The South Alabama Jaguars football program, established in 2009, represents the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

in the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS) of the

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 ...

. South Alabama joined the FBS in 2012 as a member of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

(SBC).

History

Joey Jones era (2008–2017)

On December 6, 2007, the university's Board of Trustees approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletics program. The team began play in 2009 with a planned full transition to the

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

(Division I-A) by 2013. On February 15, 2008, President Gordon Moulton and Athletic Director Joe Gottfried announced

Joey Jones Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955) is a Welsh former international football full-back who most notably played for Liverpool, with whom he won two European Cups. Club career Wrexham Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 19 ...

, Birmingham–Southern head coach, as the first head football coach in the university's history. The team would play its home games at

Ladd–Peebles Stadium Ladd–Peebles Stadium (formerly Ernest F. Ladd Memorial Stadium) is a stadium located in Mobile, Alabama. Opened in 1948, it has a seating capacity of 33,471. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field for the Senior Bowl ...

, which it would call home until the 2020 opening of

Hancock Whitney Stadium Hancock Whitney Stadium is a 25,450-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. It is the home of the South Alabama Jaguars football program, starting with the 2020 season. The stadium replace ...

. On September 5, 2009, the University of South Alabama Jaguars defeated

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

30–13 in the program's first ever game in front of more than 26,000 fans. The team completed its first season undefeated at 7–0, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 321–41. After playing a seven-game schedule in 2009, the Jaguars played 10 games in 2010. The 2010 schedule was made up of schools from

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-FCS,

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, and no Junior Colleges.PDF: University of South Alabama Football Scheduling Timeline
Dead link The team completed its second season undefeated at 10-0, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 413-130. The 2011 season marked the beginning of South Alabama's two-year transition phase from unclassified to

Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

status. South played as a Division I-FCS independent for the 2011 season. The Jaguars were scheduled to play 11 games in 2011 but after ending its contracts with

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

and

Edward Waters College Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. ...

early, and only replacing them with a game against

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.Division II. For the first time, South Alabama had games televised. The 2011 season opener against West Alabama was televised on local channel

WJTC WJTC (channel 44) is an independent television station licensed to Pensacola, Florida, United States, serving northwest Florida and southwest Alabama. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Mobile, Alabama–licensed NBC affiliate WPMI-TV (ch ...

, as well as on

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...

. The Jaguars' game against

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

on September 17 was aired on ESPN3. The Jaguars finished the season 6–4. The 2012 season was South Alabama's final year in the transition phase to full

Division I-FBS NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

status. The Jaguars began to face

teams in a full conference schedule, but were not eligible for either the conference title or post-season bowl games. The Jaguars did not perform well in their non-conference play, going 1–4, with the only victory over FCS opponent Nicholls State. The Jaguars also struggled in Sun Belt Conference play, going 1-7, with their only victory over Florida Atlantic. The team finished 2–11, and in last place in the Sun Belt. The South Alabama Jaguars gained full

status for the 2013–14 season in the

. The Jaguars also became eligible to win the Sun Belt Championship and for a post season Bowl game. The team finished the year at .500 with a 6-6 record, going 4-2 in home games. The Jaguars also went 4-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. The South Alabama Jaguars finished the 2014 season with a record of 6-6, making them bowl eligible for the second straight year. On December 3, President Tony Waldrop, on behalf of the university and the football team, accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. This was the first bowl game in South Alabama football history. As a result, in their 5th year of competition, and their 2nd of bowl eligibility, South Alabama broke Florida Atlantic's record and became the youngest FBS team to make a bowl game. In the first Camellia Bowl pit the Jaguars and

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. South Alabama lost their first bowl game 33–28. The 2015 South Alabama Jaguars football team was led by seventh-year head coach Joey Jones and played their home games at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The Jaguars were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in Sun Belt play to finish in a five-way tie for fifth place. In 2016, South Alabama recorded its first victory over an SEC opponent when it defeated

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

by a score of 21-20 the opening weekend of the season. The victory was also USA's first over a Power 5 opponent. South Alabama stunned No. 19 San Diego State 42-24 for their first win over a ranked opponent. The Jaguars would go on to finish the season with a 6–7 record, losing to

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

in the

Arizona Bowl The Arizona Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2015 season. The game is held at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, and starting in 2020 has tie-ins with the Mountain West Conference and Mid-Amer ...

. It was announced on November 20, 2017 Joey Jones would step down as coach at the end of the 2017 season.

Steve Campbell era (2018–2020)

On December 7, 2017, Steve Campbell, formerly head coach of

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

, would be the new coach for South Alabama football in 2018. Campbell coached for 3 seasons at South Alabama and went 3-9, 2-10, and 4-7 in those seasons. He was fired by the University at the end of the 2020 season after a 29–0 loss to rival Troy and finished with a 9-26 record in his time with the Jaguars.

Kane Wommack era (2021–present)

On December 12, 2020,

Kane Wommack Kane Wommack (born April 19, 1987) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at the University of South Alabama. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Indiana from 2018 t ...

, the defensive coordinator at

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and former defensive coordinator at South Alabama, was named the head coach of the Jaguars football program. In his first season with the Jaguars Wommack went 5-7 overall and 2-6 in conference play. In his second season as the head coach, Wommack led the team to a 10-2 record (7-1 in conference play) and their first bowl game since the Joey Jones era.

Conference affiliations

* NCAA unclassified (2009–2010) * I-FCS Independent (transitioning to FBS) (2011–2012) *

(2013–present)

Bowl games

South Alabama has participated in three bowl games. The Jaguars have a bowl record of 0–3.

Rivalries

Troy

South Alabama and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

are in-state and Sun Belt Conference rivals. The two schools first met in 2012. Troy leads the series at 8–3 through the 2022 season.

Facilities

Ladd–Peebles Stadium

has been home to the South Alabama Jaguars football program since it was established in 2009. Ladd–Peebles has been a key venue in Mobile's history. Opened in 1948, the first event held inside the stadium was a college football game between the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

and the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's team ...

on October 2, 1948. The stadium also lives in

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...

folklore as the site of head coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

's first game in charge of the Crimson Tide. Ladd–Peebles has hosted various other events, from concerts and boxing matches to festivals, and has a present full-capacity of 40,000 (per Ladd Peebles stadium) seats.

Hancock Whitney Stadium

South Alabama opened their new 25,450-seat on-campus stadium,

, on September 12, 2020 as the South Alabama Jaguars hosted the Tulane Green Wave.

The South Alabama Football Fieldhouse

The South Alabama Football Fieldhouse covers 49,000 square feet of space, which includes an 8,000-square-foot weight room. It was designed to be functional and to have a "wow" factor for recruiting. In addition to the weight room the fieldhouse contains a main foyer, coaches' offices, locker room, equipment room, administrative offices, training room complete with hot and cold tubs and other medicinal needs, team meeting room, individual position meeting rooms and a players lounge.

The Jaguar Training Center

The South Alabama Jaguar Training Center (JTC) was opened on August 3, 2018 and is the largest covered practice facility in the state of Alabama. It was a multimillion-dollar project put on by the University. The 65-foot tall facility includes a full size regulation football field along with a 15-yard practice area and regulation field goal posts at each end. While under construction, the JTC collapsed due to "inadequate bracing" in July 2017 and construction was put on hold until January 2018 when it was continued.

Traditions

#5

In a tradition that started in South Alabama's second season, following the death of running back Anthony Mostella, Coach Joey Jones selects a senior that "earned it" would be given Mostella's number 5 jersey for the season. A fan favorite, Mostella was known for his leadership and hard work ethic. Coach Joey Jones wanted to pay respect to Mostella by giving his #5 jersey to a senior each season that displayed the leadership skills and work ethic that Mostella portrayed. This tradition was discontinued from 2018-2020 under Steve Campbell, but Kane Wommack brought the tradition back in 2021 with a slight change. Instead of one player being awarded the number 5 jersey for the whole year, a different player is selected to wear it each game."South Alabama brings back No. 5 jersey award; A.J. Deshazor first honored"
AL.com

Homecoming

With the establishment of the football team, Homecoming was officially moved to the fall where it had previously supported the school's varsity basketball team. An attempt by the students of the university to entice a grassroots movement for support of NCAA football in 2006 led to multiple acts of temporary and non destructive vandalism across the campus organized in a single night dubbed by the organizing students as "viva la resistance". Since the Jaguar football team was established homecoming has featured an event called "junk the jungle", in which toilet paper and streamers are used to cover all the trees in the school's central traffic circle. It can only be assumed that this is done in remembrance of those student pranksters as this is identical to one of the acts they committed. Other acts committed that night included sidewalk chalk and window painting of various campus buildings and walkways featuring messages such as "NCAA football", "We Want Football", and drawing images of footballs. The school's track field was also spray painted with the letters "NCAA", in large characters. The individual pranks were conducted by small teams where the final act of "junking the jungle", included all the students invited to participate.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 9, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:South Alabama Jaguars Football American football teams established in 2009 2009 establishments in Alabama