# Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans football

The Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The team competes in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Wisconsin–Oshkosh's first football team was fielded in 1893. The team plays its home games at the 9,800 seat Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Peter Jennings has served as the head coach for Titans since 2022.

## Head coaching history

Wisconsin–Oshkosh has had 23 head coaches in their history. No teams were fielded in 1943 or 1944 due to World War II. Additionally, no team was fielded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Coach | Seasons | Term | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win % | Conference titles | Playoff appearances |
| Roy Lewis Morse | 4 | 1893–1896 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | N/A | N/A |
| Banno Smith | 1 | 1897 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | N/A | N/A |
| John Jones | 1 | 1898 | 2 | 4 | 1 | .357 | N/A | N/A |
| William McMaster | 1 | 1899 | 1 | 6 | 1 | .188 | N/A | N/A |
| George Senn | 1 | 1900 | 2 | 5 | 1 | .313 | N/A | N/A |
| William Blair | 1 | 1901 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | N/A | N/A |
| Walter Coolidge | 4 | 1902–1905 | 21 | 15 | 2 | .579 | N/A | N/A |
| Vincent Poor | 1 | 1906 | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | N/A | N/A |
| Walter McMillian | 3 | 1907–1909 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | N/A | N/A |
| Raymond Manchester | 2 | 1910–1911 | 9 | 4 | 2 | .667 | N/A | N/A |
| Arthur Meyer | 6 | 1912–1917 | 12 | 25 | 1 | .329 | 0 | N/A |
| Frank Karnes | 1 | 1918 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 0 | N/A |
| Arthur Strum | 1 | 1919 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 0 | N/A |
| Chester C. Dillon | 1 | 1920 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .813 | 1 | N/A |
| Howard Hancock | 9 | 1921–1928, 1930 | 38 | 19 | 10 | .642 | 2 | N/A |
| Robert Kolf | 30 | 1929, 1931–1942, 1946–1962 | 59 | 121 | 16 | .342 | 1 | N/A |
| William Bulfer | 1 | 1945 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 0 | N/A |
| Russell Young | 14 | 1963–1976 | 68 | 63 | 2 | .519 | 3 | 0 |
| Dave Hochtritt | 7 | 1977–1983 | 31 | 38 | 1 | .450 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Cardo | 16 | 1984–1999 | 58 | 98 | 4 | .375 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Meyer | 7 | 2000–2006 | 31 | 38 | 0 | .449 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Cerroni | 14 | 2007–2019, 2021 | 109 | 45 | 0 | .708 | 4 | 5 |
| Peter Jennings | 2 | 2022–present | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | 0 | 0 |

## Championships
### Conference championships

The Titans have won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship 11 times.
| Year | Coach | Overall record | WIAC record |
| 1920 | Chester C. Dillon | 6–1–1 | 4–0–1 |
| 1923 | Howard Hancock | 7–0 | 5–0 |
| 1928† | Howard Hancock | 5–1–2 | 3–0–2 |
| 1935† | Robert Kolf | 5–0–1 | 4–0 |
| 1968† | Russell Young | 8–2 | 7–1 |
| 1972 | Russell Young | 8–2 | 8–0 |
| 1976† | Russell Young | 8–2 | 6–2 |
| 2012 | Pat Cerroni | 13–1 | 7–0 |
| 2015 | Pat Cerroni | 11–2 | 7–0 |
| 2017 | Pat Cerroni | 12–1 | 7–0 |
| 2019† | Pat Cerroni | 8–3 | 6–1 |
† Co-champions

### National championship game

The Titans played for the National Championship in the 2016 Stagg Bowl, losing a close game to Mary Hardin–Baylor by a score of 7–10. The NCAA later required Mary Hardin–Baylor to vacate its title due to an improper benefit to a student–athlete.
| Year | Coach | Division | Opponent | Result | Record |
| 2016 | Pat Cerroni | NCAA Division III | Mary Hardin–Baylor | L 7–10 | 13–2 |

## NCAA tournament history

The Titans have appeared five times in the NCAA Division III Football Championship with an overall record of 12–5, with their most notable being a Stagg Bowl appearance in 2016, where they were defeated by Mary Hardin–Baylor.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Score |
| 2012 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals | St. Scholastica Bethel (MN) Linfield St. Thomas (MN) | W, 55–10 W, 37–14 W, 31–24 $^{OT}$ L, 14–28 |
| 2015 | First round Second round Quarterfinals | St. Norbert Wheaton (IL) Wisconsin–Whitewater | W, 48–0 W, 31–17 L, 29–31 |
| 2016 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals | Washington (MO) Saint John's (MN) St. Thomas (MN) John Carroll Mary Hardin–Baylor | W, 49–13 W, 31–14 W, 34–31 W, 10–3 L, 7–10 |
| 2017 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Lakeland North Central (IL) Wartburg Mount Union | W, 63–0 W, 42–21 W, 41–27 L, 40–43 |
| 2019 | First round | Central (IA) | L, 37–38 $^{OT}$ |

## Ranked teams

Starting in 1999 the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) began publishing rankings for Division III football. The AFCA Division III poll records are not well kept online, so the table will read "Unknown" if rankings weren't able to be found for that particular season. In 2003, D3football.com started publishing its own rankings for Division III football. Since the inception of both polls, Wisconsin–Oshkosh has been ranked at least five times in the AFCA Coaches Poll and seven times in the D3football.com poll to end the season. Additionally, while not being ranked in the Top 25 to end the season, the Titans have received votes (RV) at least six times in the AFCA poll and seven times in the D3football.com poll.
| Year | D3 | AFCA | Record |
| 2005 | RV | RV | 7–3 |
| 2007 | RV | Unknown | 7–3 |
| 2011 | RV | RV | 7–3 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4 | 13–1 |
| 2013 | 11 | 15 | 8–2 |
| 2014 | 20 | 25 | 6–4 |
| 2015 | 5 | 5 | 11–2 |
| 2016 | 2 | Unknown | 13–2 |
| 2017 | 3 | Unknown | 12–1 |
| 2018 | NR | RV | 6–4 |
| 2019 | 22 | 21 | 8–3 |
| 2021 | RV | RV | 6–3 |
| 2022 | RV | NR | 6–4 |
| 2023 | RV | RV | 6–4 |
| 2024 | RV | RV | 6–4 |

## Notable former players

| Name | Position | Drafted | Pro team | Years active |
| Milt Wilson | G | — | Green Bay Packers | 1919–1921 |
| Pahl Davis | G, FB | — | Green Bay Packers | 1922 |
| Eber Simpson | QB | — | St. Louis All-Stars | 1923 |
| Hal Robl | LB | Undrafted, 1945 | Chicago Cardinals | 1945 |
| Myles Strasser | RB | 17th round (452), 1968 | New York Jets | Did not play |
| Clair Rasmussen | OG | 14th round (352), 1970 | Houston Oilers | Did not play |
| Ron Cardo | RB | 10th round (236), 1971 | San Francisco 49ers | Did not play |
| Marty Below | T | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally |
| Barry Derickson | LT | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally |
| Lester Leitl | T | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally |
| John Thome | QB, HB, DB | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally | Did not play professionally |
* 1 2 3 The NFL Draft was not created until 1936.