Athletic director Louis Perkins Field surface Artificial Turf All-time record 351–392–11 (.473) Head coach Kenny Carter Postseason bowl record 1 | Seating capacity 7193 Playoff appearances 1 Division Division I (NCAA) First season 1924 Colors Columbia Blue, Red | |
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Profiles | ||
The Delaware State Hornets football team compete in Division I FCS, and are full-members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They are a four-time conference champion and made their first-ever FCS playoff appearance in 2007. They play at the 7,193-seat Alumni Stadium located in Dover, Delaware. The facility opened in 1957 as a multi-purpose for football, and track and field.
Contents
- History
- Hornets vs Blue Hens Controversy
- Classifications
- Conference memberships
- Yearly Results
- Hornets in the pros
- References
History
On November 9, 1980, Delaware State took on QB Neil Lomax and the Portland State Vikings and were defeated 105–0 in the most lopsided loss in Division I-AA Football history. This was marked as the low point for the team and with the help of new coach Joe Purzycki the Hornets rebuilt their program. He was hired as Delaware State's head coach in 1981, and compiled a 21–21–1 overall record, including a 15–5–1 mark in his last two seasons. Bill Collick, who was Purzycki's defensive coordinator, took over the program in 1985. He led the Hornets to the team's first MEAC championship in his first season.
After 2003's 1–10 debacle, Delaware State hired Alton "Al" Lavan as their new head football coach with the task of rebuilding the program once again. When Lavan was hired as head coach of the Hornets in January 2004, he promised to bring championship football back to Delaware State. Lavan brought more than 30 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience to Delaware State.
During his first season at Delaware State in 2004, Lavan led the Hornets to a 4–7 overall record and a 4–3 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), DSU’s first winning record in conference play since 2000.
The highlight of the 2004 season was Lavan’s first DSU victory, a 28–23 upset of eventual MEAC champ Hampton, the Pirates ‘only loss in a 10–1 regular season. More than the on-field improvement, Lavan has brought a change of attitude to the program. In addition to installing the first comprehensive strength and conditioning program in team history, he spearheaded changes in the team’s academic, recruiting, practice and discipline policies. The team is also benefiting from new audio/visual and computer equipment, thanks to a generous donation from prominent alumni spurred by Lavan’s outreach efforts to university supporters.
Lavan has also demonstrated concern for his players by initiating a program to bring local and nationally recognized speakers before the team to share their stories. Among the prominent individuals offering words of wisdom are former Hornet offensive lineman Matt Horace, currently an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Joe Purzycki, former DSU head football coach and current bank executive; former pro quarterback and current NFL executive James Harris; and former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.
Lavan’s 2005 squad posted the Hornets’ first winning season since 2000. The team was 7–4 overall, and third in the MEAC with a 6–2 record. Delaware State was picked to finish sixth in the 2005 pre-season MEAC poll. The 2005 season also marked the first time since 1985 that the Hornets posted an undefeated record at home (5–0).
In 2006, the Hornets were 8–3 overall and 6–2 in the MEAC. It marked the first time that DSU posted back-to-back winning seasons since 1994–95, while the eight wins were the most by the team since 1991. Delaware State also appeared in the SportsNetwork Division I-AA Top 25 poll for the first time since 1992, coming in at No. 23 in week ten.
In the 2007 season he led the Hornets to a school-record 10 wins, their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship since 1991 and first ever appearance in the NCAA playoffs. In addition, the 2007 Hornets were ranked as high as No. 10 in the weekly SportsNetwork Football Championship Subdivision poll and were No. 15 in the final poll. Delaware State was recognized as 2007 American Sports Wire Division I Black College National Champions and No. 2 in the final Sheridan Broadcast Network poll of Historically Black College & University teams.
Lavan was honored as the 2007 Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., MEAC Coach-of-the-Year and Football Championship Subdivision Region II Coach-of-the-Year. He was second in the voting for the 2007 Eddie Robinson Award, recognizing the top Football Championship Subdivision coach, and was awarded the 2008 Making A Difference Award by the DSU Alumni Association. Lavan was also selected as head coach for the 2008 American Heritage Bowl/Navy-Marine Corps All-Star Classic in San Clemente, Calif. He guided the Northeast All-Stars to a 24–7 victory in the contest.
In four seasons at DSU, Lavan has posted an overall record of 29–16, including a 24–7 mark in MEAC contests. He has led the team to winning records in each of the last three seasons. In the three years prior to his arrival, the Hornets were 10–24 overall and 6–17 in the league. Delaware State had just one winning season in the eight years before Lavan took the job. Lavan has 31–17 career record as a head coach, including a 2–1 mark during an interim stint at Eastern Michigan in 2003.
After three straight losing seasons, Al Lavan was fired from Delaware State on December 2, 2010.
Kermit Blount was head coach for the 2011–2014 seasons.
Hornets vs Blue Hens Controversy
The most controversial aspect of the DSU football program was the fact that it had never been scheduled by potential instate rival University of Delaware for a regular season game. It was highly unusual for two state universities that play on the same athletic tier to not play one another, especially schools that are less than one hour's drive away from campus. Critics charged that this had to do with the fact that Delaware State is a Historically Black College. Furthermore, supporters of a game between DSU and UD claimed that it would be akin to other in-state college rivalries and would be good for the state. In response to the charges of racism on UD's part, their supporters pointed out that Delaware had scheduled and played regular season games against several other HBCUs such as Morgan State and North Carolina A&T. UD supporters also claimed that DSU's team was not as strong as the Blue Hens, and that UD's program had made commitments to other universities that they had to fulfill. Finally, UD supporters also noted the fact that the two colleges routinely meet in sports other than football.
This controversy was laid to rest when University of Delaware and Delaware State University met on the football field for the first time on November 23, 2007 in Newark, Delaware in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The Fightin' Blue Hens defeated the Hornets 44–7 in front of an attendance of 19,765, the largest playoff crowd in Delaware Stadium history. In 2009, the teams began playing each other during the regular season. With the exception of 2010, the game has been played annually, with each of these games played at Delaware Stadium on the UD campus in Newark. Delaware has won all six regular season meetings to date (2009, 2011-2014 and 2016), this year with a score of 56–14 on September 1, 2016.