The following is a list of seasons completed by the Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team. The Bulldogs compete in the Big South–OVC Football Association of the NCAA Division I FCS. Since the program's inception in 1970, Gardner–Webb has claimed five conference championships, including three in the Big South. The Bulldogs have had eleven head coaches in their history, including current head coach Cris Reisert.[1] The Bulldogs play their home games out of 9,000-seat Ernest W. Spangler Stadium, as they have since 1969.
| Season | Team | Head coach | Conference | Division | Regular season results[2] [3] [4] | Postseason results | Final ranking[5] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | Bowl game/Playoff result | TSN/STATS Poll | Coaches' Poll | |||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | |||||||||
| Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs | |||||||||||||||
| 1970 | 1970 | George Litton | NAIA Independent | — | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||||
| 1971 | 1971 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1972 | 1972 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1973 | 1973 | 7 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1974 | 1974 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1975 | 1975 | Oval Jaynes | South Atlantic | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8th | — | — | — | ||
| 1976 | 1976 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1977 | 1977 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | — | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | 1978 | Billy Kinard | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5th | — | — | — | |||
| 1979 | 1979 | Tom Moore | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8th | — | — | — | |||
| 1980 | 1980 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | 1981 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | — | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | 1983 | Ellis Johnson | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | — | — | — | |||
| 1984 | 1984 | Woody Fish | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | — | — | — | |||
| 1985 | 1985 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||
| 1987 | 1987† | 11 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1st† | NAIA Playoffs – Quarterfinal | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1988 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | — | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1991 | 1991 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992† | 12 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1st† | NAIA Playoffs – Runner-Up | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 1993 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | 1994 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | 1995 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 | Steve Patton | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | 1998 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2000 | 2000 | I-AA Independent | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 2001 | 2001 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 2002 | 2002† | Big South | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1st† | — | 22 | 24 | |||||
| 2003 | 2003† | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1st† | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2nd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2011 | 2011 | Ron Dickerson, Jr. | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5th | — | — | — | |||||
| 2012 | 2012 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2013 | 2013 | Carroll McCray | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4th | — | — | — | |||||
| 2014 | 2014 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2015 | 2015 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2016 | 2016 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3rd | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2017 | 2017 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 6th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2018 | 2018 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 4th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2019 | 2019 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 5th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2020 | 2020 | Tre Lamb | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6th | — | — | — | |||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 9th | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2022 | 2022† | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1st† | NCAA Division I – Second Round | — | — | ||||||
| 2022 | 2023† | Big South–OVC | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | T–1st† | NCAA Division I – First Round | — | — | |||||
| 2024 | 2024 | Cris Reisert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |||||||
| Totals | All-time: 258–297–3 | Conference: 128–157 | – | Playoffs: 4–4 | – | – | |||||||||