The Christopher Newport Captains football team represents Christopher Newport University in the NCAA Division III, competing as football-only members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). Christopher Newport (CNU) plays its home games at the 4,200 seat TowneBank Stadium, which is located on-campus in Newport News, Virginia. Founded in 2001, the Captains were led by head coach Matt Kelchner until 2016. Coach Art Link, only the second head coach in CNU football history took the helm starting with the 2017 football season. After 11 seasons with the USA South Athletic Conference, the Captains shifted to the NJAC to start the 2015 season.
| Christopher Newport Captains football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 2001 |
| Athletic director | Kyle McMullin |
| Head coach | Paul Crowley 3rd season, 16–8 (.667) |
| Stadium | TowneBank Stadium (capacity: 4,200) |
| Field surface | Kentucky Bluegrass |
| Location | Newport News, Virginia |
| Conference | NJAC |
| All-time record | 142–89 (.615) |
| Bowl record | 4–10 (.286) |
| Conference titles | 10 |
| Colors | Royal blue and silver[1] |
| Mascot | Captain Chris |
| Website | CNU Athletics |
History
editBy the late 1990s, the prospect of bringing football to Christopher Newport was gaining momentum from both students and the administration alike. On December 16, 1999, the CNU Board of Visitors voted in favor of starting a football program to compete at the Division III level by the 2001 season.[2] By Spring 2000, the initial schedule was released for play in the Dixie Conference in 2001, and on May 9, 2000, Matt Kelchner was announced as the program's first head coach.[3] In the Captains history, the program has captured seven co-conference and four outright conference championship in addition to making eleven appearances in the Division III playoffs.
Seasons
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Newport Captains (Dixie Conference) (2001–2002) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Matt Kelchner | 5–4 | Dixie Conference | T–1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2002 | Matt Kelchner | 6–5 | Dixie Conference | T–1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| Christopher Newport Captains (USA South Athletic Conference) (2003–2014) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Matt Kelchner | 8–3 | USA South Conference | T–1st | L 2nd Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2004 | Matt Kelchner | 9–3 | USA South Conference | T–1st | L 2nd Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2005 | Matt Kelchner | 6–4 | USA South Conference | T–3rd | |||||
| 2006 | Matt Kelchner | 8–3 | USA South Conference | T–1st | L 2nd Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2007 | Matt Kelchner | 7–3 | USA South Conference | 2nd | |||||
| 2008 | Matt Kelchner | 8–2 | USA South Conference | 1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2009 | Matt Kelchner | 5–5 | USA South Conference | 3rd | |||||
| 2010 | Matt Kelchner | 6–5 | USA South Conference | T–1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2011 | Matt Kelchner | 8–3 | USA South Conference | 1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2012 | Matt Kelchner | 6–5 | USA South Conference | T–1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| 2013 | Matt Kelchner | 8–2 | USA South Conference | T-3rd | |||||
| 2014 | Matt Kelchner | 8–4 | USA South Conference | 1st | L 2nd Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| Christopher Newport Captains (New Jersey Athletic Conference) (2015–present) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Matt Kelchner | 4–6 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | T–7th | |||||
| 2016 | Matt Kelchner | 7–3 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | T–4th | |||||
| 2017 | Art Link | 5–5 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | T–5th | |||||
| 2018 | Art Link | 7–2 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | 4th | |||||
| 2019 | Art Link | 2–8 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | T–6th | |||||
| 2020 | Art Link | 0–2* | New Jersey Athletic Conference | 6th | *Shortened season due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | Art Link | 5–5 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | 3rd | |||||
| 2022 | Paul Crowley | 7–3 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | 2nd | |||||
| 2023 | Paul Crowley | 7–4 | New Jersey Athletic Conference | 1st | L 1st Round D-III Playoffs | ||||
| Total: | 142–89 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Playoffs
edit| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | First Round | Widener | L, 7–56 |
| 2002 | First Round | Washington & Jefferson | L, 10–24 |
| 2003 | First Round Second Round |
Muhlenberg Bridgewater (VA) |
W, 24–20 L, 3–26 |
| 2004 | First Round Second Round |
Salisbury Washington & Jefferson |
W, 35–24 L, 14–24 |
| 2006 | First Round | Washington & Jefferson | L, 23–27 |
| 2008 | First Round | Washington & Jefferson | L, 29–35 |
| 2010 | First Round | Mary Hardin–Baylor | L, 7–59 |
| 2011 | First Round | Kean | L, 10–34 |
| 2012 | First Round | Mount Union | L, 14–72 |
| 2014 | First Round Second Round |
Delaware Valley Widener |
W, 29–26 L, 27–37 |
| 2023 | First Round | Randolph–Macon | L, 20–28 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "CNU Brand Expression". Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ Barrett, Stephanie (December 17, 1999). "CNU agrees to tackle football". The Daily Press.
- ^ Williams, Jennifer L. (May 10, 2000). "CNU named first coach". The Daily Press.
- ^ "CNU Football History". CNU Athletics. Christopher Newport University Athletics. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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