The Howard Bison football team represents

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision 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 ...

(FCS) level as a member of the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

(MEAC).

History

;First FBS Victory On September 2, 2017, Howard football reached a milestone by defeating their first FBS opponent in program history. The Bison defeated the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confe ...

43–40 in

Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the h ...

. As of September 2017, Howard's victory against UNLV is the biggest point-spread upset in college football history, with UNLV being a 45.5 point favorite.

Classifications

*1937–1972: NCAA College Division *1973–1977: NCAA Division II *1978–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

*1893–1911: Independent *1912–1970:

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black co ...

*1971–present:

Championships

National championships

Conference championships

See Note A

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Bison have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.

College Football Hall of Fame members

* Willie Jeffries *

Doug Porter Douglas T. Porter (born August 15, 1929) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (1961–1965), Howard University (1974–1978), and Fort Valley S ...

Alumni in the NFL

Over 20 Howard alumni have played in the NFL, including: * Ron Bartell * Antoine Bethea * Marques Douglas *

Omar Evans Omar Evans (born September 1, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a former Canadian Football League defensive back who has played for the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Achievemen ...

Derrick Faison Derrick Faison (August 24, 1967 June 27, 2004) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for one season for the Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the L ...

Rupert Grant Rupert Grant (born November 5, 1973 in Washington, D.C., United States ) is a former Arena Football League fullback/linebacker most recently with the now defunct Nashville Kats. His nickname is "Dogghead". During his time in the AFL, Grant h ...

Gary Harrell Gary Lamar Harrell, affectionately known as "The Flea," (born January 23, 1972) is an American college football coach and former professional gridiron football player. He is currently the assistant head coach and running backs coach at the Unive ...

John Javis John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

* Billy Jenkins *

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, t ...

* Troy Kyles * Greg Pope * Herman Redden *

Robert Sowell Robert Donnell Sowell, Jr. (June 23, 1961 – June 22, 2015) was a professional American football player who played defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side o ...

Leonard Stephens Leonard Stephens (born July 9, 1978) is a former American football tight end. He played high school football at West Windsor Plainsboro High School in Princeton Junction, New Jersey and college football at Howard University. He was signed by ...

* Brandon Torrey * Sean Vanhorse * Jay Walker * Tim Watson * David Westbrook *

Jose White Jose Cornelius White (March 2, 1973 – October 2019) was an American football defensive tackle who played two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of ...

Tracy White Tracy Donnel White (born April 14, 1981) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Howard Bison football, Howard. White has also been a memb ...

* Gary Willingham *

Marques Ogden Marques Ogden (born November 15, 1980) is a former American football offensive tackle and center. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He had stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills, and ...

* Steve Wilson

Rivals

Howard's top rival is

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...

. The two schools call their intense rivalry '' Battle of "The Real HU"''. Howard also has a strong rivalry with

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

in the

Howard–Morgan State football rivalry The rivalry between the Howard Bison The Howard Bison and Lady Bison are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Howard University, located in Washington, D.C. The Bison compete in Division I ...

. Another of Howard's historic rivals is

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, more popularly known as the ''Howard/"Spel-House"'' rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCU

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman rece ...

. This rivalry is not often played because Morehouse is a Division II athletic program, while Howard is Division I. A new rivalry has developed between Howard and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. The two schools compete in a contest called The DC Cup. Currently, Georgetown holds a 2–1 series lead in the contest.

Notes

:A.Howard went 9–1 and won the MEAC championship in 1987, however a later investigation by Howard University and MEAC found that coach Willie Jeffries used ineligible players. All wins from the 1987 season were vacated and the MEAC Championship was transferred to Delaware State, who had been the runner-up. :B.Rayford Petty was an assistant coach under Gary Harrell in 2011 and 2012. Gary Harrell stepped away from coaching Howard for the 2013 season for personal reasons, but remained under contract as the head coach to return in 2014. Rayford Petty was promoted to head coach for the 2013 season only, in a temporary role.

References

External links

* {{Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1893 1893 establishments in Washington, D.C.