Western Carolina Catamounts
SouthernCullowhee, NCE. J. Whitmire Stadium
2026: 3–4 (1–2 Southern). Last: lost at Mercer 17–14. Next: Chattanooga, Saturday, Oct 24, 2:30 p.m. ET.
- W 45–21Eastern Kentucky
- L 19–28at Campbell
- L 10–62at Cincinnati
- W 58–14Presbyterian
- L 31–58at East Tennessee State
- W 44–20Tennessee Tech
- L 14–17at Mercer
- Oct 24Chattanooga
- Oct 31at Furman
- Nov 7Wofford
- Nov 14at Samford
- Nov 21The Citadel
- Sudler Trophy, 2009
Western Carolina has played football since 1931 and is officially 341–502–23; 365 of its 866 games are in our file. They have won one North State Conference title (1949), counting shared titles. Bob Waters (1977–1981) won more games here than any other coach: 25. The most-played rival is Furman: 31 meetings, Furman leads 23–7–1. This season, they’re 3–4.
On this date in 2024Western Carolina beat Furman 52–20 on the road.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 341–502–23 official; 124–239–2 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
- 1356
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 34 · Composite No. 27 in FCS, Oct 17; up 1 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 1 last in 1949
- Bowl record
- 0–1 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 54 since 1971, 365 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Fight On You Catamounts
- Band
- Western Carolina University Pride of the Mountains Marching Band since 1938, 450 members
2026 season 3–4
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs Eastern Kentucky | W 45–21 | 63% |
| Sep 6 | at Campbell | L 19–28 | 60% |
| Sep 12 | at Cincinnati | L 10–62 | 21% |
| Sep 19 | vs Presbyterian | W 58–14 | 56% |
| Sep 26 | at East Tennessee State | L 31–58 | 48% |
| Oct 3 | vs Tennessee Tech | W 44–20 | 40% |
| Oct 10 | at Mercer | L 14–17 | 35% |
| Oct 24 | vs Chattanooga | Preview | 60% |
| Oct 31 | at Furman | Preview | 56% |
| Nov 7 | vs Wofford | Preview | 59% |
| Nov 14 | at Samford | Preview | 73% |
| Nov 21 | vs The Citadel | Preview | 77% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Lex Thomas1,693 passing yards, 8 TD (leads Western Carolina in passing yards)
- Josh Perry455 rushing yards, 5 TD (leads Western Carolina in rushing yards)
- A.J. Colombo34 catches, 414 yards (leads Western Carolina in receiving yards)
- Joshua Collins38 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT (leads Western Carolina in tackles)
- Jayden Cornelius29 tackles, 3 INT (leads Western Carolina in interceptions)
- Jai Boyd22 catches, 328 yards, 4 TD (leads Western Carolina in receiving touchdowns)
Program strength since 1971
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Waters | 1977–1981 | 25–28–2 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Furman
7–23–1 in 31
- 2016 L 21–49
- 2017 L 6–28
- 2018 L 38–44
- 2019 L 7–28
- 2020 L 7–35
- 2021 W 43–42
- 2022 L 40–47
- 2023 L 17–29
- 2024 W 52–20
- 2025 W 52–7
Won the last two.
Next: Oct 31
- Chattanooga
10–20 in 30
- 2015 L 13–41
- 2016 L 25–38
- 2017 W 45–7
- 2018 L 6–26
- 2019 L 36–60
- 2021 L 17–45
- 2022 W 32–29
- 2023 W 52–50
- 2024 W 38–34
- 2025 W 35–28
Won the last four.
Next: Oct 24
- The Citadel
12–17 in 29
- 2016 L 14–37
- 2017 W 31–19
- 2018 L 24–38
- 2019 L 17–35
- 2020 W 21–14
- 2021 W 45–31
- 2022 L 21–34
- 2023 W 49–14
- 2024 W 30–16
- 2025 W 45–38
Won the last three.
Next: Nov 21
| Opponent | Games | WCU record |
|---|---|---|
| Furman | 31 | 7–23–1 |
| Chattanooga | 30 | 10–20 |
| The Citadel | 29 | 12–17 |
| Wofford | 26 | 12–14 |
| App State | 21 | 7–14 |
| Samford | 18 | 5–13 |
| East Tennessee State | 17 | 8–9 |
| Elon | 15 | 7–8 |
Rivals the program names: App State, East Tennessee State, Furman.
Every opponent (67)
Every program Western Carolina has played, A to Z, with Western Carolina’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alabama 0–4 †
- App State 7–14
- Arkansas 0–1
- Auburn 0–3
- Boston College 0–1
- Brevard 1–0
- Campbell 1–2
- Catawba 1–0
- Charleston Southern 2–0
- Chattanooga 10–20
- Chowan 1–0
- Cincinnati 0–2
- Clemson 0–5
- Coastal Carolina 0–1
- Davidson 1–0
- Duke 0–3
- East Carolina 0–7
- East Tennessee State 8–9
- Eastern Kentucky 4–3
- Elon 7–8
- Florida 0–1
- Florida State 0–3
- Furman 7–23–1
- Gardner-Webb 5–5
- Georgia 0–2
- Georgia Southern 0–11
- Georgia Tech 0–6
- Hawai’i 0–1
- Indiana State 1–0
- Jacksonville State 0–1
- Johnson C. Smith 1–0
- Kansas 0–1
- Lenoir Rhyne 1–0
- Liberty 0–3
- Louisville 0–1
- LSU 0–1
- Maine 1–0
- Mars Hill 5–0
- Marshall 4–1–1
- Maryland 0–1
- Mercer 2–11
- Middle Tennessee 1–2
- Montana 0–1
- NC State 0–8
- Newberry 1–0
- Nicholls 1–0
- North Carolina 0–3
- North Greenville 1–0
- Oklahoma 0–1
- Presbyterian 5–1
- Samford 5–13
- Shorter 1–0
- South Carolina 0–5
- South Florida 0–1
- Southern Illinois 0–1
- Tennessee 0–1
- Tennessee Tech 2–3
- Texas A&M 0–1
- The Citadel 12–17
- Toledo 0–1
- Tusculum 0–1
- Vanderbilt 0–1
- Virginia Tech 0–1
- VMI 12–3
- Wake Forest 0–4
- West Virginia State 1–0
- Wofford 12–14
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
1, counting shared titles- North State Conference 1
- 1949
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 1931–1932 and 1968–1976
- Southern Conference since 1982
Western Carolina’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time).
Led the nation 1
| 1977 | Wayne Tolleson receptions (73 catches) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 4 since 1988
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
Western Carolina University- Enrollment
- 11,686 10,112 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Cullowhee, North Carolina
- Public or private
- Public
- Founded
- 1889
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $49,458 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 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 1356 | ||||
| 2025 | 7–5 | 6–2 | 1368 | ||||
| 2024 | 7–5 | 6–2 | 1390 | ||||
| 2023 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1346 | ||||
| 2022 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1282 | ||||
| 2021 | 4–7 | 4–4 | 1245 | ||||
| 2020 | 1–8 | 1113 | |||||
| 2019 | 3–9 | 2–6 | 1151 | ||||
| 2018 | 3–8 | 1–7 | 1191 | ||||
| 2017 | 7–5 | 5–3 | 1334 | ||||
| 2016 | 2–9 | 1–7 | 1204 | ||||
| 2015 | 7–4 | 5–2 | 1365 | ||||
| 2014 | 7–5 | 5–2 | 1297 | ||||
| 2013 | 2–10 | 1–7 | 1106 | ||||
| 2012 | 1–10 | 0–8 | 1092 | ||||
| 2011 | 1–10 | 0–8 | 1081 | ||||
| 2010 | 2–9 | 1–7 | 1143 | ||||
| 2009 | 2–9 | 1–7 | 1180 | ||||
| 2008 | 3–9 | 1–7 | 1152 | ||||
| 2007 | 1–10 | 0–7 | 1121 | ||||
| 2006 | 2–9 | 0–7 | 1183 | ||||
| 2005 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 1318 | ||||
| 2004 | 4–7 | 2–5 | 1234 | ||||
| 2003 | 5–7 | 3–5 | 1251 | ||||
| 2002 | 0–1 | 1266 |
Every season back to 1971 (29 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0–1 | 1267 | |||||
| 2000 | 0–1 | 1258 | |||||
| 1999 | 0–1 | 1257 | |||||
| 1998 | 0–1 | 1260 | |||||
| 1995 | 0–1 | 1262 | |||||
| 1994 | 0–2 | 1260 | |||||
| 1993 | 0–1 | 1262 | |||||
| 1992 | 0–1 | 1257 | |||||
| 1991 | 0–2 | 1242 | |||||
| 1990 | 0–2 | 1249 | |||||
| 1989 | 0–2 | 1254 | |||||
| 1988 | 0–2 | 1256 | |||||
| 1987 | 0–2 | 1264 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–3 | 1271 | |||||
| 1985 | 0–2 | 1293 | |||||
| 1984 | 0–1 | 1304 | |||||
| 1983 | 0–3 | 1315 | |||||
| 1982 | 0–2 | 1386 | |||||
| 1981 | 4–7 | 3–4 | Bob Waters | 1371 | -15.6 | ||
| 1980 | 3–7–1 | 2–4–1 | Bob Waters | 1342 | -15.3 | ||
| 1979 | 6–5 | 2–4 | Bob Waters | 1418 | -7.1 | ||
| 1978 | 6–5 | 4–2 | Bob Waters | 1392 | 0.4 | ||
| 1977 | 6–4–1 | 2–2–1 | Bob Waters | 1280 | -14.8 | ||
| 1976 | 0–3 | 1145 | |||||
| 1975 | 1–4 | 1190 | |||||
| 1974 | 1–0 | 1217 | |||||
| 1973 | 2–0 | 1207 | |||||
| 1972 | 3–0 | 1204 | |||||
| 1971 | 0–1 | 1088 |
Officially 341–502–23 since 1931 (per Wikipedia, through the 2019 season); game by game here, 124–239–2 (365 of its 866 games are on file). Our file starts in 1971; the program began in 1931. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1996–97: 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.