- Southern Oregon Raiders football
The
Southern Oregon University Raiders football team is a member of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is not associated with any conference. Southern Oregon's first football team was fielded in 1927. The team plays its home games atRaider Stadium , inAshland, OR .NAIAFootballSchool
TeamName = Southern Oregon University football
ImageSize =
HeadCoachDisplay = Steve Helminiak
HeadCoachLink = Steve Helminiak
HeadCoachYear = 3rd
HCWins = 8
HCLosses = 11
HCTies =
Stadium = Raider Stadium
StadCapacity = 4,000
StadSurface = Grass
Location = Ashland, OR
ConferenceDisplay= Independent
ConferenceLink = NAIA National Football Championship
ConfDivision =
FirstYear = 1927
AthlDirectorDisp =
AthlDirectorLink =
WebsiteName = SOUSports.com
WebsiteURL = http://sousports.com/
ATWins = 310
ATLosses = 316
ATTies = 15
Pct = .484
ConfTitles = 10
AllAmericans =
Color1 = Red
Color1Hex = FF0000
Color2 = Black
Color2Hex = 000000
FightSong =
MascotDisplay = Red-Tailed Hawk
MascotLink =
MarchingBand =
PagFreeLabel = Rivals
PagFreeValue =Western Oregon WolvesHistory
The Raiders played their first game on November 5th, 1927 against
Lewis & Clark College , which they won 24-0. The other two games played that season were against rivalsWestern Oregon andHumboldt State . web cite|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/naia/independents/southern_oregon/yearly_results.php?year=1927|title=Southern Oregon Yearly Results 1927-1929|date=07/17/2008|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse]The Raiders first tasted sustained success under head coach
Al Akins . During Akins' 15 yeas as the Raiders' head coach, Southern Oregon was conference champions seven times (either outright or co-champions). web cite|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/naia/independents/southern_oregon/championships.php|title=Southern Oregon Composite Championship Listing|date=07/17/2008|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse] 18 years after Akins' last season, the Raiders experienced their first postseason, defeating Central Washington in the first round of the NAIA playoffs and losing toMesa State in the quarterfinals. web cite|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/naia/independents/southern_oregon/yearly_results.php?year=1985|title=Southern Oregon Yearly Results 1985-1989|date=07/17/2008|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse] The Raiders found even greater success during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, reaching the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs each year. Although, in both years, Southern Oregon lost to Carroll College, neither game was decided by more than four points. web cite|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/naia/independents/southern_oregon/yearly_results.php?year=2000|title=Southern Oregon Yearly Results 2000-2004|date=07/17/2008|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse]In June 2008, Southern Oregon was seeking to move up to
NCAA Division II as theGreat Northwest Athletic Conference has only nine teams afterSeattle University moved up to Division I. The University is currently a member of theCascade Collegiate Conference of the NAIA, however, the CCC does not support football so the team is considered independent. It has been reported that the move to NCAA may take years to complete. web cite|url=http://www.dailytidings.com/2008/0624/stories/0624_sou_ncaa.phpr=2000|title=SOU considers move from NAIA to NCAA|date=06/24/2008|publisher=Ashland Daily Tidings] During the 2008 season, SOU will play three teams from the NAIA, three teams from NCAA Division III, three teams from NCAA Division II, and one from NCAA Division I FCS web cite|url=http://www.sousports.com/Page.asp?NavID=425|title=Southern Oregon University official schedule|date=07/19/2008|publisher=SOU Sports]Chronology of Head Coaches
Former Notable Players
Conference affiliations
*1927-1938: Independent
*1939-1945: No Team
*1946-1952: Far West Conference
*1953-1954: Independent
*1955-1965: Oregon Collegiate Conference
*1966-1970: Independent
*1971-1985: Evergreen Conference
*1985-1986: Columbia Football League
*1987-1994: Columbia Football Association Mount Hood League
*1995-1998: Columbia Football Association
*1999-present: NAIA IndependentReferences
External links
* [http://souraiders.com/index.aspx?tab=football&path=football Official website of Southern Oregon football]
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