Drake Bulldogs
PioneerDes Moines, IADrake Stadium
2026: 2–5 (2–2 Pioneer). Last: lost to Marist 27–22 at home. Next: Butler, Saturday, Oct 24, 1 p.m. ET.
- L 35–38South Dakota Mines
- L 10–45at Montana
- L 14–56at Northern Iowa
- W 51–32at Davidson
- W 30–22Dayton
- L 13–21at Valparaiso
- L 22–27Marist
- Oct 24Butler
- Oct 31at Morehead State
- Nov 7San Diego
- Nov 14at St. Thomas (MN)
Drake has played football since 1893 and is officially 658–550–29; 934 of its 1,237 games are in our file. They have won nine Pioneer Football League titles (the last in 2025) and seven Missouri Valley Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1939, the NFL Draft has taken 12 players from here in its first seven rounds, 1 of them in the first round. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 1 player from Drake. Vee Green (1933–1946) won more games here than any other coach: 62. The most-played rival is Iowa State: 69 meetings, Iowa State leads 48–17–4. This season, they’re 2–5.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 658–550–29 official; 459–449–26 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 1–2 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1259
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 113 · Composite No. 105 in FCS, Oct 17; down 2 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 16 last in 2025
- Bowl record
- 2–3 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 111 since 1899, 934 games
2026 season 2–5
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | vsSouth Dakota Mines | L 35–38 | 86% |
| Sep 5 | at Montana | L 10–45 | 23% |
| Sep 12 | at Northern Iowa | L 14–56 | 55% |
| Sep 26 | at Davidson | W 51–32 | 61% |
| Oct 3 | vs Dayton | W 30–22 | 51% |
| Oct 10 | at Valparaiso | L 13–21 | 61% |
| Oct 17 | vs Marist | L 22–27 | 62% |
| Oct 24 | vs Butler | Preview | 48% |
| Oct 31 | at Morehead State | Preview | 62% |
| Nov 7 | vs San Diego | Preview | 53% |
| Nov 14 | at St. Thomas (MN) | Preview | 32% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
On the 2026 team
- Riley Warzynski2,279 passing yards, 14 TD (leads Drake in passing yards)
- Willis Nofsinger38 catches, 569 yards, 3 TD (leads Drake in receiving yards)
- J.R. Flood64 tackles (leads Drake in tackles)
- Mitchell January35 catches, 406 yards, 3 TD (leads Drake in receiving touchdowns)
- Skylar James45 tackles, 1 sack
- Tommy Williams45 tackles
Program greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Drake.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1899
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck Shelton | 1977–1985 | 40–59 |
| Jack Wallace | 1971–1976 | 23–43–1 |
| Bus Mertes | 1961–1962 | 1–4 |
| Warren Gaer | 1949–1958 | 43–43–2 |
| Al Kawal | 1947–1948 | 8–10–1 |
| Vee Green | 1933–1946 | 62–57–8 |
| Evan O. Williams | 1932 | 2–6–1 |
 Ossie Solem | 1921–1931 | 54–35–2 |
 Mark Banks | 1918–1920 | 11–10–1 |
 Ralph Glaze | 1916–1917 | 3–10–2 |
| John Griffith | 1908–1910 | 16–8 |
| Charles Pell | 1906–1907 | 5–8–2 |
| Willie Heston | 1905 | 4–4 |
 W.J. Monilaw | 1903–1904 | 10–7 |
| G.O. Dietz | 1902 | 5–2–1 |
 Charles Best | 1900–1901 | 10–7 |
| A.B. Potter | 1899 | 0–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Iowa State
17–48–4 in 69
- 1961 L 0–21
- 1962 L 7–14
- 1964 L 0–25
- 1965 L 0–21
- 1976 L 14–58
- 1978 L 7–35
- 1982 L 10–35
- 1984 L 17–21
- 1985 W 20–17
- 2018 L 24–27
Lost the last one.
- Grinnell
35–13–2 in 50
- 1933 W 13–0
- 1934 W 8–0
- 1935 W 33–21
- 1936 W 19–6
- 1937 W 45–7
- 1938 W 21–6
- 1939 W 13–0
- 1940 W 20–7
- 1941 W 8–0
- 1942 W 7–6
Won the last 10.
- Northern Iowa
19–16–1 in 36
- 1981 W 39–30
- 1982 W 40–13
- 1983 L 10–34
- 1984 L 28–33
- 1985 W 24–9
- 2005 L 17–52
- 2006 L 7–48
- 2007 L 7–45
- 2013 L 14–45
- 2026 L 14–56
Lost the last five.
| Opponent | Games | DRKE record |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa State | 69 | 17–48–4 |
| Grinnell | 50 | 35–13–2 |
| Northern Iowa | 36 | 19–16–1 |
| Wichita State | 35 | 10–25 |
| Washington St. Louis | 31 | 21–8–2 |
| Simpson (IA) | 25 | 21–2–2 |
| Valparaiso | 23 | 20–3 |
| Butler | 23 | 18–4–1 |
Rivals the program names: Dayton, Northern Iowa.
Every opponent (144)
Every program Drake has played, A to Z, with Drake’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Abilene Christian 2–0
- Arizona 1–1
- Arkansas State 0–2
- Army 0–1
- Augustana (South Dakota) 1–0
- Austin Peay 1–0
- Boston College 0–1
- Boston University 0–1
- Bowling Green 0–1
- Bradley 9–2
- Buena Vista 1–0
- Butler 18–4–1
- Campbell 7–1
- Central (Iowa) 7–0
- Cincinnati 0–1
- Coe 9–1–1
- Colorado 2–2
- Colorado State 2–3
- Cornell (IA) 6–0
- Creighton 8–8–2
- Davidson 10–3
- Dayton 8–14
- Denver 2–6–1
- Des Moines 3–2
- Des Moines 1–0
- Des Moines Baptist 5–1
- Detroit Mercy 2–4
- Doane 1–0
- Drake Alumni 3–0–1
- Eastern Washington 1–0
- Emporia State 4–0
- Florida 0–1
- Fordham 0–1
- Fort Des Moines 1–0
- Fresno State 1–0
- Great Lakes Navy 1–0
- Grinnell 35–13–2
- Gustavus Adolphus 2–0
- Haskell 4–0
- Hawai’i 0–1
- Highland Park 0–1
- Idaho 0–1
- Idaho State 0–2
- Illinois 0–4
- Illinois State 3–5
- Indiana State 2–9
- Indianapolis 1–0
- Iowa 2–10
- Iowa State 17–48–4
- Jacksonville 11–3
- Kansas 6–9–1
- Kansas State 3–2
- Kearney Field 1–0
- Knox 1–0
- Lamar 3–1
- Leander Clarke 2–0
- Lehigh 0–2
- Long Beach State 1–7
- Louisville 5–10–1
- Loyola Marymount 0–1
- Marist 11–3
- Marquette 1–3
- McKendree 1–0
- Memphis 1–0
- Mercer 0–1
- Miami 2–1
- Michigan 0–3
- Minnesota 0–1
- Mississippi State 1–0
- Missouri 3–14
- Missouri S&T 4–1
- Missouri State 0–4
- Missouri Valley 1–0
- Missouri–Rolla 1–0
- Monmouth 1–0
- Montana 0–2
- Montana State 1–3
- Morehead State 10–3
- Morningside 2–1–1
- Navy 0–3
- Nebraska 1–5
- Nebraska–Omaha 2–1
- New Mexico 1–1
- New Mexico State 5–8
- North Dakota 0–5
- North Dakota State 1–2
- North Texas 4–10–1
- Northern Arizona 2–0
- Northern Iowa 19–16–1
- Northern Michigan 0–1
- Northwestern 0–2
- Northwestern (IA) 0–1
- Notre Dame 0–8
- Ohio State 0–1
- Oklahoma 2–3
- Oklahoma State 2–7–1
- Ole Miss 1–0
- Oregon 0–1
- Parsons (Iowa) 2–0
- Pittsburgh 0–1
- Presbyterian 2–1
- Quincy 0–1–1
- Saint Louis 5–4–1
- Saint Mary’s (CA) 0–0–1
- San Diego 5–15
- San José State 0–2
- Simpson (IA) 21–2–2
- SMU 0–1
- South Dakota 4–9
- South Dakota Mines 0–1
- South Dakota State 4–7
- Southern Illinois 7–7
- Southwestern (KS) 1–0
- St. Ambrose 2–1
- St. Mary’s (CA) 1–0
- St. Olaf 1–0
- St. Thomas (MN) 2–3
- Stetson 6–2
- Tampa 0–2
- Tarleton State 0–1
- Temple 1–8
- Tennessee State 0–1
- Texas–Arlington 3–0
- Truman State 3–1
- Tulsa 1–20
- UCLA 1–0
- UL Monroe 1–1
- Upper Iowa 3–0
- Utah 1–1
- Utah State 0–1
- UTEP 1–1
- Valparaiso 20–3
- Waldorf 3–0
- Washburn 6–0
- Washington St. Louis 21–8–2
- Wayne State 1–1
- West Texas 10–8
- West Virginia Wesleyan 1–0
- Western Illinois 2–3
- Wichita State 10–25
- William Jewell 1–0
- William Penn 7–1–1
- Wisconsin 0–1
- Wisconsin Platteville 3–0
Conference titles
16, counting shared titlesAs 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.
Conferences
- Independent 1893–1907
- Missouri Valley Conference 1908–1927
- Independent 1952–1970 and 1987–1992
- Pioneer Conference since 1993
- 1971Joined the MVC from independence in football. Source
- 1986Joined the Dropped football (exhibition only) from the MVC in football. Source
- 1987Went independent from the Dropped (exhibition only) in football. Source
- 1993Joined the Pioneer Conference from independence in football. Source
Drake’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 4
| 1956 | Ron Lind punt return average (19.1) |
| 1955 | Ron Lind punt return average (19.5) |
| 1950 | Johnny Bright total offense (2,400 yds), total offense per game (266.7) |
| 1949 | Johnny Bright total offense (1,950 yds) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
Heisman runners-up and finalists
The votes| 1951 | Johnny Bright RB | 5th |
Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 1
- Coaches
- 0
| 1984 | Johnny Bright RB |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 12 since 1939
- First-round picks
- 1
| 1952 | Johnny Bright B | No. 5, Philadelphia Eagles |
The school
Drake University- Enrollment
- 4,345 2,585 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit
- Founded
- 1881
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $71,901 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.
Old photographs
Football team of Drake University of Des Moines at the White HousePhoto: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, no known restrictions on publication
From the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division, with no known restrictions on publication. The records don’t give these a season; those they date are on their seasons’ pages.
On the newsreel
- BIG GRID TEAMS OPEN SEASON
- NOTRE DAME BLASTS DRAKE IN PIGSKIN THRILLER — SCORE 63-0
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+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1259 | ||||
| 2025 | 8–4 | 7–1 | 1377 | ||||
| 2024 | 8–3–1 | 7–1 | 1344 | ||||
| 2023 | 8–4 | 8–0 | 1328 | ||||
| 2022 | 3–8 | 3–5 | 1191 | ||||
| 2021 | 2–9 | 1–7 | 1158 | ||||
| 2020 | 2–3 | 1299 | |||||
| 2019 | 6–5 | 6–2 | 1335 | ||||
| 2018 | 7–4 | 6–2 | 1393 | ||||
| 2017 | 7–4 | 6–2 | 1365 | ||||
| 2016 | 7–4 | 6–2 | 1333 | ||||
| 2015 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1282 | ||||
| 2014 | 6–4 | 5–2 | 1309 | ||||
| 2013 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1344 | ||||
| 2012 | 8–3 | 7–1 | 1409 | ||||
| 2011 | 9–2 | 7–1 | 1424 | ||||
| 2010 | 7–4 | 6–2 | 1347 | ||||
| 2009 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 1338 | ||||
| 2008 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1302 | ||||
| 2007 | 6–5 | 3–4 | 1319 | ||||
| 2006 | 9–2 | 6–1 | 1406 | ||||
| 2005 | 6–4 | 4–2 | 1331 | ||||
| 2004 | 0–1 | 1252 | |||||
| 2003 | 1–1 | 1255 | |||||
| 1985 | 4–7 | 0–5 | Chuck Shelton | 1249 | -12.0 |
Every season back to 1899 (86 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 4–7 | 2–3 | Chuck Shelton | 1199 | -26.4 | ||
| 1983 | 1–10 | 1–6 | Chuck Shelton | 1155 | -19.3 | ||
| 1982 | 4–7 | 2–4 | Chuck Shelton | 1403 | -17.5 | ||
| 1981 | 10–1 | 5–1 | Chuck Shelton | 1557 | -0.3 | ||
| 1980 | 8–3 | 3–2 | Chuck Shelton | 1498 | -3.7 | ||
| 1979 | 3–8 | 1–4 | Chuck Shelton | 1299 | -15.3 | ||
| 1978 | 4–7 | 3–3 | Chuck Shelton | 1322 | -12.1 | ||
| 1977 | 2–9 | 1–5 | Chuck Shelton | 1252 | -29.0 | ||
| 1976 | 1–10 | 1–3 | Jack Wallace | 1241 | -19.7 | ||
| 1975 | 3–8 | 1–3 | Jack Wallace | 1275 | -21.3 | ||
| 1974 | 3–7–1 | 2–3–1 | Jack Wallace | 1223 | -20.8 | ||
| 1973 | 2–9 | 1–5 | Jack Wallace | 1220 | -22.0 | ||
| 1972 | 7–5 | 4–1 | Jack Wallace | 1384 | 7.9 | ||
| 1971 | 7–4 | 2–2 | Jack Wallace | 1413 | -15.3 | ||
| 1970 | 0–2 | 1440 | |||||
| 1969 | 1–0–1 | 1471 | |||||
| 1968 | 2–0 | 1429 | |||||
| 1967 | 0–3 | 1358 | |||||
| 1966 | 2–1 | 1420 | |||||
| 1965 | 0–3 | 1376 | |||||
| 1964 | 1–1 | 1426 | |||||
| 1963 | 0–1 | 1400 | |||||
| 1962 | 1–1 | Bus Mertes | 1397 | ||||
| 1961 | 0–3 | Bus Mertes | 1316 | ||||
| 1960 | 0–4 | 1278 | |||||
| 1959 | 0–4 | 1268 | |||||
| 1958 | 2–7 | Warren Gaer | 1263 | ||||
| 1957 | 7–2 | Warren Gaer | 1407 | ||||
| 1956 | 3–6 | Warren Gaer | 1299 | ||||
| 1955 | 4–4 | Warren Gaer | 1347 | ||||
| 1954 | 2–7 | Warren Gaer | 1236 | ||||
| 1953 | 4–4 | Warren Gaer | 1299 | ||||
| 1952 | 2–7 | Warren Gaer | 1256 | ||||
| 1951 | 7–2 | 3–1 | Warren Gaer | 1535 | |||
| 1950 | 6–2–1 | 1–2–1 | Warren Gaer | 1511 | |||
| 1949 | 6–2–1 | 3–1 | Warren Gaer | 1434 | |||
| 1948 | 7–3 | 1–1 | Al Kawal | 1395 | |||
| 1947 | 1–7–1 | 1–3 | Al Kawal | 1260 | |||
| 1946 | 2–6–1 | 0–4 | Vee Green | 1298 | |||
| 1945 | 5–4–1 | 1–2 | Vee Green | 1448 | |||
| 1944 | 7–2 | Vee Green | 1435 | ||||
| 1943 | 0–1 | 1325 | |||||
| 1942 | 3–7 | 1–4 | Vee Green | 1268 | |||
| 1941 | 4–5–1 | 0–3–1 | Vee Green | 1357 | |||
| 1940 | 4–5 | 2–2 | Vee Green | 1383 | |||
| 1939 | 5–5 | 2–3 | Vee Green | 1396 | |||
| 1938 | 5–4–1 | 1–1–1 | Vee Green | 1481 | |||
| 1937 | 8–2 | 3–1 | Vee Green | 1515 | |||
| 1936 | 6–4 | 3–2 | Vee Green | 1402 | |||
| 1935 | 4–4–2 | 1–2–1 | Vee Green | 1394 | |||
| 1934 | 3–6–1 | 2–2 | Vee Green | 1393 | |||
| 1933 | 6–3–1 | 5–1 | Vee Green | 1431 | |||
| 1932 | 2–6–1 | 1–3–1 | Evan O. Williams | 1327 | |||
| 1931 | 5–6 | 3–0 | Ossie Solem | 1400 | |||
| 1930 | 5–4 | 3–0 | Ossie Solem | 1568 | |||
| 1929 | 5–3–1 | 3–0–1 | Ossie Solem | 1544 | |||
| 1928 | 7–1 | 3–0 | Ossie Solem | 1559 | |||
| 1927 | 3–6 | 1–2 | Ossie Solem | 1421 | |||
| 1926 | 2–6 | 1–4 | Ossie Solem | 1458 | |||
| 1925 | 5–3 | 5–2 | Ossie Solem | 1559 | |||
| 1924 | 5–2–1 | 3–1–1 | Ossie Solem | 1563 | |||
| 1923 | 5–2 | 3–1 | Ossie Solem | 1575 | |||
| 1922 | 7–0 | 4–0 | Ossie Solem | 1613 | |||
| 1921 | 5–2 | 2–2 | Ossie Solem | 1479 | |||
| 1920 | 4–5–1 | 1–3–1 | Mark Banks | 1401 | |||
| 1919 | 4–3 | 2–2 | Mark Banks | 1360 | |||
| 1918 | 3–2 | 0–1 | Mark Banks | 1322 | |||
| 1917 | 0–5–2 | 0–3 | Ralph Glaze | 1245 | |||
| 1916 | 3–5 | 1–3 | Ralph Glaze | 1327 | |||
| 1915 | 2–6 | 1–4 | 1294 | ||||
| 1914 | 4–3–1 | 0–3–1 | 1371 | ||||
| 1913 | 4–3–1 | 1–3 | 1425 | ||||
| 1912 | 5–3 | 2–2 | 1441 | ||||
| 1911 | 5–2–1 | 0–2–1 | 1465 | ||||
| 1910 | 3–5 | 0–2 | John Griffith | 1439 | |||
| 1909 | 7–1 | 1–1 | John Griffith | 1522 | |||
| 1908 | 6–2 | 0–2 | John Griffith | 1463 | |||
| 1907 | 3–4–1 | Charles Pell | 1355 | ||||
| 1906 | 2–4–1 | Charles Pell | 1415 | ||||
| 1905 | 4–4 | Willie Heston | 1468 | ||||
| 1904 | 5–4 | W.J. Monilaw | 1481 | ||||
| 1903 | 5–3 | W.J. Monilaw | 1518 | ||||
| 1902 | 5–2–1 | G.O. Dietz | 1515 | ||||
| 1901 | 4–4 | Charles Best | 1477 | ||||
| 1900 | 6–3 | Charles Best | 1494 | ||||
| 1899few games on file | 0–1 | A.B. Potter | 1467 |
Officially 658–550–29 since 1893 (per Wikipedia, through the 2024 season); game by game here, 459–449–26 (934 of its 1,237 games are on file). Our file starts in 1899; the program began in 1893. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1986–2002: 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.