The Wayne State Warriors football team is the

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 ...

team at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The Wayne State football team played their first game in October 1918. The

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 ...

have competed in the

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. ...

since 1999 (and previously from 1975 to 1989), and are currently a Division II member 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 ...

(NCAA). Wayne State plays their home games at Tom Adams Field at Wayne State Stadium. All Wayne State games are broadcast on

WDTK WDTK (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan, and known as "The Patriot." It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format and is owned by Salem Communications. The studios and offices are on Radio Plaza in Fernda ...

radio.

Home venue

The WSU football team had multiple venues during its early years, including Goldberg Field,

University of Detroit Stadium University of Detroit Stadium, also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, or Dinan Field, was an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan. The stadium ...

and

Keyworth Stadium Keyworth Stadium is a 7,933 seat multi-purpose stadium located in Hamtramck, Michigan, an enclave of Detroit. It was opened by former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt on October 15, 1936, during his second campaign for president. Keyworth was ...

. The first long-term location for the football team was Tartar Field, followed by

Tom Adams Field Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in Wayne State Stadium.

Coaches/Athletic director

Rob Fournier Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

became the athletic director for Wayne State in September 2000. He is also currently a finance committee member for the conference. Before coming to WSU, he was a part of the commissioner's staff for the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, master's and law degree from

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

. The former head football coach for the Wayne State Warriors is Paul Winters. He was the head coach from 2004 until 2022, when he was let go. He started his collegiate football career as the running back for the University of Akron. Upon graduation he then went on to become the assistant and then onto the backfield coach. After his time at Akron, he spent the next eight years coaching at the University of Toledo and then the University of Wisconsin. He then returned to Akron as the Running Backs Coach and Offensive Coordinator before coming to Wayne State. Winters is a three-time GLIAC Coach of the Year (2006, 2008 and 2019). The assistant coaches include Scott Wooster (head of Offensive line), Chris Calley (Wide Receivers Coach). Lou West (defensive backs), Jay Peterson (linebackers), Jeff Reardon (Quarterbacks and Passing Game Coordinator), and Scott Kazmierski (defensive line coach).

Mascot

The team changed its name from the Tartars to the Warriors in 1999. The mascot for the Warriors, “W”, debuted in 2005.

All-Americans

The Warriors have had five All-American players in their history. In 2006, David Chudzinski was first team All-American for the offensive side of the ball.

Joique Bell Joique Dewayne Bell Jr. (born August 4, 1986) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Wayne State. Bell was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He has also been a member of the Phila ...

was another offensive player named 2009 first team All-American; he was also given the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlo ...

in the same year. This award is given to the All-Around best player in Division II football. An all-purpose, first team All-American, Josh Renel, was named in 2010. Both Joe Long (offense) and Jeremy Jones (defense) were named 2011 first team All-Americans. Long was also awarded the Gene Upshaw Award in 2011. Leon Eggleston was First Team All American in 2019.

National Championship Runner Up

After barely making the Division II Playoffs in 2011, the Warriors made it all the way to the national championship game before losing to the Pittsburg State Gorillas of Kansas. It was the first year that the football program had ever made it to the playoffs in their entire history. The Warriors won all of their road games, traveling across the country and ending up in Florence, AL for the playoffs. A tragic shooting and murder of a WSU player, Cortez Smith, inspired the team for success.

Conference championships

Individual award winners

*GLIAC Coach of the Year :

Dick Lowry Dick Lowry (born 15 September 1944 in Oklahoma) is an American director and film producer. Productions List films were all made for television unless otherwise indicated. *1975: ''The Drought'' (theatrical film) *1980: '' OHMS'' *1980: '' K ...

– 1975 :Paul Winters – 2006, 2008, 2019 *GLIAC Freshman of the Year :Joique Bell – 2006 :Kevin Smith – 2008

Warriors in the NFL

Wayne State has had six players drafted in the NFL.

Notable Warrior coaches

* Norman "Happy" Wann – former head coach at Ball State *

Brian VanGorder Brian VanGorder (born April 17, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He was the defensive coordinator at Bowling Green State University, a position he assumed in 2019. Prior to that, he was defensive coordinator at the Universit ...

– Defensive coordinator at Bowling Green State University; former defensive coordinator at Georgia and Notre Dame;

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little R ...

winner

Notable Warrior players

Vic Zucco Victor A. Zucco (September 4, 1935 – February 15, 2020) is a former professional American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He played four seasons for the Chicago Bears. High school career Zucco attended Plum Towns ...

– former DB for the Chicago Bears *

Richard Byas, Jr. Richard Reese Byas, Jr. (October 19, 1950) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL); he was also a 1987 inductee to the Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Early years While at Detroit's Macke ...

– former DB for the Atlanta Falcons * John Sokolosky – former C for the Detroit Lions * Paul Butcher, Sr. – former LB for Detroit, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Carolina and Oakland * Tom E. Beer – former FB and LB for the Detroit Lions *

– former RB for the Detroit Lions *

Chris Fehn Christopher Fehn (born February 24, 1973) is an American musician. He was a percussionist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Slipknot from 1998 to 2019, in which he was designated #3. He was also the bassist for Will Haven from 201 ...

– custom percussionists, Slipknot

References

External links

* {{Wayne State University American football teams established in 1918 1918 establishments in Michigan American football teams in Detroit