Davidson Wildcats football The Davidson Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Davidson College located in the U . S . state of North Carolina . The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) and are members of the Pioneer Football League . Davidson ' s first football team was fielded in 1897 . The team plays its home games at the 6 , 000 seat Richardson Stadium in Davidson , North Carolina . The Wildcats are coached by Tripp Merritt . History . Football at Davidson began during the late 1880 ’ s in the form of club ball . The rules for the game of football were still being standardized , so the teams met before every game to set the rules straight for that particular contest . The first uniforms for the club were dark sweaters or canvas jackets with “ DC ” chalked on the front . The team may not have looked good and been very organized , but they played hard . In 1897 , the school organized a schedule of games against other area club teams , and the team played well considering how little experience it had . The original colors were actually pink and blue . In September 1889 , the students created a Rugby Football Association . Goal posts were set up , a field was chosen and marked , and the students got the association admitted to the North Carolina Football League . The students ’ true love , however , was still real football . Before any collegiate level football was even mentioned , the male students would participate in incredibly vicious inter - class football games . All four classes would play each other in these intense games , and injuries were common . One game , future professor James M . Douglas ( class of 1893 ) broke his arm . In that same game , future president Walter Lingle ( class of 1892 ) was knocked unconscious . Eventually , these rivalries transformed into an uncontrollable desire of the student body to begin an intercollegiate football program ( Gillespie 22 ) . Finally , in October 1898 , the faculty allowed Davidson students to participate in intercollegiate football games . The first intercollegiate game was played on November 5 , 1898 against the University of North Carolina . The game was so big that a special train was chartered to take the entire school into Charlotte to cheer the team on . Luckily for the players , the school colors were changed by the student body in 1895 from pink and blue to red and black . The team lost 11 - 0 , but the editorial in the Davidson College Magazine was entitled “ Victory in Defeat ” ( Gillespie 22 ) . Davidson football had officially begun . The team became both successful and popular over the next twenty years . With a record of 20 - 12 - 1 in the program ’ s first seven seasons , the school had no complaints . In 1906 , the Davidson football team made history . Prior to a game against Georgia , the Davidson coaching staff took note of the new rule that made a forward pass a legal play . During the game , the team completed several short passes over the middle and ended up winning 15 - 0 . Fuzzy Woodruff gives the team credit for being the first team in the South to complete a forward pass in his book , “ The History of Southern Football . ” In 1917 , the nickname we now have at Davidson was officially adopted . Formerly nicknamed “ the preachers ” , Davidson became known as the Wildcats after some Georgians commented that the team — undersized , scrappy and tenacious — “ fought like wildcats ” against Georgia Tech . Another interesting thing occurred in 1929 . In a 13 - 12 win over Duke , senior captain Thad Brock faked a punt seven yards deep in his own end zone . He ran and scrambled around the entire Duke defense to be awkwardly brought down five yards before Dukes end zone . The 102 yard run was featured in a Ripley ’ s Believe It or Not on September 17 , 1930 . It was known as the longest and “ nerviest ” non - touchdown play ever ( Charlotte Observer 7B ) . In 1929 , donations from Henry Smith Richardson ( class of 1906 ) and Lunsford Richardson ( 1914 ) , in memory of their father , Lunsford Richardson ( 1875 ) , made possible construction of a new football stadium . In 1927 , Professor F . L . Jackson wrote to the Board of Trustees about the field : I do not know of any single gift that has come to the college that has touched more intimately the student life of the college , and that has been used , admired , and appreciated more by students and friends of the college , than this handsome field . ( Gillespie 23 ) Davidson football was growing , and the stadium was a huge contributor to this growth . The teams Davidson was playing in the 1930 ’ s , however , were much larger and were getting better and better . Davidson hadn ’ t beaten Duke or North Carolina in ten years . President Walter L . Lingle spoke about this growth and the effects it could have on the school : There are some vocal alumni who want us to go in for big - time football . Big time football may be all right for big Universities , but in the case of a small college it is unthinkable … . We would find that it would change the atmosphere and the ideals of the college very quickly . ( Gillespie 23 ) The Board of Trustees responded to these issues by requiring all Davidson schedules to be adjusted according to the size and strength of the opponents . In 1936 , the football team joined the Southern Conference to help meet the Boards ’ scheduling requests . Scholarships were denied authorization , but financial aid was allowed for athletes that met certain Davidson standards . Davidson was steering away from creating a state - school football atmosphere . Instead , the student - athlete tradition would continue . In the midst of World War II , intercollegiate football had slowed dramatically in 1944 . Those who had not gone to war were young and inexperienced , and the team scored a total of six points in five games during the 1943 season . These tough seasons created some major decisions for the school . The football team needed to find some other small schools that had the same type of athletics program . The only colleges that were of the same relative competitiveness and size as Davidson had given up subsidized sports . This caused the Board of Trustees to vote for Davidson to switch to unsubsidized athletics in 1954 . The decision was never carried out , and the money spent on scholarships began to rise . A school record five consecutive winning seasons was set from 1954 - 1958 with a total record of 26 - 17 - 1 . Some of the best football ever played at Davidson occurred in the following decade . In 1969 , the ‘ Cats went 7 - 4 to match a school record with victories . The same team was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl where Coach Homer Smith was named SoCon coach of the year . By 1971 , football scholarships alone cost the school more money than both football and basketball had ten years earlier . These scholarships were given without need . Finally , in 1973 , the trustees voted to make football grants only to students with demonstrated need ( Gillespie 23 ) . In 1980 , the Davidson football team experienced its last winning season for a long time . From 1981 - 1989 , the ‘ Cats went 14 - 78 . Four games were won from 1985 - 1989 , and the team went winless in ’ 86 and ’ 88 . This led to a major decision on November 29 , 1988 . The trustees voted to move the football program into NCAA Division III , eliminating all football scholarships . Many players threatened to transfer , and some thought that the team would not have enough players and coaches to even have a season the following year . Davidson then moved into the NCAA Division I - AA Independent League on a non - scholarship basis . Alumnus Dave Fagg ’ 58 led the ‘ Cats to a 15 - 13 record from 1990 - 92 . Coach Tim Landis took over for the rest of the nineties , posting two eight - win seasons in 1998 and 1999 . In 2000 , Coach Joe Susan took over after Landis ’ departure and led the ‘ Cats to their first undefeated season in school history with a perfect 10 - 0 record . Susan left immediately after his successful season and was replaced by Coach Mike Toop , who led the team to an impressive 7 - 3 season in 2002 , the team ’ s second season in the Pioneer Football League . In 2003 , Stephen B . Smith ’ 66 selflessly gave the football program a grant of two million dollars . Davidson football has come a long way and still has a long way to go . From Ripley ’ s Believe It or Not appearances to perfect seasons , the Davidson football team has been filled with character throughout the years . Where the program goes from here is unknown , but it will always carry the strong tradition of having quality student - athletes who step up to all the challenges they are faced with . Notable former players . Notable alumni include : Davidson College Hall of Fame Members :