The Carnegie Mellon Tartans football team represents

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

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)

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 ...

competition.

History

On November 28, 1926, the 6–2 Carnegie Tech football team shut out

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

's undefeated

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

19–0 at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of t ...

. It was the only loss for the Irish that season and only the second time they allowed a touchdown. The game was ranked the fourth-greatest upset in

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 ...

history by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Bowl game and AP rankings

In the 1930s, Carnegie Tech (as it was known then) was among the top college football programs in the country. In

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

, the team achieved national rankings in the

AP 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 ...

. Ranked sixth at the end of the 1938 regular season, the Tartans earned a January bowl game invitation, but lost to top-ranked TCU in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Carnegie Tech's AP ranking history: * #13 – October 17,

* #16 – October 24, 1938 * #19 – October 31, 1938 * #6 – November 7, 1938 * #6 – November 14, 1938 * #7 – November 21, 1938 * #6 – November 28, 1938 * #6 – December 5, 1938 (Final) * #15 – October 16,

Decline and resurgence

The team lost 26 straight games from 1942 through 1948 (the 1944 and 1945 seasons were cancelled due to

World War II 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 ...

). In the last game of the 1948 season, the team beat Grove City, 7–0, on a 51-yard touchdown run by freshman halfback John Luchok. The team improved over the next six years, culminating in the first undefeated season in school history in 1954. That team was led by quarterback Guy Carricato, halfback Eddy Miller and end Chuck Luchok, John Luchok's younger brother.

Modern achievements

In 2006, the varsity football team was offered a bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, and became one of the first teams in school history (the first team to win a Division III playoff game was in 1977, when Carnegie Mellon beat Dayton) and University Athletic Association ( UAA) conference history to win an NCAA playoff game with a 21–0 shutout of

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

of the SCAC conference. In addition to winning a playoff game, several team members were elected to the All American and All Region Squads. The 2006 team won more games in a single season than any other team in school history. The current coach is

Rich Lackner Rich Lackner (born July 28, 1956) is an American former college football coach. He is served as the head football coach at Carnegie Mellon University from 1986 to 2021, compiling a record of 234–125–2. Playing career A Pittsburgh native, La ...

, who is also a graduate of Carnegie Mellon and who has been the head coach since 1986.

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division III

The Tartans have appeared in the Division III playoffs eight times, with an overall record of 4–8.

References

External links

* {{Carnegie Mellon Tartans football navbox American football teams established in 1906 1906 establishments in Pennsylvania