Helmets of Discontinued Small College Teams
B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y |
ADELPHI UNIVERSITY
c.late 1960s - 1970? |
Adelphi University (Garden City, NY) had an intercollegiate football team for a short period during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The team played at the NCAA's College Division level, which was the predecessor of Division II and Division III. The Adelphi football team was a club-level team in the mid-1960s but was apparently a varsity team from 1968 through 1971.
The team apparently always used white helmets with one brown stripe, and some photographs from the period show some helmets with an oval-shaped logo containing the letter "A"; it is unclear whether the "A" logo was ever in widespread use. "Panthers" was the team nickname.
ALDERSON-BROADDUS UNIVERSITY
2013 - 2019 | 2020* - 2022 |
The board of trustees of Alderson Broaddus University (Phillippi, WV) announced on July 31, 2023 that they had voted to close the school, which was facing insurmountable financial difficulties. The university had a football team, called the "Battlers", from 2013 through 2022. The team used only the two designs shown above, to the best of my knowledge.
The Alderson Broaddus football team was a member of the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference during the last three years, and of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference from 2016 through 2019.
AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
c.1960s | c.1970 | c.mid 1970s |
c.late 1970s | c.late 1970s | c.early 1980s |
c.mid 1980s | c.late 1980s - 1990s | c.late 1990s |
'A' | 'B' | |
? - 2003 | 2004 - | 2012 - 2014 |
'C' | 'D' | 'E' |
2013 - 2014 | 2014 | 2014 |
'F' | 'G' | 'H' |
2014 | 2014 | 2014 - 2015; 2019 |
'I' | 'J' | 'K' |
2014 - 2015 | 2015 - 2019 | 2015 |
'L' | 'M' | 'N' |
2015 | 2016; 2018 | 2016 - 2017 |
'O' | 'P' | 'Q' |
2016; 2019 | 2016 | 2017; 2019 |
'R' |
2018 |
The administration of Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA) announced the ending of its intercollegiate football program on December 15, 2020, citing economic considerations and the scarcity of regional opponents. The APU team, called the "Cougars", had most recently been members of the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The team played from 1965 through 2019; no 2020 season was played due to the global pandemic.
Information for this team is scarce for the years prior to about 1975, but black helmets may have been used during the team's earliest years. One photograph appears to show an oval-shaped logo containing the letter "A" on what are likely orange helmet shells; this photograph appears to be from approximately 1970. During some years in the late 1970s an interesting-looking but unidentified logo was worn on orange helmets; below are some photographs:
The logo may depict a cougar standing upon a rock or cliff. After many years of using orange helmets, a switch to black was apparently made in 1995. At least a couple of different helmet logos were used during the two or three years before the team began using reddish-colored helmets; below are some photographs of these:
The first two photographs show what is quite obviously a leaping cougar with long tail, while the third shows an unidentified, more abstract-looking logo.
During its last several years APU used the following sequences of helmet designs:
BACONE COLLEGE
2006 - 2007 | 2001 - 2005; 2008 - 2010? | 2011? - 2017 |
Facing financial difficulties, Bacone College (Muskogee, OK) announced that it would close in May 2018; this announcement was later rescinded and the college remains in operation, though without its football team, which was discontinued. The school had an NAIA football team from 2001 through 2017 and a junior college team in 1957 and earlier. The above are to the best of my knowledge all of the helmet designs used by the team during the modern era.
BAPTIST CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Baptist Christian University (Shreveport, LA) had an intercollegiate football team from (apparently) 1974 to 1983 (the school was established in 1973). The photograph below from 1978 is the only one I have found showing a helmet design used by the team - the logo is apparently an "Indian head" (the team nickname was "Warriors"). The school was renamed Louisiana Baptist University in 1993; LBU does not presently have intercollegiate sports teams.
BECKER COLLEGE
2005 - 2008 | 2009 - 2011 | 2012 |
2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
*see note 1 below |
2016 | 2017 - | 2018 (early season) |
*see note 2 below | *see note 3 below | *see note 4 below |
2018 - 2019 |
*see note 5 below |
Becker College in Leicester, MA announced on May 29, 2021 that it would cease operations at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. The college's football team existed from 2005 through 2019; the scheduled 2020 season was canceled by the global viral pandemic. The team was nicknamed the "Hawks" and the above are all of the "known" helmet designs used by the team, which played at the NCAA Division III level.
*1 This design is "blank" on its left side, but has white uniform numerals on its right side (as represented below).
*2 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; a "hawk head" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).
*3 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; a "hawk head" logo is worn on the right side (as depicted below).
*4 This design was used for at least the first two games in 2018 before a switch was made to the next design by at least game #5 (October 6 at Salve Regina).
*5 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; a "hawk head" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).
BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE
2007 only? | 2008? - 2016 | 2017 - 2023 |
Birmingham Southern College (Birmingham, AL) ceased operations on May 31, 2024, following several years of financial instability. The school's football team, nicknamed the "Panthers", existed from 2007 through 2023 and played at the NCAA Division III level. The above are the only 'known' helmet designs used by the team.
The college also had a football team in 1939 and earlier.
BISHOP COLLEGE
c.1975 | c.1985 |
Bishop College, an Historically Black school located in Dallas, TX, closed in 1988; the college had a football team from at least 1911 through 1986. The second helmet design shown above was used by the team during at least the 1985 season, its next-to-last, "Tigers" was the team nickname.
Paul Quinn College (see below) purchased and relocated to the former Bishop College campus in Dallas in 1990, where it remains.
BLACKBURN COLLEGE
? - 1999? | 2000? - 2002? | 2003? - 2005 |
2006 | 2007 - 2008 |
Blackburn College (Carlinville, IL) announced the termination of its intercollegiate football team on January 21, 2009. The team had competed at the NCAA Division III level for many years, and in the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during 2008, the team's final season.
I have received some partial information about a few other helmet designs used by Blackburn during the early 1990s: in 1990, the team used black helmets with silver facemasks and one single stripe; the helmets were "blank" until about midway through the football season, then silver uniform numerals were added to the sides of the helmets. In 1991, the facemasks were changed to black, two white stripes were added on either side of the silver stripe, and the numerals were replaced with the word "Blackburn" in silver, outlined in white. In 1992, the facemask color was changed again to red, the stripe sequence was altered to red-white-red, and the "Blackburn" decal was replaced with a white block "B" outlined in red. This design was used through at least the 1993 season. I would greatly appreciate photographs of any of these helmets. Thanks to Corny for this information.
BOSTON STATE COLLEGE
? - 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
1975 - 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
1980 - ? |
Boston State College (Boston, MA) had a football team from 1971 through 1981; the team was discontinued when the college merged with the University of Massachusetts-Boston. The team nickname was "Warriors".
Partial information is available for several other BSC helmets (no information was found for the 1971 and 1981 designs):
Below are some photographs from old BSC yearbooks.
BRADLEY UNIVERSITY
Bradley University (Peoria, IL) had a football team for many decades which played its last season in 1970. Apparently throughout the 1960s the team used white helmets with a single red stripe and with red uniform numerals, except for the 1969 season when the numerals were replaced with the college football centennial "100" logo in some unknown color (photograph below).
UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT
The University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, CT) had an intercollegiate football team from 1948 through 1974; the design shown above was apparently used during the team's last few years. "Purple Knights" was the team nickname.
BROOKLYN COLLEGE
c.1970s | c.1984 | c.1980s |
Brooklyn College (New York, NY) had a varsity intercollegiate football team from 1975 through 1990. Information about this team is very scarce and only a few photographs have been located. Apparently for most of the team's history plain maroon or burgundy-colored helmets were used, but at least two logos were used at different times. The first photograph below is from Marist College's 1979 yearbook, showing Brooklyn wearing a "BC" logo which was probably gold or yellow in color. The second photograph is from Stony Brook University's 1984 yearbook and shows what appears to be the team name "Kingsmen" on the side of the helmet; the schools athletic teams were eventually changed to "Bulldogs" sometime after football was discontinued. The Kingsmen competed as members of NCAA Division III.
CAL POLY POMONA
c.late 1970s? |
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona had a football team (named the "Broncos") through 1982; the team played at NCAA Division II level during its last few years. Information about this team has been very difficult to locate, but apparently several other different helmet designs were used, including ones with gold, yellow, and white helmet shells.
Anyone investigating this team, be advised: it is very often confused with the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team, which still exists (in the Big Sky Conference), has similar school colors (green and gold), and a similar team nickname ("Mustangs"). The two even played each other a number of times in the 1970s. Schedules printed in old media guides, yearbooks, etc often list "Cal Poly" without helpfully distinguishing between the two teams.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO
1960 | 1961 | 1963 |
1964 | 1966 | 1962; 1965; 1967 |
1969 | 1968; 1970 - ? | c.1970s |
? - 1982 | 1983 - ? | ? - 1992 |
1995 | 1993 - 1994; 1996 - ? |
Chico State (CA) had a football team at the NCAA Division II level until 1997; the team nickname was "Wildcats".
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD
c.1970s | c.early 1980s? | c.1980s - 1990s |
California State University, Hayward had an intercollegiate football team from 1965 through 1993. Information about this team is very scarce and other helmet designs besides those depicted above were likely used.
"Pioneers" was the team nickname. The university's name was changed to its present name, California State University, East Bay, in 2005.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES
c.late 1960s |
The helmet design shown above was apparently used by this team during at least the 1966 and 1967 seasons. Cal State Los Angeles (also referred to as Los Angeles State) had a football team which competed at the NCAA College Division level through 1972, and in Division II from 1973 through 1978, which was the team's last year. The football team's nickname was "Diablos" but the university switched to "Golden Eagles" for the remaining athletic teams in 1980.
Other helmet designs were apparently used, but information about them is extremely elusive. The photographs below show that there were some interesting designs, and I think the team may have used plain gold helmets during its last few years.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
? - 1975 |
UC Riverside had an intercollegiate football team for 21 seasons (1955 through 1975). The team competed at the NCAA College Division level in 1972 and earlier, and in NCAA Division II from 1973 to 1975. "Highlanders" was the team nickname.
Scant information has been found for this team, but it appears as though both plain blue and plain gold helmets may also have been used. The design shown above was apparently the last one used by the team.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO
The University of California San Diego (UCSD) had a football team - the "Tritons" - for one season only - 1968 - before the sport was dropped. As a smaller, short-lived college team from the pre-internet age, this has been one of the most difficult teams for which to find any information regarding a helmet design. The university did not publish a yearbook for 1968-1969, and while the campus newspapers for that year have been digitized and published on the internet, none of them contain any photographs clear enough to reveal anything about a helmet design other than the shell color (apparently white).
This leaves as a possible source of information only the football team's 1968 opponents, and I think I have found photographs of the UCSD helmet design in CalTech's 1969 yearbook. CalTech ended a 34-game losing streak when it defeated UCSD 34-31 on November 9 and most of the football photographs in the CalTech yearbook appear to be from this game. Below are the clearer photographs and a logo which I believe is very similar to the one used by UCSD:
If any clearer photographs of the 1968 UCSD football helmet are in existence I would obviously greatly appreciate an opportunity to see them, as I consider this one to be the "Holy Grail of Lost Helmet Designs".
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA
c.1960s | c.late 1980s?/early 1990s? |
The University of California Santa Barbara had an intercollegiate football team for several decades through the 1971 season, when the program was first dropped. It was resumed in 1984 and dropped again after the 1991 season. Information about this team has been very difficult to locate.
UCSB used what appears to be a rather spectacularly goofy helmet logo during at least the 1984 season; below are some screen captures from a youtube video:
The logo may be a football player wearing a cape (for some reason), in front of a circle. I would appreciate any clearer photographs of this interesting design.
Below is a photograph of another design used by the team; this photograph is from the 1971 season. The letters and stripe are presumably blue and the helmets gold.
CALTECH California Institute of Technology
? - 1967 | 1968 - 1969 | 1970 - 1972 |
1973 - 1975 | 1976 - 1977 |
The Caltech football team last played in 1977 and it may have always been a club level team, though it did play many varsity teams. "Beavers" was the team nickname.
CAMERON UNIVERSITY
c.early 1970s | 1979 - 1983; 1985 | 1986 - 1992 |
CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
c.late 1990s | 2002 - 2004 | 2009 - 2011? |
2012? - 2013 | 2014 | 2004 - 2008; 2015 - 2017? |
*see note 2 below | *see note 1 below |
Cheyney University, an Historically Black school in Cheyney, PA, announced the termination of its football team on December 9, 2017, citing as a reason the school's ongoing financial difficulties. The football team, nicknamed the "Wolves", had participated as a member of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for many years. I rarely received any information about this team, and it is entirely possible that some helmet designs used by the team were missed, even during the more recent football seasons.
During at least the 2001 season Cheyney apparently used a helmet logo that was very similar to the one shown on the first helmet above, but with a white "CU" added to the logo.
I received a report prior to the start of the 2005 season indicating that Cheyney would be using a "C" logo that year, similar to the one used by Connecticut, but no photographs were ever provided showing such a decal, and the only photograph that I ever saw from the 2005 season showed the team using "plain" helmets without any side decals.
Descriptions (but not photographs) have been received for a couple of earlier helmet designs. In the mid-1970s the team used white helmets with the school name in blue letters on the sides, and a blue/white/blue stripe sequence. Another design was similar but with a blue "wolf head" logo replacing "Cheyney". During the early 1990s the team again used white helmets with a blue "wolf head" logo.
*1 The team used plain blue helmets during at least one game of the 2004 season (vs. Lock Haven) and at least one game in 2005 (vs. Bloomsburg).
*2 In 2012 and 2013 the "wolf"-shaped logo was worn only on the left side of each helmet; on the right side white uniform numerals were worn (as depicted below).
CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
2016 | 2017 | 2018 - 2019 |
*see note 1 below |
Cincinnati Christian University (Cincinnati, OH) has an NAIA football team for four years (2016 through 2019); the school announced on October 28, 2019 that it would close following the Fall 2019 semester. The team finished with a 2-8 record in 2019, going 2-6 in played games and forfeiting the last two scheduled games (at Reinhardt and at Bluefield), Video from the October 19, 2019 game vs Union shows the team using the same design which was in use in 2018 (purple helmet with white "CCU" logo on both sides). The above are the only helmet designs of which I am aware for this team, which was called the "Eagles".
*1 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; a large 'eagle head' adorns the right side (as shown below).
COLORADO COLLEGE
? - 2001 | 2002 - 2008 |
Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO) announced the discontinuation of its intercollegiate football team on March 24, 2009, citing "a mandate from the school's board of trustees to reduce spending by $8 million to $12 million during the next fiscal year". The college's geographical isolation from other football-playing schools was apparently also a factor in the decision. The team had played at the NCAA Division III level for many years, and was a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2007 and 2008.
The above two helmet designs are the only ones for which I have received any information.
CONCORDIA COLLEGE (AL)
2005 | 2006 - 2008 | 2009 - 2011 |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 - 2015 |
Concordia College, an historically Black college in Selma, AL, had an unaffiliated football team for eleven years (2005 - 2015), which played mostly NAIA and NCAA Division II opponents. Financial reasons were cited for the discontinuation of the program in December 2015.
The above set of helmet designs are, to the best of my knowledge, all those used by the team, whose nickname was "Hornets".
UNIVERSITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
c.1960s | 1965 |
The University of Corpus Christi, a private school in Corpus Christi, TX, had an intercollegiate football team until the mid-1960s, the team's last year apparently being 1965. The university's campus was largely destroyed by Hurricane Celia in August 1970. With the school being unable to afford the necessary repairs, it was sold to the Texas A&M university system, eventually undergoing several name changes before the present name, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, was adopted in 1989.
Not surprisingly information about this team is extremely scarce, and only a few photographs have been found, most showing the team using plain white helmets during the 1960s. Dark uniform numbers and stripes are present on some helmets in some photographs, but the colors of these features are unknown. The team apparently switched to dark helmets in 1965; these had light-colored block uniform numbers on the sides and a light-colored stripe. "Tarpons" was the team nickname.
DANA COLLEGE
? - 1999 | 2000 - 2002 | 2003 |
2004(?) | 2004 - 2007 | 2008 - 2009 |
*see note 1 below |
Dana College (Blair, NE) ceased operations on June 30, 2010. At the time of the announcement the college's football team had been a member of the NAIA Great Plains Athletic Conference for several years.
*1 It is unclear to me whether Dana ever actually used this design in 2004. I received information from the college prior to the 2004 season indicating that this design would be used by the team, but the only photographs I saw from any of the team's actual games showed the next helmet (with stripes) being used. Additional information would be appreciated.
DILLARD UNIVERSITY
c.early 1960s |
Dillard University, an historically Black college in New Orleans, LA, had a football team until about 1965. The team apparently used plain white helmets during the early 1960s, sometimes with a single blue stripe, and at other times with no stripes.
UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UDC came into existence in 1977 with the merger of three other colleges. A football team - apparently at the NAIA level - was present from the beginning; the team lasted until 1989 and was named the "Firebirds". Only one photograph has been found showing this football team, in which it appears that dark (probably red) helmets are in use. Any information would be appreciated.
EARLHAM COLLEGE
? - 2002 | 2003 - 2010 | 2012 - 2014? |
'A' | ||
2011 - 2014? | 2015 | 2016 |
*see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
'B' | ||
2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
*see note 3 below |
Earlham College (Richmond, IN) announced the "suspension" of its decades-old intercollegiate football team in November 2018. As of May 2022 there appears to be no indication that the team will be revived, though there has also apparently been no announcement by the College to that effect. Earlham was a participant in the NCAA Division III Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference at the time the team was suspended.
In 2016 Earlham used two of the above helmet designs in the following sequence: A-?-B; B-?-A; A-?-B; A.
*1 This design has the large "EC" on the left side of the helmet only; the right side has white uniform numerals (as depicted below).
*2 This design has the large "EC" on the left side of the helmet only; the right side has maroon uniform numerals (as depicted below).
*3 This design has the large "EC" on the left side of the helmet only; the right side hs white uniform numerals (as depicted below).
EASTERN MONTANA COLLEGE
c.mid-late 1960s | c.early 1970s |
Eastern Montana College (which was renamed Montana State University-Billings in 1994) had a football team during at least the period 1947 through 1978. EMC was a member of the Frontier Conference from 1965 through 1978, and its predecessor, the Montana Collegiate Conference, from 1960 through 1964.
No information has been located for the team's last six seasons (1973 - 1978) but plain dark blue helmets were apparently used during the very late 1960s and early 1970s. Earlier, a cartoon "yellow jacket" logo was used for several years; the yellow jacket decals were gradually abandoned by about 1968 but a few remain visible in photographs until about 1970.
EVANSVILLE UNIVERSITY
1960 - 1964 | 1965 - 1970 | 1971 |
1972 | 1973 - 1974 | 1975 - 1976 |
1977 - 1980 | 1981 - ? | ? - 1997 |
Evansville (IN) was a member of the NCAA Division I-AA Pioneer Football League when the university dropped its football program following the 1997 season; the team nickname was "Purple Aces".
FEDERAL CITY COLLEGE
Federal City College (Washington, DC) existed for just ten years following its establishment in 1968. In 1978 it was merged with two other colleges to form the University of the District of Columbia.
The college apparently had a football team (the 'Panthers') from 1968 through 1976. Not a single photograph has yet been located showing any helmet design used by this team.
FINLANDIA UNIVERSITY
2015 - 2019 | 2021 | 2022 |
*see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
Finlandia University announced on March 2, 2023 that the school would cease operations at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, citing among the reasons declining enrollment and an 'unberable' debt load. The University had a football team, the "Lions", from 2015 through 2022.
*1 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; an "F" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).
*2 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; an "F" logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).
FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
'C' | 'A' | 'B' |
2014; 2017 | 2013 - 2018 | 2015 - 2018 |
*see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
'D' | 'E' |
2019 | 2019 |
*see note 3 below | *see note 4 below |
Florida Tech had a football team from 2013 through 2019; the termination of the program was announced on May 11, 2020 with the following justification: "The unprecedented uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the university to make difficult personnel and programmatic decisions. Eliminating the expense of the football program is a necessary step to ensure that Florida Tech can continue meeting its core educational mission." The team used the following sequences of helmet designs during its existence:
Florida Tech was an affiliate member of the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference for football during its seven-year existence. 'Panthers' was the team nickname.
*1 The "FIT" logo is present on the left side only of this design; uniform numerals are worn on the right side (as shown below).
*2 The "FIT" logo is present on the left side only of this design; uniform numerals are worn on the right side (as shown below).
*3 The "FT" logo is present on the left side only of this design; uniform numerals are worn on the right side (so the right sides resembles the right side of design 'B').
*4 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; on the right side is a large "panther head" logo (as shown below).
FREDERICK COLLEGE
? - 1964 | 1965 - |
Frederick College (Portsmouth, VA) existed as a four-year school from 1961 to 1968; the school closed its doors in 1968. The college's football team, the "Lions", played against other small colleges in the region from at least 1964 through 1967. The second helmet design shown above was apparently used in 1966, also, before an apparent switch to red helmets was made for the team's final season in 1967. Additional information about this team would be appreciated.
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE
1983 - 1989 |
Georgia Southwestern had a football team only from 1983 through 1989 which apparently used only the helmet design shown above during its existence. The team played at the NAIA level and was known as the "Hurricanes". The school is presently named Georgia Southwestern State University.
HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS UNIVERSITY
2001 - 2005 | 2006 - 2008 | ? - 2000; 2009 - 2010 |
2011 - 2014 |
Haskell (Lawrence, KS) announced the suspension of its NAIA independent football team on June 12, 2015; an announcement as to the future of the team is expected by November 1, 2015.
HAVERFORD COLLEGE
Haverford College (Haverford, PA) had a small-college football team until 1972; the team nickname was apparently "Fords". The photograph below shows a design used by the team in at least 1969 and 1970; assuming the school colors have not changed since then, the helmets are probably black with a red "H" logo.
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY
? - 1961 | 1962 | 1963 |
c.early 1970s | c.late 1970s | c.1980s |
? - 1999 | 2000 | 2001 - 2003 |
2013 | 2004 - 2012; 2014 - 2018 |
Humboldt State's football team was discontinued following the 2018 season, which was the team's 90th year.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO CIRCLE
c.late 1960s - 1973 |
The University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and its predecessor schools had a football team from at least 1950 through 1973; the team nickname by at least the late 1960s was "Chikas". The design shown above was apparently used by the team during its last few seasons (at least from 1969 through 1973). In 1969 this same design was used but with the addition of the college football centennial ("100") logo, which was worn on the back side of UICC's helmets; UICC's version of the logo featured white numerals outlined in red inside a dark blue football shape.
An earlier helmet logo used by the team apparently consisted of a dark-colored (probably red) "C" inside a circle. The school is now the University of Illinois at Chicago.
IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
? - 1999? | 2000? - 2001 | 2002 |
2004 - 2005 | 2005 (last game) | 2006 - 2008 |
2009 | 2010 (first game only) - | 2010 - 2012 |
2013 | 2014 | 2015 - 2019 |
2020* - | 2021 (first game) | 2021 - 2022 |
Iowa Wesleyan University (Mount Pleasant, IA) announced on March 28, 2023 that it would close at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, citing financial difficulties and other reasons. The school's football team, the "Tigers", was most recently a member of the NAIA North Star Athletic Association and had existed since at least 1940. The set of helmet designs shown above is probably nearly complete for the period 2000-2022, but little or no information has been found for earlier designs.
In 2003 Iowa Wesleyan switched to a new helmet design by at least the October 11 game against McKendree. The new helmet logo was the team name "Tigers" in purple, with the helmet shell remaining white and the facemask apparently black. Below is a photograph. I would appreciate a copy of the helmet decal, which would enable me to add this historical design to the web site.
JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
1998 - 2011 | 2012 - 2014 | 2015 (last 3 games) |
*see note 1 below |
2015 - 2016 | 2017 - 2019 |
*see note 2 below |
Jacksonville University had a football team from 1998 through 2019. The school announced on December 3, 2019 that the football team would be discontinued, and released a statement which read in part "it’s clear the resources required to support our football program outweigh the benefits to the overall Athletics Department and the University." The JU football team, which was nicknamed "Dolphins", had participated as a member of the NCAA Division I FCS Pioneer Football League for many years.
*1 Worn November 7 (vs Davidson), November 14 (at Campbell), and November 21 (vs Valparaiso). This design has uniform numerals on its left side only; the right side features a large "JU"/"dolphin" logo with a camouflage pattern (as represented below).
*2 This design has uniform numerals on its left side only; the right side features a large "JU"/"dolphin" logo (as represented below).
KNOXVILLE COLLEGE
Knoxville College, an historically Black college located in Knoxville, TN, had an intercollegiate football team for several decades up to 1996, the team's last season. Very little information has been found for this team, but the helmet design depicted above was in use during at least 1992. The photograph below shows the team using white helmets with a "bulldog" logo in 1986.
LAMBUTH UNIVERSITY
1985 - 1987 | 1988 - 1989 | 1990 - ? |
c.1994 | 1998? - 2007 | 2008 - 2009 |
2010 |
Lambuth University (Jackson, TN) closed on June 30, 2011; the school had a football team from 1985 through 2010. The team (called the 'Eagles') had been a member of the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference during its last few years. I have been unable to add the team's last two helmet designs to the web site due to the fact that I never received copies of the helmet logos for them; both featured "LU" logos and may be seen in the photographs below:
LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE
1991 | 1992 - 1993 |
As a four-year college, Lees-McRae (Banner Elk, NC) had an NAIA football team for three years (1991 - 1993) which used the designs shown above. Prior to 1991, the school was a two-year college (with a football team). The team nickname was "Bobcats".
LINDENWOOD-BELLEVILLE UNIVERSITY
2012 | 2013 - 2014? | 2015? |
2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
*see note 1 below |
Lindenwood-Belleville University (Belleville, IL) had an NAIA football team for just seven years (2012 through 2018). The school had announced in early 2019 that the 2019 season would be the team's last, but due to a player shortage the final season was abruptly canceled in July 2019.
The above are, to the best of my knowledge, all of the helmet designs used by the team during its period of existence. "Lynx" was the team nickname.
*1 This design has uniform numerals on its left side only; the right side has a large "lynx head" logo (as depicted below).
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
1979 - 1980? | 1981? | 1982 |
Lubbock Christian College (Lubbock, TX - now Lubbock Christian University) had an NAIA football team for just four seasons - 1979 through 1982. The team apparently used at least three helmet designs during this period: the first one with an intricate shield-shaped logo, and two later ones with the word "Chaps" (shortened form of the team nickname "Chaparrals"). Normally I do not populate this website with helmet images based on assumed information, but have made an exception in this case due to the extreme scarcity of information about the team; more specifically, I have made some assumptions about the helmet designs shown in the photographs below:
The photograph on the left is from an actual LCC game, and I have assumed that the helmet color is red, and that the logo and facemask are blue, in order to create the helmet image above. I made these assumptions based on the photograph on the right, which accompanied an article published about the team in 2012, and which purports to show an actual historical LCC helmet. Photographs showing this design in use have been located in the 1983 yearbook of Sul Ross State University. Unless these two script logos were used simultaneously I would assume that the first one was probably used in 1981 and the other in 1982.
The earlier LCC helmet design (used in 1979 and 1980) also had a red shell with (apparently) a blue facemask; a visitor to the website has kindly provided some much better photographs than the ones I previously showed here for this design:
The logo is a white shield-shape containing a large white "L" with dark outline, accompanied by a cartoon roadrunner and the smaller letters "CC"; the team nickname was apparently spelled out along the lower bar of the "L". Some other very low-quality color photographs appear to suggest that blue was the other color within the logo. The logo was apparently similar to the one shown in the photograph below, which is distorted because it's on a t-shirt that a person is wearing:
I would greatly appreciate any additional information or photographs for this team.
MacMURRAY COLLEGE
1999 - 2000 | 2001 - 2006? | 2007? - 2010 |
2011 - 2019 |
MacMurray College (Jacksonville, IL) announced on March 27, 2020 that it would permanently close at the end of the spring semester, citing "declining enrollments, rising competitive costs, and an insufficient endowment", in addition to repercussions from the Covid-19 global pandemic. The school's football team first played in 1985, and had played most recently at the NCAA Division III level as a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. 'Highlanders' was the team nickname.
I never received much information for this team, but the above helmet designs are probably all of those used by the team from 1999 through 2019. Information about earlier designs would be appreciated.
MALONE UNIVERSITY
? - 2001 | 2002 | 2003 - 2005 |
2006 - 2007 | 2008 | 2009 - 2012 |
2013 - 2014 | 2015 | 2016 - 2017 |
*see note 1 below |
2018 |
Malone University (Canton, OH) announced the dissolution of its intercollegiate football team on February 1, 2019, citing the need to "to eliminate a $2.5 million structural deficit". The team existed from 1993 through 2018 and had most recently participated in the NCAA Division II Great Midwest Athletic Conference. "Pioneers" was the team nickname.
*1 This design uses the "MU" logo on its left side only; the right side features small silver or reflective uniform numerals (as represented below).
MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY
? - 2000? | 2001? - 2005 | 2006 |
Mansfield (Mansfield, PA) was a member of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference when the termination of the program was announced on November 16, 2006, an 0-10 2006 season having been completed by the team a few days earlier. "Mansfield University is too small an institution to support a football program in the manner it deserves," (University president Maravene) Loeschke said in a statement. She said the decision was troubling to former Mansfield football players, but said the school would consider reinstating the program if it could raise an endowment to fund it. "If we are able to raise sufficient funds in this way, we will open discussion about re-establishing a football program at whatever level - Division II, Division III, or Independent League - we can properly support," Loeschke said. (source for these quotes: article entitled "Mansfield eliminates football program", dated November 16, 2006, at centredaily.com (link.)).
In 2006 the last Mansfield team used a new helmet logo, apparently a large white "M", on its black helmets; below is a photo of the 2006 helmet. I would appreciate a copy of the 2006 helmet logo, so that I may add this one to the web site.
MARANATHA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
c.1969 | c.1971 - 1972 | c.1974 |
c.late 1990s? | 2003? - 2013 | 2014 |
*see note 1 below |
2015 - 2016 |
*see note 2 below |
Maranatha Baptist University (Watertown, WI; previously Maranatha Baptist Bible College) announced the "retirement" of its football team on February 2, 2017. A statement issued by the university indicated that the decision was made "primarily for the well-being and safety of the student-athletes, with additional consideration given to recruiting challenges, eroding constituent support of football in general, and declining player retention." The team had first played in 1969.
The team nickname was changed from "Crusaders" to "Sabercats" for the 2014 season.
*1 This design was apparently in use during at least parts of the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons, but it may have been first used prior to 2003.
*2 The 2015-2016 design has uniform numerals on its left side only; the right side has a "sabercat" logo (as shown below).
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
c.late 1970s |
UMES, an historically Black college located in Princess Anne, MD, had a football team for several decades which played its last season in 1979.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON
UMass-Boston was a member of the NCAA Division III New England Football Conference when the college announced the disbanding of its football program at the end of the 2000 season. The helmet design shown above was apparently used by the team through most of the 1990s.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL
1980 | 1981 - 1982 | 1983 |
1984 - 1985 | 1986 | 1987 - 1991 |
1994 - ? | c.late 1990s | 2001? - 2003 |
UMass Lowell was a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference at the time the school announced the termination of its intercollegiate football program in March 2003. The school was previously (until 1991) named University of Lowell; Lowell played its first season of football in 1980 at the NCAA Division III level. Lowell had several other additional interesting helmet designs for which I have only partial information; below are photographs of these:
Clear color photographs of any of these would probably enable me to add them to the website. The 1984-1985 design has the word "Chiefs" (the team nickname during the University of Lowell era) in red on silver helmet shells; I am unsure if the letters were outlined. I have the artwork for the 1980 helmet logo, but do not know the colors as used on the helmet.
MENLO COLLEGE
1996 - 2008 | 2009 - 2010 | 2011 |
2012 - 2013 | 2014 |
Menlo College (Atherton, CA) announced the termination of its NAIA-member intercollegiate football team on February 2, 2015, citing scheduling difficulties and the expense of the program. The team had played for 29 years (1986 through 2014).
Descriptions of some earlier Menlo helmet designs have been received:
Photographs of any of these earlier helmets would be appreciated.
MILTON COLLEGE
c.late 1970s |
Milton College (Milton, WI) closed in 1982. Prior to the closure the college had a football team from 1899 through 1981, with some interruptions. The team appears to have used plain gold helmets during the late 1970s, but both white and yellow helmets were apparently used earlier. No indication has been found that any helmet logo was ever used.
The team nickname was "Wildcats" and conflicting information has been found as to whether the team played in the NAIA or in NCAA Division III.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
? - 2007 | 2008 - 2011 | 2012 |
*see note 1 below |
2013 (last 7 games) | 2013 - 2019 |
*see note 2 below |
The University of Minnesota Crookston announced the discontinuation of its football team on December 10, 2019. The team had existed since either 1993 or 1994; prior to then. the school was a junior college which had a football team since at least 1972. During recent yearst he team had been a member of the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. "Golden Eagles" was the team nickname.
*1 During the 2012 season the logo was worn on the left side of the helmet only, with the right side being "blank".
*2 Helmet stripes were apparently first worn October 5, 2013 (vs Bemidji State) and apparently remained in use for the remainder of the season. The stripes were absent for Crookston's first four games of 2013.
MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE
? - 1981 | 1982 - 1986 | 1989 - 1990 |
1991 - 1992 | 1987 - 1988; 1993 - 1998 | 1999 |
2000 | 2001 - 2002 | |
Morris Brown College, an historically Black college in Atlanta, GA, announced the suspension of all its intercollegiate athletic teams in May 2003; the school was in the midst of a financial crisis and had lost its accreditation earlier in the year. The football team had recently moved to NCAA Division I-AA where it competed as an independent team; prior to then the team was a longtime member of NCAA Division II and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. "Wolverines" was the team nickname.
MORTHLAND COLLEGE
2016 | 2016 |
Morthland College (West Frankfort, IL) had a varsity football team for one year only (2016) prior to the school's May 17, 2017 announcement that it would be discontinuing all intercollegiate athletic teams. The 2016 team was a member of neither the NCAA nor the NAIA, but did play an eight-game schedule featuring three NCAA or NAIA opponents (UW-Oshkosh, Lyon, and Maranatha Baptist Bible); the game listed on Morthland's schedule at Washington University-St. Louis was apparently played against that school's JV team. At least two helmet designs were used: a white helmet with green "M" during the first three games, and a white helmet with a 'patriot'/'M' logo beginning with game #4 (October 1 vs Maranatha Baptist Bible). "Patriots" was the team nickname.
The college closed in 2018.
MOUNT IDA COLLEGE
2000 - ? | ? - 2013 | 2014 - 2015 |
2016 - 2017 |
Mount Ida College (Newton, MA) had a football team at the NCAA Division III level from 2000 through 2017. On April 6, 2018 the school announced that it would close at the end of the spring semester, with the college's facilities to be sold to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The football team, nicknamed the "Mustangs", used only the four helmet designs shown above, to the best of my knowledge. The team had most recently been a member of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.
MOUNT SENARIO COLLEGE
c.1970s(?) | c.1980s | 1987 - 1988 |
1989 - 1990 | 1991 - 1995 | 1996 - 1998 |
1999 - ? | ? - 2001 |
Mount Senario College (Ladysmith, WI) announced the discontinuation of all its intercollegiate athletic programs on December 12, 2001; the college closed altogether in August 2002. Information about this team is scarce and I do not even know when the team first played, though I think it was probably during the 1970s. Partial information is available for a few other helmet designs used by the team:
Mount Senario had been a member of the NAIA and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference during its final years.
NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA
Naval Air Station Pensacola is a United States Navy installation located near Warrington, Florida, southwest of the city of Pensacola. The Station maintained a football team for an unknown number of years, possibly from around the time of the Second World War until the early 1970s. The team played against small and medium sized colleges and was nicknamed the "Goshawks" during its later years, and "Goslings" sometime earlier.
Information about this team, including even basic information like schedules, has proven extremely elusive, but a couple of photographs have been found. By far the most famous person who played at NAS Pensacola was quarterback Roger Staubach, who played portions of at least two seasons (1967 and 1968) at the Station while fulfilling his commitment to the US Navy. This period fell between Staubach's last year as a member of the Navy football team (1964) and his first year with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys (1969). The first photograph below is cropped from a larger photo, dated 1968, which was found at McNeese State's website, and (if labelled correctly) shows Staubach during a game at McNeese; the helmet logo may be a "bird head". The second photograph was found in Northwestern State's 1968 yearbook (so it's likely a photograph from a 1967 game) and shows (again, if labelled correctly) NAS Pensacola wearing 'plain' helmets (probably yellow or orange); the Northwestern State 'demon head' logo is faintly visible on the other helmet.
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-OMAHA
c.late 1960s | c.1980s | 1996 - 2006 |
2007 - 2010 |
UNO announced the discontinuation of its football team in March 2011. The team had competed at the NCAA Division II level and was a member of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association during its last three seasons.
NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE
New England College (Henniker, NH) had a small college football team through either 1973 or 1974 (according to different sources). No color photographs have been found showing the team's helmet designs, but the photograph below suggests that in 1972 white helmets with an "NEC" logo in unknown colors (but probably blue and/or red, if the school colors have not changed) was used. "Pilgrims" was the team nickname, and football is scheduled to return to NEC in 2024.
NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY
NJCU's football team used this design during the last year or two of its existence; the team was discontinued in March 2003 for financial reasons. NJCU had been a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference prior to the program's termination.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS
UNO had a club-level team from 1965 until 1971, which used this helmet for at least part of that time.
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (NYIT)
NYIT had a football team from (I think) 1969 through 1983. I have never received any information about this team's helmet designs except one photograph showing the team wearing white helmets with a "T" logo on the sides in some unknown color. 'Bears' was the team nickname.
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY
This design was used by Niagara's (NY) club level team around the year 1980.
NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
The NEIU football team existed from 1976 through 1988. From at least 1977 through 1981 the team apparently used plain dark-colored helmets without any stripes or logos on the sides; the helmet color was reported to me many years ago to be brown, but the school colors presently are blue and gold. No color photographs have yet been located for this team.
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE (WI)
c.1990 |
Northwestern College was a school located in Watertown, WI which merged in 1994 with Doctor Martin Luther College to form Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Martin Luther College still exists and has a football team which participates in the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Prior to the merger Northwestern had a football team for many decades. Information about the team is unsurprisingly scarce, but a few photographs have been found from the 1980s and 1990s showing the team wearing black helmets, occasionally with a red "N" logo on the right side only. "Trojans" was the team nickname.
NORTHWOOD INSTITUTE (TX)
1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
Northwood Institute (now Northwood University), located in Cedar Hill, Texas, had a football team from 1968 through 1971. The team was known as the Cavaliers in 1968, and as the Knights during subsequent years.
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE
2010 | 2011 | 2012 - |
*see note 1 below |
2016 - | 2023 - |
Notre Dame College (South Euclid, OH) had an intercollegiate football team ("Falcons") from 2010 to 2023; the school closed in May 2024 citing declining enrollment and financial problems as the reasons. The football team was a member of NCAA Division II and competed in the Mountain East Conference for most of its history.
*1 The "falcon head" logo is worn on the left side only of this design; uniform numbers are present on the right side (as depicted below).
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
c.1980s(?) | ? - 2012 | 2013 |
2014 - 2015 | 2016 - 2017 | 2018 |
2019 |
Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA) announced the termination of its NCAA Division III football team on October 13, 2020. The college had previously canceled its 2020 season (as did most other NCAA Division III teams) in response to the global viral pandemic. A statement attributed to college president Harry Elam read, "We make this decision in the context of the major financial downturn the college has experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also as the result of many years’ ongoing study of the football program."
The team had existed since 1894 and was a long-time a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. "Tigers" was the team nickname.
OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
c.1980s | ? - 1992? |
Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls, OR) had a football team for several decades; the team last played in 1992 at which time the school was a member of the NAIA. The second helmet design shown above was apparently the last one used by the team. The 'Tech' logo was used for many consecutive years and may have been used with other helmet color/facemask color combinations than the two above. The 1976 design is shown in the photograph below:
The logo appears to be a cartoon owl encircled by the lettering "OREGON TECH / HUSTLIN' OWLS". No color photographs of this design have yet been located.
PAINE COLLEGE
Paine College (Augusta, GA), a private, historically Black college in Augusta, GA, fielded an intercollegiate football team in 2014 but shut the program down after just one year. The team, nicknamed the "Lions", participated in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and used the helmet design shown above.
Paine also had a football team decades ago, most recently in either 1963 or 1964.
PARSONS COLLEGE
? - 1964 | 1965 - 1968 | 1969 - ? |
Parsons College (Fairfield, IA) had a football team from 1893 through 1970; the school closed in June 1973. "Wildcats" was the team nickname.
PAUL QUINN COLLEGE
2000 - 2005? | 2006? |
Paul Quinn College (Dallas, TX) had an NAIA independent football team for a short time during the early 2000s - specifically 2000 (I think) through 2006. The team used plain gold helmets for several years, but I have received photographs from a game against Howard Payne in 2006 in which the team can be seen wearing plain purple helmets. The team apparently did not ever use a helmet logo.
The college also had a team several decades earlier, which played its last season in 1967.
PRESENTATION COLLEGE
2011 - 2014? | 2015? - 2019 | 2020 - 2022 |
This school in Aberdeen, SD has posted an announcement to its website indicating that the college will cease operations at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, apparently making 2022 the football team's final year. The above are to the best of my knowledge all of the helmet designs used by the Presentation team during the twelve years it existed.
"Saints" was the nickname of the team, which had competed in the NAIA North Star Athletic Association.
PRINCIPIA COLLEGE
? - 2008 |
Principia (Elsah, IL) announced the "suspension" of its football team in late January 2009. Interestingly, financial reasons were not blamed, but rather concerns about "the small size of the team, the amount of experience among team members, the level of competition on the current schedule, and our ability to prepare athletes and coaches to compete effectively" (source: quote attributed to college President Jonathan Palmer, appearing in "Football suspended" by Maija Baldauf and K.C. Gahlon, The Principia Pilot, February 6, 2009).
The team used plain gold helmets during its last several seasons, and I have never received any information about earlier helmet designs used by the team.
QUANTICO MARINE CORPS BASE
c.1960s | 1971 only? | 1972 only? |
The Quantico Marine Corps Base (Quantico, VA) had a football team from 1921 through 1972 which played a diverse set of opponents including many teams which now play at the NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision level. Information about this team is surprisingly scarce and color photographs have been almost impossible to find. The last helmet design shown above was apparently the last one used by the team and may have been used in 1972 only (the team's final year). No color photographs have been found of the 1971 design which apparently had a gold or yellow shell (silver also cannot be ruled out) with what appears to be a large "Q" on the sides (photograph below).
An earlier design, used apparently through most of the 1960s, is visible in the photographs below. I have no definite information about the colors used on this design but the helmet shell color is almost certainly red with a gold or yellow stripe ('scarlet and gold' are the traditional colors of the Marine Corps). The logo is almost certainly the Marines' traditional Eagle, Globe, and Anchor logo in some unknown color(s) (probably white or gold or some combination thereof). Any color photographs of this design would be greatly appreciated.
RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
c.1989 |
During at least the 1989 season the Ramapo (Mahwah, NJ) "Roadrunners" used the helmet design shown above. The team played at the NCAA Division III level until it was discontinued in 1993.
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (R.I.T.)
1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
1974 | 1975 - 1976 | 1977 |
SAINT CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY
c.1980 | c.1985 - 1993 | 1994 |
1995 - 2005 | 2006 | 2007 - 2013 |
'A' | 'B' | 'C' |
2014; 2016 | 2014 - | 2015 - 2016 |
*see note 1 below |
Saint Cloud State University (St. Cloud, Minnesota) announced on December 10, 2019 that its NCAA Division II football team would be discontinued. The team had existed since 1895 and had participated in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference since 2008. "Huskies" was the team nickname.
During its last few years SCSU used the following sequences of helmet designs:
*1 Uniform numerals are worn on the left side only of this design; on the right side is the same "C"/"ST" logo worn on both sides of the 2007 - 2013 design.
SAINT JOSEPH'S COLLEGE (IN)
? - 2001 | 2002 - 2003 | 2004 only? |
2005 - 2009 | 2010 | 2011 - 2012 |
2013 - 2016 |
On February 3, 2017 Saint Joseph's College (Rensselaer, IN) announced that it was suspending all operations at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year; a large debt and other financial issues were cited. Following some years of uncertainty the school re-opened as a junior college in 2021.
The SJC football team had existed for many decades but I never received any information about its helmet designs from before the year 2001. The team was known as the "Pumas" and competed in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2016.
SAINT MARY OF THE PLAINS COLLEGE
The above helmet design was used during the late 1960s and 1970s by Saint Mary of the Plains College (Dodge City, KS), an NAIA team which participated in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The school closed in 1992. A later helmet logo was described as a "stylized 'St Marys' in script"; this was used during the late 1980s through the team's final season. 'Cavaliers' was the team nickname.
SAINT PAUL'S COLLEGE
2003 - 2004 | 2005 - 2010 |
*see note 1 below |
Saint Paul's College (Lawrenceville, VA) discontinued its entire athletic program in May 2011. The school's intercollegiate football team had existed for six years and had been a member of the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The school closed in 2013.
The college also had a football team during an earlier period (1940 and 1941, and 1946 through 1987); no information about helmet designs used during this earlier period has been located.
*1 This design was used by Saint Paul's club-level team in 2003 and 2004 (it was incorrectly reported to me that the varsity team which began play in 2005 would also be using this design). In the one decent photograph that I have seen of this helmet, the placement of the "tiger stripes" varied considerably from one helmet to the next; apparently no specific pattern was designated for their use.
SALEM COLLEGE
c.mid 1980s | c.late 1980s | c.late 1980s |
c.late 1980s |
The last Salem College (Salem, WV) football team played in 1988, at which time the team participated in the NAIA's West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team was known as the "Tigers".
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
c.1990 | ? - 1994 |
The second design shown above was used by at least the last two San Francisco State teams in 1993 and 1994. In about 1985 the team apparently used purple helmets with a gold football-shaped logo on the sides containing the team nickname "GATORS". The team played at the NCAA Division II level during its last few years.
Two earlier helmet designs are visible in the photographs below.
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
? - 1977 | 1978 | 1980 |
1979; 1981 |
*see note 1 below |
Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ) had an intercollegiate football team from 1973 through 1981. .
*1 In 1979 this design had a logo like that shown on the 1980 helmet on its right side only; the left side was "blank".
SI TANKA UNIVERSITY-HURON
? - 2002? | 2003 |
This college, which was located in Huron, South Dakota, closed on April 1, 2005. Its football team had been a member of the NAIA Dakota Athletic Conference during its last few years. The school name was Huron University prior to April 2001.
During its final season in 2004 the team used a helmet logo which can be seen rather poorly in the photograph below. The logo featured the word "SITANKA" between the upraised wings of an eagle.
SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
1981 | ? - 1984 | 1985 - 1986 |
1987 - 1989 | 1990 | 1991 - ? |
*see note 1 below |
1995? | 1996 | |
Sonoma State University (Sonoma, CA) had an intercollegiate football team during two periods: 1970 and 1971, and 1981 through 1996. Information about this team has been extremely elusive but some information has been found for the more recent period. Besides those designs depicted above partial information is as follows:
In 1981 SSU used white helmets with an unidentified, humanoid-looking logo (photographs below); the team nickname at this time was "Cossacks", in reference to an ethnic group which originated from a region which is now Ukraine and western Russia. The Cossacks were historically a nomadic, militarized people and the logo is hence likely a "warrior"-looking figure bearing a sword or similar weapon. Any clearer photographs would be greatly appreciated.
Two different "S" logos were subsequently used when the team switched to blue helmets by at least 1983. Assuming the school colors did not change, these are probably light blue "S"s on dark blue helmets (photographs below).
*1 The left side of this design is "blank" but a logo is present on the right side (as represented below). Photographs have not been located from every year, so it is unclear whether the logo was always worn on the right side only.
SOUTH DAKOTA-SPRINGFIELD
Below is a photograph showing a football helmet which I believe, based on a process of elimination, to be one used by the University of South Dakota at Springfield in 1982. The photograph is part of a larger one appearing on page 133 of Morningside College's 1983 yearbook; the logo appears to be the letters "SDS" arranged vertically within a larger "U". If identified accurately, this is the only photograph I have found showing a helmet design used by this team, which last played in either 1983 or 1984.(Update: unfortunately, this may instead be a Saint Cloud State helmet design.) "Pointers" was the team nicknamed and the helmet color is probably red.
STILLMAN COLLEGE
2004 (at least one game) | 2009 - 2010 | 2001 - 2008 (most games); 2011 - 2013 |
2014 (first game) | 2014 | 2015 |
*see note 1 below |
Stillman College, an historically Black college in Tuscaloosa, AL, announced that its intercollegiate football team would be dropped on December 3, 2015, citing financial difficulties. The "Tigers" had participated in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The modern era of football at Stillman began in 1999; I would appreciate any helmet information for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Before 1999 the college had last had a football team in 1950.
*1 "Plain" helmets were worn during at least one game in 2014 (game #1 vs West Alabama, September 6). Numerals were present on Stillman's helmets the following week (at Samford, September 13).
SUE BENNETT COLLEGE
c.early-mid 1990s | ? - 1996 |
Sue Bennett College (London, KY) had an NAIA football team for a brief period during the 1990s (apparently 1991 through 1996) prior to the school's closure in 1997. At least two different helmet designs were used - the one depicted above in at least 1996, and another with the letters "SBC" in white, arranged diagonally on dark green helmets (photograph below). The team nickname was "Dragons".
SUNY PLATTSBURGH
1969 - 1972 | 1973 - 1975 | 1976 - 1978 |
State University of New York Plattsburgh had a football team from (apparently) 1969 through 1978. The university's yearbooks have been digitized and published on the internet, providing some information about helmet designs used by the team. A football team does not appear to be mentioned prior to 1969, so I have assumed that was the team's first year. In some photographs dark uniform numbers are present on the first design shown above, but it is unclear if these were ever in general use. "Cardinals" was the team nickname.
Previously I had added the helmet image below for this team, but I now doubt that this one was actually used - I did not see it in any of Plattsburgh's yearbooks for the relevant years. A photograph of this design does appear among those of a Facebook group page for football team alumni, but not in use during an actual game, as far as I can tell.
An earlier report I received indicating that the team used "various designs" prior to 1973, including "midnight blue with no logo" in 1972 does not appear to have been accurate.
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
Swarthmore College (PA) announced the discontinuation of its football program on December 2, 2000. The Garnet had gone 4-5 during the 2000 season and had been a member of the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference. The helmet shown here was used during at least the last year or two of the program's existence. The previous helmet was maroon with a white block "S" logo, white facemask, and one white stripe.
TARKIO COLLEGE
c.1960s | c.early 1970s | c.1970s |
? - 1980 | 1981 - ? | c.1980s |
? - 1990 | ||
Tarkio College (Tarkio, MO) closed in 1992. Prior to then the school had a football team, known as the "Owls", from at least 1940 through 1990. The team was a member of the NAIA Heart of America Athletic Conference from 1971 onward.
TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
1985 | 1986 | 1987 |
1988 | 1989 - ? | ? - 1993 |
The name of Tennessee Wesleyan University (Athens, TN) did not appear on the long list of defunct college teams upon which I based the list of defunct teams elsewhere at this website, but I repeatedly came across its name while researching other schools in the region. TWU apparently had an NAIA football team from 1984 or 1985 through 1993. The university's yearbooks have been digitized allowing partial information to be gathered regarding the team's sequence of helmet designs; there were apparently at least two others besides those represented above. 'Bulldogs' was the team nickname. Any additional information would be appreciated.
TRINITY BIBLE COLLEGE
? - 2001 | 2002 - 2003 | 2004 - 2006 |
2007 - 2008 | 2009 - 2011 | 2012 - 2019 |
*see note 1 below |
Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, ND) terminated its football team on October 30, 2019, citing as the reason the safety of the small number of players remaining on the team's roster. The team was a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association but had often played NAIA and NCAA Division III teams.
From 2009 through 2011 TBC used blue helmets with a logo consisting of the team name "LIONS" and a lion head. I would appreciate a copy of the left-side helmet logo for this design; below is a photograph from 2009:
TBC played its first season of football in 1984 - any information about earlier helmet designs used by the team would be greatly appreciated. I never received much information for this team so it is possible that other designs were missed, even during the more recent years.
*1 Apparently during most games in 2014 and 2015 TBC wore a large "lion head" logo on the right side only of each helmet (as represented below); this local was absent during at least the September 5, 2015 game at Presentation.
TRINITY INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
? - 2004? | 2005? - 2008 | 2009 - 2012 |
2013 - 2014 | 2015 - 2016 | 2017 - 2018 |
2019 | 2020* | 2021 |
*see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
2022 | ||
*see note 3 below |
Trinity International University (Deerfield, IL) announced in February 2022 a transition to online-only education, thereby ending the school's intercollegiate athletic programs. The football team, named the "Trojans", had played each year since 1989.
*1 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; on the right side is the same logo worn on the previous helmet design.
*2 The left side of this design is "blank" but uniform numbers (like those worn on both sides of the previous design) are worn on the right side.
*3 This design has an asymmetrical stripe sequence: the white middle stripe is flanked by a blue stripe on its left side and by a red stripe on its right side.
UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
c.1969 - 1970 | c.1971 |
U.S. International University (San Diego, CA) had an intercollegiate football team (the "Gulls") from 1969 through 1979. Information about this team has been extremely elusive but a couple of helmet designs have been unearthed. At least one other design was used (photographs below); this one appears to have on its sides the letters "USIU" inside what may be an oval-shape. The helmet at far right also has a logo on its front side. In 2001 USIU merged with another school to form what is now Alliant International University.
Prior to 1968 the school was named California Western University. During the 1960s Cal Western apparently used blue helmets, sometimes with a light-colored stripe and sometimes with light-colored numbers on the sides. The team nickname during this period was apparently either "Coyotes" or "Westerners" (or perhaps both). I would appreciate any additional information for USIU and Cal Western.
UPSALA COLLEGE
c.1970s? | c.1976 - 1977 | c.1980s? |
Upsala College (East Orange, NJ) closed in May 1995. The college had a football team - the "Vikings" - for many decades through at least 1994. Information about this team is scarce but it apparently played at tne NCAA Division III level during the 1970s and 1980s.
The team nickname may have been worn on the football helmets at some point (probably late 1980s).
URBANA UNIVERSITY
? - 2001? | 2002 | 2003 - 2005 |
2006 | 2007 - 2012 | 2013 - 2014 |
2015 - 2019 |
Urbana University (Urbana, OH) announced on April 21, 2020 that its campus would close at the end of the Spring 2020 semester. The school's football team had most recently been a member of the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference.
WESLEY COLLEGE
c.1980s | ? - 2003 | 2004 - 2019 |
Wesley College was purchased by Delaware State University in July 2020; DSU announced that the 2020 football season would be Wesley's last, but the global Covid-19 pandemic prevented Wesley from playing in 2020, hence 2019 was the team's last year. The Wesley team had existed since 1986 and had played at the NCAA Division III level, most recently as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. "Wolverines" was the team nickname.
Wesley apparently used white helmets during the 1980s; these had during at least some seasons a logo very similar to the one on the first helmet depicted above. The college was a two-year school prior to 1978; as a junior college Wesley also had a football team for at least a few years in the 1960s and 1970s.
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY TECH
c.early 1960s | c.late 1960s? | c.early 1970s |
c.1970s | c.early 1980s | c.1980s - early 1990s |
c.1990s | ? - 1998? | 1999? - 2002? |
2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
2006 - 2011 |
The discontinuation of the WVU Tech football team was announced on November 14, 2011. In early 2022 the university announced a planned return of the team in some yet-unspecified future year.
This team has a large and interesting history of helmet designs dating as far back as this website covers (1960). Unfortunately only partial information has been found for many of these designs; below are photographs of some of these not already represented above:
I suspect there are still several others besides the ones shown in these photographs.
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
? - 1999 | 2000 - 2005 | 2006 - 2008 |
Citing financial reasons, the difficulty of scheduling games against regional opponents, and the need to preserve other intercollegiate sports, WWU announced the termination of its 105-year-old football team on January 9, 2009. The team had competed at the NCAA Division II level for many years.
Partial information has been received about some earlier helmet designs: during the mid-1970s the team used dark blue helmets with the same logo as is used by the NFL's Minnesota Vikings; at another unspecified time, the team used silver helmets with a blue version of that same logo. During at least some years in the 1960s plain blue helmets were apparently used.
WESTMAR UNIVERSITY
Westmar University (Le Mars, IA) closed in November 1997. The school had a football team for several decades, up to and including the 1997 season. Despite its fairly recent existence I have found almost no information about helmet designs for this team, other than a few poor-quality photographs which appear to show the team using silver helmets with a blue "W" logo during the team's last few years. At this time the team competed in the NAIA South Dakota-Iowa Intercollegiate Conference. "Eagles" was the team mickname.
The school was previously named Teikyo-Westmar University (from 1990 to 1994) and Westmar College (from 1948 to 1990).
WESTMINSTER COLLEGE (UT)
c.mid 1960s | c.late 1960s | c.early 1970s |
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, UT) had an intercollegiate football team until 1979, when all of the college's athletic teams were disbanded amidst a financial crisis; it is unclear whether the team played a schedule in 1979. Little information has been found about this team but at least a couple of other helmet designs were used. Prior to the purple design shown above the team used white helmets; these had a similar logo which was probably purple in color, and may have been slightly smaller. Gold-colored helmets were apparently used during some years. The team nickname while the football team existed was "Parsons".
WHITMAN COLLEGE
c.early 1970s | c.early 1970s | 1975 - 1976 |
Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA) last had a football team in 1976. This is yet another team for which information is scarce, but most of the designs used during the team's last few years are probably represented above. At least one earlier design had a different "W" on what were probably gold helmet shells. The team nickname was "Missionaries".
WHITTIER COLLEGE
1968 | 1960 - 1967; 1969 - 1974 | 1975 - |
? - 2003 | 2004 - 2005 | 2006 |
2007 - 2010 | 2011 - 2012 | 2013 |
2014 - 2018 | 2019 | 2021 - 2022 |
*see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
Whittier College announced the discontinuation of its NCAA Division III football team on November 15, 2022. The team had existed for more than a century and had been a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference since 1946. "Poets" was the team nickname.
*1 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is present on the right side (as depicted below).
*2 The "WC" logo is worn on the left side only of this design; uniform numbers are worn on the right side (like those on the left side of the 2019 design).
WILEY COLLEGE
Wiley College is an historically Black college located in Marshall, TX. The school had a football team until the late 1960s (exact last year unknown). A single photograph has been found from the year 1962 showing the team wearing white helmets with uniform numbers of some unknown color on the sides.
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
1957? - 1963 | 1964 - ? | 1970? - 1971? |
? - 1972 | 1973 - 1974 |
The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee had an intercollegiate football team through 1974. The team was known as the "Cardinals" through 1963, but a change to "Panthers" (and to new school colors) was made the following year. Due to scarce information the dates of use for several of these designs are uncertain.
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR
c.1971 | c.1980 |
The football team of the University of Wisconsin at Superior played two games in 1992 before the program was abruptly terminated. The team, nicknamed "Yellow Jackets", had competed in the NCAA Division III Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The team apparently switched between white, gold, and orange helmets prior to about 1980 but may have always used black helmets during its last decade or so. The 1992 team used black helmets with the script word "Jackets" on the side in white or gold/yellow; this logo was in use by at least 1984. Additional information would be appreciated.
YANKTON COLLEGE
c.1970s? | c.1980s? |
Yankton College (Yankton, SD) closed in December 1984. At the time of the closing the school's football team was a member of the NAIA and had existed since at least 1917. "Greyhounds" was the team nickname.
Partial information - though not specific dates of use - has been received for a couple of helmet designs. In addition to those shown above Yankton apparently also used plain black helmets at some point; another design (photograph below) had a yellow helmet shell with a logo similar to the one shown on the second design above. .