# Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Southeast Missouri State University located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 11,015-seat Houck Stadium. They are coached by Tom Matukewicz.

## History

Southeast Missouri State first competed in football in 1904. In 1912, the school joined the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which later joined the NCAA as a Division II conference. The football team had its first known head coach, J.F. Corleux, in 1915. Corleux remained head coach until 1929.
In 1991, Southeast Missouri State joined the Ohio Valley Conference and moved up to the Division I-AA level.

### Classifications

* 1952–1957: NAIA
* 1958–1972: NCAA College Division
* 1973–1990: NCAA Division II
* 1991–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

### Conference memberships

* 1902–1923: Independent
* 1924–1990: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
* 1991–present: Ohio Valley Conference

## Conference championships

Southeast Missouri State has won 21 conference championships, 12 outright and nine shared.
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 1937 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Abe Stuber | 9–0 | 5–0 |
| 1942† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Abe Stuber | 4–2–1 | 3–1 |
| 1946 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Abe Stuber | 8–0–1 | 5–0 |
| 1955 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 9–0 | 5–0 |
| 1957 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 6–2–1 | 4–0–1 |
| 1958 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 7–1–1 | 5–0 |
| 1959 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 7–2 | 5–0 |
| 1962 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 7–3 | 5–0 |
| 1967 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Kenneth Knox | 8–2 | 5–0 |
| 1968 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Tom Thrower | 6–4 | 5–0 |
| 1969† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Tom Thrower | 8–2 | 4–1 |
| 1973 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Jim Lohr | 6–4 | 5–1 |
| 1975 | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Jim Lohr | 7–4 | 6–0 |
| 1976† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Jim Lohr | 7–3–1 | 4–1–1 |
| 1977† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Jim Lohr | 7–3–1 | 4–1–1 |
| 1987† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Bob Smith | 6–4–1 | 4–0–1 |
| 1988† | Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Bill Maskill | 6–4 | 5–1 |
| 2010 | Ohio Valley Conference | Tony Samuel | 9–3 | 7–1 |
| 2019† | Ohio Valley Conference | Tom Matukewicz | 9–3 | 7–1 |
| 2022† | Ohio Valley Conference | Tom Matukewicz | 9–3 | 5–0 |
| 2024† | Big South–OVC Football Association | Tom Matukewicz | 9–3 | 6–2 |
† Co-champions

## Playoff appearances
### NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

The Redhawks have made five appearances in the Division I–AA/FCS playoffs, with a combined record of 1–5.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2010 | Second Round | Eastern Washington | L 17–37 |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round | Stony Brook Weber State | W 28–14 L 23–48 |
| 2019 | First Round | Illinois State | L 6–24 |
| 2022 | First Round | Montana | L 24–34 |
| 2024 | First Round | Illinois State | L 27–35 |

## Rivalries

Southeast Missouri State has an in-state rivalry with Missouri State. The two schools last played in 2008, and Missouri State leads the series 46–28.
Another rivalry is with Southern Illinois. The annual series between the schools went on hiatus after 2005 and resumed in 2010. In 2013, the two schools played in a game called the College Classic, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. In the first-ever football game held at Busch, Southern Illinois won 36–19. In 2014, the rivalry game was played at SIU's stadium in Carbondale, Illinois, and Southern Illinois won 50–23. Southeast Missouri State leads the series 39–35–8 as of 2014.
Within the Ohio Valley Conference, Southeast Missouri State's rival is Murray State. Murray State leads the series 38–10–1 as of 2014.

## Notable former players

| Name | Years played | Position |
| Eugene Amano | 2000–2003 | C |
| Dan Connolly | 2001–2005 | OT |
| Kenneth Dement | 1951–1955 | OT/DT |
| Kendall Donnerson | 2014-2017 | DE |
| Mike Ford | 2013-2017 | CB |
| Drew Forbes | 2015-2019 | OG |
| Ray Goodson | 2001–2004 | TE |
| Ken Iman | 1958–1959 | C |
| Edgar Jones | 2003–2006 | LB |
| Dimitri Patterson | 2001–2004 | CB |
| Willie Ponder | 1999–2002 | WR |
| Jon Robinson | 1996–1998 | DT |
| Angel Rubio | 1993–1997 | DT |
| Zach Hall | 2016–2019 | LB |
| Marquis Walker | 1992–1995 | CB |
| Kristian Wilkerson | 2015–2019 | WR |
| Mike Wood | 1974–1977 | K |

## Current coaching staff

| Name | Position |
| Tom Matukewicz | Head coach |
| Ricky Coon | Defensive coordinator |
| Jeromy McDowell | Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks |
| Justin Drudik | Wide receivers/offensive passing game coordinator |
| Ray Smith | Defensive Backs/Defensive pass game coordinator |
| Jerone Williams | Defensive line |
| Cole Cook | Tight ends |
| Tim Billings | Outside linebackers |
| Connor Benado | Inside linebackers |
| Lucas Orchard | Offensive line |
| Isasc Reed | Running backs |
| Luke Berblinger | Recruiting coordinator |
| Lucas Orchard | Graduate assistant |
| Jesse Stilley | Graduate assistant |
| Brett Blackman | Director of operations/equipment manager |
| Ryan Napoli | Director of sports performance |

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 4, 2025.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
| at Arkansas State | at Iowa State | at Missouri | at North Alabama | at Missouri |
| North Alabama | | | at Ole Miss | |
| at North Dakota State | | | | |
| Southern Illinois | | | | |