970. The team plays its home games at the 9,000-seat Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in

Boiling Springs, North Carolina Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States and is located in the westernmost part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, located approximately 50 miles away from the city. As of the 2010 census, the town's popula ...

. The Runnin' Bulldogs are coached by

Tre Lamb Tre’ Lamb (born September 16, 1989) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Gardner–Webb University. He previously served as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech and Mercer. Lamb played a role in the ...

History

Classifications

*1970–1992: NAIA Division I *1991–1999: NCAA Division II *2000–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference affiliations

* Independent (1946–1951) * NAIA Independent (1952–1974) *

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

(1975–1999) * NCAA Division II Independent (1999–2001) * Big South Conference (2002–present)

Conference championships

Playoff results

NAIA

The Runnin' Bulldogs appeared in the NAIA playoffs two times, with an overall record of 3–2.

Division I FCS

The Runnin' Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs one time, with an overall record of 1–1.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: *

Jim Garrison James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his investigat ...

- American football head coach * Bobby Hopkins - American football player and world champion arm-wrestler, Tampa Bay Bandits (1983) *

Gabe Wilkins Gabriel Nicholas Wilkins (born January 9, 1971) is a former American Football defensive end who played for the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers in a six-year career that lasted from 1994 to 1999 in the National Football League. Early ...

- DT, Green Bay Packers (1994–1997), San Francisco 49ers (1998–1999) Cole Proctor (NFL Scout with Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals)

Future non-conference opponents

Future non-conference opponents announced as of January 19, 2023.

References

External links

* American football teams established in 1970 1970 establishments in North Carolina {{Americanfootball-team-stub