The Incarnate Word Cardinals football program is the intercollegiate

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

team for the

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located ...

(UIW) located in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The program began in 2009 and originally competed in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

as members of the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Te ...

. In 2013, the school moved to Division I. For the 2013 season, UIW competed as a member of the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

for all sports except football. Football competed with an 11-game schedule as an Independent. UIW began playing Southland football in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at the 6,000 seat

Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium is a stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is the home field for the men's and women's soccer, track and field, and American football teams of the University of the Incarnate Word. The stadium currently seats 6,000 people ...

History

UIW held its first team practice on August 27, 2008, and began competing as an NCAA Division II independent on August 29, 2009. Conference Affiliations *2009: Division II Independent *2010–2012:

*2013:

FCS Independent NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions in the United States whose football programs are not part of a football conference. This means that FCS independents are not required to schedule each ...

*2014–present:

Coaches *Ivicic served as interim head coach for the final three games of 2011, completing Santiago's third season as coach PVAMU vs

Conference Championships

UIW has won 3 Southland Conference championships, two shared and one outright. † Co-champions

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

The Cardinals have participated in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs three times. Their combined record is 3–3.

Year-by-year results

Stadium

UIW home football games are played on campus at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. Benson Stadium was dedicated on September 1, 2008 and currently seats 6,000 people. It is named after

Tom Benson Thomas Milton Benson (July 12, 1927 – March 15, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football Leagu ...

and his wife Gayle, whose generous monetary donations helped start up the UIW football program. Record stadium attendance of 6,498 was recorded in a game against Houston Baptist on November 17, 2016. UIW currently has an overall home record at the stadium of 40–34.

All-time record vs. Southland teams

Official record (including any

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current Southland opponents:

Record against FBS competition

Overall (2–7)

All-Americans

Players in the NFL

Players in the CFL

Future non-conference opponents

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Incarnate Word Cardinals Football American football teams established in 2007 2007 establishments in Texas