Valdosta State Blazers football The Valdosta State football team represents Valdosta State University in football . The Blazers are a member of the Gulf South Conference ( GSC ) in NCAA Division II . Valdosta State University has had a football team since 1981 . The Blazers play in Bazemore – Hyder Stadium in Valdosta , Georgia , which has a capacity of 11 , 249 . The Stadium is also the home of the historical Valdosta High School Wildcats , known as " the winningest high school football team in the country " . The Blazers have won a total of three Division II National Championship titles ( 2004 , 2007 and 2012 ) . History . Despite the demands for a team , Valdosta State University , then Valdosta State College , did not form a football team until 1982 . The program began under Valdosta State president Hugh C . Bailey and a majority vote by the VSC student body . In the Blazers first season , under the direction of Head Coach Jim Goodman , the team finished with a 5 - 5 - 1 record . VSC had its first winning season in 1986 with a 9 - 2 record led by All - American Jessie Tuggle . In 1994 the Blazer won a school record 11 victories , and with quarterback Chris Hatcher , played in the programs first national football tournament . Hatcher was the 1994 Harlon Hill Trophy winner . In 1996 , with quarterback Lance Funderburk , the blazers spent a week ranked No . 1 in the country in Division II and were the Gulf South Conference Champions for the first time in School history . In 2002 , the Blazers went to their first National Championship game against Grand Valley State , losing 31 - 24 . In 2004 , the Blazers returned to the National Championship , this time defeating Pittsburg State University 36 - 31 . For the 2006 Season the Blazers wore silver helmets to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the VSU football program . In 2007 , the Blazers defeated Northwest Missouri State University 25 - 20 for their second National Championship title . The Blazers also have won 6 Gulf South Conference football championships ( 1996 , 2000 , 2001 , 2002 , 2004 , 2010 ) . Two notable alumni are Jessie Tuggle , National Football League linebacker from 1987 - 2000 playing his entire career with the Atlanta Falcons , and Chris Hatcher was quarterback in the programs first national football tournament in 1994 and was that year ' s Harlon Hill Trophy winner . Hatcher was also Valdosta State ' s head football coach from 2000 – 2006 and amassed a 68 - 10 record with one national championship and four conference crowns during his six - year tenure at Valdosta State . David Dean , former VSU offensive coordinator , is the current football head coach at Valdosta State University . In his first year Dean ' s Valdosta State team won the 2007 Division II National Championship . Under Dean the Blazers also won the 2012 national title . Hal Mumme Era : 1992 - 1996 . Mumme took over as head coach at Valdosta State University in 1992 . Mumme ’ s record at Valdosta State was 40 - 17 - 1 . In both 1994 and 1996 he led the team to the NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals ; Valdosta State had never made the playoffs previously . In 1994 the Blazer won a school record 11 victories and Quarterback Chris Hatcher won the Harlon Hill Award as player of the year in NCAA Division II football . The team was consistently ranked in the Division II top 20 and was ranked # 1 in the nation in Division II for part of the 1996 season when they won their first Gulf South Conference championship . Chris Hatcher Era : 2000 - 2006 . Chris Hatcher was named the Head Coach of the Blazers in 2000 . The " Hatch - Attack " completed its first season 10 - 2 , and were Gulf South Conference Champions with an 8 - 1 conference record , a dramatic improvement from their previous 4 - 7 season . In 2001 and 2002 , the Blazers went undefeated during the regular season , and were GSC Champions for the third year in a row . The two seasons were a part of a GSC record 35 straight regular season victories . In 2002 VSU made its first National Championship appearance with a 31 - 24 loss to Grand Valley State University . In 2003 , the Blazers finished the season with a 10 - 2 record and an NCAA playoff berth . In 2004 , Hatcher led the Blazers to their second National Championship appearance with and a 36 - 31 win over Pittsburg State University for the National title . The Blazers were also GSC Champions in 2004 after a 11 - 1 regular season . The 2005 season saw the first time the Blazers started the season ranked No . 1 in the polls . The Blazers started the season ranked No . 1 for four weeks but finished with a 9 - 3 record and their fifth straight playoff berth . To recognize the 25th anniversary of the VSU football program , the Blazers wore silver helmets and pants in 2006 . That year the Blazers missed the playoffs for the first time in the Chris Hatcher Era , despite an 8 - 2 record and a top - ten ranking . Hatcher left VSU after the 2006 season to be the head football coach at Georgia Southern University , he left Valdosta State with a 76 - 12 overall record , a . 864 winning percentage , and was the winningest coach in Blazer history . David Dean Era : 2007 - present . David Dean was named Head Coach of the Blazers in 2007 after Chris Hatcher took the head coaching job at Georgia Southern University . Dean was previously the Offense Coordinator for the Blazers . In 2007 , the " Dean Machine " started the season with five straight wins . Delta State University defeated the Blazers 35 - 31 , despite being down 28 points at the beginning of the second half . The Blazers then capped off the season with an eight - game winning streak and their second National Championship title win against Northwest Missouri State University , 25 - 20 . This was the third straight championship appearance by the Bearcats , also the third straight time the Bearcats have lost the National Championship game . David Dean is only the second head coach to lead his team to a National Championship in his first season . Earle Solomonson accomplished this at North Dakota State University in 1985 . 2008 and 2010 were the only years VSU has made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs since the 2007 National Championship season . 2008 saw the Blazers make it to the second round of the playoffs and a 9 - 3 season . Valdosta posted a 8 - 3 record in 2010 and lost in the first round of the playoffs . After beginning the year unranked , the Blazers rose as high as No . 7 in the AFCA coaches poll , before finishing the regular season ranked No . 17 . In 2010 the VSU team tied with Delta State and Henderson State for the Gulf South Conference Championship , the only one in Dean ' s five years as head coach . In 2009 and 2011 the Blazers had 6 - 4 seasons and missed the Division II playoffs . In 2009 VSU finished in 3rd in the Gulf South Conference and 4th in 2011 . Valdosta had been ranked as high as No . 4 in the AFCA poll in the first weeks of the 2011 season . In 2012 the Blazers posted a 12 - 2 record for the year and beat Winston - Salem State University 35 - 7 in the NCAA Division II National Football Championship in Florence , Alabama . The win gave VSU its third Division II National title in eight years . David Dean is the only football coach in Valdosta State history to win two national championships .