New Haven Football Returns to Gridiron in Same Year that Chargers Join NE10

Posted: Sep 08, 2020

The 2009 season may have been the 32nd season in program history, but it was a first season in many ways as it marked the first time since the conclusion of the 2003 campaign that football would return to the University of New Haven. The return of football to UNH also meant a new era for the Chargers as they would begin competition in the prestigious Northeast-10 Conference.

Heading into the 2009 season, New Haven football represented a storied tradition of gridiron success, including four NCAA Division II playoff appearances in the 1990’s. New Haven’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament came in 1992 when they advanced to the semifinals before making quarterfinal appearances in 1993 and 1995.

Highlighting the national appearances was a trip to the NCAA Division II title game in 1997, when at the time, UNH was the smallest school in NCAA history to play for a national title. In addition to team success, many individuals in UNH football history had earned national and regional accolades. Highlighting that group was Roger Graham, who won Division II’s most prestigious award – The Harlon Hill Trophy – after leading the NCAA in scoring and ranking second in rushing in 1993.

Under first-year head coach Peter Rossomando, the Chargers spent the entire 2008 and 2009 calendar years recruiting over 80 student-athletes that made up the 2009 roster. Among those 80 student-athletes was one who returned from the ’03 squad and another who had recently celebrated his 43rd birthday.

UNH football after first win in 2009

After being picked to finish that first season back on the gridiron last in the Northeast-10 Conference, the league’s coaches quickly learned that New Haven was not a team to overlook. The Chargers finished the 2009 campaign with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the NE10 with much to build upon going into year two.

It wouldn’t take long for the Chargers dominance to take the NE10 by storm as they skyrocketed to the top of the conference in 2010 with an 8-2 overall record and the first of back-to-back-to-back Northeast-10 Conference Championships.

The next season, the Chargers would make their return to the NCAA Division II Championship, the first of three postseason appearances since football returned to the Blue and Gold turf of DellaCamera Stadium. That 2011 campaign included a perfect 8-0 record in NE10 play and an NCAA first round victory over No. 6 Kutztown 44-37 on the Chargers home turf in West Haven.

A return to the NCAA playoffs would come the very next season, as the Chargers once again went undefeated in conference play and knocked-off American International 37-12 for the league’s first championship weekend title.

New Haven has not finished lower than fourth in the conference standings since those early league titles and made its return to the postseason in 2018, defeating West Chester 35-28 in the opening round of the NCAA Championship.

New Haven Football Links of Note:

ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.