The Stetson Hatters football program is the intercollegiate

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

team for

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

located in the U.S. state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The team competes in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

(FCS) and are members of the Pioneer Football League. Stetson's first football team was fielded in 1901, but the school dropped the sport in 1956 and did not reinstate it until 2013. The team plays its home games at the 6,000 seat Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, Florida. The Hatters are coached by Michael Jasper.

History

A 7-game series between intramural teams from Stetson and Forbes occurred in 1894, the first football games in the state of Florida. The first intercollegiate game between official varsity teams was played on November 22, 1901. Stetson beat Florida Agricultural College at Lake City, one of the four forerunners of the University of Florida, 6-0, in a game played as part of the Jacksonville Fair. A sure score by FAC was obstructed by a tree stump. Stetson claims state titles in 1901, 1903, 1905,

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

, and 1909. The Hatters participated in one bowl game, the 1952 Tangerine Bowl. They won 35–20 over Arkansas State. After a 57-year hiatus, on August 31, 2013, Stetson revived their football program against Warner University (who were playing in their inaugural football game) at Spec Martin Stadium. The Hatters held a lead of 10-3 with 12:35 remaining in the 2nd quarter when the game was suspended due to lightning. After more than a two-hour delay, the game was officially postponed until the next day. On September 1, 2013, the game resumed, and Stetson won 31-3. It was Stetson's first win since defeating the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

64-0 at the end of the 1956 season. 1894Stetsonstands

On May 5, 2017, Donald Payne was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens. Though he would be cut, he would be picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he would become a star on special teams, becoming the first player from Stetson to play in the NFL. Payne spent two months on the injured reserve list at Jacksonville near the end of 2018, and was waived in May 2019. He would then sign with the Ravens in August 2019 Stetson finished their 2018 season 8–2, finishing second in the PFL and finishing with their first winning record since renewing the program.

Classifications

*2013–present: NCAA Division I FCS

Conference memberships

*1901–1925: Independent *1926–1931:

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

*1932: Independent *1933–1940:

*1941–1947: Independent *1948–1949: Dixie Conference *1950–1956: Independent *1957–2012: ''No team'' *2013–present: Pioneer Football League

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: * Donald Payne- LB,

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* Donald Parham - TE,

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List of head coaches

:''Statistics correct as of the end of the 2024 season'' The Hatters have had 15 head coaches in over 50 seasons of (interrupted) play, with no play in 1915, from 1917–1918, 1941–1945, and 1957–2012.

Bowl game appearances

Championships

Conference championships

* SIAA Champs of Florida 1929

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of March 1, 2025.

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stetson Hatters Football 1901 establishments in Florida American football teams established in 1901