Carleton Knights football
First season	1883
Athletic director	Gerald Young
Head coach	Bob Pagel 6th season, 12–38 (.240)
Stadium	Laird Stadium (capacity: 7,500)
Year built	1927
Location	Northfield, Minnesota
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	MIAC (1983–present)
Past conferences	MIAC (1920–1924) MCAC (1922–1982)
All-time record	474–468–25[1] (.503)
Playoff appearances	1
Playoff record	0–1
Conference titles	11 (9 MCAC, 2 MIAC)
Colors	Blue and maize[2]
Website	Official website

The Carleton Knights football team represents Carleton College in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The program was started in 1883 and was very successful through the early 1960s, winning over 20 conference championships from 1895 to 1956.

Since 1983, Carleton has played in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Knights won the conference title in 1992 with an 9–1 record overall, earning entry into the NCAA Division III Football Championship, although Carleton lost in the first round.

History

1883–1904

Carleton played its first game against the University of Minnesota in 1883, making it the tenth-oldest football program in Division III.^[3] Carleton insisted that a member of the faculty be allowed to play and that the game would be rugby style football. Minnesota's coach Thomas Peebles preferred the soccer style of play, but agreed to the conditions as long as he could act as the referee.^[4] Carleton won the game 4–2.^[5]: 10

The college officially sanctioned the team in 1891 and hired a paid coach in 1898.^{[6][7]: 108}

Minnesota and Carleton played every year from 1896 to 1904 under the intercollegiate football rules of the time. Minnesota won all nine games, by a total score of 337–17.^[5]: 113

1905–1919

From 1905 to 1917, Carleton won 10 championships in 13 years with a record of 66–17–2.^{[6][7]: 108 [8]}

Claude J. Hunt became the head coach in 1913 and compiled an incredible record through 1916. Hunt's teams were undefeated over those four years, allowing only three touchdowns and outscoring opponents 1,196 to 20.^[9] In the 1915 season, Carleton outscored Stout, Cornell, Grinnell, Macalester, Beloit, and Hamline by a combined score of 323–0. ^{[7]: 110–112}

In the first game of the 1916 season, Carleton traveled to Chicago and beat the Chicago Maroons, 7–0, in a shocking upset.^[10] Chicago was coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg and was a member of the Western Conference at the time.^[11] Stagg said Carleton's 1916 team "will always be remembered as the first to demonstrate to the football world that Carleton produces teams of the first class, worthy to be placed on par with any team in the country."^[6]

Hunt left for Washington in 1917, but returned to coach Carleton from 1920 to 1930, during which the team won four conference titles. His overall Carleton record was 76–22–4.^[9]

1920–1978

Carleton was a founding member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 1920.^[12] It was also a founding member of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) in 1921.^[13] Carleton football participated in both conferences in 1922, 1923, and 1924; winning the MCAC title in 1923 and the MIAC title in 1924. After the 1924 season, Carleton left the MIAC, playing in the MCAC through 1982.^[14]

Carleton won six MCAC championships from 1925 to 1940.^[15]

From 1922 to 1936, Carleton played seven games versus major college teams, losing all seven. After a loss at Army in 1932, Herbert Hoover invited the Knights to tour the White House.^[16]

From 1905 to 1963, Carleton had only one occurrence of back-to-back losing seasons (1952–1953).^[a] Then the Walter Hass-coached 1954 team bounced back to go 8–0 and win the Midwest conference championship.^[17][18] However, the Knights experienced a long stretch of losing seasons from 1964 to 1978, during which Carleton's record was 33–89–2.^[19]

Carleton hosted the only NCAA-sponsored metric football game in 1977. The game was dubbed the "Liter Bowl" as all measurements were in meters instead of yards. The field was 100 meters long between the goal lines and 50 meters wide (109.36 and 54.68 yards, respectively) and the football used was 29 centimeters long.^[20] The Knights lost to St. Olaf, 43–0.^[21] Drawing around 10,000 fans, the event was the last to fill Laird Stadium.^[22][23]

1979–present

In 1979, Carleton hired Bob Sullivan as head football coach. Sullivan turned the program around in the first year, winning the Midwest conference championship.^[24] After several more winning seasons, Carleton left the Midwest and rejoined the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1983. The first few seasons in the MIAC were difficult, but Carleton consistently posted winning seasons from 1986 to 1993.

The Knights went 8–1 in the MIAC and were crowned conference champions in 1992.^[25] The team was 9–1 overall and was selected to play in the Division III playoffs that year, but lost 20–8 at Central College in the first round.^[26]

Sullivan retired in 2000, finishing with 102 wins, the most in the program's history.^[24]

Since 1994, the Knights have had only one winning season, posting a 59–168 record through 2016.^[27]

Players

Carleton has had three All-Americans: Donald "Tag" Senior, a Little All-American in 1934; Jim Bradford, first team wide receiver in 1990; and Drew Ziller, first team strong safety in 2008.^[28][29][30]

Jim Bradford (1988-91) holds the MIAC single-game receiving record with 285 yards vs. Gustavus on October 20, 1990.^[14] He also holds team career records for receiving yards (3,719) and receiving touchdowns (32).^[31]

Laird Stadium

Laird Athletic Field opened with a covered grandstand in 1902.^[8]

Laird Stadium was built in 1927 with 7,500 seats in one grandstand, as the college was considering joining the Big Ten.^[20] It is the third-largest Division III stadium west of the Mississippi River.^[1]

During the 2010 football season, the Cannon River, which flows directly behind Laird Stadium, flooded to record levels.^[32] The football field was under several feet of water for many days, forcing the relocation of three home games. The lower level of the stadium grandstand, where all football facilities are located, was destroyed. The stadium interior was remodeled in 2012.^[33]

Rivalries

St. Olaf Oles

The Knights' biggest rival is the Oles of St. Olaf College, located on the other side of Northfield, Minnesota. Carleton and St. Olaf first played an official game in 1918 and have played each other every year except during World War II and after the blizzard in 1991, when St. Olaf refused to reschedule the game. Each year the winner receives the Goat Trophy, which was first awarded in 1931.^[34] Sports Illustrated wrote about St. Olaf vs. Carleton’s undefeated 1954 team and covered the 1962 St. Olaf at Carleton game.^[18][35] St. Olaf leads the series 53–44–1.^[36]

Macalester Scots

In 1998, The Book of Knowledge trophy was created for Carleton's annual game against the Macalester Scots.^[37] The trophy name is based on both schools being top national liberal arts colleges, Carleton #8 and Macalester #26 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.^[38] Carleton leads the trophy game series 14–7 and the overall series 52–12–1.^[39]

See also

• Carleton Knights

Notes

References

Further reading

• Sullivan, Bob (2006). Knights of the Gridiron: a History of Carleton College Football 1883-2005. Carleton College.

External links

• Official website
• "Carleton Football Highlights". Carleton College Archives. 1992.