Cumberland Phoenix football

src: pbs.twimg.com

The Cumberland Phoenix football team represents Cumberland University in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Mid-South Conference. The Phoenix formerly competed in the TranSouth Athletic Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Video Cumberland Phoenix football

History

Cumberland football began on October 26, 1894 with a 6-6 tie with Peabody and finished that first year with a 2-1-1 season record. The early days of Cumberland football were very promising. The pinnacle of the early days of CU football was the 1903 season that began with a (6-0) win over Vanderbilt then a (0-6) loss to Sewanee and continued with a five-day road trip with victories over Alabama (44-0) November 14, 1903, LSU (41-0) November 16, 1903, and Tulane (28-0) November 18, 1903. Cumberland would play a postseason game against Coach John Heisman's Clemson team on Thanksgiving Day that ended in an 11-11 tie and a record of 4-1-1 which gave Coach A. L. Phillips and Cumberland University the Championship of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The 1916 game against Georgia Tech is famous as the most lopsided-scoring game in the history of college football; Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland by a score of 222-0.

For the 2008 season, CU's football earned a share of the Mid-South Conference West Division. In 2016, the team changed its name from Bulldogs to the Phoenix.