Witt football gets 700th win; 1st D-III program to reach milestone

The Wittenberg University football team opened the 2011 season with a landmark win Sunday, becoming the first NCAA Division III program to reach the 700-win plateau with a 45-28 victory over visiting Capital University.

Wittenberg is just the 19th NCAA program, regardless of division, to surpass 700 all-time wins, joining the likes of some of the most storied college football programs, including Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama and Notre Dame. Wittenberg’s all-time record now stands at 700-347-32 since the first recorded game in 1892, a history that spans parts of three centuries and five national championships.

Wittenberg, ranked 20th in the d3football.com preseason poll, boasts more wins than any other Division II or III team and five national championships, including the first Division III Tournament title in 1973. The program’s most recent title came in 1975, the same year Wittenberg picked up win No. 400. Prior poll national titles are credited in 1962, 1964 and 1969.

The most recent program to join this elite fraternity was Auburn University with a 49-31 victory over Georgia on Nov. 13, 2010. Auburn’s 703rd all-time win – a 22-19 decision over Oregon on Jan. 10, 2011 – came in the BCS National Championship Game.

Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham improved his career record to 137-31 with the win. Fincham, who took the reins in 1996 after six years as a Tiger assistant coach, was also at the helm in 1999 for the university’s 600th all-time victory, a 14-0 decision over North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan.

Fincham has led the Tigers to eight NCAC titles and eight NCAA Division III tournament berths as the team’s head coach. Wittenberg has not lost a regular season game since 2008 and is bidding for its third straight NCAC title in 2011.

In addition to holding the record for most all-time victories, Wittenberg also has more inductees in the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame than any other Division III school. Members include legendary coach Davey Maurer, who led the Tigers to their two Division III championships and for many years was the winningest coach in the division.

Maurer, who passed away on July 30, compiled a 129-23-3 career record with the Tigers while leading Wittenberg to national titles in 1969, 1973 and 1975, and two national second-place finishes in 1978 and 1979. Other NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductees from Wittenberg include coaches Ernie Godfrey and Bill Edwards, class of 1931, and quarterback Charlie Green, class of 1964.

Wittenberg fielded its first intercollegiate football team in 1892, but the program’s first win came in 1893 with a 64-0 defeat of Heidelberg. The Tigers opened the following season with a 6-0 win over Ohio State on Sept. 7, 1894, a game played at the Ohio State Fair. An 18-6 victory over the Buckeyes followed just two games later and helped the Tigers to their first winning record (5-2).