Robert Morris Colonials football
| Robert Morris Colonials football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| First season | 1994; 32 years ago | ||
| Head coach | Bernard Clark 8th season, 27–55 (.329) | ||
| Location | Moon Township, Pennsylvania | ||
| Stadium | Joe Walton Stadium (capacity: 3,000) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | NEC | ||
| Colors | Blue, white, and red[1] | ||
| All-time record | 151–182–1 (.454) | ||
| Conference championships | |||
| NEC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010 | |||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
The Robert Morris Colonials football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Robert Morris University located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Formerly members of the Northeast Conference, the Colonials were originally intended to compete in the 2020 season as an FCS independent before becoming a football-only member of the Big South Conference in July 2021.[2] The Colonials would ultimately join Big South football several months ahead of schedule. After COVID-19 caused the Big South to move its fall 2020 season to spring 2021, with two teams playing in the fall and a third not playing at all in 2020–21, the conference brought RMU into its football league for its spring 2021 season.[3] In 2023, after playing in the Big South in 2023, the team returned to play in the Northeast Conference in 2024.[4]
The school's first football team was fielded in 1994.[5] The team plays its home games at the 3,000 seat Joe Walton Stadium. They are currently led by eighth-year head coach Bernard Clark.
History
Classifications
- 1994–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS[6]
Conference memberships
On June 15, Robert Morris Colonials announced leaving the Northeast Conference for the Horizon League in all sports except for football starting in 2020. The football program joined the Big South Conference in football 2021. For the 2020 football team, the Colonials were originally intended to play as an FCS independent.[7] The team's 2020 schedule was to have been played as originally set, but all games would have been considered non-conference.[8] However, this would change due to COVID-19 disruptions; the Big South brought RMU into its football league for its rescheduled spring 2021 season.[3]
On November 28, 2023, Robert Morris announced a return to the Northeast Conference effective with the 2024 season as an associate member for football only.[4]
- 1994–1995: Independent
- 1996–2019: Northeast Conference
- 2020–2023: Big South Conference
- 2024-: Northeast Conference
Championships
Conference
| Year | Coach | Conference | Overall record | Conference record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996† | Joe Walton | Northeast Conference | 9–2 | 3–1 | |
| 1997 | 8–3 | 4–0 | |||
| 1998† | 4–6 | 4–1 | |||
| 1999 | 8–2 | 8–0 | |||
| 2000 | 10–0 | 8–0 | |||
| 2010† | 8–3 | 7–1 | |||
| Conference championships | 6 | ||||
† Co-champions
FCS playoffs results
The Colonials have appeared in the FCS playoffs one time with an overall record of 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | First round | North Dakota State | L 17–43 |
Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
- Hank Fraley
- Tim Hall
- Tim Levcik
- Wale
- Matt Stasko
- Adam Thermann
Future non-conference opponents
Future non-conference opponents announced as of March 11, 2026.[9]
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia State | at Youngstown State | Murray State | at San Jose State | |
| at Akron | Morgan State | at West Virginia | ||
| at Buffalo | ||||
| Norfolk State | ||||
| at Morgan State |
References
- ^ "RMU Brand Style Guide" (PDF). March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Robert Morris leaves NEC for Horizon League; football moves to Big South". wtae.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Big South Announces Football 2021 Spring Schedule" (Press release). Big South Conference. November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ a b "RMU Football to Rejoin Northeast Conference for 2024 Season". rmucolonials.com. November 28, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ Robert Morris Colonials Archived 2016-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ Phil Axelrod (September 3, 1994). "Ready or not, the future is here for fledgling Robert Morris". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E-5. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Robert Morris football to join Big South Conference in 2021". fbschedules.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Robert Morris joins Horizon League, football heads to Big South". timesonline.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Robert Morris Colonials Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 11, 2026.