Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
SWACDaytona Beach, FLMunicipal Stadium
2026: 4–3 (2–1 SWAC). Last: won at Mississippi Valley State 34–14. Next: Jackson State, Saturday, Oct 24, 1 p.m. ET.
- L 6–73at UCF
- W 43–18Stetson
- W 62–3Virginia Lynchburg
- L 21–31South Carolina State
- W 16–10Alabama State
- L 17–55at Alabama A&M
- W 34–14at Mississippi Valley State
- Oct 24Jackson State
- Oct 31at Arkansas–Pine Bluff
- Nov 7at Southern
- Nov 14Grambling
- Nov 21vs. Florida A&M
Bethune-Cookman has played football since 1925 and is officially 511–355–26; 254 of its 892 games are in our file. They have won eight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles (the last in 2015), plus four Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, two Southeastern Athletic Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1970, the NFL Draft has taken 15 players from here in its first seven rounds, 0 of them in the first round. The most-played rival is Florida A&M: 80 meetings, Florida A&M leads 54–25–1. This season, they’re 4–3.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 511–355–26 official; 142–112 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1286
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 102 · Composite No. 96 in FCS, Oct 17; up 3 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 14 last in 2015
- Seasons
- 24 since 1977, 254 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Let’s Go Wildcats
2026 season 4–3
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at UCF | L 6–73 | 20% |
| Sep 12 | vs Stetson | W 43–18 | 70% |
| Sep 19 | vsVirginia Lynchburg | W 62–3 | 88% |
| Sep 26 | vs South Carolina State | L 21–31 | 36% |
| Oct 3 | vs Alabama State | W 16–10 | 38% |
| Oct 10 | at Alabama A&M | L 17–55 | 44% |
| Oct 17 | at Mississippi Valley State | W 34–14 | 62% |
| Oct 24 | vs Jackson State | Preview | 37% |
| Oct 31 | at Arkansas–Pine Bluff | Preview | 52% |
| Nov 7 | at Southern | Preview | 54% |
| Nov 14 | vs Grambling | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 21 | vs Florida A&MFlorida Classic | Preview | 60% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Rashon Brown581 rushing yards, 9 TD (leads Bethune-Cookman in rushing yards)
- Tyler Jefferson387 passing yards, 1 TD (leads Bethune-Cookman in passing yards)
- Naim Lassiter42 tackles, 1.5 sacks (leads Bethune-Cookman in tackles)
- Isaiah Washburn36 tackles, 1.5 sacks
- Isaiah Daniel252 rushing yards, 3 TD
- Myron Shafer III19 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 2 INT
Program strength since 1977
Best seasons everMost-played series
All rivalries- Florida A&M
25–54–1 ‡ in 80
- 2015 W 35–14
- 2016 W 39–19
- 2017 W 29–24
- 2018 W 33–19
- 2019 W 31–27
- 2021 L 21–46
- 2022 L 20–41
- 2023 L 7–24
- 2024 L 38–41
- 2025 W 38–34
Won the last one.
Next: Nov 21
- South Carolina State
8–13 in 21
- 2014 L 14–20
- 2015 W 17–14
- 2016 L 7–28
- 2017 W 12–9
- 2018 W 28–26
- 2019 L 19–27
- 2021 L 35–42
- 2022 L 9–33
- 2025 L 41–55
- 2026 L 21–31
Lost the last five.
- Savannah State
15–1 in 16
- 2010 W 42–7
- 2011 W 59–3
- 2012 W 49–7
- 2013 W 48–21
- 2014 W 48–20
- 2015 W 42–12
- 2016 L 10–16
- 2017 W 24–12
- 2018 W 35–20
- 2023 W 31–6
Won the last three.
| Opponent | Games | BCU record |
|---|---|---|
| Florida A&M | 80 | 25–54–1 ‡ |
| South Carolina State | 21 | 8–13 |
| Savannah State | 16 | 15–1 |
| Morgan State | 15 | 11–4 |
| Norfolk State | 15 | 12–3 |
| North Carolina A&T | 14 | 7–7 |
| Hampton | 13 | 8–5 |
| Howard | 13 | 9–4 |
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.
Rivals the program names: Florida A&M.
Every opponent (47)
Every program Bethune-Cookman has played, A to Z, with Bethune-Cookman’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alabama A&M 2–4
- Alabama State 4–5
- Alcorn State 1–1
- Arkansas–Pine Bluff 2–0
- Clark Atlanta 0–1
- Coastal Carolina 0–2
- Delaware State 8–5
- Edward Waters 2–0
- Florida A&M 25–54–1 ‡
- Florida Atlantic 0–2
- Florida International 3–1
- Florida State 0–1
- Florida Tech 1–0
- Fort Valley State 1–0
- Grambling 5–3
- Hampton 8–5
- Howard 9–4
- Jackson State 2–5
- Jacksonville 1–0
- Lane College 1–0
- Memphis 0–1
- Mercer 0–1
- Miami 0–8
- Mississippi Valley State 7–1
- Morgan State 11–4
- Nebraska 0–1
- New Hampshire 0–1
- Norfolk State 12–3
- North Carolina A&T 7–7
- North Carolina Central 9–1
- North Texas 0–1
- Prairie View A&M 1–2
- Savannah State 15–1
- SE Louisiana 1–0
- Shaw 0–1
- South Carolina State 8–13
- South Florida 0–1
- Southern 1–3
- Stetson 1–0
- Tennessee State 1–4
- Texas Southern 0–3
- UCF 0–3
- UTEP 0–1
- Virginia Lynchburg 2–0
- Virginia Union 1–0
- Western Michigan 0–1
- Winston-Salem State 2–2
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.
Conference titles
14, counting shared titles- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 8
- 1984, 1988 (shared), 2002, 2010 (shared), 2012, 2013 (shared), 2014 (shared), 2015 (shared)
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 4
- 1952, 1973, 1975, 1976
- Southeastern Athletic Conference 2
- 1942, 1947
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Black college football
Black college national titles 4
Who named them
- 2002 (as Bethune-Cookman) 11–2: Black College Sports Page (Carl “Lut” Williams & formerly Major Broadcasting Cable)
- 2010 (as Bethune-Cookman) 10–2: American Sports Wire (Dick Simpson); BOXTOROW (& formerly Black Athlete Sports Network)–Coaches Poll; BOXTOROW (& formerly Black Athlete Sports Network)–Media Poll
- 2012 (as Bethune-Cookman) 9–3: American Urban Radio Networks (Sheridan Poll)
- 2013 (as Bethune-Cookman) 10–3: Add’s HBCU Sports Report (Add Seymour, Jr.) for NCAA Division I FCS teams; Pigskin Club of Washington, DC—William G. “Billy” Coward Award
Black College Football Hall of Fame: 3 inductees from Bethune-Cookman.
Black college national champions as Wikipedia’s list gives each season’s selections since 1920 (the black press’s polls, bowls and later media polls; some seasons have several). Black college football history: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Conferences
- Independent 1925–1941
- Southeastern Athletic Conference 1942–1949
- SIAC 1973–1978
- MEAC 1980–2019
- SWAC since 2021
- 2021Joined the SWAC from the MEAC, announced June 25, 2020. Source
Bethune-Cookman’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 15 since 1970
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
Bethune-Cookman University- Enrollment
- 2,853 2,738 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit
- Founded
- 1904
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $38,518 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1286 | ||||
| 2025 | 6–6 | 5–3 | 1262 | ||||
| 2024 | 2–10 | 2–6 | 1144 | ||||
| 2023 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1194 | ||||
| 2022 | 2–9 | 2–6 | 1153 | ||||
| 2021 | 2–9 | 2–6 | 1237 | ||||
| 2019 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1347 | ||||
| 2018 | 7–5 | 5–2 | 1328 | ||||
| 2017 | 7–4 | 6–2 | 1346 | ||||
| 2016 | 4–6 | 4–4 | 1306 | ||||
| 2015 | 9–2 | 7–1 | 1428 | ||||
| 2014 | 9–3 | 6–2 | 1417 | ||||
| 2013 | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1461 | ||||
| 2012 | 8–3 | 7–0 | 1435 | ||||
| 2011 | 8–3 | 6–2 | 1440 | ||||
| 2010 | 10–2 | 9–1 | 1406 | ||||
| 2009 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1259 | ||||
| 2008 | 8–3 | 5–3 | 1349 | ||||
| 2007 | 5–6 | 3–6 | 1252 | ||||
| 2006 | 5–6 | 3–5 | 1244 | ||||
| 2005 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 1327 | ||||
| 2004 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 1348 | ||||
| 2003 | 9–2 | 6–2 | 1327 | ||||
| 1977 | 1–1 | 1184 |
Officially 511–355–26 since 1925 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 142–112 (254 of its 892 games are on file). Our file starts in 1977; the program began in 1925. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1978–2002, 2020: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.