| Teamname: | Coastal Carolina Chanticleers |
| Currentseason: | 2024 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team |
| Firstyear: | 2003 |
| Headcoach: | Tim Beck |
| Headcoachyear: | 2nd |
| Hcwins: | 14 |
| Hclosses: | 11 |
| Stadium: | Brooks Stadium |
| Fieldname: | James C. Benton Field |
| Stadiumbuilt: | 2003 |
| Stadcapacity: | 21,000 |
| Stadsurface: | FieldTurf |
| Location: | Conway, South Carolina |
| Ncaadivision: | I FBS |
| Conference: | Sun Belt Conference |
| Confdivision: | East |
| Pastaffiliations: | Big South |
| Atwins: | 172 |
| Atlosses: | 95 |
| Bowlwins: | 2 |
| Bowllosses: | 2 |
| Playoffapps: | Div. I FCS 6 (FCS) |
| Playoffs: | Div. I FCS 4–6 (FCS) |
| Conftitles: | 8 (7 Big South, 1 Sun Belt) |
| Divtitles: | 2 |
| Allamericans: | 1 |
| Rivalries: | Liberty (rivalry) Appalachian State |
| Mascotdisplay: | Chauncey |
| Pagfreelabel: | Outfitter |
| Pagfreevalue: | Under Armour |
| Websitename: | GoCCUsports.com |
| Websiteurl: | https://goccusports.com/sports/football |
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team represents Coastal Carolina University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Chanticleers are members of the Sun Belt Conference, fielding its teams at the FBS level since 2017. The Chanticleers play their home games at James C. Benton Field at Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina.
Their head coach is Tim Beck, who was hired to replace previous head coach Jamey Chadwell following his move to Liberty.
See also: List of Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football seasons.
It was announced in the late 1990s that CCU would establish a football squad in the coming years. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football program played its inaugural season in 2003 on campus at Brooks Stadium. The team's first coach was David Bennett, who held the position from the team's inception until December 9, 2011.
In the program's short history, the team has defeated such traditional Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powers as James Madison University (ranked No. 1 at the time), Furman University, Wofford College, and the University of Montana. The program has won seven Big South Conference championships and has had several former players enter professional NFL careers.
Coastal's primary football rivals in FCS play were Liberty and Charleston Southern.[1] [2] [3]
Coastal Carolina's first season as a full FBS member was in 2017. In 2020, the team won a share of its first Sun Belt championship and made its first bowl appearance, a 37-34 defeat to rival Liberty in the Cure Bowl. Coastal won its first bowl game the following season, returning to the Cure Bowl and defeating Northern Illinois, 47-41.
In 2006, the Chanticleers made school history when the team received its first FCS playoff berth, also the first playoff berth for the Big South Conference, losing a first-round contest to Appalachian State. Appalachian State would go on to win the FCS national championship that season.
In 2010, Coastal went to the playoffs for the second time after winning the Big South Championship (a three-way tie with Liberty and Stony Brook) and received the Big South's first-ever automatic playoff bid.
On September 11, 2010, Coastal Carolina played a five-overtime game on the road against the Towson Tigers, the longest game in school history. Coastal would lose the game, 47–45.
Bennett was dismissed following the 2011 season. University president David A. DeCenzo cited a 29-28 record during the previous five seasons—including only three wins against teams with winning records—and declining attendance as reasons for Bennett's removal.[4]
The university named Joe Moglia, former CEO of TD Ameritrade, as its new head coach on December 20, 2011.[5]
Moglia found immediate success, leading the Chanticleers to a share of three consecutive Big South titles in his first three seasons and playoff berths in each of his first four seasons. In 2014, the team earned its first number 1 FCS ranking in program history after starting the season 11-0.[6]
The Chanticleers left the Big South Conference at the end of the 2015–16 school year and joined the Sun Belt Conference, initially as a non-football member.[7] At that time, the football team began a two-year transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).[8] The first season of the transition in 2016 was spent as an FCS independent; the Chanticleers officially joined Sun Belt football July 1, 2017, with full bowl eligibility following in 2018.[9]
The Chanticleers earned the program's first win as an FBS program when they defeated the UMass Minutemen, 38-28, on September 2, 2017. The team had a tough time winning games during the 2017 season, losing its next nine games. Ending the 2017 season on a positive note, Coastal Carolina earned the program's first two Sun Belt Conference wins in the final two weeks of the season, a 13–7 victory over the Idaho Vandals and a 28-17 win against the Georgia Southern Eagles. Coastal finished the year with a record of 3–9. The 2017 team was led by interim head coach Jamey Chadwell, during a medical leave of absence from Moglia.[10]
Building from their momentum at the end of the 2017 season, Coastal Carolina finished the 2018 season with an improved record of 5–7, with notable wins against the UAB Blazers, Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, and Georgia State Panthers. Moglia retired from coaching following the 2018 season.
Jamey Chadwell was introduced as the program's third head coach on January 18, 2019.[11] He had previously served as the team's offensive coordinator and as its interim head coach for the 2017 season.
On October 14, 2020, Coastal Carolina got its first win against a ranked FBS team by defeating No. 21 Louisiana 30–27.[12] Following the win, the AP ranked Coastal Carolina No. 25, making it their first time as a national ranked team. The same week, the College Football Playoff rankings listed Coastal at No. 20. For the remainder of the regular season, Coastal remained in the AP Top 25. Their highest AP ranking that year was #14 in the fourteenth week, with a CFP ranking of No. 18 the same week. Their original opponent for Week 14 (Dec 5th) was Liberty, but Liberty canceled the game citing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coastal’s new opponent for that week became No. 13 BYU.[13]
The undefeated Chanticleers created national attention and interest in the team, and their matchup with BYU led ESPN to broadcast College GameDay from Conway on December 5.[14] Coastal won 22–17, with the game ending when BYU was stopped one yard short of the goal-line. The victory resulted in Coastal Carolina ranked No. 11 by the AP Top 25 Rankings and No. 13 by the CFP Playoffs for Week 15. With the conference championship game scheduled for December 19, CCU was set up for another showdown with Louisiana. However, they would have to settle for a co-championship with Louisiana, with both named champions after the Chanticleers found themselves unable to play when a positive COVID-19 test was found within the CCU team.[15]
Coastal ended its season against Liberty in the first bowl game in team history, the Cure Bowl, losing 37–34 in overtime.[16]
CCU was ranked No. 22 to start the season, and won their first six games to rise up to No. 15 before a loss to Appalachian State ended the streak. They won four of their next five games but finished second in the East Division. They were invited to the 2021 Cure Bowl where CCU defeated Northern Illinois 47-41 to earn the first bowl game victory in school history.[17] [18]
In 2022, Coastal finished 9-4, with losses to Troy in the Sun Belt championship game and East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl. Prior to the bowl game, Chadwell announced that he was departing Coastal to accept the head coaching position at Liberty.
On December 4, 2022, Tim Beck was announced as the program's fourth head coach following Chadwell's departure. Beck had most recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for NC State.[19]
The Chanticleers went 8-5 during Beck's first season in 2023. The team ended the season with its second bowl victory in program history, a 24-14 win against San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl.
Coastal Carolina has won seven Big South Conference championships, winning two of them outright and five shared, and has won one Sun Belt Conference championship which was shared with Louisiana in the 2020 season. The 2020 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was not played when Coastal Carolina was unable to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
| 2004 | Big South Conference | David Bennett | 10–1 | 4–0 |
| 2005† | Big South Conference | David Bennett | 9–2 | 3–1 |
| 2006 | Big South Conference | David Bennett | 9–3 | 4–0 |
| 2010† | Big South Conference | David Bennett | 6–6 | 5–1 |
| 2012† | Big South Conference | Joe Moglia | 8–5 | 5–1 |
| 2013† | Big South Conference | Joe Moglia | 12–3 | 4–1 |
| 2014† | Big South Conference | Joe Moglia | 12–2 | 4–1 |
| 2020† | 11–1 | 8–0 | ||
Coastal Carolina won their first division championship in the 2020 season.
| Sun Belt Conference - East | No Contest | |||
| L 26–45 | ||||
See main article: Coastal Carolina–Liberty football rivalry. Coastal Carolina maintains a football rivalry with Liberty which began in 2003. The teams played every year from 2003 to 2016 and met in the 2020 Cure Bowl.
Coastal Carolina maintains a football rivalry with the Appalachian State Mountaineers football program. The two Carolinas schools last met on November 7th, 2024 with Coastal Carolina defeating the Mountaineers 38-24.
Coastal Carolina made six appearances in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs before moving to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2017, going 4–6.
| First Round | L 28–45 | |||
| First Round | L 10–17 | |||
| First Round Second Round | W 24–14 L 35–63 | |||
| First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | W 48–24 W 42–35 L 14–48 | |||
| Second Round Quarterfinals | Richmond North Dakota State | W 36–15 L 32–39 | ||
| First Round | L 38–41 |
Coastal Carolina has participated in four bowl games, going 2–2.
| L 34–37 OT | |||||
| Northern Illinois Huskies | W 47–41 | ||||
| Chad Staggs (interim) | L 29–53 | ||||
| W 24–14 |
Coastal Carolina has had five head coaches.
| 2003–2011 | 63–39 | |||
| 2012–2016, 2018 | 56–22 | |||
| 2017†, 2019–2022 | 39–22 | |||
| 2022^ | 0–1 | |||
| 2023–present | 8–5 |
^ Interim head coach for the 2022 Birmingham Bowl
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FBS National Coach of the Year
2020: Jamey Chadwell
FCS National Coach of the Year
2015: Joe Moglia
FBS National Assistant Coach of the Year
2021: Newland Isaac[21]
2013–14: Lorenzo Taliaferro
2014–15: Quinn Backus
2004: Patrick Hall
2006: Tyler Thigpen
2013: Lorenzo Taliaferro
2014: Alex Ross
2015: De'Angelo Henderson
2010: Andrae Jacobs
2012: Quinn Backus
2013: Quinn Backus
2014: Quinn Backus
2013: Ladarius Hawthorne
2015: Devin Brown
2004: Jerome Simpson
2004: David Bennett
2010: David Bennett
2012: Joe Moglia
2014: Joe Moglia
2022: Grayson McCall[22]
2021: Grayson McCall[23]
2020: Grayson McCall[24]
2020: Tarron Jackson[24]
2022: Jared Brown[22]
2020: Grayson McCall[24]
2020: D'Jordan Strong[24]
2020: Jamey Chadwell[24]
Announced schedules as of August 10, 2024.[25]
| at Jacksonville State | at Virginia | at Delaware | vs Liberty | at East Carolina | vs Delaware | vs Liberty | at BYU | |||
| vs William & Mary | vs Charleston Southern | vs Fordham | at Army | at Liberty | at Liberty | |||||
| at Temple | vs East Carolina | vs Temple | ||||||||
| vs Virginia | at South Carolina | vs Army |