| Currentseason: | 2024 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team |
| Teamname: | Abilene Christian Wildcats football |
| Firstyear: | 1919 |
| Athleticdirector: | Zack Lassiter |
| Headcoach: | Keith Patterson |
| Headcoachyear: | 2nd |
| Hcwins: | 9 |
| Hclosses: | 4 |
| Stadium: | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium |
| Stadiumbuilt: | 2016 |
| Stadcapacity: | 12,000 |
| Stadsurface: | FieldTurf |
| Ncaadivision: | I FCS |
| Conference: | United Athletic Conference |
| Pastaffiliations: | Independent (1919–1924) TIAA (1925–1932) Texas (1933–1953) Independent (1954) GCC (1955–1956) Independent (1957–1963) SLC (1964–1973) LSC (1973–2012) FCS Independent (2013) SLC (2014–2020) WAC (2021–2022) |
| Atwins: | 524 |
| Atlosses: | 445 |
| Atties: | 31 |
| Natltitles: | 2 (2 NAIA) |
| Conftitles: | 13 (7 TCAC, 1 Gulf Coast, 4 Lone Star, 1 WAC) |
| Divtitles: | 3 (3 Lone Star South) |
| Pagfreelabel2: | Outfitter |
| Pagfreevalue2: | Under Armour |
| Websitename: | ACUSports.com |
| Websiteurl: | https://acusports.com/sports/football |
The Abilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Abilene Christian University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team was a member of the Southland Conference through the 2020–21 season,[1] but joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport.[2] After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of the ASUN Conference, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference, and ACU accordingly moved its football team to the new league.[3] [4] The school's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the on-campus Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
Abilene Christian did not field a team in 1943–1945.
| Name | Seasons | Record | Pct | |
| Vernon McCasland | 1919 | 2–2 | ||
| Sewell Jones | 1920 | 4–0–1 | ||
| Russell A. Lewis | 1921 | 2–5 | ||
| Victor Payne | 1922–1923 | 12–3 | ||
| A. B. Morris | 1924–1941 | 66–77–18 | ||
| Tonto Coleman | 1942–1949 | 28–15–2 | ||
| Garvin Beauchamp | 1950–1955 | 39–18–4 | ||
| N. L. Nicholson | 1956–1961 | 28–30–1 | ||
| Les Wheeler | 1962–1967 | 29–28 | ||
| Wally Bullington | 1968–1976 | 62–32–2 | ||
| DeWitt Jones | 1977–1978 | 18–4–1 | ||
| Ted Sitton | 1979–1984 | 34–27–1 | ||
| John Payne | 1985–1990 | 26–34–1 | ||
| Ronnie Peacock | 1991–1992 | 4–15 | ||
| Bob Strader | 1993–1995 | 14–17 | ||
| Jack Kiser | 1996–1999 | 22–19 | ||
| Gary Gaines | 2000–2004 | 21–30 | ||
| Chris Thomsen | 2005–2011 | 61–21 | ||
| Ken Collums | 2012–2016 | 24–32 | .429 | |
| Adam Dorrel | 2017–2021 | 19–32 | .373 | |
| Keith Patterson | 2021-present | 9-4 | .692 |
Notable alumni include:
| NAIA Playoffs | 11–1 | Won NAIA Championship | ||
| NAIA Playoffs | 11–1–1 | Won NAIA Championship | ||
| National Championships | 2 |
| 1939† | 6–2–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 1940† | 7–2 | 5–1 | ||
| 1946† | 8–1–1 | 5–0–1 | ||
| 1950 | 11–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 1951† | 6–4 | 3–1 | ||
| 1952 | 6–3–1 | 4–0 | ||
| 1953† | 7–3 | 3–1 | ||
| 1955† | 3–5–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 11–1 | 9–0 | |||
| 1977† | 11–1–1 | 5–1–1 | ||
| 11–1 | 9–0 | |||
| 11–1 | 10–0 | |||
| 2022† | 7–4 | 3–1 | ||
| Conference Championships | 13 |
| 2002† | LSC South | 6–4 | 6–2 | 5–1 | |
| 11–1 | 9–0 | 6–0 | |||
| 11–1 | 10–0 | 8–0 | |||
| Division Championships | 3 |
| December 2, 1950 | W 14–7 | ||||
| December 4, 1976 | San Jancinto Shrine Bowl | W 22–12 |
The Wildcats have appeared in the Division II playoffs six times with an overall record of 3–6.
| First Round | L 27–30 OT | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 56–12 L 73–76 3OT | |||
| Second Round Quarterfinals | W 93–68 L 36–45 | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 24–21 L 10–35 | |||
| Second Round | L 41–55 | |||
| First Round | L 49–52 |
The Wildcats have appeared in the NAIA playoffs two times with an overall record of 4–0. They were National Champions in 1973 and 1977.
| Semifinals National Championship Game | W 34–6 W 42–14 | |||
| Semifinals National Championship Game | W 35–7 W 24–7 |
Announced schedules as of August 10, 2024.[5]
| at Texas Tech | at Tulsa | at Texas Tech | at Texas A&M | ||
| at Northern Colorado | at TCU | at Idaho | |||
| Idaho | Stephen F. Austin | ||||
| at Stephen F. Austin | at Incarnate Word |