Hatters

That modest scale fits a program that has spent most of its history away from the field rather than on it. Stetson fielded Florida's first intercollegiate college football team in 1901, opening with a 6–0 win over Florida Agricultural College under Seaton Fleming. The high point came in 1952, when Joe McMullen's team beat Arkansas State 35–20 to win the Tangerine Bowl. The program did not survive the 1950s. It shut down after the 1956 season and stayed dormant for 57 years, a gap long enough that when Roger Hughes brought football back to DeLand in 2013, he was effectively starting over rather than rebuilding. Hughes stayed in charge until 2021, longer than any coach since Herb McQuillan spanned two separate stints between 1924 and 1956. The revived Hatters compete in the Pioneer Football League within the Football Championship Subdivision, and their most productive alumnus of the modern era, Donald Parham, left as the program's all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns before moving on to the Los Angeles Chargers. Donald Payne became the first Stetson player to reach the NFL, signing with the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. The old rivalry with Jacksonville ended when that program folded in 2016, leaving Mercer, Rollins and Southern College as the opponents on the schedule. Since coming back, though, the Hatters have yet to add a conference championship to their history; a runner-up finish in 2018 remains the closest they have come.