# Tusculum Pioneers football

The Tusculum Pioneers football team represents Tusculum University in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The Pioneers are members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC), fielding its team in the SAC since 1998. The Pioneers play their home games at Pioneer Field in Tusculum, Tennessee.
Their head coach was Jerry Odom from 2016 to 2023.

## Conference affiliations

* Independent (1901–1926)
* Smoky Mountain Conference (1927–1940)
* Independent (1941–1948)
* Smoky Mountain Conference (1949–1950)
* Mid-South Conference (1991–1995)
* South Atlantic Conference (1998–present)

## List of head coaches
### Key

Key to symbols in coaches list :
| General | General | Overall | Overall | Conference | Conference | Postseason | Postseason |
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | | |
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | | | | |

### Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records and conference records :
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% |
| 1 | Unknown | 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1909, 1913–1914, 1917–1918 | 29 | 13 | 12 | 4 | 0.392 | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | Stephen Andrew Lynch | 1903 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | Fitzhugh W. Gregg | 1908 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.125 | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | J. Bruce Anderson | 1915–1916 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.550 | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | Sam Doak | 1919–1921, 1928–1936 | 88 | 31 | 41 | 16 | 0.443 | 12 | 23 | 7 | 0.369 |
| 6 | Hal Blair | 1922 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | George Downing | 1923 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.167 | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Tom McCann | 1924 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Sam Graham | 1925 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.286 | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Carlton Palmer | 1926–1927 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0.438 | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Ty Disney | 1937 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0.188 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0.143 |
| 12 | Johnny Faulds | 1938–1939 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 0.059 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 |
| 13 | Laird Holt | 1940–1941 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0.235 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 14 | Marion Edens | 1946 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | Tom Armstrong | 1947–1950 | 33 | 6 | 26 | 1 | .197} | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0.063 |
| 16 | Tom Bryant | 1991–1994 | 40 | 16 | 24 | 0 | 0.400 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0.333 |
| 17 | Dewayne Wells | 1995–1997 | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0.200 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 |
| 18 | Frankie DeBusk | 1998–2015 | 196 | 96 | 100 | 0 | 0.490 | 50 | 70 | 0 | 0.417 |
| 19 | Jerry Odom | 2016–2023 | 69 | 36 | 33 | 0 | 0.522 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 0.521 |

## Year-by-year results

| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Postseason | Final ranking |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | | | Postseason | Final ranking |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | Postseason | Final ranking |
| Tusculum Pioneers |||||||||||||||
| 1901 | 1901 | Unknown | — | — | Independent | | | | | | | | — | — |
| 1902 | 1902 | Unknown | — | — | Independent | 0 | 1 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1903 | 1903 | Stephen Andrew Lynch | — | — | Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1904 | 1904 | Unknown | — | — | Independent | 2 | 1 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1905 | 1905 | Unknown | — | — | Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1906 | 1906 | Unknown | IAAUS | — | Independent | 2 | 2 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| No team in 1907 |||||||||||||||
| 1908 | 1908 | Fitzhugh W. Gregg | IAAUS | — | Independent | 0 | 3 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| 1909 | 1909 | Unknown | IAAUS | — | Independent | 0 | 3 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| No team from 1910 to 1912 |||||||||||||||
| 1913 | 1913 | Unknown | NCAA | — | Independent | 1 | 2 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1914 | 1914 | Unknown | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| 1915 | 1915 | J. Bruce Anderson | NCAA | — | Independent | 3 | 1 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| 1916 | 1916 | J. Bruce Anderson | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 3 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1917 | 1917 | Unknown | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 2 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| 1918 | 1918 | Unknown | NCAA | — | Independent | 3 | 0 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1919 | 1919 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | | | — | — |
| 1920 | 1920 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | Independent | 1 | 5 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1921 | 1921 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | Independent | 0 | 3 | 4 | | | | | — | — |
| 1922 | 1922 | Hal Blair | NCAA | — | Independent | 4 | 4 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1923 | 1923 | George Downing | NCAA | — | Independent | 1 | 5 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1924 | 1924 | Tom McCann | NCAA | — | Independent | 4 | 4 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1925 | 1925 | Sam Graham | NCAA | — | Independent | 2 | 5 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1926 | 1926 | Carlton Palmer | NCAA | — | Independent | 6 | 3 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1927 | 1927 | Carlton Palmer | NCAA | — | SMC | 0 | 5 | 2 | | | | | — | — |
| 1928 | 1928 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 1929 | 1929 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 3 | 3 | | | | | — | — |
| 1930 | 1930 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6th | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| 1931 | 1931 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3rd | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 1932 | 1932 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| 1933 | 1933 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4th | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| 1934 | 1934 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 1935 | 1935 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8th | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — |
| 1936 | 1936 | Sam Doak | NCAA | — | SMC | 0 | 7 | 0 | T–8th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| 1937 | 1937 | Ty Disney | NCAA | — | SMC | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8th | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | — |
| 1938 | 1938 | Johnny Faulds | NCAA | — | SMC | 0 | 8 | 1 | 8th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 1939 | 1939 | Johnny Faulds | NCAA | — | SMC | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6th | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 1940 | 1940 | Laird Holt | NCAA | — | SMC | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 1941 | 1941 | Laird Holt | NCAA | — | | 3 | 6 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| No team from 1942 to 1945 |||||||||||||||
| 1946 | 1946 | Marion Edens | NCAA | — | | 1 | 7 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1947 | 1947 | Tom Armstrong | NCAA | — | | 0 | 8 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1948 | 1948 | Tom Armstrong | NCAA | — | | 2 | 7 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1949 | 1949 | Tom Armstrong | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5th | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| 1950 | 1950 | Tom Armstrong | NCAA | — | SMC | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| No team from 1951 to 1990 |||||||||||||||
| 1991 | 1991 | Tom Bryant | NAIA | Division II | MSC | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| 1992 | 1992 | Tom Bryant | NAIA | Division II | MSC | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 1993 | 1993 | Tom Bryant | NAIA | Division II | MSC | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 1994 | 1994 | Tom Bryant | NAIA | Division II | MSC | 7 | 3 | 0 | T–2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| 1995 | 1995 | Dewayne Wells | NAIA | Division II | MSC | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 1996 | 1996 | Dewayne Wells | — | — | — | 1 | 9 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1997 | 1997 | Dewayne Wells | — | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | | | | | — | — |
| 1998 | 1998 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 1999 | 1999 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — |
| 2000 | 2000 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 2001 | 2001 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 |
| 2002 | 2002 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 7 | 4 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 2003 | 2003 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 9 | 2 | 0 | T–1st | 6 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — |
| 2004 | 2004 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | T–2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 2005 | 2005 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 3 | 7 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| 2006 | 2006 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 6 | 5 | 0 | T–5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 2007 | 2007 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 6 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| 2008 | 2008 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 9 | 4 | 0 | T–1st | 5 | 2 | 0 | L NCAA Division II Second Round | 16 |
| 2009 | 2009 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2010 | 2010 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2011 | 2011 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 3 | 8 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2012 | 2012 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 2 | 9 | 0 | T–7th | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — |
| 2013 | 2013 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 4 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2014 | 2014 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 2015 | 2015 | Frankie DeBusk | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 4 | 7 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2016 | 2016 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 4 | 7 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 2017 | 2017 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 2018 | 2018 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 5 | 5 | 0 | T–3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 2019 | 2019 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 5 | 6 | 0 | T–4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| 2020–21 | 2020–21 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1st (Mountain) | 2 | 0 | 0 | Conference champion | — |
| 2021 | 2021 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 5 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| 2022 | 2022 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2nd (Mountain) | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| 2023 | 2023 | Jerry Odom | NCAA | Division II | SAC | | | | (Mountain) | | | | — | — |
* ↑ The team was disbanded in 1950, then it was relaunched in 1991; 33 years ago (1991).