Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne have been the standard-bearers of NCAA Division II football in North Carolina over the past decade.
NC Football News took a look back over the past 10 years of D2 play and noted that both the Bulldogs and Bears, rivals in the South Atlantic Conference, won more than 70 percent of their games from 2014-23.
Only five of the state’s 14 D2 schools posted a winning record during that span. The next closest to Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne is Fayetteville State, which earned victories in nearly 62 percent of its contests and has played in six conference title games (the most of any of our D2 schools).
Technically speaking, Wingate’s 77-32 overall record (.7064) just edges out Lenoir-Rhyne’s 79-33 mark (.7053) in terms of percentages. But Lenoir-Rhyne has more conference titles (4 to 1) and playoff victories (7 to 3) than the Bulldogs.
—> READ MORE: 10-Year Rewind: NC A&T, NC Central had great decades in FCS
Each team has beaten the other five times in regular season head-to-head. The 2018 season featured a D2 playoff rematch, with Lenoir-Rhyne advancing to the next round with a 21-17 triumph.
Wingate holds current bragging rights in the series, winning the last two. The ‘Dogs were the only team to pin a loss on Lenoir-Rhyne this past regular season, escaping with a 34-30 triumph at home Oct. 28. The Bears went on to finish 13-2 and advanced to the D2 semifinals.
Both Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne will feature new head coaches when they meet in 2024. Joe Reich stepped aside as the Bulldogs’ head man after a long reign to become AD, turning the program over to Rashaan Jordan. Mike Jacobs took the Mercer job after LR’s history-making season, and the Bears called on Doug Socha from NAIA Keiser University to take the baton into 2024.
Here’s a quick look at each of the state’s D2 teams and how they fared over the past 10 seasons. Note that CIAA teams did not play at all in 2020 due to COVID.
Wingate Bulldogs
- 10-Year Overall Record: 77-32
- 10-Year Conference Record: 50-22
Recap: Joe Reich put a nice bow on a solid two decade-plus career as the Bulldogs head coach. Wingate finished 8-3, 6-2 in the SAC.
During the past decade, Wingate won at least six games every season (except for the COVID year when they went 2-2). The ‘Dogs reached eight wins three times, nine wins twice, 10 wins once and posted an 11-3 mark in 2022 on the way to the D2 quarterfinals.
Lenoir-Rhyne Bears
- 10-Year Overall Record: 79-33
- 10-Year Conference Record: 54-19
Recap: While Wingate had one coach over the past decade, the Bears engineered their stellar run with four different head coaches. Three won conference championships: Ian Shields (2014), Drew Cronic (2018, 2019) and Mike Jacobs (2023).
Cronic and Jacobs both spring-boarded from Lenoir-Rhyne to head coaching gigs at Mercer. Jacobs takes over the Macon, Ga. program from the FCS ranks this season.
Fayetteville State Broncos
- 10-Year Overall Record: 58-36
- 10-Year Conference Record: 51-14
Recap: A model of consistency in the CIAA’s Southern Division, the Broncos under coach Richard Hayes have appeared in the last six(!) conference championship games. FSU won the 2022 title, then reeled off eight-straight league victories this past season – many in dramatic, last-minute fashion – on their way to the Salem, Va. title clash.
Winston-Salem State Rams
- 10-Year Overall Record: 49-42
- 10-Year Conference Record: 44-25
Recap: The Rams were one of the top teams in the state during the 2010s, winning four CIAA titles. Two of those championship runs came during our 2014-23 window. Kienus Boulware coached WSSU to back-to-back league crowns in 2015 and 2016. The ’16 bunch went to the D2 playoffs.
Times have been harder since COVID, but Winston-Salem State was right on the doorstep a year ago of competing for a spot in the CIAA finale.
Mars Hill Lions
- 10-Year Overall Record: 51-46
- 10-Year Conference Record: 40-32
Recap: Tim Clifton enjoyed three of his best seasons as the Lions’ head coach the past three years. Mars Hill is 23-8 during that span with an appearance in the South Atlantic championship game in 2022. This past season, Mars Hill nipped Wingate in the early season and stayed in contention for the SAC Mountain title until a double overtime loss to Tusculum in November.
UNC Pembroke
- 10-Year Overall Record: 46-53
- 10-Year Conference Record: 19-14
Recap: The Braves played as a D2 independent through the 2019 season. The 2016 squad under coach Shane Richardson went 10-2 and won a game in the D2 playoffs.
UNCP had its best season in the MEC this past fall under new coach Mark Hall, winning six games and blowing out the last four foes — Fairmont State, West Virginia Wesleyan, Glenville State and Concord — by a combined 222-28 margin. A program to watch in 2024 and beyond as the school joins the new Conference Carolinas football league in ’25.
Chowan Hawks
- 10-Year Overall Record: 41-50
- 10-Year Conference Record: 30-34
Recap: The Hawks proved competitive during most of their years in the CIAA North, winning the division in 2022 before losing on a last-second field goal to Fayetteville State in the league title game. The program is in rebuild mode now, though, as Paul Johnson enters his second season. Chowan will play a second season in the Gulf South Conference in ’24 before joining schools like Barton and UNCP in Conference Carolinas.
Catawba Indians
- 10-Year Overall Record: 45-55
- 10-Year Conference Record: 26-43
Recap: The Indians posted a pair of nine-win campaigns (2015, 2017) and one SAC (2015) championship before hitting leaner times. Tyler Haines has the program pointed in the right direction after a 5-win effort in his first season at the helm in ’23.
Barton Bulldogs
- 10-Year Overall Record: 17-21*
- 10-Year Conference Record: 7-14*
Recap: The Bulldogs revived their football program in 2020 after several decades in hibernation. Chip Hester’s teams have been competitive from the jump, posting winning 6-5 records in both 2021 and again this past fall. As the “founding fathers” of the revived program give way to younger players, the Bulldogs looked primed to have a great rest of the decade, which will include a move to Conference Carolinas in 2025.
Shaw Bears
- 10-Year Overall Record: 33-57
- 10-Year Conference Record: 27-37
Recap: This has been an up-and-down 10 years for the Bears. Shaw book-ended 6-4 seasons around the COVID pandemic, pushing for upper division finishes in the CIAA. The Bears knocked off a surging Johnson C. Smith program this past fall and nearly beat CIAA South champ Fayetteville State.
Elizabeth City State Vikings
- 10-Year Overall Record: 29-60
- 10-Year Conference Record: 20-43
Recap: The Vikes’ best stretch over the past decade came from 2014-17, when ECSU won 18 games. Coach Marcus Hilliard will enter this third season at the helm this fall looking to make Elizabeth City State competitive in the CIAA North.
Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls
- 10-Year Overall Record: 28-60
- 10-Year Conference Record: 24-39
Recap: The Bulls had one of the biggest turnarounds of any North Carolina school this past season, going from two wins in 2022 to seven (and a Florida Beach Bowl appearance) in ’23. Can coach Maurice Flowers’ program end FSU’s run of dominance in the CIAA South?
Livingstone Blue Bears
- 10-Year Overall Record: 26-60
- 10-Year Conference Record: 16-47
Recap: Sean Gilbert took over during the height of the pandemic and has steadied the ship over the past two seasons. Livingstone proved a tough out in the CIAA a year ago (4-4, winning four of the last six) and will look to earn its first overall winning season since 2015 when it takes the field this September.
St. Augustine’s Falcons
- 10-Year Overall Record: 17-70
- 10-Year Conference Record: 17-47
Recap: There are a lot of questions surrounding the university these days as it faces financial and accreditation issues. Times have been tough on the gridiron as well. Coach Howard Feggins was let go during the middle of what was a winless 2023 campaign. It was the third time St. Aug’s made a mid-season coaching change in the past decade.
Brevard Tornados
- 10-Year Overall Record: 2-31** (2014-16)
- 10-Year Conference Record: 0-21
Recap: The Tornados moved from Division II to Division III after the 2016 season. Brevard has been much more competitive at the D3 level.
10-Year Overall Win Percentages
- Wingate 77-32 (.706)
- Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 79-33 (.705)
- Fayetteville State 58-36 (.617)
- Winston-Salem State 49-42 (.538)
- Mars Hill 51-46 (.526)
- UNC Pembroke 46-53 (.465)
- Chowan 41-50 (.451)
- Catawba 45-55 (.450)
- Barton 17-21 (.447)
- Shaw Bears 33-57 (.367)
- Elizabeth City State 29-60 (.326)
- Johnson C. Smith 28-60 (.318)
- Livingstone 26-60 (.302)
- St. Augustine’s 17-70 (.195)
Conference Championships
- Lenoir-Rhyne 4
- Winston-Salem State 2
- Catawba 1
- Fayetteville State 1
- Wingate 1
D2 Playoffs
- Lenoir-Rhyne 7-5
- Wingate 3-4
- Catawba 0-1
- Fayetteville State 0-1
- UNC Pembroke 0-1
- Winston-Salem State 0-1
Wingate vs. Lenoir-Rhyne Series
- 2023: Wingate 34, Lenoir-Rhyne 30
- 2022: Wingate 24, Lenoir-Rhyne 21
- 2021: Lenoir-Rhyne 31, Wingate 6
- 2020: Lenoir-Rhyne 44, Wingate 21
- 2019: Lenoir-Rhyne 20, Wingate 13
- 2018: Lenoir-Rhyne 31, Wingate 24
- 2018: Lenoir-Rhyne 21, Wingate 17 (Playoffs)
- 2017: Wingate 22, Lenoir-Rhyne 14
- 2016: Wingate 49, Lenoir-Rhyne 6
- 2015: Wingate 24, Lenoir-Rhyne 14
- 2014: Lenoir-Rhyne 51, Wingate 14
- TOTALS: Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Wingate 5
Year By Year
