Nicholls Colonels
SouthlandThibodaux, LAManning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium
2026: 2–5 (1–3 Southland). Last: lost to Stephen F. Austin 56–0 at home. Next: at Northwestern State, Saturday, Oct 24, 3 p.m. ET.
- W 44–10Mississippi Valley State
- L 3–71at Kansas State
- W 31–28UT Rio Grande Valley
- L 0–59at Sam Houston
- L 18–49Lamar
- L 2–16at Houston Christian
- L 0–56Stephen F. Austin
- Oct 24at Northwestern State
- Oct 31at McNeese
- Nov 7East Texas A&M
- Nov 14at Incarnate Word
- Nov 19SE Louisiana
Nicholls has played football since 1972 and is officially 231–317–4; 281 of its 552 games are in our file. They have won four Southland Conference titles (the last in 2023), plus one Gulf Star Conference title, one Gulf South Conference title, counting shared titles. Since 1976, 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 Northwestern State: 26 meetings, Nicholls leads 17–9. This season, they’re 2–5.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 231–317–4 official; 107–174 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–1 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1189
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 85 · Composite No. 88 in FCS, Oct 17; down 7 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 6 last in 2023
- Seasons
- 42 since 1976, 281 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Nicholls State Colonels Fight Song
2026 season 2–5
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | vs Mississippi Valley State | W 44–10 | 73% |
| Sep 5 | at Kansas State | L 3–71 | 12% |
| Sep 12 | vs UT Rio Grande Valley | W 31–28 | 43% |
| Sep 19 | at Sam Houston | L 0–59 | 34% |
| Sep 26 | vs Lamar | L 18–49 | 45% |
| Oct 3 | at Houston Christian | L 2–16 | 45% |
| Oct 17 | vs Stephen F. Austin | L 0–56 | 19% |
| Oct 24 | at Northwestern State | Preview | 65% |
| Oct 31 | at McNeese | Preview | 33% |
| Nov 7 | vs East Texas A&M | Preview | 59% |
| Nov 14 | at Incarnate Word | Preview | 23% |
| Nov 19 | vs SE Louisiana | Preview | 35% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Ean Rodrigue860 passing yards, 9 TD (leads Nicholls in passing yards)
- Kennon Loftin52 tackles, 1 INT (leads Nicholls in tackles)
- Skylar Husband42 tackles, 2 INT (leads Nicholls in interceptions)
- Jordan Smith28 catches, 366 yards, 3 TD (leads Nicholls in receiving yards)
- Tamaj Hoffman302 rushing yards, 2 TD (leads Nicholls in rushing yards)
- Kasai Jones35 tackles, 2 sacks (leads Nicholls in sacks)
Program strength since 1976
Best seasons everMost-played series
All rivalries- Northwestern State
17–9 † in 26
- 2016 W 31–14
- 2017 W 14–10
- 2018 W 28–10
- 2019 W 45–35
- 2020 W 31–24
- 2021 W 42–21
- 2022 L 33–36
- 2023 W 1–0
- 2024 W 20–0
- 2025 W 26–21
Won the last three; holds the NSU Trophy.
Next: Oct 24
- McNeese
9–16 in 25
- 2016 L 13–38
- 2017 W 37–35
- 2018 L 10–20
- 2019 W 34–20
- 2020 L 31–43
- 2021 W 24–14
- 2022 W 40–35
- 2023 W 31–10
- 2024 W 24–19
- 2025 W 31–7
Won the last five.
Next: Oct 31
- SE Louisiana
9–12 in 21
- 2017 L 17–21
- 2018 W 44–0
- 2019 W 28–27
- 2020 L 45–52
- 2021 L 48–58
- 2021 W 45–42
- 2022 L 17–40
- 2023 W 21–16
- 2024 L 16–19
- 2025 L 26–38
Lost the last two.
Next: Nov 19
| Opponent | Games | NICH record |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern State | 26 | 17–9 † |
| McNeese | 25 | 9–16 |
| SE Louisiana | 21 | 9–12 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 19 | 6–13 |
| Sam Houston | 16 | 2–14 † |
| Lamar | 14 | 6–8 |
| Incarnate Word | 13 | 7–6 |
| Houston Christian | 13 | 10–3 |
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: SE Louisiana, Northwestern State, Texas State.
The trophy it holds: NSU Trophy (Northwestern State). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.
Every opponent (79)
Every program Nicholls has played, A to Z, with Nicholls’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Abilene Christian 1–2
- Air Force 0–2
- Akron 0–1
- Arkansas 0–1
- Arkansas State 1–0
- Arkansas Tech 1–0
- Assumption 1–0
- Azusa Pacific 1–0
- Bacone College 1–0
- Bethel University Tennessee 0–1 †
- Central Arkansas 1–9
- Cheyney 1–0
- Colorado 0–1
- Duquesne 1–0
- East Texas A&M 2–0
- Eastern Kentucky 0–1
- Eastern Washington 1–1
- Evangel University 2–0
- Florida A&M 1–0
- Florida Atlantic 0–1
- Furman 0–1
- Georgia 0–1
- Houston Christian 10–3
- Illinois State 0–2
- Incarnate Word 7–6
- Indiana 0–1
- Jacksonville State 0–2
- Kansas 1–0
- Kansas State 0–2
- Lamar 6–8
- Langston 1–0
- Lincoln (MO) 1–0
- Louisiana 0–3 †
- Louisiana Tech 0–5
- LSU 0–1
- McNeese 9–16
- Memphis 0–2
- Mississippi Valley State 2–0
- Nebraska 0–1
- Nevada 0–1
- North Alabama 1–0
- North Dakota 1–0
- North Dakota State 0–3
- North Texas 0–2
- Northern Iowa 0–1
- Northwestern State 17–9 †
- Oregon 0–1
- Oregon State 0–1
- Portland State 0–1
- Prairie View A&M 2–0
- Rice 1–0
- Sacramento State 0–2
- Sam Houston 2–14 †
- San Diego 1–0
- San Diego State 0–1
- SE Louisiana 9–12
- South Alabama 0–3
- South Dakota 0–1
- South Dakota State 0–1
- South Florida 0–1
- Southeast Missouri State 0–2
- Southern 1–0
- Southern Arkansas 2–0
- Southern Illinois 0–1
- Stephen F. Austin 6–13
- TCU 0–1
- Texas A&M 0–1
- Texas A&M–Kingsville 0–1
- Texas Southern 1–1 †
- Texas State 3–6 †
- Troy 0–2
- Tulane 0–2
- Tulsa 0–1
- UCF 0–1
- UL Monroe 1–12
- UT Rio Grande Valley 1–1
- West Georgia 0–1
- Western Carolina 0–1
- Western Michigan 1–2
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
6, counting shared titles- Gulf Star Conference 1
- 1984 (shared)
- Gulf South Conference 1
- 1975
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.
Conferences
- Gulf South Conference 1973–1978
- Independent 1979–1983
- Gulf Star Conference 1984–1986
- Independent 1987–1990
- Southland Conference since 1991
Nicholls’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time).
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 15 since 1976
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
Nicholls State University- Enrollment
- 6,043 5,518 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Thibodaux, Louisiana
- Public or private
- Public
- Founded
- 1948
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $45,454 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 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 1189 | ||||
| 2025 | 4–8 | 4–4 | 1238 | ||||
| 2024 | 4–8 | 2–5 | 1247 | ||||
| 2023 | 7–5 | 7–0 | 1342 | ||||
| 2022 | 3–8 | 3–4 | 1206 | ||||
| 2021 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1370 | ||||
| 2020 | 4–3 | 1351 | |||||
| 2019 | 9–5 | 7–2 | 1419 | ||||
| 2018 | 9–4 | 7–2 | 1430 | ||||
| 2017 | 8–4 | 7–2 | 1352 | ||||
| 2016 | 5–6 | 5–4 | 1267 | ||||
| 2015 | 3–7 | 3–5 | 1133 | ||||
| 2014 | 0–11 | 0–8 | 1036 | ||||
| 2013 | 4–8 | 1–6 | 1165 | ||||
| 2012 | 1–10 | 0–7 | 1085 | ||||
| 2011 | 1–10 | 0–7 | 1083 | ||||
| 2010 | 3–6 | 2–4 | 1223 | ||||
| 2009 | 3–8 | 2–5 | 1228 | ||||
| 2008 | 0–2 | 1274 | |||||
| 2007 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 1307 | ||||
| 2006 | 4–7 | 2–4 | 1267 | ||||
| 2005 | 6–4 | 5–1 | 1378 | ||||
| 2004 | 5–5 | 2–3 | 1275 | ||||
| 2003 | 5–6 | 3–2 | 1301 | ||||
| 2002 | 0–1 | 1251 |
Every season back to 1976 (17 more)
Officially 231–317–4 since 1972 (per Wikipedia, through the 2021 season); game by game here, 107–174 (281 of its 552 games are on file). Our file starts in 1976; the program began in 1972. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1982, 1984–86, 1989, 1991–94: 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.