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The Georgia Southern Eagles college football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS, representing Georgia Southern University in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia Southern has played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia since 1984.^[1]

The inaugural season of Georgia Southern, then known as Georgia Normal School and subsequently South Georgia Teachers College and Georgia Teachers College, football was in 1924. However, the program was shut down in 1942 because of World War II and was not revived until 1981. The Eagles are 368-177-9 all time and have claimed a record six Div. I FCS national championships. The program has also produced two Walter Payton Award winners.^[2]

Georgia Southern was a member of the FCS conference SoCon between 1992 and 2013. In 2014 the program, after years of speculation, became an official member of college football's FBS level. The Eagles now compete as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.^[2]

Seasons

National Champions †	Conference Champions *	FCS Playoff Berth ‡	Bowl Game Berth ^

Season	Head coach		Season results					Playoff or Bowl result<	Final ranking
Season	Head coach		Conference finish	Division finish	Wins	Losses	Ties^[3]	Playoff or Bowl result<	NCAA/TSN Poll^[4]	Coaches Poll^[5]
Georgia Normal/South Georgia Teachers/Georgia Teachers Blue Tide
1924	E. G. Cromartie	Independent	—	—	1	3	0	—	—	—
1925			—	—	1	3	0	—	—	—
1926			—	—	5	3	1	—	—	—
1927	Hugh A. Woodle		—	—	6	1	1	—	—	—
1928	Hugh A. Woodle		—	—	5	5	0	—	—	—
1929	Crook Smith		—	—	3	3	2	—	—	—
1930			—	—	3	4	1	—	—	—
1931			—	—	3	6	0	—	—	—
1932			—	—	7	2	0	—	—	—
1933			—	—	5	4	0	—	—	—
1934			—	—	4	6	0	—	—	—
1935			—	—	3	3	2	—	—	—
1936			—	—	2	9	0	—	—	—
1937			—	—	2	9	0	—	—	—
1938			—	—	3	5	1	—	—	—
1939			—	—	5	5	0	—	—	—
1940			—	—	3	5	0	—	—	—
1941			—	—	2	8	0	—	—	—
Georgia Teachers College/Georgia Southern College did not field a football team for the 1942–81 seasons
Georgia Southern Eagles
1982	Erk Russell	Independent	—	—	7	3	1	—	—	—
1983			—	—	6	5	0	—	—	—
1984			—	—	8	3	0	—	—	—
1985 ^†*			—	—	13	2	0	Won FCS National Championship Game against Furman Paladins, 44–42 ^	—	—
1986 ^†*			—	—	13	2	0	Won FCS National Championship Game against Arkansas State Indians, 48–21 ^	—	—
1987			—	—	9	4	0	Lost in FCS Quarterfinals against Appalachian State Mountaineers, 19–0 ^	—	—
1988			—	—	12	3	0	Lost FCS National Championship Game against Furman Paladins, 17–12 ^	—	—
1989 ^†*			—	—	15	0	0	Won FCS National Championship Game against Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, 37–34 ^	—	—
1990 ^†*	Tim Stowers		—	—	12	3	0	Won FCS National Championship Game against Nevada Wolfpack, 36–13	—	—
1991			—	—	7	4	0	—	—	—
1992		Southern Conference	—	—	7	4	0	—	—	—
1993			1st *	—	10	3	0	Lost in FCS Quarterfinals against Youngstown State Penguins, 34–14	—	—
1994			3rd	—	6	5	0	—	—	—
1995			3rd	—	9	4	0	Lost in FCS Quarterfinals against Montana Grizzlies, 45–0	—	—
1996	Frank Ellwood		6th	—	4	7	—	—	—	—
1997	Paul Johnson		1st *	—	10	3	—	Lost in FCS Quarterfinals against Delaware Blue Hens, 16–7	—	—
1998			1st *	—	14	1	—	Lost FCS National Championship Game against UMass Minutemen, 55–43	—	—
1999 ^†*			1st *	—	13	2	—	Won FCS National Championship Game against Youngstown State Penguins, 59–24	—	—
2000 ^†*			1st *	—	13	2	—	Won FCS National Championship Game against Montana Grizzlies, 27–25	—	—
2001			1st *	—	12	2	—	Lost in FCS Semifinals against Furman Paladins, 24–17	—	—
2002	Mike Sewak		1st *	—	11	3	—	Lost in FCS Semifinals against Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 31–28	—	—
2003			3rd	—	7	4	—	—	—	—
2004			1st *	—	9	3	—	Lost in FCS 1st Round against New Hampshire Wildcats, 27–23	—	—
2005			2nd	—	8	4	—	Lost in FCS 1st Round against Texas State Bobcats, 50–35	—	—
2006	Brian VanGorder		5th	—	3	8	—	—	—	—
2007	Chris Hatcher		3rd	—	7	4	—	—	—	—
2008			4th	—	6	5	—	—	—	—
2009			4th	—	5	6	—	—	—	—
2010	Jeff Monken		3rd	—	10	5	—	Lost in FCS Semifinals against Delaware Blue Hens, 27–10	—	—
2011			1st *	—	11	3	—	Lost in FCS Semifinals against North Dakota State Bison, 35–7 ^	—	—
2012			1st *	—	10	4	—	Lost in FCS Semifinals against North Dakota State Bison, 23–20 ^	—	—
2013			4th	—	7	4	—	Ineligible	—	—
2014	Willie Fritz	Sun Belt Conference	1st *	—	9	3	—	Ineligible	—	—
2015	Willie Fritz		3rd ^	—	9	4	—	Won GoDaddy Bowl against Bowling Green Falcons, 58–27	—	—
2016	Tyson Summers (fired Oct. 22, 2017) Chad Lunsford (Interim, 2–4)		6th	—	5	7	—	—	—	—
2017			10th	—	2	10	—	—	—	—
2018	Chad Lunsford (fired Sep. 26, 2021) Kevin Whitley (Interim, 2–6)		—	3rd, East	10	3	—	Won Camellia Bowl against Eastern Michigan Eagles, 23–21	—	—
2019			—	2nd, East	7	6	—	Lost Cure Bowl against Liberty Flames, 16–23	—	—
2020			—	4th, East	8	5	—	Won New Orleans Bowl against Louisiana Tech, 38-3	—	—
2021			—	5th, East	3	9	—	—	—	—
2022	Clay Helton		—	4th, East	6	7	—	Lost Camellia Bowl against Buffalo, 21–23	—	—	—	—
2023	Clay Helton		—	T5th, East	6	7	—	Lost Myrtle Beach Bowl against Ohio, 41-21	—	—
Total					369	238	9	(regular season games)
					0	0	0	(conference championship games; 0 appearances)
					45	13	—	(playoff games; 58 appearances)
					3	3	—	(bowl games; 6 appearances)
					422	260	9	(all games)

References

^ "Allen E. Paulson Stadium". gseagles.com.
^ ^a ^b "Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Idaho and New Mexico State Officially Join Sun Belt Conference". Sun Belt Sports. June 30, 2014.
^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
^ Since the 1978 split in divisions, the NCAA, or more recently, The Sports Network Archived 2011-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Poll has been the major poll at the FCS level. No polls for Georgia Southern are available prior to 1984 when the Eagles began I-AA play. Polls are released prior to the playoffs.
^ The FCS Coaches Poll Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine was introduced in 2007. Therefore, polls for prior seasons do not exist. Polls are released prior to the playoffs