Delaware Fighting Blue Hens football
| Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First season | 1889 | ||
| Athletic director | Chrissi Rawak | ||
| Head coach |
Danny Rocco 1st year, 0–0 (–) |
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| Stadium | Delaware Stadium | ||
| Field | Tubby Raymond Field | ||
| Year built | 1952 | ||
| Seating capacity | 22,000 | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Newark, Delaware | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Colonial Athletic Association | ||
| All-time record | 684–451–44 (.599) | ||
| Bowl record | 8–3–0 (.727) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 20 | ||
| Playoff record | 22–14 (Div. I FCS) 7–4 (Div. II) |
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| Claimed nat'l titles | 6 (1946, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1979, 2003) | ||
| Conference titles | 16 | ||
| Colors | Royal Blue and Gold |
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| Fight song | "The Delaware Fight Song" | ||
| Mascot | YoUDee | ||
| Marching band | University of Delaware Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Adidas | ||
| Rivals |
Villanova University Towson University James Madison University |
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| Website | bluehens.com | ||
The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represents the University of Delaware in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football. The team is currently led by head coach Danny Rocco and plays on Tubby Raymond Field at 22,000-seat Delaware Stadium located in Newark, Delaware. The Fightin' Blue Hens have won six national titles in their 117-year history – 1946 (AP College Division), 1963 (UPI College Division), 1971 (AP/UPI College Division), 1972 (AP/UPI College Division), 1979 (Division II), and 2003 (Division I-AA). They returned to the FCS National Championship game in 2007 and 2010.
The Blue Hens are recognized as a perennial power in FCS football and Delaware was the only FCS program to average more than 20,000 fans per regular-season home game for each season from 1999 to 2010.
The program's long history began in the late 1800s, but the tradition did not truly begin to take shape until the arrival of Bill Murray in 1940. During his 11 seasons at the helm, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled a record of 49–16–2 with one National Championship in 1946, which culminated in a win over Rollins in the now-defunct Cigar Bowl. That was good for an impressive .747 winning percentage. After Murray departed to take over at Duke University in 1950, David M. Nelson came on board as head coach.
During his years at UD, Nelson developed the Delaware Wing-T offensive system. This system, strongly rooted in running the football and deceptive fake hand-offs, became the identity of Delaware football for nearly 50 years. Nelson also brought with him another icon of Delaware football: the "winged" helmet. The iconic "Michigan" style helmet was developed by Nelson's coach at Michigan, Fritz Crisler, who first used the helmet design when he was head coach at Princeton (albeit in black and orange). Nelson played for Crisler when Crisler was head coach at Michigan, and Nelson brought the helmet design with him to every team he coached (Hillsdale College, Harvard, Maine and Delaware). Nelson stepped down as football coach in 1965, and in his 15 years (1951–1965), the Hens compiled an 84–42–2 (.664) record with one National Championship in 1963 and a bowl win over Kent State in the now-defunct Refrigerator Bowl.
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