The Southwestern Pirates football team represented

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 ...

(NCAA) intercollegiate football competition from 1908 to 1950. After a brief period of prominence during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the school disbanded its football program in April 1951 because of budgetary constraints. On October 28, 2011, The Southwestern University board of trustees voted to reinstate the program. The Pirates football team resumed play in the Fall of 2013 as part of the

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 III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel distanc ...

.Southwestern University Announces Plans to Reinstate Football Program
Southwestern University, retrieved October 28, 2011 In 2016, the final year that the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference sponsored football, the Pirates posted a perfect 6–0 record in becoming undefeated conference champions. As a part of the championship the Pirates swept the conference's major post-season awards, including: Justin Broussard (defensive player of the year), Matt Gillen (co-offensive player of the year), Nik Kelly (special teams player of the year), Luke Fierst (newcomer of the year) and Joe Austin (coach of the year).

History

Records show that football was played at Southwestern University as early as 1895, but the school's first officially recognized team was not formed until 1908.The establishment of Southwestern University
, ''Community Impact'' (Georgetown, TX), June 13, 2008. They were charter members of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association along with Austin College and Trinity in 1908, and of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

in 1914. They then left the Southwest Conference prior to the 1918, but continued to compete within the TIAA until 1925, when the departure of Rice caused the TIAA to split. At that point, Southwestern helped form the Texas Conference along with

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Howard Payne University, Simmons University (now Hardin–Simmons University), and Trinity University. Southwestern would remain in the Texas Conference until its football program was disbanded on April 27, 1951. Prior to the 1940s, Southwestern was considered a "small time" football program, and only received national media attention about once yearly, whenever it faced a major college team.Small Schools Top Southwest Football
''The Daily Times'', October 21, 1943. During the

, however, Southwestern became a formidable football power because of its sponsorship of a

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

, which was gained through the actions of then Texas Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson. The Navy program gave it a pool of experienced and skilled players, which was a competitive advantage over other teams that fielded men too young or physically unfit for military service.Southwestern Rated High
''Eugene Register-Guard'', October 5, 1943. In 1943, Southwestern's team boasted seven former starters from

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 ...

and varsity players formerly with Baylor. Despite the influx of stars, Southwestern still had to contend with players leaving midseason to report for military training. During the 1943 season, Southwestern climbed as high as the eleventh-ranked team in the nation in the

Associated Press Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. Southwestern lost only one game during the season, and won the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

against

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, 7–0. After the 1944 season, the

invited Southwestern to return to face the

National University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. Southwestern routed the Pumas, 35–0, to set a scoring record for the game before 13,000 spectators. After the conclusion of the Second World War, and the concurrent disbandment of the military training programs on campus, Southwestern's football performance declined. Southwestern University disbanded its football team in April 1951 due to budget constraints.Texas School Becomes 21st to Drop Football
''Chicago Daily Tribune'', April 27, 1951.

Reinstatement

On October 28, 2011, The Southwestern University board of trustees voted to reinstate the university's football program. The reinstatement was made possible by $6 million in gifts. $5 million was pledged by Joe Seeber, a 1963 Southwestern graduate. However, Seeber later withdrew his pledge. The other $1 million was donated by

Red McCombs Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (born October 19, 1927) is an American businessman. He is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, former chairman of Constellis Group, a forme ...

, who attended Southwestern and played football. “As the oldest university in Texas, we realize the importance many people place on football,” said university president Jake B. Schrum. “There are many bright young men who want to play football in college who find

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

appealing. It is important for us to be back in the game." On February 27, 2012 Joe Austin was hired as the new head football coach at Southwestern. Austin came to Southwestern from Hanover College where he was the head coach for the 2008 through 2011 seasons. During that time Austin rebuilt a program that had suffered four consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival. In just Austin's third season Hanover posted a 7–3 (6–2 Heartland Collegiate Conference) record while finishing second in the league. Austin's team finished second again in his fourth and final season of 2011. While at Hanover, Austin produced three NCAA statistical champions: Tyler Thiems (receptions per game) 2008, Correy Stewart (interceptions per game) 2009, and Daniel Passafiume (receptions per game) 2009. The Pirates resumed play on September 7, 2013 with the first game a 44–14 loss to

Texas Lutheran Texas Lutheran University (TLU) is a private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America university in Seguin, Texas. History The university traces its roots back to 1891, to an academy of the first German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas, in Br ...

at the new Georgetown stadium complex, just up the road from the campus. In just their fourth season of play the Pirates posted a 6–0 record in claiming the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In 2017, the Pirates began play in the American Southwest Conference.

Notable players

Solon Barnett Solon Barnett (March 30, 1921 – July 18, 1998) was a former offensive tackle and guard in the National Football League (NFL). Biography Barnett was born Solon Slade Barnett Jr. in New Willard, Texas. Career Barnett was drafted in the fourteen ...

, NFL linemanSouthwestern (TX): All Players
Pro Football Reference, retrieved December 27, 2010. * Pete Cawthon, college and NFL head coach * William "Spot" Collins, NFL lineman *

Doug Dashiell Douglas Dashiell (July 14, 1905 – April 21, 1975) was an American college football coach and United States Army Air Forces and Air Force officer. He served as the head coach at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1936 to 1938. He amassed an 8� ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

head coach, 1936–1938 *

Gwinn Henry Gwinn Henry (August 5, 1887 – May 16, 1955) was an American football player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Howard Payne University (1912–1913), the College of Emporia (1918� ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

head coach *

Carlton Massey Carlton Massey (January 17, 1930 – May 22, 1989) was a professional American football defensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns (1954–1956) and Green Bay Packers (1957–1958). He attended Sout ...

, NFL

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

erACE END AT TEXAS ADDED TO ALL-STARS; Massey Standout in 2 Big Games
''Chicago Daily Tribune'', July 8, 1954.

References

External links

* {{Southwestern Pirates football navbox American football teams established in 1908 1908 establishments in Texas