Denver Pioneers
Denver has played football since at least 1902 and is 259–228–33 in the 520 games on record. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 1 coach from Denver. John Roning (1955–1960) won more games here than any other coach: 27. The most-played rival is Colorado State: 58 meetings, Colorado State leads 28–25–5. This season, under John Roning, they’re 3–7.
On this date in 1957Denver beat Utah 12–7 at home.
Résumé
- Record on file
- 259–228–33 .530; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–2 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1284
- Seasons
- 59 since 1902, 520 games
1960 season 3–7
RosterFull 1960 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17 | atWichita State | W 28–19 | 31% |
| Sep 23 | vs Washington State | W 28–26 | 36% |
| Oct 1 | at Utah State | L 8–31 | 39% |
| Oct 8 | at Wyoming | L 2–41 | 18% |
| Oct 15 | vs Montana | L 12–26 | 72% |
| Oct 22 | at Utah | L 16–49 | 24% |
| Oct 28 | vs New Mexico | L 6–41 | 52% |
| Nov 5 | at Air Force | L 6–36 | 22% |
| Nov 12 | vs BYU | L 6–19 | 52% |
| Nov 24 | vs Colorado State | W 21–12 | 45% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Program strength since 1902
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| John Roning | 1955–1960 | 27–33 |
 Bob Blackman | 1953–1954 | 12–6–2 |
| William Saunders | 1936–1938 | 17–8–2 |
 Jeff Cravath | 1929–1931 | 14–11–1 |
 Fred Dawson | 1925–1928 | 14–16–1 |
 Fred Murphy | 1920–1922 | 13–7–2 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Colorado State
25–28–5 in 58
- 1951 W 21–6
- 1952 L 6–28
- 1953 L 6–21
- 1954 W 34–0
- 1955 L 19–20
- 1956 W 39–13
- 1957 L 6–27
- 1958 L 8–9
- 1959 L 0–15
- 1960 W 21–12
Won the last one.
- Colorado College
23–25–1 in 49
- 1944 L 12–20
- 1944 W 27–13
- 1945 L 0–12
- 1946 W 28–6
- 1951 W 41–0
- 1952 W 34–12
- 1953 W 19–13
- 1954 W 72–0
- 1955 W 60–0
- 1956 W 40–21
Won the last seven.
- Wyoming
31–11–2 in 44
- 1951 L 14–20
- 1952 L 14–21
- 1953 T 13–13
- 1954 L 21–23
- 1955 W 6–3
- 1956 L 0–27
- 1957 W 14–13
- 1958 L 12–15
- 1959 L 0–45
- 1960 L 2–41
Lost the last three.
| Opponent | Games | DU record |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | 58 | 25–28–5 |
| Colorado College | 49 | 23–25–1 |
| Wyoming | 44 | 31–11–2 |
| Utah | 43 | 10–28–5 |
| Colorado School of Mines | 42 | 26–14–2 |
| Colorado | 39 | 14–21–4 |
| Utah State | 35 | 19–13–3 |
| BYU | 22 | 15–7 |
Every opponent (70)
Every program Denver has played, A to Z, with Denver’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Air Force 1–2
- Arizona 1–1
- Baker 2–0
- Baylor 0–2
- BYU 15–7
- Camp Logan 1–0
- Carlisle 0–1
- Colorado 14–21–4
- Colorado College 23–25–1
- Colorado School of Mines 26–14–2
- Colorado State 25–28–5
- Creighton 2–0
- Denver A.C. 1–1
- Denver Alumni 4–0–1
- Denver Freshmen 0–0–1
- Denver Manual High 2–0
- Detroit Mercy 1–0
- Drake 6–2–1
- East Denver High 1–0–2
- Fort Douglas 1–0
- Fort Hays 1–0
- Fort Riley 0–1
- George Washington 0–0–1
- Georgetown 0–1–1
- Hardin Simmons 0–1
- Haskell 0–3
- Hawai’i 5–5
- Hawaii All-Stars 1–0
- Idaho 1–0
- Iowa 0–1
- Iowa State 3–7
- Kansas 2–6–1
- Kearney 1–1
- Longmont High 2–0
- Lowry Field 1–0
- Marquette 0–1–1
- Montana 7–3
- Montana State 3–0–1
- Nebraska 0–4
- Nebraska Wesleyan 2–0
- New Mexico 9–9
- North Denver High 1–0
- Northern Colorado 6–1
- Occidental 0–1
- Oklahoma State 1–8
- Pacific 1–1
- Phillips 0–1
- Pueblo YMCA 1–0
- Regis (CO) 5–0
- Sacred Heart 4–0
- Saint Mary’s (CA) 0–2
- San Francisco 0–2
- San José State 1–3
- South Dakota 1–2
- South Denver High 2–0
- St. Vincent’s (California) 0–1
- Temple 0–2
- Texas Tech 0–2
- Tulsa 1–0
- University of Mexico 1–0
- US Recup. Company 1–0
- USC 0–1
- Utah 10–28–5
- Utah State 19–13–3
- Washburn 1–2
- Washington State 2–0
- West Denver High 1–0
- Western Colorado 3–0
- Wichita State 2–0–1
- Wyoming 31–11–2
Conferences
- Independent 1902–1909
- Mountain States Conference 1938–1947
- Skyline Conference 1948–1960
- 1938Joined the Mountain States Conference from the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference. Source
Denver’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).
Led the nation 1
| 1950 | Gordon Cooper receptions (46 catches) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 0
- Coaches
- 1
| 1987 | Bob Blackman coach here, 1953–1954 |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 5 since 1937
- First-round picks
- 0
On the newsreel
- COLORADO DEFEATS U. OF DENVER, 27-17, IN GRIDIRON CLASSIC
Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3–7 | 1–6 | John Roning | 1284 | |||
| 1959 | 2–8 | 2–5 | John Roning | 1322 | |||
| 1958 | 2–8 | 2–5 | John Roning | 1368 | |||
| 1957 | 6–4 | 5–2 | John Roning | 1492 | |||
| 1956 | 6–4 | 4–3 | John Roning | 1553 | |||
| 1955 | 8–2 | 5–2 | John Roning | 1610 | |||
| 1954 | 9–1 | 6–1 | Bob Blackman | 1580 | |||
| 1953 | 3–5–2 | 1–5–1 | Bob Blackman | 1355 | |||
| 1952 | 3–7 | 0–7 | 1332 | ||||
| 1951 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 1475 | ||||
| 1950 | 3–8–1 | 2–2–1 | 1351 | ||||
| 1949 | 4–6 | 2–2 | 1355 | ||||
| 1948 | 4–5–1 | 2–2 | 1442 | ||||
| 1947 | 5–4–1 | 3–2–1 | 1472 | ||||
| 1946 | 5–5–1 | 4–1–1 | 1463 | ||||
| 1945 | 4–5–1 | 4–1 | 1451 | ||||
| 1944 | 4–3–2 | 2–1–1 | 1446 | ||||
| 1943 | 2–5 | 1338 | |||||
| 1942 | 6–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 1513 | ||||
| 1941 | 4–3–2 | 3–1–2 | 1545 | ||||
| 1940 | 6–2–1 | 4–1–1 | 1559 | ||||
| 1939 | 5–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 1542 | ||||
| 1938 | 4–4–1 | 3–2–1 | William Saunders | 1516 | |||
| 1937 | 6–3 | 5–2 | William Saunders | 1569 | |||
| 1936 | 7–1–1 | 6–1–1 | William Saunders | 1560 |
Every season back to 1902 (34 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 6–3 | 5–2 | 1468 | ||||
| 1934 | 5–5–1 | 4–4 | 1446 | ||||
| 1933 | 5–3–1 | 5–1–1 | 1531 | ||||
| 1932 | 4–3–1 | 4–1–1 | 1468 | ||||
| 1931 | 4–6 | 3–5 | Jeff Cravath | 1409 | |||
| 1930 | 5–4 | 4–3 | Jeff Cravath | 1512 | |||
| 1929 | 5–1–1 | 4–1–1 | Jeff Cravath | 1551 | |||
| 1928 | 4–4–1 | 3–4–1 | Fred Dawson | 1467 | |||
| 1927 | 5–2 | 5–1 | Fred Dawson | 1513 | |||
| 1926 | 4–4 | 4–4 | Fred Dawson | 1426 | |||
| 1925 | 1–6 | 1–6 | Fred Dawson | 1351 | |||
| 1924 | 4–2–2 | 3–2–2 | 1485 | ||||
| 1923 | 6–3 | 4–3 | 1508 | ||||
| 1922 | 6–1–1 | 3–1–1 | Fred Murphy | 1536 | |||
| 1921 | 4–2–1 | 2–2–1 | Fred Murphy | 1460 | |||
| 1920 | 3–4 | 2–4 | Fred Murphy | 1382 | |||
| 1919 | 1–5–1 | 0–4–1 | 1343 | ||||
| 1918 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1533 | ||||
| 1917 | 9–0 | 6–0 | 1657 | ||||
| 1916 | 4–2–1 | 3–2 | 1511 | ||||
| 1915 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 1452 | ||||
| 1914 | 5–4 | 1–4 | 1391 | ||||
| 1913 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 1318 | ||||
| 1912 | 2–6–1 | 1–3 | 1415 | ||||
| 1911 | 5–2–1 | 3–1–1 | 1508 | ||||
| 1910 | 4–3–1 | 3–2 | 1546 | ||||
| 1909 | 7–2 | 1617 | |||||
| 1908 | 7–1 | 1529 | |||||
| 1907 | 2–6 | 1352 | |||||
| 1906 | 2–3 | 1411 | |||||
| 1905 | 3–5–2 | 1377 | |||||
| 1904 | 2–5 | 1397 | |||||
| 1903 | 6–7 | 1388 | |||||
| 1902 | 3–4–1 | 1438 |
All 59 seasons on file are complete, game by game: every win and loss in the record has its game here.
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.