The Slippery Rock football program, nicknamed The Rock, represents

Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...

Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Slippery Rock is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The population was 3,081 at the 2020 census. Slippery Rock is included in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. It is home to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, attended by nearly 9,000 ...

in the sport of

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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

. Slippery Rock competes in the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

which is a part of

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 ...

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 ...

. They play their home games at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, a 10,000-seat capacity stadium named after Rock coaches N. Kerr Thompson and George Mihalik.

History

Slippery Rock's inaugural football season was in 1898. During their first season, the team compiled a 1–0 record, beating New Castle High School. Slippery Rock did not hire a head coach until the 1906 season, when John B. Price became the first coach in Slippery Rock football history. Over the course of 112 seasons of football, (no season in 1943–44 because of WWII) Slippery Rock has compiled a total record of 527–354–38. The team has captured 9 PSAC Championships: 1939, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1997 (PSAC-W), 1998 (PSAC-W), 1999 (PSAC-W), 2000 (PSAC-W), 2011 (PSAC-W); as well as 6 state championships: 1924, 1939, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1974. Slippery Rock has had two undefeated seasons, 1924 finishing 9–0 and 1938 ending 8–0. In 1958, Slippery Rock played in its first bowl game, the Beaver Bowl where they defeated the Edinboro Fighting Scots 6–0. Slippery Rock has played in two bowl games since. The 1963 All-Sports Bowl, where they were defeated by Northeast Oklahoma St. 59–12. The most recent bowl game was the 1972

Knute Rockne Bowl The Knute Rockne Bowl (named after football coach Knute Rockne) was played as the NCAA College Division East Regional championship from 1969 to 1972, one of four national quarterfinals. After an absence of three seasons, it was a Division II natio ...

losing 27–26 to Bridgeport. Slippery Rock has played in 7 total playoff games and has compiled a record of 3–4.

Playoffs

NCAA Division II

Slippery Rock have made ten appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 10–10.

NCAA Division III

Slippery Rock have made one appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 0–1.

Bowl games

Head coaches

John B. Price – 1906–07. 3–2–2 record, .571 winning percentage.

Harry Snyder Harry Snyder (September 9, 1913 – December 14, 1976) was a Canadian-born businessman. He founded In-N-Out Burger along with his wife Esther Snyder. Snyder was one of the first people to develop the idea of a drive-through hamburger restaurant, ...

– 1908–09, 1911–13. 18–8–3 record, .679 winning percentage. Became athletic director a few years later. Emil Miller – 1910. 5–3–0 record, .625 winning percentage. Arthur Gaut – 1914–17. 16–10–3 record, .603 winning percentage. Loyal S. Marshall – 1918–19. 3–7–0 record, .300 winning percentage. N. Kerr Thompson – 1920–42, 1945. 126–58–22 record, .674 winning percentage. Led Slippery Rock to 12 Division championships and 8 state championships. Led four of the five unbeaten seasons at the school for football. Also coached basketball and baseball while at Slippery Rock. William "Pop" Storer – 1946–52. 30–22–4 record, .571 winning percentage. Chester Stackhouse – 1953–54. 5–10–1 record, .344 winning percentage. William Meise – 1955–58. 12–17–1 record, .471 winning percentage. Also Track assistant coach at Slippery Rock. Charles Godlasky – 1959–64. 31–19–4 record, .611 winning percentage. Took Slippery Rock to three PSAC-Western Division championship, and state championship in 1962. His team also played in the 1963 All-Sports Bowl. Jack Olcutt – 1965–66. 7–11–2 record, .400 winning percentage. Bob Dispirito – 1967–80, 1987. 79–60–3 record, .567 winning percentage. Coached Slippery Rock to three straight PSAC championships from 1972–74. Earned 2 bowl appearances for Slippery Rock, and led them to the first trip into Michigan stadium. Fred Goldsmith – 1981. 2–7–0 record, .222 winning percentage. Led Slippery Rock team in second trip to

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

, losing 14–13 to

Wayne State Warriors The Wayne State Warriors are the athletic teams that represent Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Warriors compete as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athle ...

. Don Ault – 1982–86. 27–23–0 record, .540 winning percentage. In his first season at Slippery Rock, he was named Coach of the Year by the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

''. George Mihalik – 1988 – 2015. 185–109–4 record, .628 winning percentage. Mihalik has the highest wins in school history, and is among the most successful. He has also led Slippery Rock to 12 straight winning seasons at one point during his tenure. He is part of an elite group of college football head coaches in the nation to own a doctorate degree. Shawn Lutz – 2016 – Present.

Facilities

The Pride play their games at N. Kerr Thompson-Mihalik Stadium on Dispirito Field. The stadium name, however, has been changed starting with the 2011 season to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, in honor of then-current head coach George Mihalik. It is one of few college football stadiums where stadium was named in honor of the then-current head coach. The stadium name is also in honor of N. Kerr Thompson, who was one of the most successful coaches in Slippery Rock history. Dispirito Field was named for former head coach Bob Dispirito who also was a successful coach in Slippery Rock history.

Traditions

"The Rock", located just outside the East endzone of the stadium, was donated by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1995. Players rub the rock every time they take the field prior to each home game. Announcing the Slippery Rock score has been a tradition at

University of Michigan football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

games since 1959, begun by

announcer Steve Filipiak. Slippery Rock's scores have also been announced at the games of many other major schools, including

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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 ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Michigan is the only school that still continues this tradition. Such is Slippery Rock's popularity in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

that The Rock has played three times at massive

. First, in front of a Division II-record 61,143 fans, Slippery Rock lost to

Shippensburg University Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania. ...

, 45–14, in 1979. Two years later, over 35,000 were in attendance in 1981 when the Rock took on the

, with Wayne State winning, 14–13. Slippery Rock returned to Michigan Stadium in 2014, against

Mercyhurst University (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administrat ...

, losing again, this time by a 45–23 score. (15,121 were in their seats for this one—tiny by Michigan standards but still the largest crowd to watch a

game that season.)

Alumni

Greg Hopkins –

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

wide receiver/linebacker,

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

, was a four year letterman and was a three time All American honoree. Along with being a three time all PSAC selection, he set nine separate school records and had 215 receptions for 3,382 yards. Matt Kinsinger –

fullback/linebacker for the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

. At Slippery Rock, Kinsinger was a defensive lineman and was named Football Gazette All-American.

Brandon Fusco Brandon Fusco (born July 26, 1988) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 172nd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Slippery Rock University of Pe ...

– Drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the 6th round. Played center while at Slippery Rock. Became first player in school history to compete in

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. Ricky Porter – Drafted by 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 ...

in the 12th round, 319th overall in 1982. Chuck Sanders – Drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the 11th round, 293rd overall in 1986. Greg Paterra – Drafted by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the 11th round, 286th overall in 1989.

Mike Butterworth John Michael Butterworth (10 January 1924 – 4 October 1986) was a British comic book writer, best known for his comic strip '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies ''Ranger'' and ''Look and Learn''. Life Butt ...

– 2008

Free Agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

David Flick –

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

John Sikora –

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://rockathletics.com/sports/football