# Houston Christian Huskies football

The Houston Christian Huskies Football team, formerly known as the Houston Baptist Huskies until the 2021 season, is the intercollegiate American football team for Houston Christian University located in Houston, Texas, United States. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a full member of the Southland Conference.

## History

HCU’s first football team was fielded in 2013 for a seven game developmental season. The Huskies finished 2013 with a 3-4 record. Since the 2013 games were played during a developmental season, records and statistics are considered unofficial. The team played most of its 2013 home games at Strake Jesuit’s Crusader Stadium in Houston, Texas, and one home game at BBVA Compass Stadium.
September 6, 2014 marked two firsts: The Huskies played their first game as an FCS team, and the game against McMurry University also marked the first game played in Husky Stadium, the new on-campus stadium.
On September 21, 2019, HCU junior wide receiver Ben Ratzlaff hit junior half-back Coleman Robinson for a two-point conversion after the Huskies scored with 1:14 remaining to rally past South Dakota, 53-52, in a non-conference FCS matchup Saturday afternoon in the DakotaDome. This marked the biggest win in school history pushing HCU to be nationally ranked for the first time in school history sitting tied at 25th in the coaches' poll.
December 13, 2022 marked a new era began on campus. HCU named Braxton Harris as the second head football coach in the school's history, as announced by President Robert Sloan and director of athletics Steve Moniaci at a campus press conference. The Huskies were previously coached by Vic Shealy.

## Head coaches

| Coach | Tenure | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| Vic Shealy | 2013–2022 | 21–79 (.210) | 7–57 (.109) |
| Braxton Harris | 2023 | 5–5 (.500) | 4–3 (.571) |
| Jason Bachtel | 2024-present | 5–7 (.417) | 3–4 (.429) |
| Total | Total | 31–91 (.254) | |

## Year-by-year results

| Year | NCAA Division | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Coach |
| Year | NCAA Division | Conference | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Pct. | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Pct. | Standing | Coach |
| 2013$^1$ | NCAA unclassified | N/A | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | N/A | Vic Shealy |
| 2014$^2$ | FCS | Southland | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 10th | Vic Shealy |
| 2015 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 11th | Vic Shealy |
| 2016 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 7th | Vic Shealy |
| 2017 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 11th | Vic Shealy |
| 2018 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 11th | Vic Shealy |
| 2019 | FCS | Southland | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 10th | Vic Shealy |
| 2020$^3$ | FCS | Southland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | N/A | Vic Shealy |
| 2021 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 6th | Vic Shealy |
| 2022 | FCS | Southland | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 7th | Vic Shealy |
| 2023$^4$ | FCS | Southland | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 4th | Braxton Harris |
| 2024 | FCS | Southland | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 5th | Jason Bachtel |
| | Totals | | 122 | 31 | 91 | 0 | .254 | 78 | 14 | 64 | 0 | .179 | | |
$^1$ The 2013 season was a developmental season. Records and statistics are unofficial.
$^2$ The 2014 season is the official inaugural season.
$^3$ The 2020 Southland Conference season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only 4 non-conference games were played.
$^4$ Northwestern State cancelled the remainder of their 2023 season on October 26 and forfeited the rest of their games, including the scheduled game against HCU and Northwestern State on November 4. HCU was awarded a conference win, but not an overall win, to their record.

## Notable former players

* Caleb Johnson (2016-2020)
* Bailey Zappe (2017-2020)
* Jerreth Sterns (2018-2020)
* Jalyx Hunt (2022-2023)

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference opponents as of October 15, 2024.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| Arkansas Baptist | at Rice | at UTEP |
| at Eastern Kentucky | Arkansas Baptist | at Northern Colorado |
| at Nebraska | at North Texas | at Colorado State |
| Northern Colorado | | |