East Tennessee State Buccaneers football


 * For information on all East Tennessee State University sports, see East Tennessee State Buccaneers

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers football program are the intercollegiate American football team for East Tennessee State University located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team competed in the NCAA Division I as a Southern Conference football program. The school's first football team was fielded in 1920.

History
East Tennessee State Normal School fielded its first football team in 1920. Navy blue and old gold, chosen in 1911, were the school colors. The team only played five games that year including two against local high school teams. W.R. Windes was the head coach for the first two seasons. In 1925, the school's name was changed to East Tennessee State Teachers College. The athletic teams were named "The Teachers". John Robinson was the head coach for the next 5 years.

In 1930, the school's name changed again to State Teachers College, Johnson City. In 1932, Gene McMurray was named the head coach. He coached for 10 straight seasons until the school stopped playing due to World War II. He came back to coach the team in 1946. His winning percentage during his 11 seasons was the highest in the history of Buc football. During his tenure, the team won the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship (1938) and the team's name changed to the "Buccaneers" (1935).

In 1943, the school's name changed to East Tennessee State College. In 1952, Star Wood became head coach. He led the team for 13 seasons from 1952-1953 and 1955-1965. Coach Wood tops the list of total wins with 64. East Tennessee State College joins the Ohio Valley Conference in 1957.

In 1963, the college gains university status to become East Tennessee State University. Coach John Robert Bell led the team to a 10-0-1 record in 1969. They won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and defeated Louisiana Tech, led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in the Grantland Rice Bowl. The Memorial Center opened in 1977 and was nicknamed the "Mini-Dome". The football team played their homes games indoors until the program was discontinued. In 1978, ETSU joins the Southern Conference.

In 1996, ETSU football team led by Coach Mike Cavan had a record of 10-3 and participated for the first time in the NCAA Division IAA Playoffs, defeating Villanova in a first round game.

In 2003, ETSU decided to discontinue the football team. The last game was played at home on Nov. 22, 2003 against The Citadel. ETSU won the game 16-13 with a last second field goal.

On January 29, 2013, the Student Government Association voted 22-5 to a $125 per semester fee increase that would fund the instatement of the football program. University President Dr. Brian Noland, who was in attendance for the vote, said that fee would be sufficient to support football and Title IX requirements that support additional women’s athletics. Noland will crafted a football proposal to submit that to the Tennessee Board of Regents. The Regents passed it in March 2013. The TBR is expected to approve the proposal for a new ETSU football program.

On March 29, 2013, TBR approved a $125 fee increase to reinstate football at ETSU. It has also become widely known across the campus that the Mini-Dome will not be the host of the home games. ETSU will build a brand new football stadium to play host to all of its home games. On May 30, 2013, ETSU accepted an invitation to join the Southern Conference in 2014 and will reinstate football in time for the 2015 season.

Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
 * Donnie Abraham
 * Earl Ferrell
 * Thane Gash
 * Gerald Sensabaugh
 * Mike Smith