Troy Trojans football

Early History (1909-1965)

Troy University has fielded a football team continuously since 1946. Prior to that year, the team was fielded with a lot of interruptions from 1909 to 1942. Eight years were skipped due to lack of participation and later World War I from 1913–1920, while the Wall Street Crash of 1929 kept the team from playing that year.

Coach George Penton led the Troy Trojans for two seasons, 1911 and 1912. Under his tutelage, the Trojans completed their only undefeated season, a 3–0 record.

Albert Elmore began coaching in 1931 at the Troy. He is credited with changing the team mascot to "Red Wave" (this was a variation of Alabama's "Crimson Tide", and the current nickname is "Trojans"). Elmore left Troy after the 1937 season. In seven years at Troy State, five of which were winning seasons, Elmore compiled a 35–30–3 record.

In 1947, Fred McCollum took the head coaching position at Troy State. From 1947 to 1950, he compiled an overall record of twenty wins, eighteen losses and three ties (20–18–3) with the Red Wave, which included back to back six-win seasons in 1948-1949.

Bill Atkins era (1966-1971)

On January 8, 1966, Bill Atkins was named the head coach of the Troy State Trojans football team. In 1968, he coached Troy State to an NAIA National Championship and was named the NAIA Coach of the Year. Atkins finished at Troy State with a 44–16–2 record before leaving in 1971. He is the second-most winningest coach in Troy history, only behind Larry Blakeney.

Tom Jones era (1972-1973)

Tom Jones was hired as Troy State's head coach in 1972. He served as the head football coach from 1972 to 1973, compiling a record of 11–7–2.

Byrd Whigham era (1974-1975)

Byrd Whigham led the Troy Trojans football program for two seasons and his teams compiled a 12–8 record in his two seasons. He departed the Red Ware after the 1975 season.

Charlie Bradshaw era (1976-1982)

Former Kentucky head coach Charlie Bradshaw came out of retirement to accept the position of head coach of the Trojans, which had become the school's mascot just a short time earlier. Under Bradshaw's tutelage, the Trojans compiled a 41–27–2 record, which included three eight-win seasons and one conference championship. However, a 3–7 campaign in 1981 and a 2–8 season in 1982 ended Bradshaw's tenure at Troy State.

Chan Gailey era (1983-1984)

In 1983, Chan Gailey took over the head coaching duties at Troy State, where he led the Trojans to a 12–1 record in 1984 en route to the Division II championship. Gailey departed Troy State after two seasons to accept the position of tight ends coach and special teams coordinator with the NFL's Denver Broncos.

Rick Rhoades era (1985-1987)

Rick Rhoades, previously the Trojans' defensive coordinator, was the head coach at Troy State from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he led the team to the NCAA Division II Football Championship. Rhoades left Troy State after three seasons.

Robert Maddox era (1988-1990)

At Troy State, head coach Robert Maddox inherited a team which the previous season had gone 12–1–1, winning the NCAA Division II Football Championship. Despite this, in 1988, Troy State had its first losing season since 1982, going 4–6. The following season, the team showed little improvement, finishing with an identical 4–6 record. In 1990, Troy State improved slightly to 5–5, but Maddox resigned following a season-ending 24–23 win over Nicholls State.

Larry Blakeney era (1991-2014)

Larry Blakeney became the twentieth head football coach at Troy State University on December 3, 1990. The program was officially still a Division II program, but were already approved to transition to Division I-AA the following season. He took over a program that had won two national championships the previous decade, but were 13–17 the previous three years.

The first full year at Division I-AA, the Troy State Trojans made it to the semifinal game and finished 12–1–1, 10–0–1 in the regular season. This marked the first undefeated, regular, full season of Troy State Trojans football and they finished ranked first in the end of season poll by Sports Network. In 1995, the team improved on that record finishing 11–0 in the regular season for the first undefeated and untied season in history. During the eight seasons the team was a member of I-AA football, they made the playoffs seven seasons and won the Southland Conference championship three times and made the playoff semifinals twice.

Troy State transitioned to Division I-A in 2001. During that season they defeated three Division I-A schools, including their first win over a BCS conference school, Mississippi State. The transition makes Blakeney one of two coaches to ever take a football team from Division II to I-A (the other is UCF’s Gene McDowell).

In 2004, Troy's first year in the Sun Belt Conference, Blakeney coached his team to one of the biggest victories in the school's and the Sun Belt's history after defeating then #17 ranked Missouri 24–14 at home, in front of a national audience on ESPN2. He once again coached his team to a victory over a BCS school in 2007 at home, routing Oklahoma State 41–23 on ESPN2.

Blakeney would earn his first bowl win in 2006, beating the Rice Owls football team 41–17 in the New Orleans Bowl. The team won their first Sun Belt Conference title that year. After losing the 2008 New Orleans Bowl in overtime against Southern Miss and losing the 2010 GMAC Bowl in double-overtime against Central Michigan, Blakeney would get his second bowl victory in the 2010 New Orleans Bowl, defeating Ohio 48–21.

ESPN recognized Blakeney as one of the top 5 non-AQ recruiting closers in 2009. Blakeney retired at the end of the 2014 season after serving twenty three years as Head Coach for Troy University.

Troy University football began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. In 2001, Troy defeated Mississippi State University at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, by a count of 21–9 to notch the Trojans' first victory over a BCS level program. The Trojans began their 2004 campaign with a win over Marshall, and then garnered the program's largest win one game later as the Trojans defeated then #17 ranked Missouri, 24–14, in front of a Movie Gallery Stadium record crowd. The Trojan football team made its first bowl game appearance in the Silicon Valley Football Classic on December 30, 2004 that same season, but lost to Northern Illinois, 34–21. In 2006, Troy won the Sun Belt Conference for the first time after defeating Middle Tennessee in dramatic fashion in the last game of the 2006 season in a game that is now referred to as "The Miracle in Murfreesboro". As the 2006 Sun Belt Conference champions, Troy played in the New Orleans Bowl on December 22, 2006 against Rice University, routing the Owls of Conference USA by a score of 41–17. The New Orleans Bowl victory was Troy's first bowl victory in history.

Troy football former head coach Larry Blakeney officially retired at the end of the 2014 season. He led the program to three Southland Football League titles and five straight Sun Belt Conference titles, as well as guided the Trojans to seven FCS playoff appearances and four FBS bowl games. Blakeney finished with an overall record of 178–113–1 as head coach at Troy. Blakeney is the winningest coach in the Troy University history and he is the 4th winningest collegiate coach all-time in the state of Alabama, only behind greats Paul "Bear" Bryant, Cleveland L. Abbott, and Ralph "Shug" Jordan. Blakeney is just one of two coaches to ever take a football program from Division II to I-A (the other is UCF’s Gene McDowell).

Troy's only perfect regular season record in football came at the conclusion of the 1995 season as the Trojans finished 11–0 and were crowned champions of the Southland Football League heading into the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Neal Brown era (2015-present)

Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown, who had served in the same capacity at Troy from 2008-2009, was named the Trojans head coach in November 2014. In 2015, Brown's Trojans posted a 4–8 record. Troy was ranked for the first time in the AP top 25 on November 13, 2016, they became the first team from the Sun Belt Conference to be ranked in the Top 25 and finished the year with a record of 10-3.

Championships

Troy has won 20 total conference championships to go along with 3 national championships. The program won the 1968 NAIA National Championship against Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville). Troy beat North Dakota State in 1984 to win their first Division II national title. They won their second Division II national title in 1987 after defeating Portland State.

FBS Records (2001–Present)

Troy Trojans football seasons

All-time record vs. Sun Belt teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current Sun Belt opponents:

Trojan Walk

Before each Troy home football game, hundreds of Troy fans and students line University Avenue on campus to cheer on the team as they march with the Sound of the South band and cheerleaders from the Quad to Tailgate Terrace, surrounded by fans who pat them on the back and shake their hands as they walk toward Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Band Show on University

Before each home game, the Sound of the South marching band performs a pre-game show on University Avenue in between all of the tailgating areas before the Trojan Walk begins.

Trojan Fanfare

During the pre-game show at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the Sound of the South will perform what is known as the "Trojan Fanfare." It is a favorite among most fans and energizes the fanbase leading up to kickoff.

Post-game Band Show

After every home football game, the Sound of the South marching bands performs a final show for fans in attendance.

Players/Band Celebration

After Troy wins a home game, the players will go to the corner of the stadium where the Sound of the South is and will sing the fight song, alma mater, and sometimes do chants with them.

Trojan Warrior

Before every game and after every touchdown, the Trojan Warrior or Trojan Princess would blaze down the football field on a horse named "Big Red." This tradition is no longer used because the football field turf was changed from grass to artificial grass. There has been recent talk of bringing the tradition back.

Non-FBS Post-season History

South Alabama Jaguars

Troy's newest rivalry is with in-state foe South Alabama. Troy leads the series 3-2 after winning the 2016 Battle For The Belt while South Alabama won the inaugural Battle For The Belt in 2015.

UAB Blazers

Troy enjoys another in-state rivalry with UAB. Troy's rivalry with UAB first played in 1993. UAB was in Conference USA and the two teams had scheduled each other due to their close proximity as non-conference opponents for several years. The two schools have played annually since 2009 until 2014. Troy holds the lead of the inactive rivalry 7–5 due to UAB cutting their football program in 2014 (though UAB football is set to be reinstated in 2017).

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Troy's rivalry with Middle Tennessee, now dormant following Middle Tennessee's 2013 move to Conference USA, is known as the Battle for the Palladium. Troy and Middle Tennessee first played each other in 1936, but it wasn't until 2003 that schools started playing annually for the Palladium Trophy.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 5, 2015.