George Washington Colonials football The George Washington Colonials football team represented The George Washington University in National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) major college - level football competition from 1881 to 1966 . The Colonials were most successful between the 1930s and 1950s when they regularly played top - level competition . George Washington made one postseason bowl game appearance : the 1957 Sun Bowl , where it defeated Texas Western , now called UTEP . In 1966 , the football program was discontinued due to a number of factors , including the team ' s lack of success , programs like Virginia and Maryland getting better , and less interest in driving into the city to see a game . History . The earliest recorded football games at Columbian University ( as the school was known until 1904 ) were five contests against Gallaudet and Episcopal High School between 1881 and 1883 . On November 8 , 1890 , football resumed when Columbian defeated a Washington - based club , Kalorama AC , 10 – 0 . The team played off and on until 1920 . That season was not a successful one for George Washington , which finished 1 – 6 – 1 , including a defeat at the hands of West Virginia , 81 – 0 , and , 101 – 7 . H . Watson " Maud " Crum became the head football and basketball coach in 1924 . He was the first to remain in that position with the " Hatchetites " for more than four years . In 1928 , the school ' s athletic teams were renamed the " Colonials " . That year they were routed by Penn State , 50 – 0 . Head coach James " Possum Jim " Pixlee took over the following season and led GW to a 0 – 8 record . Pixlee , however , later became George Washington ' s winningest coach in terms of number of wins ( 42 ) . In 1930 , GW routed the New York Aggies , 86 – 0 . In the 1930s and 1940s , GW gained nationwide media attention and scheduled top competition , starting with Alabama in 1932 . The Colonials lost , 28 – 6 , but that same year they beat Iowa , 21 – 6 , and tied Oklahoma , 7 – 7 . From 1933 to 1935 , back Alphonse " Tuffy " Leemans set school records with 1 , 054 single - season rushing yards , 2 , 382 career rushing yards , 207 single - season carries , and 490 career carries . After college , he became a two - time All - NFL player for the New York Giants and was eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . From 1938 to 1941 , William Reinhart , the Colonials ' winningest baseball and basketball coach , also coached football . The football team , however , was mediocre under him , and , from 1943 to 1945 , was discontinued due to World War II . Andy Davis played as GW quarterback from 1948 to 1951 , and recorded 3 , 587 passing yards and 1 , 416 passing yards . In 1952 , the Colonials defeated , 21 – 7 , with the help of a block punt , an interception , and a fumble recovery . The loss was Bucknell ' s second in their past 20 games . George Washington joined the Southern Conference in 1953 . That season , head coach Eugene " Bo " Sherman was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year and center Steve Korcheck was named Southern Conference Player of the Year . In 1956 , GW ended the regular season 7 – 1 – 1 . The lone defeat came against , when reserve quarterback Alex Szuch ' s passing led the Mountaineers to victory , 14 – 0 . They held to a tie , 20 – 20 . The season ' s performance resulted in the team being invitation to the 1957 Sun Bowl in order to face Texas Western ( now known as UTEP ) . Their opponents possessed a 9 – 1 record and were favored by a two - touchdown margin . The 17th - ranked Colonials , however , won , 13 – 0 , to finish their most successful season with an 8 – 1 record . Over the next three years , the Colonials compiled a 6 – 20 record . Bill Elias served as head coach in 1961 and improved the Colonials to a 5 – 3 mark from 1 – 8 the year prior . After the season , however , he left to take over at Virginia , a team that had a 28 - game losing streak . From 1962 to 1966 , James V . Camp served as head coach , and his teams posted a 22 – 35 record . Between 1961 and 1963 , Dick Drummond rushed for 1 , 814 yards and was twice named All - Southern Conference . Garry Lyle , one of the last GW players to go on to an NFL career , did not consider the last Colonial teams to have been terrible . He recalled , however , that , " When I was a freshman , we played Army and I remember the varsity coming home and half of them wore casts . " The final George Washington game came on Thanksgiving Day , 1966 , when the team lost to , 16 – 7 . GW ended the season with a 4 – 6 record ( conference : 4 – 3 ) and Jim Camp was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year . On January 19 , 1967 , the Board of Trustees voted to end the football program . Poor game attendance and the expense of the program contributed to the decision . A former GW player , Harry Ledford , believed that most people were unwilling to commute into Washington , D . C . , which did not have a metro rail at the time , on Friday nights to RFK Stadium , which was perceived as an unsafe area . Additionally , Maryland and Virginia were nationally competitive teams that drew potential spectators away from GW .