The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football team represents Nebraska Wesleyan University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Prairie Wolves are members of the American Rivers Conference (ARC), fielding its team in the ARC since 2016 when it was named the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). Nebraska Wesleyan plays home games at Abel Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The team's head coach is Brian Keller, who took over the position for the 1996 season.
| Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1891 |
| Athletic director | Dwight Merilatt |
| Head coach | Jacob Donohoe 1st season, 0–0 (–) |
| Stadium | Abel Stadium (capacity: 2,500) |
| Location | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| NCAA division | Division III |
| Conference | ARC |
| All-time record | 515–478–42 (.518) |
| Conference championships | |
| 22 | |
| Rivalries | Doane |
| Colors | Gold and black |
| Mascot | Prairie Wolves |
| Website | nwusports.com/football |
Nebraska Wesleyan's athletic teams were known as the Coyotes in the early 1900s. The nickname was changed to the Plainsmen in 1933 and then to the Prairie Wolves in 2000.
Conference affiliations
NAIA / pre-NCAA
- Nebraska Conference (1911–1915; rebranded, 1926–1927; rebranded)
- Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference (1916–1923)
- North Central Conference (1924–1925)
- Nebraska College Athletic Conference (1928–1942)
- Nebraska College Conference (1946–1961)
- Great Plains College Association (1963–1964)
- Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1970–1991; rebranded)
- Nebraska–Iowa Athletic Conference (1992–1999; rebranded)
- Great Plains Athletic Conference (2000–2015)
NCAA
- Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (2016–2017; rebranded)
- American Rivers Conference (2018–present)
Championships
Conference championships
Nebraska Wesleyan claims 22 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2000.
| Year | Conference | Overall record | Conference record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | Nebraska Conference | 7–0 | N/A | William G. Kline |
| 1912 | 5–2–1 | N/A | ||
| 1913† | 4–3–1 | N/A | ||
| 1914 | 7–1 | N/A | ||
| 1915 | 6–3 | N/A | ||
| 1918 | Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference | 2–3 | N/A | William A. Norris |
| 1920 | 6–2–2 | 4–0–1 | Ray B. McCandless | |
| 1921 | 8–3 | 5–0 | ||
| 1925† | North Central Conference | 6–0–2 | 3–0–1 | Clarence L. Dow |
| 1931 | Nebraska College Athletic Conference | 4–3–1 | 4–0–1 | John D. Waldorf |
| 1932† | 4–3–1 | 4–0–1 | ||
| 1934 | 6–2–1 | 4–0 | John E. Roberts | |
| 1947† | Nebraska College Conference | 7–1–1 | 5–1–1 | George "Bus" Knight |
| 1963 | Great Plains College Association | 7–2 | 3–0 | Raymond Westover |
| 1964 | 7–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 1976† | Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | 6–3 | 4–1 | Harold G. Chaffee |
| 1983† | 7–3 | 4–1 | Orson Christensen | |
| 1986 | 7–3 | 5–0 | ||
| 1988 | 8–2 | 5–0 | Jim Svoboda | |
| 1989 | 10–2 | 5–0 | ||
| 1990† | 7–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 2000† | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 8–3 | 6–2 | Brian Keller |
† Co-champions
Postseason games
NAIA playoff games
The Prairie Wolves have appeared in the NAIA playoffs four times with an overall record of 1–4.
| Season | Coach | Playoff | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Jim Svoboda | First round | Evangel | L 14–45 |
| 1989 | First round Quarterfinals | Chadron State Wisconsin–La Crosse | W 46–43 L 0–29 | |
| 1991 | First round | Peru State | L 20–41 | |
| 2000 | Brian Keller | First round | Northwestern Oklahoma State | L 13–40 |
Bowl games
Nebraska Wesleyan has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | George Knight | Will Rogers Bowl | Pepperdine | L 13–38 |
List of head coaches
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Crawford | 1896 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | Charley Thomas | 1897 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0.714 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | Zora Clevenger | 1908; 1910 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | William G. Kline | 1909; 1911–1917 | 62 | 37 | 19 | 6 | 0.645 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | William A. Norris | 1918 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | Benjamin Beck | 1919 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0.778 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | Ray McCandless | 1920–1922 | 29 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 0.638 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Glenn Preston | 1923–1924 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0.588 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Clarence Dow | 1925–1926 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0.722 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Howard Durham | 1927 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0.056 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Francis Alabaster | 1928–1929 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0.361 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12 | John Waldorf | 1930–1932 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0.600 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | John E. Roberts | 1933–1934 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0.556 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 14 | George Farley | 1935; 1941–1942 | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 0.537 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | Dwight Thomas | 1936–1940 | 42 | 14 | 26 | 2 | 0.357 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | Allen Stroh | 1945 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | George Knight | 1946–1949 | 37 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 0.703 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 | Roy Roberston | 1950–1953 | 39 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 0.397 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | Keith Skogman | 1954–1959 | 56 | 21 | 32 | 3 | 0.402 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Raymond Westover | 1960–1968 | 78 | 36 | 40 | 2 | 0.474 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | Harold Chaffee | 1969–1981 | 118 | 55 | 61 | 2 | 0.475 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 22 | Orson Christensen | 1982–1986 | 49 | 29 | 20 | 0 | 0.592 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23 | Jim Svoboda | 1987–1993 | 71 | 51 | 20 | 0 | 0.718 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 24 | Steve Stanard | 1994–1995 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0.300 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 25 | Brian Keller | 1996–2025 | 292 | 133 | 159 | 0 | 0.455 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 26 | Jacob Donohoe | 2026–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Year-by-year results
| National champions | Conference champions | Bowl game berth | Playoff berth |
| Season | Year | Head coach | Association | Division | Conference | Record | Postseason | Final ranking | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Finish | Win | Loss | Tie | ||||||||
| Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves | ||||||||||||||
| 1896 | 1896 | Frank Crawford | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1897 | 1897 | Charley Thomas | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| No team from 1888 to 1907 | ||||||||||||||
| 1908 | 1908 | Zora Cleavenger | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1909 | 1909 | William G. Kline | 0 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1910 | 1910 | Zora Cleavenger | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1911 | 1911 | William G. Kline | Nebraska | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||
| 1912 | 1912 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1913 | 1913 | 4 | 3 | 1 | T-1st | – | – | – | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1914 | 1914 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1915 | 1915 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1916 | 1916 | NIC | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1917 | 1917 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3rd | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1918 | 1918 | William A. Norris | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1919 | 1919 | Benjamin Beck | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1920 | 1920 | Ray B. McCandless | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1921 | 1921 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st | – | – | – | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1922 | 1922 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3rd | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1923 | 1923 | Glenn A. Preston | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1924 | 1924 | NCC | 2 | 4 | 2 | T-5th | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1925 | 1925 | Clarence L. Dow | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1926 | 1926 | Nebraska | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1927 | 1927 | Howard Durham | 0 | 8 | 1 | 13th | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1928 | 1928 | Francis Alabaster | NCAC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3rd | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | ||
| 1929 | 1929 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1930 | 1930 | John D. Waldorf | 6 | 3 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1931 | 1931 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1st | 4 | 0 | 1 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1932 | 1932 | 4 | 3 | 1 | T-1st | 4 | 0 | 1 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1933 | 1933 | John E. Roberts | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1934 | 1934 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1st | 4 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1935 | 1935 | George M. Farley | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1936 | 1936 | Dwight P. Thomas | 5 | 3 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1937 | 1937 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4th | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1938 | 1938 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4th | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1939 | 1939 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1940 | 1940 | NAIA | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1941 | 1941 | George M. Farley | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3rd | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1942 | 1942 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| No team from 1943 to 1944 | ||||||||||||||
| 1945 | 1945 | Allen Stroh | NAIA | – | – | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1946 | 1946 | George "Bus" Knight | NCC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2nd | 4 | 0 | 2 | Playoff berth | — | ||
| 1947 | 1947 | 7 | 1 | 1 | T-1st | 5 | 1 | 1 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1948 | 1948 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1949 | 1949 | 4 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1950 | 1950 | Roy B. Robertson | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1951 | 1951 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1952 | 1952 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1953 | 1953 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7th | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | ||||
| 1954 | 1954 | Keith Skogman | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | |||
| 1955 | 1955 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1956 | 1956 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1957 | 1957 | 3 | 5 | 0 | T-4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1958 | 1958 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1959 | 1959 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1960 | 1960 | Raymond Westover | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1961 | 1961 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7th | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1962 | 1962 | – | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1963 | 1963 | GPCA | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | |||
| 1964 | 1964 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1965 | 1965 | – | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1966 | 1966 | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1967 | 1967 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1968 | 1968 | 1 | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | ||||
| 1969 | 1969 | Harold G. Chaffee | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | — | — | |||
| 1970 | 1970 | Division II | NIAC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||
| 1971 | 1971 | 7 | 2 | 0 | T-2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | 1972 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1973 | 1973 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1974 | 1974 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1975 | 1975 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1976 | 1976 | 6 | 3 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1977 | 1977 | 2 | 7 | 0 | T-4th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | 1978 | 5 | 4 | 0 | T-3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | 1979 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5th | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | ||||
| 1980 | 1980 | 3 | 6 | 0 | T-3rd | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | 1981 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | 1982 | Orson Christensen | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1983 | 1983 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1984 | 1984 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | 1985 | 6 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | 1986 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Conference champions | — | ||||
| 1987 | 1987 | James Svoboda | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1988 | 1988 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1989 | 1989 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1990 | 1990 | 7 | 2 | 0 | T-1st | 4 | 1 | 0 | Conference co-champions | — | ||||
| 1991 | 1991 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | ||||
| 1992 | 1992 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1993 | 1993 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | 1994 | Steve Standard | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1995 | 1995 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6th | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | 1996 | Brian Keller | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1997 | 1997 | – | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-3rd | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 1998 | 1998 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 1999 | 1999 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | 2000 | GPAC | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 6 | 2 | 0 | Playoff berth | — | |||
| 2001 | 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | T-5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | 2002 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-5th | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-3rd | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | 2004 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-5th | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | 2005 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5th | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | 2006 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | 2007 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4th | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | 2008 | 7 | 3 | 0 | T-3rd | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | 2009 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6th | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | 2010 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | 2011 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 | 6 | 4 | 0 | T-4th | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-6th | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 | NCAA | Division III | IIAC | 4 | 6 | 0 | T-5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | |
| 2017 | 2017 | 2 | 8 | 0 | T-7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 | A-R-C | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | |||
| 2019 | 2019 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T-7th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2020–21 | 2020–21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | T-6th | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2021 | 2021 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2022 | 2022 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9th | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 | 4 | 6 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 3 | 7 | 0 | T–6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8th | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | ||||
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