In 2022, under new head coach Rick Santos, New Hampshire was able to bounce back after seeing some struggles in 2021.

A less-than-stellar 2021 campaign featured a 3-8 overall record, which included a 2-6 performance in Coastal Athletic Association play.

The turnaround included a share of the CAA title (with William & Mary) at 7-1 and a 9-4 overall effort that included a two-round playoff run.

It was New Hampshire’s first CAA title and most regular-season wins since 2014. It was the team’s first playoff appearance since 2017.

After the conference title in 2014, New Hampshire turned in a respectable 5-3 conference record and 7-5 overall mark in 2015 but fell short of winning again.

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Will 2023 turn out differently?

CAA Football returns eight programs that finished with winning records in 2022. That includes William & Mary, which went 11-2 overall and tied with New Hampshire atop of the CAA standings with a 7-1 record. 

CAA football action will be streamed live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including all of New Hampshire’s CAA games.

Here’s What To Know About New Hampshire Football:

What Year Did New Hampshire Start Playing Football?

The gridiron history at the University of New Hampshire runs deep. It started in 1893, and the Wildcats went 50 games against a variety of opponents (16-32-2) through 1901 without a coach on record.

New Hampshire was not a member of any conference until 1923, when it joined the New England Conference. Then, the Wildcats played in the Yankee Conference (1947-1996) and Atlantic 10 Conference (1997-2006), both precursors to the modern-day CAA Football, which played its first official season in 2007.

When Did New Hampshire Join Division I College Football? 

The Wildcats played in Division II from 1973-1977. The move to Division I-AA now has them classified as part of the NCAA Division I FCS.

How Many Times Has New Hampshire Football Made It To The FCS Playoffs?

Including their 2022 playoff run, the Wildcats have qualified for the FCS Playoffs 17 times. They had a remarkable run of 14 consecutive years in the postseason from 2004-2017. Their first two appearances came in 1991 and 1994.

They’ve played 32 playoff games and compiled a 15-17 record. Their deepest runs led them to the semifinals in 2013 and 2014.

Their 2022 season ended with a second-round loss to Holy Cross (35-19).

When Did New Hampshire Football Join The CAA?

New Hampshire was among the original teams to begin play with the official start of CAA Football in 2007.

The Wildcats have compiled an 80-41 record in conference play since 2007, including personal-best 8-0 effort in 2014 and CAA titles in 2012 (four-way co-champions), 2014 and 2022 (shared with William & Mary).

Has New Hampshire Football Ever Won The CAA title?

Yes.

The Wildcats reached the CAA mountaintop in 2012 (four-way co-champions), 2014 and 2022 (shared with William & Mary).

According to the 2022 New Hampshire Football Yearbook, the Wildcats earned conference titles in 1947, 1948, 1950, 1953 (shared with Rhode Island), 1954, 1962, 1968 (shared with Connecticut), 1975, 1976, 1991 (shared with Delaware and Villanova), 1994, and 2005 (shared with Richmond).

New Hampshire also is credited with New England Conference titles in 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1942, 1944 and 1946.

Who Is The University Of New Hampshire Football Head Coach?

Rick Santos is the head coach of the New Hampshire football team, a role he officially stepped into at the end of 2021.

Santos made an immediate impact as the team’s head coach, leading the Wildcats to a co-CAA championship (with William & Mary) with a 7-1 record, which came on the way to a 8-3 regular-season mark and an at-large selection to the FCS Playoffs. It was the first CAA title and most regular-season wins since 2014.

New Hampshire downed Fordham in the opening round of the postseason, before bowing out against Holy Cross in Round 2, losing 35-19. It was the team’s first playoff appearance since a quarterfinal loss in 2017. New Hampshire’s 2022 season ended at 9-4.

Following the 2022 season, Santos was named the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I FCS Coach of the Year. Earlier, he’d been named CAA Football Coach of the Year.

Santos has a long history with the Wildcats. He was a record-setting quarterback from 2004-2007, a UNH Athletics Hall of Fame inductee in 2016 and a longtime coach within the program.

He served three years as an associate head coach and quarterbacks coach with the Wildcats, including a stint as interim head coach in 2019.

Previously, Santos coached the New Hampshire wide receivers from 2013-2015, which was followed by three seasons as the quarterback coach and passing game coordinator at Columbia University.

Santos passed for 13,212 yards and 123 touchdowns as the New Hampshire quarterback and led the Wildcats to their first Division I FCS playoff win in 2004. 

Who Is New Hampshire Football’s Biggest Rival? 

The long history of the New Hampshire football program is known to include three major rivals.

The first is Maine. The two have played 110 times, and since the 1940s, there’s more on the line than just bragging rights.

The tangible prize in The Border Battle is the Brice-Cowell Musket.

The prize is named after two former coaches, Maine’s Fred Brice and UNH’s William Cowell. The flintlock rifle was made between 1722 and 1745, and the winner of the annual battles keeps it until they meet again.

The game usually is played during the last week of the regular season, and the 2022 edition was a CAA title-clinching 42-41 overtime win for New Hampshire.

The Wildcats scored first in the extra period, and Maine answered with a score of its own, but ultimately fell short with a failed two-point conversion while going for the win.

New Hampshire leads the series 57-45-8. Maine last won in 2021 by a score of 33-20.

The second rivalry is a regular cross-state matchup with Dartmouth – not a conference game, but a state title game of sorts. 

The “Granite Bowl” first was held in 1901 and has taken place 41 times. New Hampshire won the 2022 game 14-0 to take control in the series 20-19-2.

The final rivalry on record is/was the Colonial Clash between New Hampshire and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), which first was held in 1897 and took place 74 times through 2011.

UMass holds the all-time advantage, 43-28-3, but things seem to have fizzled out since the two teams went in different directions as far as classifications and conferences.

Where Is The University Of New Hampshire?

The University of New Hampshire is located in Durham, New Hampshire.

The school was founded in 1866 as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts and made possible by federal government land grants, which were for creating colleges that would serve students from farming and laboring families. 

The college moved to Durham in 1891, and classes officially began there in 1893. In 1923, the governor changed the school’s name to the University of New Hampshire, and it was incorporated on July 1.

Notable New Hampshire Alums

• Jennifer Lee (screenwriter known for Disney’s Frozen)
• James Broderick (actor)
• Carlton Fisk (former MLB star)
• Tim Janis (musician)
• Steve Merrill (former governor of New Hampshire)

More than 50 former UNH football players have gone on to be drafted by NFL teams or signed as free agents.

New Hampshire Football Schedule 2023 

• Sept. 2: at Stonehill, 1 p.m. ET
• Sept. 9: at Central Michigan, 1:30 p.m. ET
• Sept. 16: Dartmouth, 6 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Sept. 23: at Delaware, 6 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Sept. 30: Towson, 3 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 14: UAlbany, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 21: at Stony Brook, 3:30 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 28: at Rhode Island, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Nov. 4: Villanova, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Nov. 11: at Monmouth, noon ET, FloSports
• Nov. 18: Maine, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports