Missouri Southern Lions football

Missouri Southern Lions football
2015 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football season
First season	1968
Athletic director	Jared Bruggeman
Head coach	Denver Johnson 1st year, 1–10 (.091)
Stadium	Fred G. Hughes Stadium
Year built	1975
Seating capacity	7,000
Field surface	SpinTurf
Location	Joplin, Missouri
NCAA division	NCAA Division II
Conference	MIAA
Past conferences	Central States Intercollegiate Conference
All-time record	229–250–7 (.478)
Claimed nat'l titles	1 (1973)
Conference titles	2
Colors	Green and Gold[1]
Fight song	Southern Fight Song
Mascot	Roary the Lion
Marching band	Lion Pride Marching Band
Outfitter	Nike
Rival	Pittsburg State
Website	www.mssulions.com

The Missouri Southern Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Missouri Southern State University located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The team plays its home games at the 7,000 seat Fred G. Hughes Stadium in Joplin, Missouri. Denver Johnson became the Lions' head coach on April 1, 2015,^[2] replacing Daryl Daye, who resigned after the 2014 season to take over as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State.^[3][4]

History

The Lions football program began in 1968. Their first head coach was Jim Johnson. Under coach Jim Frazier the Lions won the 1972 NAIA Division II football championship.^[3]

Conferences

From its inaugural season in 1968 until 1975, Missouri Southern played as an independent program. In 1976, it joined the Central States Intercollegiate Conference in which the school won one conference championships before leaving to play as an NCAA Division II member of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later renamed Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in 1989, where the Lions have since remained a member and have won one conference championship.

Championships

National championship seasons

^[5]

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record	Bowl
1973	Jim Frazier	NAIA Division II Playoffs	12–0	Won NAIA Championship
National Championships			1

Conference championship seasons

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1976†	Central States Intercollegiate Conference	Jim Frazier	8–2	4–1
1993	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Jon Lantz	9–1–1	9–0
Total Conference Championships:			2
† Denotes co-champions

Notable former players

• Allen Barbre, a current offensive lineman of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League
• Richard Jordan, NFL player
• Brandon Williams (defensive tackle), a current nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.
• Rod Smith, a former wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Smith has the 2nd most receptions of any undrafted player in the history of the NFL

References

1. MSSU Brand Guidelines (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-23.
2. Mark Schremmer, "Lions to hire former Tulsa assistant as head coach", The Joplin Globe, April 1, 2015.
3. "Missouri Southern State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
4. "Daryl Daye resigns to take Division I job". mssulions.com. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
5. DeLassus, David (2014). "Missouri Southern State Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2014-08-19.

External links

• Official website