| Teamname: | Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football |
| Athleticdirector: | Dwight Merilatt |
| Headcoach: | Brian Keller |
| Headcoachyear: | 29th |
| Hcwins: | 132 |
| Hclosses: | 149 |
| Stadium: | Abel Stadium |
| Stadcapacity: | 2,500 |
| Stadsurface: | FieldTurf |
| Location: | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Ncaadivision: | III |
| Conference: | A-R-C |
| Pastaffiliations: | NCC NCC NCAC GPCA GPAC |
| Atwins: | 515 |
| Atlosses: | 478 |
| Atties: | 42 |
| Playoffapps: | 5 |
| Conftitles: | 22 |
| Mascotdisplay: | Prairie Wolves |
| Websitename: | nwusports.com |
| Websiteurl: | https://nwusports.com/sports/football |
| Rivalries: | Doane[1] |
The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football team represents Nebraska Wesleyan University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Prairie Wolves are members of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), fielding its team in the A-R-C since 2016 when it was named the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). Nebraska Wesleyan plays home games at Abel Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.[2] The team's head coach is Brian Keller, who took over the position for the 1996 season.
Nebraska Wesleyan's athletic teams were known as the Coyotes in the early 1900s. The nickname was changed to the Plainsmen in 1933 and then to the Prairie Wolves in 2000.[3] [4]
NAIA / pre-NCAA
NCAA
Nebraska Wesleyan claims 22 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2000.
| 1911 | 7–0 | N/A | William Kline | ||
| 1912 | 5–2–1 | N/A | |||
| 1913† | 4–3–1 | N/A | |||
| 1914 | 7–1 | N/A | |||
| 1915 | 6–3 | N/A | |||
| 1918 | 2–3 | N/A | William Norris | ||
| 1920 | 6–2–2 | 4–0–1 | Ray McCandless | ||
| 1921 | 8–3 | 5–0 | |||
| 1925† | 6–0–2 | 3–0–1 | Clarence Dow | ||
| 1931 | 4–3–1 | 4–0–1 | John Waldorf | ||
| 1932† | 4–3–1 | 4–0–1 | |||
| 1934 | 6–2–1 | 4–0 | John E. Roberts | ||
| 1947† | 7–1–1 | 5–1–1 | George Knight | ||
| 1963 | 7–2 | 3–0 | Raymond Westover | ||
| 1964 | 7–1 | 3–0 | |||
| 1976† | 6–3 | 4–1 | Harold Chaffee | ||
| 1983† | 7–3 | 4–1 | Orson Christensen | ||
| 1986 | 7–3 | 5–0 | |||
| 1988 | 8–2 | 5–0 | Jim Svoboda | ||
| 1989 | 10–2 | 5–0 | |||
| 1990† | 7–2 | 4–1 | |||
| 2000† | 8–3 | 6–2 | Brian Keller |
The Prairie Wolves have appeared in the NAIA playoffs four times with an overall record of 1–4.
| First round | L 14–45 | ||||
| First round Quarterfinals | W 46–43 L 0–29 | ||||
| First round | L 20–41 | ||||
| First round | L 13–40 |
Nebraska Wesleyan has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.
| L 13–38 |
| Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Crawford | 1896 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 2 | Charley Thomas[5] | 1897 | 7 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 3 | Zora Clevenger[6] | 1908; 1910 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 4 | William Kline[7] | 1909; 1911–1917 | 62 | 37 | 19 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 5 | William Norris | 1918 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 6 | Benjamin Beck[8] | 1919 | 9 | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 7 | Ray McCandless[9] | 1920–1922 | 29 | 17 | 9 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 8 | Glenn Preston | 1923–1924 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 9 | Clarence Dow[10] | 1925–1926 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 10 | Howard Durham[11] | 1927 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 11 | Francis Alabaster[12] | 1928–1929 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 12 | John Waldorf[13] | 1930–1932 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 13 | John Roberts | 1933–1934 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 14 | George Farley[14] | 1935; 1941–1942 | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 15 | Dwight Thomas | 1936–1940 | 42 | 14 | 26 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 16 | Allen Stroh | 1945 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 17 | George Knight[15] | 1946–1949 | 37 | 24 | 9 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 18 | Roy Roberston[16] | 1950–1953 | 39 | 14 | 22 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 19 | Keith Skogman[17] | 1954–1959 | 56 | 21 | 32 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 20 | Raymond Westover[18] | 1960–1968 | 78 | 36 | 40 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 21 | Harold Chaffee[19] | 1969–1981 | 118 | 55 | 61 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 22 | Orson Christensen[20] | 1982–1986 | 49 | 29 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 23 | Jim Svoboda[21] | 1987–1993 | 71 | 51 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 24 | Steve Stanard[22] | 1994–1995 | 20 | 6 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 25 | Brian Keller[23] | 1996–present | 272 | 129 | 143 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head Coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves | ||||||||||||||
| 1896 | 1896 | Frank Crawford | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1897 | 1897 | Charley Thomas | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| No team from 1888 to 1907 | ||||||||||||||
| 1908 | 1908 | Zora Cleavenger | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1909 | 1909 | William Kline | 0 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1910 | 1910 | Zora Cleavenger | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1911 | 1911 | William Kline | Nebraska | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||
| 1912 | 1912 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1913 | 1913 | 4 | 3 | 1 | T-1st | – | – | – | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1914 | 1914 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1915 | 1915 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1916 | 1916 | NIC | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1917 | 1917 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3rd | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1918 | 1918 | William Norris | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1919 | 1919 | Benjamin Beck | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1920 | 1920 | Roy McCandless | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1921 | 1921 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1922 | 1922 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3rd | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1923 | 1923 | Glenn Preston | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1924 | 1924 | NCC | 2 | 4 | 2 | T-5th | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1925 | 1925 | Clarence Dow | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1926 | 1926 | Nebraska | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1927 | 1927 | Howard Durham | 0 | 8 | 1 | 13th | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1928 | 1928 | Francis Alabaster | NCAC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | ||
| 1929 | 1929 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1930 | 1930 | John Waldorf | 6 | 3 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1931 | 1931 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1st | 4 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1932 | 1932 | 4 | 3 | 1 | T-1st | 4 | 0 | 1 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1933 | 1933 | John Roberts | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1934 | 1934 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1st | 4 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1935 | 1935 | George Farley | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1936 | 1936 | Dwight Thomas | 5 | 3 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1937 | 1937 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4th | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1938 | 1938 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4th | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1939 | 1939 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1940 | 1940 | NAIA | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1941 | 1941 | George Farley | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3rd | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1942 | 1942 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| No team from 1943 to 1944 | ||||||||||||||
| 1945 | 1945 | Allen Stroh | NAIA | – | – | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1946 | 1946 | George Knight | NCC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2nd | 4 | 0 | 2 | Playoff berth | — | ||
| 1947 | 1947 | 7 | 1 | 1 | T-1st | 5 | 1 | 1 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1948 | 1948 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1949 | 1949 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1950 | 1950 | Roy Robertson | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1951 | 1951 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1952 | 1952 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1953 | 1953 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7th | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1954 | 1954 | Keith Skogman | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1955 | 1955 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1956 | 1956 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1957 | 1957 | 3 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1958 | 1958 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1959 | 1959 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1960 | 1960 | Raymond Westover | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1961 | 1961 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1962 | 1962 | – | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1963 | 1963 | GPCA | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1964 | 1964 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1965 | 1965 | – | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1966 | 1966 | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1967 | 1967 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1968 | 1968 | 1 | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1969 | 1969 | Harold Chaffee | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1970 | 1970 | Division II | NIAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||
| 1971 | 1971 | 7 | 2 | 0 | T-2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | 1972 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1973 | 1973 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1974 | 1974 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | 1975 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1976 | 1976 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1977 | 1977 | 2 | 7 | 0 | T-4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | 1978 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T-3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | 1979 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5th | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1980 | 1980 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T-3rd | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | 1981 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | Orson Christensen | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1983 | 1983 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1984 | 1984 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 6 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1987 | 1987 | James Svoboda | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1988 | 1988 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | 7 | 2 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1991 | 1991 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 1993 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | 1994 | Steve Standard | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1995 | 1995 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | Brian Keller | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1997 | 1997 | – | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1998 | 1998 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | 2000 | GPAC | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 6 | 2 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | |||
| 2001 | 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-3rd | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-5th | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-3rd | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-4th | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-6th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | NCAA | Division III | IIAC | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |
| 2017 | 2017 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T-7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | A-R-C | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2019 | 2019 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T-7th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2020–21 | 2020–21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | T-6th | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2022 | 2022 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||