Troy Trojans Football
Current season
First season	1909 (NCAA Division 1 since 2001)
Athletic director	Steve Dennis
Head coach	Larry Blakeney
	19 year, 153–76–1  (.667)
Home stadium	Movie Gallery Stadium
Stadium capacity	30,000
Stadium surface	Turf
Location	Troy, Alabama
Conference	SBC
All-time record	481–353–27 (.574)
Postseason bowl record	1–2–0
Claimed national titles	3 (1 NAIA National Title, 2 Division II National Title)
Conference titles	19 (4 SBC)
Heisman winners	0
Consensus All-Americans	DeMarcus Ware (1st Team AP All-American) Leodis McKelvin (3rd Team AP All-American) Osi Umenyiora (Honorable Mention)
Colors	Cardinal and Black
Mascot	Trojan
Rivals	Middle Tennessee State
Website	TroyTrojans.com

The Troy Trojans football program represents Troy University, Alabama, in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A, of which it has been a member since 2001. The football program joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, while the other Troy athletic programs didn't join the SBC until 2005.

[edit] History

Troy University has fielded a football team continuously since 1946. Prior to that year, the team was fielded with only a few interruptions from 1909 to 1942. Eight years were skipped due to lack of participation and later World War I from 1913-1920, while the Wall Street Crash of 1929 kept the team from playing that year. Having moved up from Division I-AA, the team has competed in the NCAA's Division I since 2001.

Troy Trojans football player Gary Banks during a game in October 2007.

Troy University football began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. In 2001, Troy defeated Mississippi State University at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, by a count of 21-9 to notch the Trojans' first victory over a BCS level program. The Trojans began their 2004 campaign with a win over Marshall, and then garnered the program's largest win one game later as the Trojans defeated then #17 ranked Missouri, 24–14, in front of a Movie Gallery Stadium record crowd. The Trojan football team made its first bowl game appearance in the Silicon Valley Football Classic on December 30, 2004 that same season, but lost to Northern Illinois, 34–21. In 2006, Troy won the Sun Belt Conference for the first time after defeating Middle Tennessee State in dramatic fashion in the last game of the 2006 season in a game that is now referred to as "The Miracle in Murfreesboro". As the 2006 Sun Belt Conference champions, Troy played in the New Orleans Bowl on December 22, 2006 against Rice University, routing the Owls of Conference USA by a score of 41–17. The New Orleans Bowl victory was Troy's first bowl victory in history.

Troy football head coach Larry Blakeney is entering his 20th season as head coach. He has led the program to three Southland Football League titles and four straight Sun Belt Conference titles, as well as guided the Trojans to seven FCS playoff appearances and four FBS bowl games. Blakeney boasts an overall record of 152-71-1 as head coach at Troy. Blakeney is the winningest coach in the Troy University history and he is the 4th winningest collegiate coach all-time in the state of Alabama, only behind greats Paul "Bear" Bryant, Cleve Abbott, and Ralph "Shug" Jordan. Blakeney is just one of two coaches to ever take a football program from Division II to I-A (the other is UCF’s Gene McDowell).

Troy's only perfect regular season record in football came at the conclusion of the 1995 season as the Trojans finished 11–0 and were crowned champions of the Southland Football League heading into the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Troy won the NAIA national football championship in 1968 and the NCAA Division II national football championship in 1984 and 1987.

The Troy football program has recently become known for sending talented players to the NFL, such as urrent starters DeMarcus Ware, Osi Umenyiora, Leodis McKelvin, Sherrod Martin, Lawrence Tynes, and Elbert Mack.

[edit] Head coaches

[edit] Championships

[edit] Bowl history

[edit] Non-FBS Post-season History

[edit] FBS Bowl History

[edit] Rivalries

Prior to becoming a member of NCAA Division-I athletics in 1993, Troy University was a member of the Gulf South Conference of the NCAA Division II. At the time, Troy's primary rivals were Jacksonville State University, Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama), and the University of North Alabama. The rivalry between Troy and Jacksonville State was arguably the fiercest of those. However, since Troy University moved to Division I-A participation in football and because Troy and JSU no longer share the same conference affiliation, this once heated rivalry has cooled significantly. Currently, the Trojans' most prominent rivals include Middle Tennessee State in football (the teams play every year in the "Battle for the Palladium").

[edit] References