Western Connecticut Wolves football

The Western Connecticut Wolves football (often stylized as WestConn) team represents Western Connecticut State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Wolves are members of the Landmark Conference, fielding its team in the Landmark Conference since 2025. The Wolves play their home games at the WAC in Danbury, Connecticut.^[3] The team was previously known as the Western Connecticut Colonials and Western Connecticut Indians.

Western Connecticut Wolves football
First season	1969; 56 years ago (1969)
Athletic director	Lori Mazza
Head coach	Kevin Jones 1st season, 00–00 (–)
Stadium	The WAC (capacity: 4,500)
Year built	1995
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Danbury, Connecticut
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	Landmark
Past conferences	NAIA Independent NEFC Division III Independent FFC NJAC MASCAC
All-time record	230–282–4 (.450)
Bowl record	4–2 (.667)
Playoff appearances	4
Playoff record	1–4
Conference titles	4
Rivalries	Framingham State[1]
Colors	Deep blue and Starbust orange[2]
Mascot	Wolves
Website	westconnathletics.com

Their head coach is Kevin Jones, who took over the position for the 2025 season.^[4]

History

Western Connecticut State College, now known as Western Connecticut State University, established its college football team in 1969, initially named the Western Connecticut Indians. The team's first head coach was Jim Krayeske, who guided them to a 2–2–1 record during their debut season in the Freedom Football League.^[5] In recognition of his contributions, Krayeske was inducted into the WestConn Hall of Fame in 2013.^[6] The team held their inaugural home game on October 25, 1969, at Osborne Street Field, where they faced New Haven.^[7]

Conference affiliations

• NAIA Independent (1970–1976)
• New England Football Conference (1979–1985)
• Division III Independent (1986–1991)
• Freedom Football Conference (1992–2003)^[8]
• New Jersey Athletic Conference (2004–2012)^[9]
• Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present)^[10]

Championships

Conference championships

Western Connecticut claims 4 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2023.

Year	Conference	Overall Record	Conference Record	Coach
1985†	New England Football Conference	10–2	8–1	Paul Pasqualoni
1999	Freedom Football Conference	10–1	6–0	John Cervino
2001†		8–2	5–1	Bob Surace
2023†	Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference	10–2	8–1	Joe Loth

† Co-champions

Postseason games

NCAA Division III playoff games

The Wolves have made four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 1–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1985	First Round	Montclair State	L, 0–28
1999	Second Round	Montclair State	L, 24–32
2001	First Round Second Round	Westfield State Rowan	W, 8–7 L, 14–43
2023	First Round	Johns Hopkins	L, 20–62

Bowl games

Western Connecticut has participated in ten bowl games, and has a record of 4-2.

Season	Coach	Bowl	Opponent	Result
2000	Bob Surace	ECAC Bowl	Nichols	W 63–10
2013	Joe Loth	ECAC Bowl	Salve Regina	W 48–35
2014		ECAC Bowl	St. John Fisher	L 14–28
2019		New England Bowl	WPI	L 6–35
2024		ECAC Bowl	Alfred	W 45-14

List of head coaches

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list

General		Overall		Conference		Postseason[A 1]
No.	Order of coaches[A 2]	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[A 3]	C%	Conference winning percentage
†	Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame	O%	Overall winning percentage[A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards

No.	Name	Season(s)	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	PT	DC	CC	NC	Awards
1	Jim Krayeske[5]	1969	5	2	2	1	0.500	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2	Nick Cutulle[14]	1970–1971	8	1	7	0	0.125	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–
3	Dave Rice[15]	1972–1974	26	9	17	0	0.346	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
4	Bill Sferro[16]	1975–1976	16	6	10	0	0.375	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
5	Carl Paight[17]	1977–1979	26	3	23	0	0.115	1	8	0	0.111	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
6	Steve Golden	1980–1981	18	1	16	1	0.083	1	15	1	0.088	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
7	Paul Pasqualoni[18]	1982–1986	51	34	17	0	0.667	24	12	0	0.667	0	1	0	–	1	–	–
8	Chris Rippon[19]	1987–1989	30	6	23	1	0.217	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
9	Ken Brasington[20]	1990–1991	20	4	16	0	0.200	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
10	John Cervino[21]	1992–1999	81	39	41	1	0.488	22	26	0	0.458	1	1	0	–	–	–	–
11	Bob Surace[22]	2000–2001	21	18	3	0	0.857	10	2	0	0.833	2	1	0	–	1	–	–
12	John Burrell[23]	2002–2011	100	37	63	0	0.370	20	54	0	0.270	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
13	Joe Loth[24]	2012–present	101	61	40	0	0.604	48	32	0	0.600	1	2	0	–	–	–	–

Year-by-year results

National champions

Conference champions

Bowl game berth

Playoff berth

^[25]

Season	Year	Head Coach	Association	Division	Conference	Record							Postseason	Final ranking
						Overall			Conference
						Win	Loss	Tie	Finish	Win	Loss	Tie
Western Connecticut Indians
1969	1969	Jim Krayeske	—	—	FFL	2	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
Western Connecticut Colonials
1970	1970	Nick Cutulle	NAIA	Division I	Independent	0	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1971	1971					1	5	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1972	1972	Dave Rice				1	7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973	1973					4	5	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1974	1974					4	5	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1975	1975	Bill Sferro				2	6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1976	1976					4	4	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1977	1977	Carl Paight	NCAA	Division III	—	2	7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1978	1978					0	8	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1979	1979				NEFC	1	8	0	10th	1	8	0	—	—
1980	1980	Steve Golden				0	8	1	10th	0	8	1	—	—
1981	1981					1	8	0	9th	1	7	0	—	—
1982	1982	Paul Pasqualoni				2	7	0	T–8th	2	7	0	—	—
1983	1983					7	3	0	4th	6	3	0	—	—
1984	1984					9	1	0	2nd	8	1	0	—	—
1985	1985					10	2	0	T–1st	8	1	0	L NCAA Division III First Round	—
1986	1986				Independent	6	4	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987	1987	Chris Rippon				1	8	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1988	1988					3	7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989	1989					2	8	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	1990	Ken Brasington				3	7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	1991					1	9	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	1992	John Cervino			FFC	2	8	0	T–6th	2	4	0	—	—
1993	1993					4	6	0	7th	2	4	0	—	—
1994	1994					1	9	0	7th	1	5	0	—	—
1995	1995					7	2	1	2nd	4	2	0	—	—
1996	1996					6	4	0	T–4th	3	3	0	—	—
1997	1997					4	6	0	T–6th	1	5	0	—	—
1998	1998					5	5	0	T–4th	3	3	0	—	—
1999	1999					10	1	0	1st	6	0	0	L NCAA Division III Second Round	14[26]
2000	2000	Bob Surace				10	1	0	2nd	5	1	0	W ECAC Northeast Bowl	20[27]
2001	2001					8	2	0	T–1st	5	1	0	L NCAA Division III Second Round	—
2002	2002	John Burrell				7	3	0	3rd	4	2	0	—	—
2003	2003					6	4	0	T–3rd	3	3	0	—	—
2004	2004				NJAC	5	5	0	T–4th	2	4	0	—	—
2005	2005					6	4	0	4th	3	3	0	—	—
2006	2006					5	5	0	T–5th	2	5	0	—	—
2007	2007					4	6	0	T–6th	2	5	0	—	—
2008	2008					2	8	0	8th	2	7	0	—	—
2009	2009					2	8	0	T–8th	2	7	0	—	—
2010	2010					0	10	0	10th	0	9	0	—	—
2011	2011					0	10	0	10th	0	9	0	—	—
2012	2012	Joe Loth				1	8	0	T–8th	1	7	0	—	—
2013	2013				MASCAC	8	2	0	2nd	6	2	0	W ECAC Northeast Bowl[28]	—
2014	2014					7	4	0	2nd	6	2	0	L ECAC Northeast Bowl[29]	—
2015	2015					5	5	0	T–4th	4	4	0	—	—
2016	2016					5	5	0	T–3rd	4	4	0	—	—
2017	2017					7	3	0	T–3rd	5	3	0	—	—
2018	2018					8	2	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	—	—
2019	2019					8	3	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	L New England Bowl[30]	—
Season canceled due to Covid-19
2021	2021	Joe Loth	NCAA	Division III	MASCAC	5	5	0	5th	4	4	0	—	—
Western Connecticut Wolves
2022	2022	Joe Loth	NCAA	Division III	MASCAC	7	3	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	—	—
2023	2023

Notes

1. Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.^[11]
2. A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[12]
4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.^[13]