Florida Atlantic Owls football
Encyclopedia
The Florida Atlantic Owls football
team represents Florida Atlantic University
, a mid-major
NCAA Division I-A college football
team, that competes in the Sun Belt Conference
.
, Howard Schnellenberger
. After competing their first four years as an NCAA Division I-AA independent, the Owls moved to Division I-A and the Sun Belt Conference
.
In 1998
, Florida Atlantic University announced it was pursuing the creation of an NCAA football
program and that Howard Schnellenberger
was going to lead the charge, as director of football operations and head coach. After his success in rebuilding programs at the University of Miami
and the University of Louisville
, Coach Schnellenberger now undertook the role of building a program from scratch. Much like his time at Miami and Louisville, Coach Schnellenberger did not shy from placing lofty expectations and high goals on his newly-created program. Even before FAU would play an intercollegiate game, Coach Schnellenberger explained the goal of FAU football would be to play the best teams it can schedule, in order for the program to aim for a National Championship in Division I-A football. These extreme goals were not unusual from a man like Coach Schnellenberger. At Lousiville, facing threats from the administration that the football team would be terminated, Schnellenberger made the bold (and now famous) prediction, "[We are] on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time.” http://www.msnsportsnet.com/page.cfm?section=6488
On August 29, 2000, the first practice was held at the Boca Raton campus of FAU, and 164 students showed up to try out for the team. During the August 29, 2000 first practice, dubbed the inaugural scrimage game, FAU continued the tradition of Homecoming King, this time including the crowning ceremony of the King as part of the half time festivites. The Homecoming King crown was bestowed upon Wayne Burns, having been voted in by the majority of student population from across all the campuses at the time, which totaled five, then running a Q&A gauntlet along side the top three candidates, conducted by a committee of students and faculty, who then voted to determine if Mr. Burns would move to the winners circle or if the next candidate would get the crown. Mr. Burns, was driven around the scrimage game field in a convertable Rolls Royce to waive to the 164 students in the stands, many of whom voted for him. Wayne Burns was and is the oldest Homecoming King to ever receive the honor at FAU. Florida Atlantic joined the NCAA Division I-AA as an Independent team for the 2001 season. Its first-ever intercollegiate competition was against Slippery Rock University, which the Owls lost 40-7 in front of 25,632 fans at olphin Stadium|Pro Player Stadium / Joe Robbie Stadium]. http://fausports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/090201aaa.html During half time of the inaugural intercollegiate game at Pro Player, FAU Homecoming King Wayne Burns entered the field for a ceremony to hand off the king's staff to a new king.
The team finished its inaugural season at 4-6 and followed the next season at 2-9. Major accomplishments in its first two seasons include the program's first win, which came in its second game, against Bethune Cookman
, 31-28, and won in the first meeting with newly-created South Florida rival
, Florida International University
, 31-21.
On September 15, 2007 FAU defeated its first Big Ten opponent with a 42-39 victory over the University of Minnesota. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/scoreboards/2007/09/15/35933_viewcast_recap.html Led by Rusty Smith, FAU beat Troy University in the final game of the 2007 season to become Sun Belt Conference champions and received an invitation to the 2007 New Orleans Bowl
, its first ever bowl bid. As a result, in just the seventh year of the football program's history, and the third year playing in Division I, Florida Atlantic set an NCAA record by becoming the youngest program ever to receive an invitation to a bowl game.
{| border="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Year
!bgcolor="#003366"| Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| Conference
!bgcolor="#003366"| Finish
!bgcolor="#003366"| Coach
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowl
!bgcolor="#003366"| Poll
|-align="center"
| 2001 || 4-6 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger
|| -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2002 || 2-9 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2003 || 11-3 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || 4*
|-align="center"
| 2004 || 9-3 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2005 || 2-9 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2006 || 5-7 || 4-3 || T-2nd ||Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2007 || 8-5 || 6-1 || T-1st || Howard Schnellenberger || New Orleans Bowl
|| --
|-align="center"
| 2008 || 7-6 || 4-3 || T-3rd || Howard Schnellenberger || Motor City Bowl
|| --
|-align="center"
| 2009 || 5-7 || 5-3 || T-3rd || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2010 || 4-8 || 3-5 || T-6th || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2011 || 1-10 || 0-3 || 9th || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|All-time
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|58-73
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|22-18
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|All-time
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|1 coach
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|All-time
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|AP
|-
| colspan="7" | "Poll" indicates team ranking at end of season from the Associated Press Poll.
*Ranked by the AP Poll for Division I-AA Football.
|}
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Tenure
!bgcolor="#003366"| Name
!bgcolor="#003366"| Years
!bgcolor="#003366"| Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| Pct.
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowls
|- align="center"
| 2001-pres.
| Howard Schnellenberger
| 10
| 58-73
| .475
| 2
|- align="center"
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|Total
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|1 coach
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|10
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|58-73
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|.475
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|2 bowls
|}
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Date
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowl
!bgcolor="#003366"| W/L
!bgcolor="#003366"| Opponent
!bgcolor="#003366"| PF
!bgcolor="#003366"| PA
|- align="center"
| December 21, 2007
| New Orleans Bowl
| W
| Memphis
| 44
| 27
|- align="center"
| December 26, 2008
| Motor City Bowl
| W
| Central Michigan
| 24
| 21
|-align="center"
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|Total
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|2 bowl games
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|2-0
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|Total
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|68
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|48
|}
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="40%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Team
!bgcolor="#003366"| FAU Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| First Meeting
!bgcolor="#003366"| Recent Meeting
|-align="center"
| Arkansas State || 3-3 || 2005 || 2010
|-align="center"
| FIU || 8-1 || 2002 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Middle Tennessee || 3-5 || 2003 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Louisiana-Lafayette || 5-1 || 2005 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Louisiana-Monroe || 2-6 || 2004 || 2010
|-align="center"
| North Texas || 7-1 || 2004 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Troy || 1-7 || 2003 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Western Kentucky || 3-1 || 2003 || 2011
|-align="center"
| Florida || 0-2 || 2007 || 2011
|-align="center"
| Florida State || 0-0 || -- || --
|-align="center"
| Miami || 0-0 || -- || --
|-align="center"
| South Florida || 0-3 || 2002 || 2010
|-align="center"
| UCF || 0-1 || 2003 || 2003
|-
|}
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="40%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Team
!bgcolor="#003366"| Date
!bgcolor="#003366"| Ranking
!bgcolor="#003366"| Outcome
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Bethune-Cookman|| 9/8/01 || 22 || W 31-28
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| James Madison || 9/14/02 || 22 || L 16-13
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Eastern Kentucky || 9/21/02 || 20 || L 22-6
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Nicholls State || 10/5/02 || 24 || L 33-22
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Youngstown State || 10/12/02 || 17 || L 24-17
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Eastern Illinois || 11/16/02 || 3 || L 47-6
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Illinois State || 9/27/03 || 23 || W 28-10
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Bethune-Cookman || 11/29/03 || 14 || W 32-24
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Northern Arizona || 12/6/03 || 16 || W 48-25
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Colgate|| 12/13/03 || 6 || L 36-24
|-align="center"
| Louisville || 10/1/05 || 11 || L 61-10
|-align="center"
| Kentucky || 9/29/07 || 14 || L 45-17
|-align="center"
| South Florida || 10/6/07 || 6 || L 35-23
|-align="center"
| Florida || 11/17/07 || 12 || L 59-20
|-align="center"
| Texas || 8/30/08 || 10 || L 52-10
|-align="center"
| Nebraska || 9/5/09 || 24 || L 49-3
|-align="center" bgcolor="CE2029"
| colspan="3" | All-time || 4-12
|-
| colspan="4"| GREY indicates games played while FAU competed in Division I-AA and against a Division I-AA opponent.
|}
located in Miami Gardens
and Lockhart Stadium
in Fort Lauderdale
, neither of which are in the same county as Boca Raton). Coach Schnellenberger argued that an on-campus stadium increases popularity of the program and attracts high-caliber recruits.
In 2006, the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees (FAU BoT) approved the idea of moving forward with plans to build a football stadium on Boca's campus. HKS/Schenkel Shultz are currently designing an open-air, 30,000-seat football stadium (that can eventually be expanded to 100,000 seats) and are due to report back to the FAU BoT on Sept.17th, 2007 http://fausports.cstv.com/ot/ask-ad-responses.html to report projected costs and a timetable to break ground on the project.
The stadium is just a part of the university's broader concept of an "Innovation Village", covering the north end of Boca's campus. The Village will include the football stadium, a multi-use Convocation Center for volleyball, basketball and recreation, two parking garages, student housing complexes, an Alumni Center, a wellness and fitness center and strip shopping centers. The Innovation Village will be funded and constructed in stages, with the football stadium being the main concern of the first phase. All relative information on the Innovation Village can be found at FAU's Campus Master Plan (2006–2013).
! Name !! Current Title !! Joined
FAU !! Alma mater
|- align="center"
| Howard Schnellenberger
|| Head Coach
|| 1998 || Kentucky
|- align="center"
| Jared Allen || Wide Receiver
s || 2009 || Florida Atlantic
|- align="center"
| Joe Corozza || Tight End
s
Special Teams || 2001 || Florida Atlantic
|- align="center"
| Johny Frost || Defensive End
s || 2006 || Louisville
|- align="center"
| Dick Hopkins || Secondary
|| 2010 || Florida State
|- align="center"
| Daryl Jackson || Offensive Coordinator
Quarterback
s || 2007 || San Diego
|- align="center"
| Richard Lage || Defensive Tackles || 2005 || Villanova
|- align="center"
| David Serna || Running Back
s || 2005 || UTEP
|- align="center"
| Kurt Van Valkenburgh || Assistant Head CoachLinebacker
s || 1998 || SUNY Albany
|- align="center"
| Dale Williams || Offensive Line ||| 2005 || West Virginia
|- align="center"
|}
in the NFL
.
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
! Name !! Pos !! Team !! Year
|-
| Rusty Smith
|| QB || Tennessee Titans
|| 2010
|-
| Rob Housler
|| TE || Arizona Cardinals
|| 2011
|}
Alumni of Florida Atlantic to have signed contracts in the NFL
.
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
! Name !! Pos !! Team !! Year
|-
| Brian Pare || OL || Chicago Bears
|| 2003
|-
| Chris Laskowski
|| LB || Indianapolis Colts
|| 2004
|-
| Kevin Fischer || OL || Tampa Bay Buccaneers
|| 2004
|-
| Jared Allen
|| QB || Tampa Bay Buccaneers
|| 2004
|-
| Willie Hughley || CB || Cleveland Browns
|| 2006
|-
| Nello Faulk || OL || Jacksonville Jaguars
|| 2006
|-
| Mark Myers || K || New York Jets
|| 2008
|-
| Jervonte Jackson || DL || Philadelphia Eagles
|| 2009
|-
| Frantz Joseph
|| LB || Oakland Raiders
|| 2009
|}
, the uniforms are traditional in style and simple in color-schemes. The home jersey is the color of "FAU Blue" with white letters and numbers - which are outlined in "FAU Red." The chest plate sports the FAU winged logo. On the shoulder area of the jersey, the traditional, varsity three-stripes highlight the break from the shoulders to the arms. The pattern of the stripes are FAU Red- White - FAU Blue - White - FAU Red. Lastly, the arms of the jersey contain the players' numbers in white, outlined in FAU Red (not shown in picture). The road jerseys are identical in pattern of the home jerseys, simply swapping the blue body for white, and the letters and numbers combination is in FAU Blue.
The home and road pants are same in style. A white body is highlighted with a belt the color of FAU Blue. On the left side directly under the belt, "OWLS" in spelled in FAU Blue outlined in FAU Red in a traditional, varsity typeface font. The three-striped pattern which is on the jersey's shoulder section is found on the pants, as well - in the same color pattern.
Lastly, the helmet is white with the FAU winged logo on both sides. Again, the three-stripe pattern is down the middle of the helmet, in the same color pattern as the jersey and pant.
To date, the Owls have worn the home uniforms at every home game and the road uniforms at every road game - there is no switching roles of the uniforms. Additionally, there is no alternate uniform for the Owls and there have not been plans for any. The uniform set is believed to be traditional and simple due to the old-fashioned, throwback style and attitude of Coach Schnellenberger.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team represents Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
, a mid-major
Mid-major
Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences...
NCAA Division I-A college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team, that competes in the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
.
Overview and history
Florida Atlantic University football began play in 2001 and has had only one head coachHead coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
, Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
. After competing their first four years as an NCAA Division I-AA independent, the Owls moved to Division I-A and the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
.
In 1998
1998 in sports
1998 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Katja Seizinger, Germany-American football:...
, Florida Atlantic University announced it was pursuing the creation of an NCAA football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
program and that Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
was going to lead the charge, as director of football operations and head coach. After his success in rebuilding programs at the University of Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
and the University of Louisville
Louisville Cardinals football
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in college football as a member of the Big East Conference. Howard Schnellenberger started the program's rise to relevancy after winning the Miami Hurricanes' first national championship...
, Coach Schnellenberger now undertook the role of building a program from scratch. Much like his time at Miami and Louisville, Coach Schnellenberger did not shy from placing lofty expectations and high goals on his newly-created program. Even before FAU would play an intercollegiate game, Coach Schnellenberger explained the goal of FAU football would be to play the best teams it can schedule, in order for the program to aim for a National Championship in Division I-A football. These extreme goals were not unusual from a man like Coach Schnellenberger. At Lousiville, facing threats from the administration that the football team would be terminated, Schnellenberger made the bold (and now famous) prediction, "[We are] on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time.” http://www.msnsportsnet.com/page.cfm?section=6488
On August 29, 2000, the first practice was held at the Boca Raton campus of FAU, and 164 students showed up to try out for the team. During the August 29, 2000 first practice, dubbed the inaugural scrimage game, FAU continued the tradition of Homecoming King, this time including the crowning ceremony of the King as part of the half time festivites. The Homecoming King crown was bestowed upon Wayne Burns, having been voted in by the majority of student population from across all the campuses at the time, which totaled five, then running a Q&A gauntlet along side the top three candidates, conducted by a committee of students and faculty, who then voted to determine if Mr. Burns would move to the winners circle or if the next candidate would get the crown. Mr. Burns, was driven around the scrimage game field in a convertable Rolls Royce to waive to the 164 students in the stands, many of whom voted for him. Wayne Burns was and is the oldest Homecoming King to ever receive the honor at FAU. Florida Atlantic joined the NCAA Division I-AA as an Independent team for the 2001 season. Its first-ever intercollegiate competition was against Slippery Rock University, which the Owls lost 40-7 in front of 25,632 fans at olphin Stadium|Pro Player Stadium / Joe Robbie Stadium]. http://fausports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/090201aaa.html During half time of the inaugural intercollegiate game at Pro Player, FAU Homecoming King Wayne Burns entered the field for a ceremony to hand off the king's staff to a new king.
Bethune-Cookman College
Bethune-Cookman University or B-CU is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida.- History :Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School in 1904...
, 31-28, and won in the first meeting with newly-created South Florida rival
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
, Florida International University
FIU Golden Panthers football
The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...
, 31-21.
On September 15, 2007 FAU defeated its first Big Ten opponent with a 42-39 victory over the University of Minnesota. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/scoreboards/2007/09/15/35933_viewcast_recap.html Led by Rusty Smith, FAU beat Troy University in the final game of the 2007 season to become Sun Belt Conference champions and received an invitation to the 2007 New Orleans Bowl
2007 New Orleans Bowl
The 2007 R+L CarriersNew Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game. Part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, it was played on December 21, 2007 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans....
, its first ever bowl bid. As a result, in just the seventh year of the football program's history, and the third year playing in Division I, Florida Atlantic set an NCAA record by becoming the youngest program ever to receive an invitation to a bowl game.
Year-by-year
Conference affiliations:- 2001-2005: I-AA Independent
- 2006-pres: Sun Belt ConferenceSun Belt ConferenceThe Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
{| border="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Year
!bgcolor="#003366"| Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| Conference
!bgcolor="#003366"| Finish
!bgcolor="#003366"| Coach
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowl
!bgcolor="#003366"| Poll
|-align="center"
| 2001 || 4-6 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
|| -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2002 || 2-9 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2003 || 11-3 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || 4*
|-align="center"
| 2004 || 9-3 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2005 || 2-9 || -- || -- || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2006 || 5-7 || 4-3 || T-2nd ||Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2007 || 8-5 || 6-1 || T-1st || Howard Schnellenberger || New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
|| --
|-align="center"
| 2008 || 7-6 || 4-3 || T-3rd || Howard Schnellenberger || Motor City Bowl
Motor City Bowl
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown...
|| --
|-align="center"
| 2009 || 5-7 || 5-3 || T-3rd || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2010 || 4-8 || 3-5 || T-6th || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-align="center"
| 2011 || 1-10 || 0-3 || 9th || Howard Schnellenberger || -- || --
|-
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
|-
| colspan="7" | "Poll" indicates team ranking at end of season from the Associated Press Poll.
*Ranked by the AP Poll for Division I-AA Football.
|}
Head coaches
{| border="0" width="100%"| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Tenure
!bgcolor="#003366"| Name
!bgcolor="#003366"| Years
!bgcolor="#003366"| Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| Pct.
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowls
|- align="center"
| 2001-pres.
| Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
| 10
| 58-73
| .475
| 2
|- align="center"
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
|}
Bowl games
{| border="0" width="100%"| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Date
!bgcolor="#003366"| Bowl
!bgcolor="#003366"| W/L
!bgcolor="#003366"| Opponent
!bgcolor="#003366"| PF
!bgcolor="#003366"| PA
|- align="center"
| December 21, 2007
| New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
| W
2007 New Orleans Bowl
The 2007 R+L CarriersNew Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game. Part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, it was played on December 21, 2007 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans....
| Memphis
Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers represent the University of Memphis in Division I of the NCAA. They are members of C-USA and currently feature nine women's sports and nine men's sports...
| 44
| 27
|- align="center"
| December 26, 2008
| Motor City Bowl
Motor City Bowl
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown...
| W
2008 Motor City Bowl
The 2008 Motor City Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association bowl game in which the Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas 24–21. It was played on December 26, 2008 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and aired on ESPN. The underdog FAU team from the Sun Belt...
| Central Michigan
Central Michigan Chippewas
The Central Michigan Chippewas are the sixteen men's and women's athletics teams of Central Michigan University. CMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1950-1970. The school's athletics programs are affiliated with the NCAA and compete in the Mid-American...
| 24
| 21
|-align="center"
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
| colspan=1 bgcolor="#CE2029"|
|}
Against the Sun Belt Conference and State of Florida
{| border="0" width="100%"| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="40%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Team
!bgcolor="#003366"| FAU Record
!bgcolor="#003366"| First Meeting
!bgcolor="#003366"| Recent Meeting
|-align="center"
| Arkansas State || 3-3 || 2005 || 2010
|-align="center"
| FIU || 8-1 || 2002 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Middle Tennessee || 3-5 || 2003 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Louisiana-Lafayette || 5-1 || 2005 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Louisiana-Monroe || 2-6 || 2004 || 2010
|-align="center"
| North Texas || 7-1 || 2004 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Troy || 1-7 || 2003 || 2010
|-align="center"
| Western Kentucky || 3-1 || 2003 || 2011
|-align="center"
| Florida || 0-2 || 2007 || 2011
|-align="center"
| Florida State || 0-0 || -- || --
|-align="center"
| Miami || 0-0 || -- || --
|-align="center"
| South Florida || 0-3 || 2002 || 2010
|-align="center"
| UCF || 0-1 || 2003 || 2003
|-
|}
Against nationally ranked opponents
{| border="0" width="100%"| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="40%"
!bgcolor="#003366"| Team
!bgcolor="#003366"| Date
!bgcolor="#003366"| Ranking
!bgcolor="#003366"| Outcome
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Bethune-Cookman|| 9/8/01 || 22 || W 31-28
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| James Madison || 9/14/02 || 22 || L 16-13
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Eastern Kentucky || 9/21/02 || 20 || L 22-6
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Nicholls State || 10/5/02 || 24 || L 33-22
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Youngstown State || 10/12/02 || 17 || L 24-17
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Eastern Illinois || 11/16/02 || 3 || L 47-6
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Illinois State || 9/27/03 || 23 || W 28-10
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Bethune-Cookman || 11/29/03 || 14 || W 32-24
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Northern Arizona || 12/6/03 || 16 || W 48-25
|-align="center" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"
| Colgate|| 12/13/03 || 6 || L 36-24
|-align="center"
| Louisville || 10/1/05 || 11 || L 61-10
|-align="center"
| Kentucky || 9/29/07 || 14 || L 45-17
|-align="center"
| South Florida || 10/6/07 || 6 || L 35-23
|-align="center"
| Florida || 11/17/07 || 12 || L 59-20
|-align="center"
| Texas || 8/30/08 || 10 || L 52-10
|-align="center"
| Nebraska || 9/5/09 || 24 || L 49-3
|-align="center" bgcolor="CE2029"
| colspan="3" | All-time || 4-12
|-
| colspan="4"| GREY indicates games played while FAU competed in Division I-AA and against a Division I-AA opponent.
|}
Conference honors
- Player of the Year
- Rusty Smith (2007 Sun Belt Conference, QB, So.)
- Coach of the Year
- Howard Schnellenberger (2007 Sun Belt Conference)
Post-season bowl honors
- Hula BowlHula BowlThe Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
Invitations- Jared Allen (2005)
- Chris Laskowski (2005)
- Cergile Sincere (2008)
- Texas vs. The Nation GameTexas vs. The Nation GameThe NFLPA Game is a post-season college football all-star game that was established in 2006 as the concluding game of the college football post-season. The game is currently played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game was previously known as the Texas vs...
Invitations- Howard Schnellenberger (2009, The Nation Head Coach)
- Frantz Joseph (2009, MVP)
- Corey Small (2009)
- Most Valuable Player Award, Bowl game
- Rusty Smith (2007, New Orleans BowlNew Orleans BowlThe New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
) - Rusty Smith (2008, Motor City BowlMotor City BowlThe Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown...
)
- Rusty Smith (2007, New Orleans Bowl
Push for a new stadium
Since football's inception at FAU in 1998, Coach Schnellenberger has publicly led a campaign to build a football stadium on FAU's main campus in Boca Raton. In seven seasons of competition, the FAU Owls have called two stadiums "home" (Dolphin StadiumDolphin Stadium
Sun Life Stadium is an American football stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It is the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins National Football League team, and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It also hosts the Orange Bowl, an annual college football bowl game. It...
located in Miami Gardens
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
and Lockhart Stadium
Lockhart Stadium
Lockhart Stadium is a stadium located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. It is currently used by Fort Lauderdale High School, Stranahan High School, Northeast High School and Dillard High School for home high school football games, and previously served as the home of the Florida Atlantic...
in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, neither of which are in the same county as Boca Raton). Coach Schnellenberger argued that an on-campus stadium increases popularity of the program and attracts high-caliber recruits.
In 2006, the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees (FAU BoT) approved the idea of moving forward with plans to build a football stadium on Boca's campus. HKS/Schenkel Shultz are currently designing an open-air, 30,000-seat football stadium (that can eventually be expanded to 100,000 seats) and are due to report back to the FAU BoT on Sept.17th, 2007 http://fausports.cstv.com/ot/ask-ad-responses.html to report projected costs and a timetable to break ground on the project.
The stadium is just a part of the university's broader concept of an "Innovation Village", covering the north end of Boca's campus. The Village will include the football stadium, a multi-use Convocation Center for volleyball, basketball and recreation, two parking garages, student housing complexes, an Alumni Center, a wellness and fitness center and strip shopping centers. The Innovation Village will be funded and constructed in stages, with the football stadium being the main concern of the first phase. All relative information on the Innovation Village can be found at FAU's Campus Master Plan (2006–2013).
Current coaching staff
{| class="wikitable" width="70%"! Name !! Current Title !! Joined
FAU !! Alma mater
|- align="center"
| Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
|| Head Coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
|| 1998 || Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
|- align="center"
| Jared Allen || Wide Receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s || 2009 || Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
|- align="center"
| Joe Corozza || Tight End
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
s
Special Teams || 2001 || Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
|- align="center"
| Johny Frost || Defensive End
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
s || 2006 || Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
|- align="center"
| Dick Hopkins || Secondary
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
|| 2010 || Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
|- align="center"
| Daryl Jackson || Offensive Coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s || 2007 || San Diego
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...
|- align="center"
| Richard Lage || Defensive Tackles || 2005 || Villanova
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
|- align="center"
| David Serna || Running Back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
s || 2005 || UTEP
|- align="center"
| Kurt Van Valkenburgh || Assistant Head CoachLinebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
s || 1998 || SUNY Albany
|- align="center"
| Dale Williams || Offensive Line ||| 2005 || West Virginia
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
|- align="center"
|}
Owls in professional football
Alumni of Florida Atlantic that have been draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
! Name !! Pos !! Team !! Year
|-
| Rusty Smith
Rusty Smith (American football)
-Tennessee Titans:Smith was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the first ever player from FAU to be drafted.He was signed to a four-year contract on June 17, 2010....
|| QB || Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
|| 2010
|-
| Rob Housler
Rob Housler
Robert Housler, Jr. is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft after playing college football for Florida Atlantic....
|| TE || Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2011
|}
Alumni of Florida Atlantic to have signed contracts in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
! Name !! Pos !! Team !! Year
|-
| Brian Pare || OL || Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2003
|-
| Chris Laskowski
Chris Laskowski
Christopher Anthony Laskowski was an American football linebacker turned safety, with the Indianapolis Colts...
|| LB || Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
|| 2004
|-
| Kevin Fischer || OL || Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
|| 2004
|-
| Jared Allen
Jared Allen (quarterback)
Jared Allen is currently the Quarterbacks Coach at Florida Atlantic University and a former American football quarterback. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League and in NFL Europe for the Amsterdam Admirals in 2006.- High school career :Jared Allen attended Edmond...
|| QB || Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
|| 2004
|-
| Willie Hughley || CB || Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2006
|-
| Nello Faulk || OL || Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2006
|-
| Mark Myers || K || New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2008
|-
| Jervonte Jackson || DL || Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2009
|-
| Frantz Joseph
Frantz Joseph
Frantz Joseph is an American football linebacker who is currently a member of the Spokane Shock. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2009...
|| LB || Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
|| 2009
|}
Uniforms
Florida Atlantic wears two sets of uniforms (one for home games and one for road games). Produced and endorsed by NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, the uniforms are traditional in style and simple in color-schemes. The home jersey is the color of "FAU Blue" with white letters and numbers - which are outlined in "FAU Red." The chest plate sports the FAU winged logo. On the shoulder area of the jersey, the traditional, varsity three-stripes highlight the break from the shoulders to the arms. The pattern of the stripes are FAU Red- White - FAU Blue - White - FAU Red. Lastly, the arms of the jersey contain the players' numbers in white, outlined in FAU Red (not shown in picture). The road jerseys are identical in pattern of the home jerseys, simply swapping the blue body for white, and the letters and numbers combination is in FAU Blue.
The home and road pants are same in style. A white body is highlighted with a belt the color of FAU Blue. On the left side directly under the belt, "OWLS" in spelled in FAU Blue outlined in FAU Red in a traditional, varsity typeface font. The three-striped pattern which is on the jersey's shoulder section is found on the pants, as well - in the same color pattern.
Lastly, the helmet is white with the FAU winged logo on both sides. Again, the three-stripe pattern is down the middle of the helmet, in the same color pattern as the jersey and pant.
To date, the Owls have worn the home uniforms at every home game and the road uniforms at every road game - there is no switching roles of the uniforms. Additionally, there is no alternate uniform for the Owls and there have not been plans for any. The uniform set is believed to be traditional and simple due to the old-fashioned, throwback style and attitude of Coach Schnellenberger.