Rhode Island Rams football

The Rhode Island Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Rhode Island located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (CAA Football).^[2] Rhode Island's first football team was fielded in 1895. The team plays its home games at the 6,555 seat Meade Stadium in Kingston, Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Rams football
2025 Rhode Island Rams football team
First season	1895; 130 years ago
Athletic director	Thorr Bjorn
Head coach	Jim Fleming 12th season, 48–69 (.410)
Stadium	Meade Stadium (capacity: 6,555)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Kingston, Rhode Island
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	CAA Football
All-time record	385–543–43 (.419)
Rivalries	Brown (rivalry) UConn (rivalry)
Colors	Keaney blue, navy blue, and white[1]
Website	GoRhody.com

Conference affiliations

Rhode Island has played as both an independent and conference-affiliated team.^{[3][page needed][better source needed]}

• Independent / Athletic League of New England State Colleges (1895–1946)^{[citation needed]}
• Yankee Conference (1947–1996)
• Atlantic 10 Conference (1997–2006)
• Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (2007–present)

Playoffs

The Rams have appeared in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs four times with a combined playoff record of 3–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1981	Quarterfinals	Idaho State	L 0–51
1984	Quarterfinals Semifinals	Richmond Montana State	W 23–17 L 20–32
1985	First Round Quarterfinals	Akron Furman	W 35–27 L 15–59
2024	First Round Second Round	Central Connecticut Mercer	W 21–17 L 10–17

Championships

Conference championships

The Rams have won eight conference championships, seven in the Yankee Conference and one in the Coastal Athletic Association.

The Yankee Conference titles were highlighted by two separate runs of numerous championships (four in five years during the 1950s and three in four years during the 1980s) and respective droughts between those run: a 24-year drought between titles in 1957 and 1981 and a 39-year drought between Rhode Island's final Yankee title in 1985 and their first CAA title in 2024.

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall record	Conference record
1952†	Yankee Conference (7)	Hal Kopp (3)	7–1	3–1
1953†			6–2	3–1
1955			6–1–2	4–0
1957†		Herb Maack (1)	5–2–1	3–0–1
1981†		Bob Griffin (3)	6–6	4–1
1984†			10–3	4–1
1985			10–3	5–0
2024†	Coastal Athletic Association (1)	Jim Fleming	10–2	7–1

• † notes Co-championship

Divisional championships

The Rams have won one division title, in 1995: the Yankee Conference's New England Division.

Year	Division championship	Opponent	Result
1995	Yankee New England Division	Delaware	L 19–24

Rivalries

Brown

Main article: Brown–Rhode Island football rivalry

UConn

Main article: Rhode Island–UConn football rivalry

Retired numbers

See also: List of NCAA football retired numbers

Rhode Island Rams retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Tenure	No. ret.	Ref.
12	Tom Ehrhardt	1983–1985	QB	1996	[4]

Notable former players

Main article: List of Rhode Island Rams in the NFL draft

• Derek Cassidy
• Chy Davidson
• Tom Ehrhardt
• Frank Ferrara
• Steve Furness
• Andy Gresh
• Chris Hixson
• Pat Narduzzi

Current NFL players

As of April 28, 2025, there is one former Rhode Island Rams player listed on team roster in the National Football League (NFL).^[5]

• Ajani Cornelius, right tackle, Dallas Cowboys

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 18, 2025.^[6]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031
at Holy Cross	at Temple	at Boston College	Brown	at Brown	at West Virginia	at Brown
LIU	Brown	at Brown	at Northern Illinois		Brown
at Western Michigan
vs Brown Pawtucket, RI