Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football

Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football
First season1891
Athletic directorDwight Merilatt
Head coachBrian Keller
29th season, 130–145 (.473)
StadiumAbel Stadium
(capacity: 2,500)
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
NCAA divisionDivision III
ConferenceA-R-C
Past conferencesNCC
NCC
NCAC
GPCA
GPAC
All-time record515–478–42 (.518)
Playoff appearances5
Conference titles22
RivalriesDoane[1]
ColorsGold and black[2]
   
MascotPrairie Wolves
Websitenwusports.com

The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football team represents Nebraska Wesleyan University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Prairie Wolves are members of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), fielding its team in the A-R-C since 2016 when it was named the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). Nebraska Wesleyan plays home games at Abel Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.[3] The team's head coach is Brian Keller, who took over the position for the 1996 season.

Nebraska Wesleyan's athletic teams were known as the Coyotes in the early 1900s. The nickname was changed to the Plainsmen in 1933 and then to the Prairie Wolves in 2000.[4][5]

Conference affiliations

NAIA / pre-NCAA

NCAA

Championships

Conference championships

Nebraska Wesleyan claims 22 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2000.

Year Conference Overall Record Conference Record Coach
1911 Nebraska Conference 7–0 N/A William Kline
1912 5–2–1 N/A
1913† 4–3–1 N/A
1914 7–1 N/A
1915 6–3 N/A
1918 Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference 2–3 N/A William Norris
1920 6–2–2 4–0–1 Ray McCandless
1921 8–3 5–0
1925† North Central Conference 6–0–2 3–0–1 Clarence Dow
1931 Nebraska College Athletic Conference 4–3–1 4–0–1 John Waldorf
1932† 4–3–1 4–0–1
1934 6–2–1 4–0 John E. Roberts
1947† Nebraska College Conference 7–1–1 5–1–1 George Knight
1963 Great Plains College Association 7–2 3–0 Raymond Westover
1964 7–1 3–0
1976† Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 6–3 4–1 Harold Chaffee
1983† 7–3 4–1 Orson Christensen
1986 7–3 5–0
1988 8–2 5–0 Jim Svoboda
1989 10–2 5–0
1990† 7–2 4–1
2000† Great Plains Athletic Conference 8–3 6–2 Brian Keller

† Co-champions

Postseason games

NAIA playoff games

The Prairie Wolves have appeared in the NAIA playoffs four times with an overall record of 1–4.

Season Coach Playoff Opponent Result
1988 Jim Svoboda First round Evangel L 14–45
1989 First round
Quarterfinals		 Chadron State
Wisconsin–La Crosse		 W 46–43
L 0–29
1991 First round Peru State L 20–41
2000 Brian Keller First round Northwestern Oklahoma State L 13–40

Bowl games

Nebraska Wesleyan has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1946 George Knight Will Rogers Bowl Pepperdine L 13–38

List of head coaches

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
General Overall Conference Postseason[A 1]
No. Order of coaches[A 2] GC Games coached CW Conference wins PW Postseason wins
DC Division championships OW Overall wins CL Conference losses PL Postseason losses
CC Conference championships OL Overall losses CT Conference ties PT Postseason ties
NC National championships OT Overall ties[A 3] C% Conference winning percentage
† Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame O% Overall winning percentage[A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards
No. Name Season(s) GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C% PW PL PT DC CC NC Awards
1 Frank Crawford 1896 5 3 2 0 0.600 – – – – – – – – – – –
2 Charley Thomas[9] 1897 7 5 2 0 0.714 – – – – – – – – – – –
3 Zora Clevenger[10] 1908; 1910 9 2 7 0 0.222 – – – – – – – – – – –
4 William Kline[11] 1909; 1911–1917 62 37 19 6 0.645 – – – – – – – – – – –
5 William Norris 1918 5 2 3 0 0.400 – – – – – – – – – – –
6 Benjamin Beck[12] 1919 9 7 2 0 0.778 – – – – – – – – – – –
7 Ray McCandless[13] 1920–1922 29 17 9 3 0.638 – – – – – – – – – – –
8 Glenn Preston 1923–1924 17 8 5 4 0.588 – – – – – – – – – – –
9 Clarence Dow[14] 1925–1926 18 12 4 2 0.722 – – – – – – – – – – –
10 Howard Durham[15] 1927 9 0 8 1 0.056 – – – – – – – – – – –
11 Francis Alabaster[16] 1928–1929 18 5 10 3 0.361 – – – – – – – – – – –
12 John Waldorf[17] 1930–1932 25 14 9 2 0.600 – – – – – – – – – – –
13 John Roberts 1933–1934 18 9 7 2 0.556 – – – – – – – – – – –
14 George Farley[18] 1935; 1941–1942 27 13 11 3 0.537 – – – – – – – – – – –
15 Dwight Thomas 1936–1940 42 14 26 2 0.357 – – – – – – – – – – –
16 Allen Stroh 1945 5 3 2 0 0.600 – – – – – – – – – – –
17 George Knight[19] 1946–1949 37 24 9 4 0.703 – – – – – – – – – – –
18 Roy Roberston[20] 1950–1953 39 14 22 3 0.397 – – – – – – – – – – –
19 Keith Skogman[21] 1954–1959 56 21 32 3 0.402 – – – – – – – – – – –
20 Raymond Westover[22] 1960–1968 78 36 40 2 0.474 – – – – – – – – – – –
21 Harold Chaffee[23] 1969–1981 118 55 61 2 0.475 – – – – – – – – – – –
22 Orson Christensen[24] 1982–1986 49 29 20 0 0.592 – – – – – – – – – – –
23 Jim Svoboda[25] 1987–1993 71 51 20 0 0.718 – – – – – – – – – – –
24 Steve Stanard[26] 1994–1995 20 6 14 0 0.300 – – – – – – – – – – –
25 Brian Keller[27] 1996–present 272 129 143 0 0.474 – – – – – – – – – – –

Year-by-year results

National champions Conference champions Bowl game berth Playoff berth

[28]

Season Year Head
Coach 		Association Division Conference Record Postseason Final ranking
Overall Conference
Win Loss Tie Finish Win Loss Tie
Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves
1896 1896 Frank Crawford – – – 3 2 0 – – – – — —
1897 1897 Charley Thomas 5 2 0 – – – – — —
No team from 1888 to 1907
1908 1908 Zora Cleavenger – – – 1 2 0 – – – – — —
1909 1909 William Kline 0 1 3 – – – – — —
1910 1910 Zora Cleavenger 1 5 0 – – – – — —
1911 1911 William Kline Nebraska 7 0 0 1st – – – Conference champions —
1912 1912 5 2 1 1st – – – Conference champions —
1913 1913 4 3 1 T-1st – – – Conference co-champions —
1914 1914 7 1 0 1st – – – Conference champions —
1915 1915 6 3 0 1st – – – Conference champions —
1916 1916 NIC 5 4 1 2nd – – – — —
1917 1917 3 5 0 3rd – – – — —
1918 1918 William Norris 2 3 0 1st – – – Conference champions —
1919 1919 Benjamin Beck 7 2 0 2nd – – – — —
1920 1920 Roy McCandless 6 2 2 1st – – – Conference champions —
1921 1921 7 3 0 1st – – – Conference champions —
1922 1922 4 4 1 3rd – – – — —
1923 1923 Glenn Preston 6 1 2 2nd – – – — —
1924 1924 NCC 2 4 2 T-5th 1 2 0 — —
1925 1925 Clarence Dow 6 0 2 1st 3 0 1 Conference champions —
1926 1926 Nebraska 6 4 0 2nd – – – — —
1927 1927 Howard Durham 0 8 1 13th – – – — —
1928 1928 Francis Alabaster NCAC 5 2 2 3rd 2 1 2 — —
1929 1929 3 5 1 5th 2 3 0 — —
1930 1930 John Waldorf 6 3 2nd 4 1 0 — —
1931 1931 4 3 1 1st 4 0 1 Conference champions —
1932 1932 4 3 1 T-1st 4 0 1 Conference co-champions —
1933 1933 John Roberts 3 5 1 2nd 3 1 0 — —
1934 1934 6 2 1 1st 4 0 0 Conference champions —
1935 1935 George Farley 5 3 1 2nd 2 1 1 — —
1936 1936 Dwight Thomas 5 3 2nd 3 1 0 — —
1937 1937 2 5 1 4th 0 3 0 — —
1938 1938 4 4 1 4th 1 2 1 — —
1939 1939 2 7 0 4th 1 3 0 — —
1940 1940 NAIA 1 7 0 4th 1 3 0 — —
1941 1941 George Farley 2 6 1 3rd 2 2 0 — —
1942 1942 6 2 1 2nd 3 1 0 — —
No team from 1943 to 1944
1945 1945 Allen Stroh NAIA – – 3 2 0 – – – – — —
1946 1946 George Knight NCC 7 0 3 2nd 4 0 2 Playoff berth —
1947 1947 7 1 1 T-1st 5 1 1 Conference co-champions —
1948 1948 6 3 0 2nd 5 2 0 — —
1949 1949 4 5 0 T-4th 4 4 0 — —
1950 1950 Roy Robertson 5 5 0 6th 4 3 0 — —
1951 1951 2 8 0 6th 2 5 0 — —
1952 1952 5 5 0 T-3rd 4 3 0 — —
1953 1953 2 4 3 7th 1 4 2 — —
1954 1954 Keith Skogman 3 6 1 6th 2 4 1 — —
1955 1955 2 7 1 6th 2 4 1 — —
1956 1956 3 7 0 5th 3 4 0 — —
1957 1957 3 5 0 T-4th 3 4 0 — —
1958 1958 5 4 0 4th 5 3 0 — —
1959 1959 5 3 1 5th 4 3 1 — —
1960 1960 Raymond Westover 0 8 0 7th 0 6 0 — —
1961 1961 0 9 0 7th 0 6 0 — —
1962 1962 – 2 4 2 – – – – — —
1963 1963 GPCA 7 2 0 1st 3 0 0 Conference champions —
1964 1964 7 1 0 1st 3 0 0 Conference champions —
1965 1965 – 7 2 0 – – – – — —
1966 1966 7 2 0 – – – – — —
1967 1967 5 4 0 – – – – — —
1968 1968 1 8 0 – – – – — —
1969 1969 Harold Chaffee 5 4 0 – – – – — —
1970 1970 Division II NIAC 6 4 0 4th 2 3 0 — —
1971 1971 7 2 0 T-2nd 3 2 0 — —
1972 1972 4 5 0 4th 2 3 0 — —
1973 1973 4 3 1 2nd 3 1 1 — —
1974 1974 3 6 0 5th 1 4 0 — —
1975 1975 5 5 0 4th 2 3 0 — —
1976 1976 6 3 0 T-1st 4 1 0 Conference co-champions —
1977 1977 2 7 0 T-4th 2 3 0 — —
1978 1978 5 4 0 T-3rd 3 2 0 — —
1979 1979 3 5 1 5th 1 3 1 — —
1980 1980 3 6 0 T-3rd 2 3 0 — —
1981 1981 2 7 0 5th 1 4 0 — —
1982 1982 Orson Christensen 4 5 0 5th 2 3 0 — —
1983 1983 7 3 0 T-1st 4 1 0 Conference co-champions —
1984 1984 6 4 0 3rd 3 2 0 — —
1985 1985 6 5 0 T-3rd 2 3 0 — —
1986 1986 6 3 0 1st 5 0 0 Conference champions —
1987 1987 James Svoboda 6 4 0 T-2nd 3 2 0 — —
1988 1988 7 3 0 1st 5 0 0 Playoff berth —
1989 1989 10 2 0 1st 5 0 0 Playoff berth —
1990 1990 7 2 0 T-1st 4 1 0 Conference co-champions —
1991 1991 8 3 0 2nd 4 1 0 Playoff berth —
1992 1992 6 3 0 3rd 4 2 0 — —
1993 1993 7 3 0 3rd 4 2 0 — —
1994 1994 Steve Standard 3 7 0 5th 2 4 0 — —
1995 1995 3 7 0 6th 2 4 0 — —
1996 1996 Brian Keller 2 8 0 6th 1 5 0 — —
1997 1997 – 5 5 0 T-3rd 4 4 0 — —
1998 1998 6 4 0 4th 4 4 0 — —
1999 1999 4 6 0 7th 1 5 0 — —
2000 2000 GPAC 8 3 0 1st 6 2 0 Playoff berth —
2001 2001 5 5 0 T-5th 3 5 0 — —
2002 2002 6 4 0 T-5th 4 4 0 — —
2003 2003 6 4 0 T-3rd 6 4 0 — —
2004 2004 6 4 0 T-5th 6 4 0 — —
2005 2005 5 5 0 5th 5 5 0 — —
2006 2006 7 3 0 4th 7 3 0 — —
2007 2007 7 3 0 4th 7 3 0 — —
2008 2008 7 3 0 T-3rd 7 3 0 — —
2009 2009 5 5 0 6th 5 5 0 — —
2010 2010 4 6 0 7th 4 6 0 — —
2011 2011 5 5 0 7th 4 5 0 — —
2012 2012 6 4 0 T-4th 5 4 0 — —
2013 2013 6 4 0 4th 6 3 0 — —
2014 2014 4 6 0 T-6th 4 5 0 — —
2015 2015 4 6 0 7th 3 6 0 — —
2016 2016 NCAA Division III IIAC 4 6 0 T-5th 3 5 0 — —
2017 2017 2 8 0 T-7th 2 6 0 — —
2018 2018 A-R-C 3 7 0 7th 2 6 0 — —
2019 2019 3 7 0 T-7th 1 7 0 — —
2020–21 2020–21 0 1 0 T-6th 0 1 0 — —
2021 2021 4 6 0 7th 2 6 0 — —
2022 2022 1 9 0 9th 0 8 0 — —
2023 2023 4 6 0 T–6th 2 6 0 — —
2024 2024 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 — —

Notes

  1. ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[6]
  2. ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
  3. ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[7]
  4. ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Rivals NWU & Doane To Clash on Saturday". nwusports.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "NWU trademarked logos and brand standards". Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "Athletic Facilities | Nebraska Wesleyan University". www.nebrwesleyan.edu. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Nebraska Wesleyan Now "Plainsmen"". Decatur Herald. Decatur, Illinois. Associated Press. October 31, 1933. p. 4. Retrieved January 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  5. ^ "Nebraska college changes mascot to Prairie Wolves". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. Associated Press. October 9, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved December 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  6. ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  8. ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  9. ^ "Clipped From Lincoln Journal Star". Lincoln Journal Star. November 2, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Huddle, Hoosier. "Hoosier Legacy Player: Halfback Zora Clevenger (1900-03)". Hoosier Huddle. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  11. ^ Scott, Frank William (1918). The Semi-centennial Alumni Record of the University of Illinois. University of Illinois.
  12. ^ "Clipped From The Burlington Free Press". The Burlington Free Press. January 27, 1968. p. 8. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Bethany College (1925). Bethanian, 1925. T. W. Phillips Memorial Library Bethany College. Bethany College.
  14. ^ "Clipped From Lincoln Journal Star". Lincoln Journal Star. August 20, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  15. ^ "Howard Adam Durham (1971) - Hall of Fame". Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "Francis Alabaster (1972) - Hall of Fame". Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  17. ^ "John Waldorf (1991) - Hall of Fame". University of Missouri Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  18. ^ "George Farley instructor for aviation cadets Now stationed at Georgia U". Lincoln State Journal. June 20, 1943. Retrieved October 8, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.
  19. ^ "George Knight Obituary (2009) - Lincoln, NE - Lincoln Journal Star". Legacy.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  20. ^ "Clipped From Lincoln Journal Star". Lincoln Journal Star. May 22, 1950. p. 9. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  21. ^ jasondannelly (January 1, 2017). "Former Dana College Football Coach Kieth Skogman". Dana Football. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  22. ^ "Raymond Westover (1971) - Hall of Fame". Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  23. ^ "Harold Chaffee (1990) - Hall of Fame". Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  24. ^ "50 years of coaching: Christensen joins Coupeville football staff". Whidbey News-Times. August 2, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  25. ^ "Jim Svoboda (2013) - Hall of Fame". Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  26. ^ Lyell, Kelly. "Former Colorado State defensive coordinator Steve Stanard takes same job at Wyoming". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  27. ^ Sjuts, Kevin. "Keller, Prairiewolves begin preseason practice". www.1011now.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  28. ^ "Football Year by year (PDF)" (PDF). Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.