# Incarnate Word Cardinals football

The Incarnate Word Cardinals football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) located in San Antonio, Texas. The program began in 2009 and originally competed in NCAA Division II as members of the Lone Star Conference. In 2013, the school moved to Division I. For the 2013 season, UIW competed as a member of the Southland Conference for all sports except football. Football competed with an 11-game schedule as an Independent. UIW began playing Southland football in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at the 6,000 seat Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.

## History

UIW held its first team practice on August 27, 2008, and began competing as an NCAA Division II independent on August 29, 2009.

### Conference Affiliations

* 2009: Division II Independent
* 2010–2012: Lone Star Conference
* 2013: FCS Independent
* 2014–present: Southland Conference

### Coaches

| Name | Seasons | Record | Pct. |
| Mike Santiago | 2009–2011 | 10–18 | .357 |
| Todd Ivicic | 2011* | 0–3 | .000 |
| Larry Kennan | 2012–2017 | 20–46 | .303 |
| Eric Morris | 2018–2021 | 24–18 | .571 |
| G. J. Kinne | 2022 | 12–2 | .857 |
| Clint Killough | 2023–present | 20–5 | .800 |
*Ivicic served as interim head coach for the final three games of 2011, completing Santiago's third season as coach

## Conference Championships

UIW has won 4 Southland Conference championships, two shared and two outright.
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 2018† | Southland Conference | Eric Morris | 6–5 | 6–2 |
| 2021 | Southland Conference | 10–3 | 7–1 |
| 2022† | Southland Conference | G. J. Kinne | 12–2 | 5–1 |
| 2024 | Southland Conference | Clint Killough | 11–3 | 7–0 |
| Total Conference Championships | Total Conference Championships | Total Conference Championships | 4 | 4 |
† Co-champions

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

The Cardinals have participated in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs four times. Their combined record is 4–4.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2018 | First Round | Montana State | L, 14–35 |
| 2021 | First Round Second Round | Stephen F. Austin Sam Houston | W, 35–28 $^{OT}$ L, 42–49 |
| 2022 | Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Furman Sacramento State North Dakota State | W, 41–38 W, 66–63 L, 32–35 |
| 2024 | Second Round Quarterfinals | Villanova South Dakota State | W, 13–6 L, 14–55 |

## Year-by-year results

Legend :
* $^†$ Conference champions
* Playoff berth
List of Incarnate Word Cardinals football seasons :
| Season | Team | Head coach | Conference | Division | Regular season results | Regular season results | Regular season results | Regular season results | Regular season results | Regular season results | Regular season results | Postseason results | Final ranking | Final ranking |
| Season | Team | Head coach | Conference | Division | Overall | Overall | Overall | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Playoff result | STATS Poll | Coaches' Poll |
| Season | Team | Head coach | Conference | Division | Win | Loss | Pct. | Win | Loss | Pct. | Finish | Playoff result | STATS Poll | Coaches' Poll |
| Incarnate Word Cardinals |||||||||||||||
| 2009 | 2009 | Mike Santiago | Division II Independent | — | 5 | 5 | .500 | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | — | — | — |
| 2010 | 2010 | Mike Santiago | Lone Star | South | 3 | 8 | .273 | 3 | 7 | .300 | 12th | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 2011 | Mike Santiago / Todd Ivicic (Interim) | Lone Star | — | 2 | 8 | .200 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 6th | — | — | — |
| 2012 | 2012 | Larry Kennan | Lone Star | — | 2 | 9 | .182 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 9th | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 2013 | Larry Kennan | FCS Independent | — | 6 | 5 | .545 | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 2014 | Larry Kennan | Southland | — | 2 | 9 | .182 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 9th | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 2015 | Larry Kennan | Southland | — | 6 | 5 | .545 | 5 | 4 | .556 | 4th | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 2016 | Larry Kennan | Southland | — | 3 | 8 | .273 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 8th | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 2017 | Larry Kennan | Southland | — | 1 | 10 | .091 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 9th | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 2018 $^†$ | Eric Morris | Southland | — | 6 | 5 | .545 | 6 | 2 | .750 | T–1st | NCAA Division I FCS playoffs – first round | — | — |
| 2019 | 2019 | Eric Morris | Southland | — | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4 | 5 | .444 | T–6th | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 2020 | Eric Morris | Southland | — | 3 | 3 | .500 | 3 | 3 | .500 | T–3rd | — | — | — |
| 2021 | 2021 $^†$ | Eric Morris | Southland | — | 10 | 3 | .769 | 6 | 1 | .857 | 1st | NCAA Division I FCS playoffs – second round | 12 | 13 |
| 2022 | 2022 $^†$ | G. J. Kinne | Southland | — | 12 | 2 | .857 | 5 | 1 | .833 | T–1st | NCAA Division I FCS playoffs – semifinals | 3 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2023 | Clint Killough | Southland | — | 9 | 2 | .818 | 6 | 1 | .857 | 2nd | — | 22 | 14 |
| 2024 | 2024 $^†$ | Clint Killough | Southland | — | 11 | 3 | .786 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | NCAA Division I FCS playoffs – quarterfinals | 6 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2025 | Clint Killough | Southland | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | All-time: 86–92 (.483) | All-time: 86–92 (.483) | All-time: 86–92 (.483) | Conference: 55–54 (.505) | Conference: 55–54 (.505) | Conference: 55–54 (.505) | — | Postseason: 4–4 (.500) | — | — |

## Stadium

UIW home football games are played on campus at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. Benson Stadium was dedicated on September 1, 2008 and currently seats 6,000 people. It is named after Tom Benson and his wife Gayle, whose generous monetary donations helped start up the UIW football program. Record stadium attendance of 6,498 was recorded in a game against Houston Baptist on November 17, 2016. UIW currently has an overall home record at the stadium of 51–35.

## All-time record vs. Southland teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current Southland opponents:
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Percentage | Streak | First | Last |
| East Texas A&M | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 6 | 2010 | 2024 |
| Houston Christian | 10 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 10 | 2013 | 2024 |
| Lamar | 7 | 4 | .636 | Won 5 | 2011 | 2024 |
| McNeese | 6 | 5 | .545 | Won 3 | 2014 | 2024 |
| Nicholls | 6 | 6 | .500 | Won 1 | 2014 | 2024 |
| Northwestern State | 5 | 3 | .571 | Won 3 | 2014 | 2023 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 7 | 5 | .583 | Won 2 | 2013 | 2024 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 3 | 5 | .375 | Won 2 | 2014 | 2024 |
| UT Rio Grande Valley | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 50 | 28 | .641 | | | |

## Record against FBS competition

Overall (2–8)
| Season | Opponent | Division | Result | Score | Record |
| 2015 | UTEP | C-USA | L | 17–27 | 0–1 |
| 2016 | Texas State | Sun Belt | L | 17–48 | 0–2 |
| 2017 | Fresno State | Mountain West | L | 0–66 | 0–3 |
| 2018 | New Mexico | Mountain West | L | 30–62 | 0–4 |
| 2018 | North Texas | C-USA | L | 16–58 | 0–5 |
| 2019 | UTSA | C-USA | L | 7–35 | 0–6 |
| 2019 | New Mexico State | FBS Independent | L | 28–41 | 0–7 |
| 2021 | Texas State | Sun Belt | W | 42–34 | 1–7 |
| 2022 | Nevada | Mountain West | W | 55–41 | 2–7 |
| 2023 | UTEP | C-USA | L | 14–28 | 2–8 |
| 2025 | UTSA | American | | | |
| 2026 | Texas State | Sun Belt | | | |
| 2027 | Baylor | Big 12 | | | |
| 2029 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 2–8 | 2–8 |

## Individual awards
### Walter Payton Award winners

The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding college offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors.
* 2022 – Lindsey Scott Jr.

### Jerry Rice Award winners

The Jerry Rice Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding freshman player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors.
* 2020–21 – Cam Ward

### FCS All-Americans

| Year | Player | Position | First team | Second team | Third team |
| 2015 | Myke Tavarres | LB | STATS, AFCA | AP | — |
| 2017 | Joseph Zema | P | AP, STATS, HERO | AFCA | — |
| 2017 | Desmond Hite | KR | — | STATS, HERO | — |
| 2018 | Ra’Quanne Dickens | RB | — | — | STATS, HERO |
| 2020 | Kevin Brown | RB / AP | — | STATS, AFCA | — |
| 2021 | Cam Ward | QB | — | STATS | — |
| 2021 | Taylor Grimes | WR | — | AP, STATS, HERO | — |
| 2021 | Kelechi Anyalebechi | LB | — | — | AP, STATS |
| 2022 | Lindsey Scott Jr. | QB | AP, STATS, HERO, AFCA | — | — |
| 2022 | Darion Chafin | WR | — | — | AP, STATS |
| 2022 | Taylor Grimes | WR | — | AP, STATS | — |
| 2022 | Caleb Johnson | OL | — | — | AP |
| 2022 | Kelechi Anyalebechi | LB | — | AP, STATS | — |
| 2023 | Brandon Porter | WR | — | AP, STATS, FCS Football Central | — |
| 2023 | Steven Parker | DL | PFF | AFCA | STATS, FCS Football Central |
| 2024 | Roy Alexander | WR | — | — | STATS, FCS Football Central, Phil Steele/Draftscout |
| 2024 | Zach Calzada | QB | — | STATS | AP, FCS Football Central, Phil Steele/Draftscout |
| 2024 | Mason Chambers | DB | STATS | FCS Football Central, Phil Steele/Draftscout | AP |
| 2024 | Jalen Walthall | WR | AP, STATS, FCS Football Central, Phil Steele/Draftscout | — | — |

## Players in the NFL

| Player name | Position | Years at UIW | Years in NFL | NFL Team |
| Justin Alexandre | DE | 2017–2018 | 2019 | Jets |
| Kelechi Anyalebechi | LB | 2018–2022 | 2023 | Rams |
| Taylor Grimes | WR | 2021–2022 | 2023 | Broncos |
| Alex Jenkins | DE | 2013–2016 | 2017–2019 | Saints, Giants |
| Silas Stewart | LB | 2017–2018 | 2019 | Ravens |
| Myke Tavarres | LB | 2014–2015 | 2016 | Eagles |
| Cole Wick | TE | 2012–2015 | 2016–2020 | Lions, 49ers, Titans, Raiders, Saints |
| National Football League (NFL) |||||

## Players in the CFL

| Player name | Position | Years at UIW | Years in CFL | CFL Team |
| Kelechi Anyalebechi | LB | 2018-2022 | 2025–present | Calgary Stampeders |
| Kevin Brown | RB | 2019–2021 | 2022–present | Edmonton Elks, Toronto Argonauts |
| Trevor Begue | WR | 2021 | 2023 | Edmonton Elks |
| Olivier Charles–Pierre | DT | 2022 | 2023 | Edmonton Elks |
| Robert Hayes, Jr. | DB | 2016 | 2022 | Montreal Alouettes |
| Jamari Gilbert | DB | 2013–2017 | 2019 | Calgary Stampeders |
| Silas Stewart | DL | 2017–2018 | 2021–present | Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Redblacks |
| Myke Tavarres | LB | 2014–2015 | 2017 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| Joseph Zema | P | 2017 | 2021–present | Montreal Alouettes |
| Canadian Football League (CFL) |||||

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference opponents as of January 14, 2025.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
| Eastern Washington | Samford | at Baylor | Montana | at Texas Tech |
| at UTSA | at Northern Arizona | Northern Arizona | | at Montana |
| at Northern Arizona | at Texas State | at Eastern Washington | | |
| Abilene Christian | | | | |