Richmond Spiders
PatriotRichmond, VAE. Claiborne Robins Stadium
2026: 5–2 (3–1 Patriot). Last: lost at Fordham 20–14. Next: Colgate, Saturday, Oct 24, 2 p.m. ET.
- W 35–14Bucknell
- W 28–21at Howard
- L 0–73at NC State
- W 24–21Georgetown
- W 13–9Furman
- W 40–31at Lafayette
- L 14–20at Fordham
- Oct 24Colgate
- Oct 31at Holy Cross
- Nov 7at Villanova
- Nov 14Lehigh
- Nov 21William & Mary
Richmond has played football since 1881 and is officially 606–678–53; 894 of its 1,337 games are in our file. They have won six Coastal Athletic Association titles (the last in 2024), plus four Southern Conference titles, three Atlantic 10 Conference titles, three Virginia Conference titles, one Yankee Conference title, counting shared titles. Since 1941, the NFL Draft has taken 23 players from here in its first seven rounds, 3 of them in the first round. Edwin Merrick (1951–1965) won more games here than any other coach: 53. The most-played rival is William & Mary: 81 meetings, William & Mary leads 40–39–2. This season, they’re 5–2.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 606–678–53 official; 406–458–30 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 2–3 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 1 ranked
- Elo now
- 1369
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 45 · Composite No. 41 in FCS, Oct 17; down 1 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 17 last in 2024
- Bowl record
- 1–1 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 112 since 1902, 894 games
2026 season 5–2
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs Bucknell | W 35–14 | 74% |
| Sep 5 | at Howard | W 28–21 | 58% |
| Sep 11 | at NC State | L 0–73 | 24% |
| Sep 19 | vs Georgetown | W 24–21 | 75% |
| Sep 26 | vs Furman | W 13–9 | 67% |
| Oct 3 | at Lafayette | W 40–31 | 55% |
| Oct 10 | at Fordham | L 14–20 | 74% |
| Oct 24 | vs Colgate | Preview | 67% |
| Oct 31 | at Holy Cross | Preview | 52% |
| Nov 7 | at Villanova | Preview | 38% |
| Nov 14 | vs Lehigh | Preview | 40% |
| Nov 21 | vs William & Mary | Preview | 72% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
On the 2026 team
- Ashten Snelsire1,365 passing yards, 11 TD (leads Richmond in passing yards)
- Aziz Foster-Powell534 rushing yards, 6 TD (leads Richmond in rushing yards)
- Blake Houser49 tackles, 2.5 sacks (leads Richmond in tackles)
- Daniel Sellers28 tackles, 6.5 sacks (leads Richmond in sacks)
- Bryce Allen29 catches, 361 yards, 3 TD (leads Richmond in receiving yards)
- Jackson Thorne45 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 Richmond.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1902
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Dal Shealy | 1980–1981 | 9–13 |
| Jim Tait | 1974–1979 | 21–44 |
| Frank Jones | 1966–1973 | 44–38 |
| Edwin Merrick | 1951–1965 | 53–87–6 |
| Karl Esleeck | 1948–1950 | 10–18–2 |
| John Fenlon | 1946–1947 | 9–9–3 |
 Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1934–1941 | 41–26–9 |
 Frank Dobson | 1913–1933 | 31–49–7 |
| Sam Honaker | 1911 | 0–1 |
| E.V. Long | 1910 | 0–1 |
| E.A. Dunlap | 1906–1909 | 3–10–2 |
| Harry Wall | 1904 | 0–1 |
| Graham Hobson | 1902 | 0–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- William & Mary
39–40–2 in 81
- 2016 L 13–34
- 2017 W 27–20
- 2018 W 10–6
- 2019 L 15–21
- 2020 W 21–14
- 2021 W 20–17
- 2022 L 26–37
- 2023 W 27–26
- 2024 W 27–0
- 2025 W 28–21
Won the last three; holds the Capital Cup.
Next: Nov 21
- VMI
33–32–5 in 70
- 2003 W 35–25
- 2004 W 34–7
- 2005 W 38–3
- 2006 W 58–7
- 2008 W 56–16
- 2009 W 38–28
- 2011 W 34–19
- 2013 W 34–0
- 2015 W 42–10
- 2025 W 38–14
Won the last 10.
- Virginia Tech
10–37–4 in 51
- 1977 W 17–14
- 1979 L 0–34
- 1980 W 18–7
- 1981 L 12–28
- 1982 L 9–20
- 1983 L 0–38
- 1984 L 13–21
- 1985 W 24–14
- 1986 L 10–17
- 2021 L 10–21
Lost the last two.
| Opponent | Games | RICH record |
|---|---|---|
| William & Mary | 81 | 39–40–2 |
| VMI | 70 | 33–32–5 |
| Virginia Tech | 51 | 10–37–4 |
| Davidson | 30 | 20–9–1 |
| Virginia | 29 | 3–24–2 |
| Randolph Macon | 29 | 23–2–4 |
| West Virginia | 25 | 3–21–1 |
| The Citadel | 25 | 13–12 |
Rivals the program names: William & Mary, James Madison, VMI.
The trophy it holds: Capital Cup (William & Mary, since 2023). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.
Every opponent (130)
Every program Richmond has played, A to Z, with Richmond’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alabama 0–1
- App State 2–3
- Arkansas State 2–1
- Army 0–1
- Auburn 0–1
- Ball State 0–2
- Boston College 1–5
- Boston University 1–1
- Bowling Green 1–1
- Bryant 1–0
- Bucknell 3–1
- Buffalo 0–2
- Camp Pickett 1–0
- Campbell 2–0
- Catawba 0–1
- Catholic 1–0
- Charleston Coast Guard 1–0
- Charleston Southern 1–0
- Chattanooga 0–2
- Cincinnati 3–3
- Coastal Carolina 1–1
- Colgate 3–1
- Cornell 1–4
- Curtis Bay Coast Guard 1–0
- Davidson 20–9–1
- Davis & Elkins 1–0
- Dayton 0–4
- Delaware 11–7
- Delaware State 2–0
- Duke 4–9
- Duquesne 0–1
- East Carolina 11–13
- Eastern Kentucky 2–0
- Eastern Washington 0–1
- Elon 10–5
- Emory & Henry 3–2
- Florida 0–2
- Florida State 0–3
- Fordham 2–2
- Franklin & Marshall 0–2–1
- Furman 16–8
- Gardner-Webb 0–1
- George Washington 8–5
- Georgetown 5–3
- Georgia 0–3
- Georgia State 1–0
- Gettysburg 1–0
- Guilford 1–0
- Hampden Sydney 19–1–2
- Hampton 5–1
- Hofstra 3–1
- Holy Cross 0–2
- Howard 4–0
- Illinois State 1–0
- Jacksonville 1–0
- James Madison 8–13
- Johns Hopkins 0–1
- Lafayette 1–4
- Lehigh 2–2
- Liberty 2–0
- Louisville 0–1
- Lynchburg 3–0
- Maine 7–6
- Maryland 3–9–1
- Massachusetts 4–3
- Miami 0–1
- Michigan State 0–0 †
- Mississippi State 0–2
- Morehead State 1–0
- Morgan State 1–1
- Navy 0–2
- NC State 1–15
- New Hampshire 4–5
- Newport News 4–0–1
- Norfolk Marines 1–0
- Norfolk State 1–0–1
- North Carolina 2–10
- North Carolina A&T 3–0
- North Carolina Central 1–0
- North Dakota 1–0
- North Dakota State 0–1
- North Texas 0–2
- Northeastern 2–1
- Oceana NAS 1–0
- Ohio 1–2
- Old Dominion 0–2
- Parsons 0–1
- Pennsylvania 1–0
- Portsmouth Fleet 0–1
- Randolph Macon 23–2–4
- Rhode Island 7–2
- Rhodes 1–0
- Richmond Field 2–0
- Roanoke 6–3–1
- Rollins 0–1–1
- Rutgers 0–6–1
- Sacramento State 0–1
- Saint Francis 2–0
- Sam Houston 0–1
- South Carolina 0–1
- Southern Miss 2–14
- St. John’s (Maryland) 1–0
- Stetson 0–1
- Stony Brook 5–4
- Syracuse 0–1
- Temple 0–1
- Tennessee 0–1
- The Citadel 13–12
- Toledo 0–3
- Towson 9–4
- Tulsa 0–1
- UAlbany 7–1
- UCF 1–0
- UL Monroe 1–1
- Vanderbilt 0–3
- Villanova 10–14
- Virginia 3–24–2
- Virginia Boat Club 0–0–1
- Virginia Tech 10–37–4
- VMI 33–32–5
- Wagner 1–0
- Wake Forest 7–7–1
- Washington and Lee 6–11
- West Texas 0–1
- West Virginia 3–21–1
- William & Mary 39–40–2
- Wisconsin 0–1
- Wofford 2–1
- Wyoming 0–2
- Yale 0–1
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
17, counting shared titles- Yankee Conference 1
- 1987 (shared)
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
- Independent 1881–1882, 1885–1895 and 1897–1899
- Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1900–1910
- South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1911–1921
- Independent 1922–1926
- Virginia Conference 1927–1935
- Independent 1976–1985
- Yankee Conference 1986–1996
- Atlantic 10 1997–2006
- CAA 2007–2022
- Coastal Athletic Conference 2023–2024
- Patriot Conference since 2025
- 1997Joined the Atlantic 10 from the Yankee Conference in football. Source
- 2007Joined the CAA from the Atlantic 10 in football. Source
- 2025Joined the Patriot Conference from the Coastal Athletic Conference in football, announced May 14, 2024. Source
Richmond’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).
Consensus All-Americans 2
| 1978 | Jeff Nixon DB |
| 1969 | Walker Gillette E |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 23 since 1941
- First-round picks
- 3
| 1982 | Barry Redden RB | No. 14, Los Angeles Rams |
| 1974 | Barty Smith RB | No. 12, Green Bay Packers |
| 1970 | Walker Gillette WR | No. 15, San Diego Chargers |
The school
University of Richmond- Enrollment
- 3,722 3,055 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- University of Richmond, Virginia
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit
- Founded
- 1830
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $76,178 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 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1369 | ||||
| 2025 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 1375 | ||||
| 2024 | 10–3 | 7–0 | 1466 | ||||
| 2023 | 9–4 | 7–1 | 1435 | ||||
| 2022 | 9–4 | 6–2 | 1462 | ||||
| 2021 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1371 | ||||
| 2020 | 3–1 | 1352 | |||||
| 2019 | 5–7 | 4–4 | 1294 | ||||
| 2018 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1267 | ||||
| 2017 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1426 | ||||
| 2016 | 10–4 | 5–3 | 1473 | ||||
| 2015 | 10–4 | 6–2 | 1510 | ||||
| 2014 | 9–5 | 5–3 | 1398 | ||||
| 2013 | 6–6 | 4–4 | 1394 | ||||
| 2012 | 6–3 | 6–2 | 1393 | ||||
| 2011 | 3–8 | 0–8 | 1301 | ||||
| 2010 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 1468 | ||||
| 2009 | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1588 | ||||
| 2008 | 10–3 | 6–2 | 1568 | ||||
| 2007 | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1552 | ||||
| 2006 | 7–5 | 3–5 | 1391 | ||||
| 2005 | 9–4 | 7–1 | 1474 | ||||
| 2004 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1214 | ||||
| 2003 | 2–9 | 1–8 | 1172 | ||||
| 2002 | 0–1 | 1274 |
Every season back to 1902 (87 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0–2 | 1285 | |||||
| 2000 | 1–1 | 1296 | |||||
| 1998 | 0–1 | 1278 | |||||
| 1997 | 0–1 | 1274 | |||||
| 1990 | 0–1 | 1272 | |||||
| 1987 | 0–1 | 1278 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–2 | 1285 | |||||
| 1985 | 1–1 | 1296 | |||||
| 1984 | 0–3 | 1232 | |||||
| 1983 | 3–8 | 1239 | -30.2 | ||||
| 1982 | 0–10 | 1238 | -32.0 | ||||
| 1981 | 4–7 | Dal Shealy | 1379 | -6.3 | |||
| 1980 | 5–6 | Dal Shealy | 1389 | -4.4 | |||
| 1979 | 0–11 | Jim Tait | 1250 | -26.1 | |||
| 1978 | 3–8 | Jim Tait | 1414 | -2.2 | |||
| 1977 | 3–8 | Jim Tait | 1381 | -14.4 | |||
| 1976 | 5–6 | Jim Tait | 1455 | 14.2 | |||
| 1975 | 5–6 | 5–1 | Jim Tait | 1392 | 0.0 | ||
| 1974 | 5–5 | 3–3 | Jim Tait | 1385 | -15.3 | ||
| 1973 | 8–2 | 5–1 | Frank Jones | 1537 | 14.3 | ||
| 1972 | 6–4 | 5–1 | Frank Jones | 1444 | -0.4 | ||
| 1971 | 5–6 | 5–1 | Frank Jones | 1398 | -3.5 | ||
| 1970 | 4–6 | 3–3 | Frank Jones | 1431 | -15.6 | ||
| 1969 | 6–4 | 5–1 | Frank Jones | 1515 | |||
| 1968 | 8–3 | 6–0 | Frank Jones | 1534 | |||
| 1967 | 5–5 | 5–2 | Frank Jones | 1328 | |||
| 1966 | 2–8 | 2–4 | Frank Jones | 1210 | |||
| 1965 | 0–10 | 0–6 | Edwin Merrick | 1186 | |||
| 1964 | 3–7 | 2–4 | Edwin Merrick | 1313 | |||
| 1963 | 3–6–1 | 2–2–1 | Edwin Merrick | 1391 | |||
| 1962 | 6–3 | 3–2 | Edwin Merrick | 1468 | |||
| 1961 | 5–5 | 5–2 | Edwin Merrick | 1422 | |||
| 1960 | 3–6–1 | 3–4–1 | Edwin Merrick | 1351 | |||
| 1959 | 4–5–1 | 4–3–1 | Edwin Merrick | 1426 | |||
| 1958 | 3–7 | 3–4 | Edwin Merrick | 1392 | |||
| 1957 | 4–6 | 2–4 | Edwin Merrick | 1340 | |||
| 1956 | 4–5 | 2–5 | Edwin Merrick | 1396 | |||
| 1955 | 4–3–2 | 3–2–2 | Edwin Merrick | 1479 | |||
| 1954 | 5–4 | 2–3 | Edwin Merrick | 1425 | |||
| 1953 | 5–3–1 | 3–3 | Edwin Merrick | 1375 | |||
| 1952 | 1–9 | 0–6 | Edwin Merrick | 1211 | |||
| 1951 | 3–8 | 2–6 | Edwin Merrick | 1232 | |||
| 1950 | 2–8 | 1–8 | Karl Esleeck | 1234 | |||
| 1949 | 3–7 | 2–6 | Karl Esleeck | 1278 | |||
| 1948 | 5–3–2 | 3–3–1 | Karl Esleeck | 1381 | |||
| 1947 | 3–7 | 1–5 | John Fenlon | 1281 | |||
| 1946 | 6–2–3 | 3–2–2 | John Fenlon | 1342 | |||
| 1945 | 2–6 | 0–4 | 1142 | ||||
| 1944 | 2–6 | 0–4 | 1187 | ||||
| 1943 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 1343 | ||||
| 1942 | 3–6–1 | 1–5 | 1226 | ||||
| 1941 | 2–7 | 0–6 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1272 | |||
| 1940 | 6–3 | 3–2 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1341 | |||
| 1939 | 7–1–2 | 3–1–1 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1395 | |||
| 1938 | 6–3–1 | 3–2–1 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1345 | |||
| 1937 | 5–4–1 | 2–3 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1393 | |||
| 1936 | 4–4–2 | 1–3 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1360 | |||
| 1935 | 3–3–3 | 0–0–1 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1419 | |||
| 1934 | 8–1 | 1–0 | Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1508 | |||
| 1933 | 5–4 | 0–1 | Frank Dobson | 1429 | |||
| 1932 | 4–2–2 | 1–0 | Frank Dobson | 1448 | |||
| 1931 | 1–1 | Frank Dobson | 1420 | ||||
| 1930 | 0–2 | Frank Dobson | 1366 | ||||
| 1929 | 0–2 | Frank Dobson | 1356 | ||||
| 1928 | 0–0–1 | Frank Dobson | 1393 | ||||
| 1927 | 0–3 | Frank Dobson | 1333 | ||||
| 1926 | 1–2 | Frank Dobson | 1347 | ||||
| 1925 | 3–6 | Frank Dobson | 1290 | ||||
| 1924 | 2–6–1 | Frank Dobson | 1306 | ||||
| 1923 | 3–5 | Frank Dobson | 1394 | ||||
| 1922 | 6–2–1 | Frank Dobson | 1524 | ||||
| 1921 | 4–3–1 | 1–2–1 | Frank Dobson | 1438 | |||
| 1920 | 1–2 | 0–2 | Frank Dobson | 1420 | |||
| 1919few games on file | 0–1–1 | 0–1–1 | Frank Dobson | 1437 | |||
| 1917few games on file | 0–1 | Frank Dobson | 1422 | ||||
| 1916few games on file | 0–2 | 0–2 | Frank Dobson | 1408 | |||
| 1915few games on file | 0–2 | 0–1 | Frank Dobson | 1405 | |||
| 1914few games on file | 0–3 | 0–1 | Frank Dobson | 1392 | |||
| 1913few games on file | 1–0 | Frank Dobson | 1420 | ||||
| 1911few games on file | 0–1 | 0–1 | Sam Honaker | 1370 | |||
| 1910few games on file | 0–1 | E.V. Long | 1355 | ||||
| 1909 | 3–5–2 | 0–1 | E.A. Dunlap | 1304 | |||
| 1908few games on file | 0–2 | E.A. Dunlap | 1392 | ||||
| 1907few games on file | 0–2 | E.A. Dunlap | 1433 | ||||
| 1906few games on file | 0–1 | E.A. Dunlap | 1456 | ||||
| 1904few games on file | 0–1 | Harry Wall | 1460 | ||||
| 1902few games on file | 0–1 | Graham Hobson | 1468 |
Officially 606–678–53 since 1881 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 406–458–30 (894 of its 1,337 games are on file). Our file starts in 1902; the program began in 1881. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1903, 1905, 1912, 1918, 1988–89, 1991–96, 1999: 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.