Toledo Rockets football
| Toledo Rockets football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
 |
|||
| First season | 1916 | ||
| Head coach | Jason Candle 1st year, 1–0 (1.000) |
||
| Stadium | Glass Bowl | ||
| Year built | 1936 | ||
| Seating capacity | 26,248 | ||
| Field surface | Field Turf | ||
| Location | Toledo, Ohio | ||
| Conference | Mid-American | ||
| Division | West | ||
| Past conferences |
|
||
| All-time record | 502–412–24 (.548) | ||
| Bowl record | 10–5 (.667) | ||
| Conference titles | 13 | ||
| Division titles | 6 | ||
| Heisman winners | 0 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 2 | ||
| Fight song | U of Toledo | ||
| Website | Toledo Rockets | ||
The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, and 1943-1945. Since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936 Toledo has finished in the Top 25 four times. Its highest finish came in 1970 when it ranked #12 after finishing 12–0–0. The team's current head coach is Jason Candle.
Contents
History
Toledo first fielded a football team in 1917, under the leadership of John Brandeberry. According to Toledo Rockets lore, the team began when a group of students purchased uniforms from a sporting goods store, then arranged a game against the University of Detroit in order to settle the debt. Brandeberry stepped in to coach the team, which promptly lost the game 145–0 (but settled the debt).[1]
For the first few years Toledo played without a nickname, but was dubbed the "Rockets" after two long touchdown runs in a 1923 loss to Carnegie Tech. That season also saw Toledo win its first conference title.[1]
From 1969 through 1971, Toledo won 35 consecutive games, which currently ranks as the fifth-longest winning streak in major college football. Under head coach Frank Lauterbur, the Rockets won 3 Mid-American Conference Championships and won each of their 3 appearances in the Tangerine Bowl during those years. Mel Long, a member of the team for all three years, was named to The AP All-America First Team after the 1971 season. Charles "Chuck" Ealey led the Rockets to all 35 victories as starting quarterback.
In 2008, The Rockets upset Michigan 13-10 in Ann Arbor. The Rockets are the first and only MAC Team to beat Michigan.
In 2015, the Rockets upset #18 Arkansas in Little Rock, Toledo's first win vs an SEC team.
They have defeated 5 of 6 Top 25 Teams they have faced at the Glass Bowl, the most recent being a 29-23 victory over #21 Cincinnati on October 20, 2012.
Bowling Green rivalry (The Battle Of I-75)
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Toledo and Bowling Green State University have a rivalry dating back to 1924, when BGSU challenged the participation of Toledo's captain, Gilbert Stick, after it was discovered that Stick also played for a local team in Genoa, Ohio. Conference rules did not prohibit such play, and BGSU's protest was overruled.[1] In 1950, Toledo's athletic director charged BGSU students a higher price for tickets at a basketball game than the general public, while rumors spread of a dog-napping attempt by BGSU against Toledo's mascot.[2] Another incident came in 1951, when a fight broke out after a hard hit by a BGSU player on fullback Mel Triplett. Don Greenwood, then Toledo's coach, participated, and resigned after the university failed to back him up. In Greenwood's view, the officials should have called a penalty for excessive roughness, and he had a duty to protect his players.[1]
Head coaches
-
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- John Brandeberry (1917)
- James Baxter (1918)
- Walt Hobt (1919-1920)
- James Dwyer (1923–1925)
- Boni Petcoff (1926-1929)
- Jim Nicholson (1930-1935)
- Clarence W. "Doc" Spears (1936-1942)
- Bill Orwig (1946-1947)
- J. Neil "Skip" Stahley (1948-1949)
- Robert Snyder (1950)
- Don Greenwood (1951)
- Clair Dunn (1951-1953)
- Forrest W. England (1954-1955)
- Jack Morton (1956)
- Harry Larche (1957-1959)
- Clive H. Rush (1960-1962)
- Frank Lauterbur (1963–1970)
- John Murphy (1971–1976)
- Chuck Stobart (1977–1981)
- Dan Simrell (1982–1989)
- Nick Saban (1990)
- Gary Pinkel (1991–2000)
- Tom Amstutz (2001–2008)
- Tim Beckman (2009– December 2011)
- Matt Campbell (December 2011 – 2015)
- Jason Candle (2015–Present)
Facilities
- Glass Bowl
- Fetterman Indoor Training Center
- Larimer Athletic Complex
Bowl history
Toledo has appeared in 15 post-season bowl games since 1969, and has a 10–5 record overall.[3][4] From 1946-1949, the Rockets played a posteseason game named the Glass Bowl that was played at their stadium. They were 3-1, losing the last game to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
| Season | Date Played | Bowl Game | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | December 26, 1969 | Tangerine Bowl | Davidson | W 56–33 |
| 1970 | December 28, 1970 | Tangerine Bowl | William & Mary | W 40-12 |
| 1971 | December 28, 1971 | Tangerine Bowl | Richmond | W 28-3 |
| 1981 | December 19, 1981 | California Bowl | San Jose State | W 27-25 |
| 1984 | December 15, 1984 | California Bowl | UNLV | L 30-13* |
| 1995 | December 14, 1995 | Las Vegas Bowl | Nevada | W 40-37 |
| 2001 | December 29, 2001 | Motor City Bowl | Cincinnati | W 32-16 |
| 2002 | December 26, 2002 | Motor City Bowl | Boston College | L 51-25 |
| 2004 | December 27, 2004 | Motor City Bowl | Connecticut | L 39-10 |
| 2005 | December 21, 2005 | GMAC Bowl | UTEP | W 45-13 |
| 2010 | December 26, 2010 | Little Caesars Pizza Bowl | FIU | L 34-32 |
| 2011 | December 28, 2011 | Military Bowl | Air Force | W 42-41 |
| 2012 | December 15, 2012 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Utah State | L 41-15 |
| 2014 | January 4, 2015 | GoDaddy Bowl | Arkansas State | W 63-44 |
| 2015 | December 22, 2015 | Boca Raton Bowl | Temple | W 32-17 |
| Total | 15 bowl games | 10-5 record |
Conference championships
The Rockets have won 13 conference titles, with 10 of them being during their affiliation with the Mid-American Conference. The highest AP Poll Ranking they have ever finished was #12 at the end of the 1970 season.
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association | James Dwyer | 6–4–0 |
| 1927 | Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Boni Petcoff | 5–2–0 |
| 1929 | Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Boni Petcoff | 4–2–1 |
| 1967 | Mid-American Conference | Frank Lauterbur | 9-1-0 |
| 1969 | Mid-American Conference | Frank Lauterbur | 11–0–0 |
| 1970 | Mid-American Conference | Frank Lauterbur | 12–0–0 |
| 1971 | Mid-American Conference | John Murphy | 12–0–0 |
| 1981 | Mid-American Conference | Chuck Stobart | 9-3-0 |
| 1984 | Mid-American Conference | Dan Simrell | 8-3-1 |
| 1990 | Mid-American Conference | Nick Saban | 9-2-0 |
| 1995 | Mid-American Conference | Gary Pinkel | 11-0-1 |
| 2001 | Mid-American Conference | Tom Amstutz | 10-2 |
| 2004 | Mid-American Conference | Tom Amstutz | 9-4 |
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of June 24, 2015
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at Arkansas State | vs Elon | vs VMI | at Colorado State | at Tulsa | vs Colorado State |
| vs Maine | at Nevada | vs Miami (FL) | vs BYU | ||
| vs Fresno State | vs Tulsa | vs Nevada | |||
| at BYU | at Miami (FL) | at Fresno State |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
