Harding University Football: A Legacy of Excellence
The Harding Bisons football program represents Harding University in college football as a Division II member of the Great American Conference. Harding is located in Searcy, Arkansas. From its humble beginnings in 1924 to its recent national championship, the program has woven a rich tapestry of tradition, resilience, and success. This article delves into the history of Harding football, exploring its defining moments, influential figures, and the unwavering spirit that has propelled the Bisons to national prominence.
Early Years and the Hiatus (1924-1958)
Harding's football program began the same year that Harding College came into existence in 1924. The first eight years produced a 19-28-6 record, with most of the wins coming against high schools or college B and C teams.
Among the opponents in the 1920s were five colleges that would become rivalries lasting into the 21st century. Arkansas State Teacher's College would eventually become the University of Central Arkansas, and Magnolia A&M would become Southern Arkansas University. Henderson State University had begun as Arkadelphia Methodist College and was referred to as Henderson-Brown when Harding began playing them. Harding first played against Arkansas Tech University's Third Team in 1924 and advanced to playing Tech's Second Team the next year.
One special moment in Harding football history was a 1926 trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and a drubbing by the Arkansas Razorback Freshman Team. The head coach of the Razorbacks was Francis Schmidt, who was nicknamed Francis "Close the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt.
As the effects of the Great Depression began to set in, the Harding College football program folded after the 1931 season due to the economic hardship. "To L. S. Chambers too much credit cannot be given. The hope of again fielding an intercollegiate team was still alive through Harding College's dormant years, from 1932 to 1958. One of Paul Fiser's prized players in 1931 was Ervin "Pinky" Berryhill.
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Intercollegiate athletics for all sports (football, basketball, baseball, all men's and women's sports) at Harding were disbanded in the 1930s due to the depression economy. In its place, led by former Harding athlete and then-current faculty member Berryhill, the Harding administration approved intramural competition on campus. As a result, 1939 saw “football” come back to the Harding campus in the form of two-hand touch intramural teams. Less than a decade later, the form of intra campus football had turned to “ragtag” ball, or flag football. Some future Harding assistant coaches and academic professors were members of these teams, including Clifton L.
The fall of 1955 saw the return of full pads tackle football to Harding, in the form of intramural teams of 8-man football composed of students. Enough players showed up each autumn to form four teams of on-campus 8-man tackle football from 1955 to 1958. An All-Star game at the end of each season, which came to be called The Bison All-Star Game, came complete with the honoring of maids and a queen of the highlighted all-star game. By year two of fully padded 8-man tackle football, 1956, the student association sponsored a game each Saturday night, so that the excitement of Saturday college football was back at Harding College. Autumn of 1957 saw the return of several intercollegiate sports for Harding, but football still had to wait two more years.
Rebirth and Growth (1959-2015)
The Harding football program was reignited from the ground up in 1959 by former legendary Oklahoma Sooner player Carl Allison, who had been a rare four-year starter for the Sooners during the Bud Wilkinson dynasty. “I never hope to coach a finer football player (than Allison). Carl started every game we have played the last four years. He was never late to practice, never hurt, never sick. He was a fine captain. He is a straight B student. In reliability and character he stands at the very top of our squad. We could always depend on him to do his job well. Bud Wilkinson's high praise of Allison as a leader and player came almost a decade after Wilkinson himself had created the Oklahoma drill, a drill meant to weed out hundreds of former World War II soldiers trying out for the Oklahoma Sooners football team on the G.I.
Carl Allison did not make the cut for the Chicago Bears roster, and instead instantly became the head football coach at Clinton (OK) High School. Moving straight from the playing field to head coach, he took what he had learned playing for Wilkinson at Oklahoma, and became part of the Bud Wilkinson coaching tree. He hired another first year coach, John Prock, a former three-year starting lineman at Southwestern Oklahoma State. The former coach at Hollis, Oklahoma, Joe Bailey Metcalf, had taken the Southwestern job and recruited his old player Prock to Weatherford, as Prock was returning home from military service in Korea. Carl Allison and his assistant Prock then joined forces to restart the Harding football program in Searcy, Arkansas.
When Allison briefly returned to Norman as a scout for the Oklahoma Sooners, John Prock became Harding's head coach and would serve in that capacity for the next two-plus decades. Counting Allison and Prock restarting the Harding football program, the Bisons had only 6 head coaches between 1959 and 2025. Larry Richmond, Tribble and Huckeba, all had winning records, as did coach Paul Simmons, who became the winningest percentage coach in Harding's history. Roddy Mote became the new head coach in January 2026.
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Harding's historic influence from the state of Oklahoma made for significant football recruiting inroads into the Sooner state. With the latter influence of long-term assistant coaches, some of whom became Harding head coaches, a much wider permanent net was cast throughout the most fertile recruiting grounds of the south. Richmond was a Memphis area native, but had also coached in Louisiana and Texas. Tribble was a Florida native who also had coached in Texas, and Huckeba was a Georgia native who had previously coached in Texas and Louisiana.
The first conference championship in Harding history came in 1972. The team finished the season ranked 6th in the nation, but the NAIA only allowed four teams into the playoffs at that point, so Harding settled for a Cowboy Bowl bid, defeating Langston. The 1992 squad finished 7th in the nation and qualified for the 8-team NAIA playoffs. Their opening round opponent, however, was the number one team in the nation, Central State (Ohio).
The Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference broke up in 1995, with the public university members leaving for the Gulf South Conference. That left Harding and Ouachita Baptist to form a coalition as NAIA independents for two years while they worked together to move to NCAA Division II, and to the Lone Star Conference in 1997. They moved together again to the Gulf South Conference in 2000, enjoying a renewal of old rivalries.
A significant milestone was achieved during the Bisons' 49-10 victory over Southern Nazarene. Senior fullback Cole Chancey became Harding's career rushing leader, breaking the mark of 4,214 yards held by the late Alan "Snake" Dixon since 1973.
Recent Successes and National Recognition (2016-Present)
The 2016 and 2017 seasons were some of the most successful runs in the history of the program. Ronnie Huckeba's 2016 squad won the conference title and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
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Simmons achieved his first undefeated regular season in 2023, with a mark of 11-0. That team later defeated Lenoir-Rhyne in the NCAA Division II semifinals to send Harding to its first-ever national championship game.
On December 13th, 2025, Harding defeated Kutztown 49-27 to make its way to Harding's second national championship game. Harding had traveled 1,100 miles to the Kutztown game in deep eastern Pennsylvania. The next week, Harding lost the national championship game to Ferris State 21-42.
2023 National Championship Season
The grand finale in McKinney, Texas, saw the pinnacle of a perfect season when Harding secured the NCAA Division II national championship with a resounding 38-7 victory over Colorado School of Mines. The Bisons put the game away early. No. Harding's defense stifled GAC’s highest-scoring offense, allowing only two offensive touchdowns and 217 total yards while forcing four turnovers.
The Brotherhood came to the rescue of the 2023 team before this game ever started. A team bus broke down after leaving Searcy for the game in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. A call went out on social media for Harding fans to pick up players and take them to the game.
Key Moments and Statistics
- Record-Breaking Rushing Performance: The Bisons broke their own all-time collegiate rushing record while grinding out a 34-28 victory. The Bisons' flexbone offense amassed 389 rushing yards, pushing their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsing the all-division college football record of 6,160 yards set by the 2023 Harding squad. Quarterback Cole Keylon led the charge, rushing for a game-high 148 yards and a 50-yard touchdown.
- Defensive Prowess: Harding's defense has consistently been a force to be reckoned with. Linebacker Clark Griffin led the Harding defense with 11 tackles.
- Dominant Victories: Tenth-ranked Harding gained 587 yards and limited Southwestern Oklahoma to only 79 in the Bisons’ 64-0 victory at First Security Stadium. The Bisons rushed for 462 yards and five touchdowns, passed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and had two touchdowns on interception returns. Defensively, they held Southwestern to only four first downs, 29 rushing yards, 1.8 yards per play and 1-of-13 on third downs. The Bulldogs punted 10 times. Harding rushed for 381 yards and six touchdowns, and starting quarterback Cole Keylon threw a 34-yard touchdown. The Bison defense limited Northwestern Oklahoma to only 107 total yards and intercepted four passes. Oric Walker Jr.
- Ending Streaks: No. 9 Harding emphatically ended NCAA Division II's longest road winning streak and second-longest conference winning streak with a 41-10 victory over No. 5 Ouachita Baptist in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium. With the victory, Harding extended its own winning streak to 11 games. The Bisons improved to 7-0 overall for only the second time in program history and the first time since 2016. Ouachita entered with an 11-game road winning streak and 18-game conference winning streak. Harding ended both. Ouachita tied the game at 10-10 with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. It was all Harding from then on. Harding rushed for 427 yards, led by 131 on 10 carries from Jay. The victory was Harding’s 13th straight, tied for the longest in program history, and moved the Bisons to 9-0 overall and in conference action. It was the largest margin of victory and the first shutout in the 34 meetings between the teams.
- Offensive Explosion: Fourth-ranked Harding rushed for 528 yards and seven touchdowns and held the ball for almost 40 minutes in a 48-7 Homecoming victory over East Central, leaving Harding as the only remaining undefeated team in Division II. The victory was Harding’s school-record 14th straight and pushed the Bisons to 10-0 overall. A dominant first half set up No.
- Shutout Success: Harding shutout Arkansas Tech 56-0 to conclude its regular season at 11-0. It was Harding’s fourth shutout of the season, the first time ever that the Bisons had four shutouts in the same season. Harding scored touchdowns all kinds of ways in the first half-an interception return, three rushing touchdowns, a punt return, and a 44-yard pass on the final play of the first half.
- Playoff Thrills: Harding junior Gage Price blocked the potential game-tying extra point and lit the fuse on a delirious celebration among Bison fans at First Security Stadium following a 35-34 victory over Central Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Harding led 35-21 with 6:52 left in the game, but Central Missouri scored on an 87-yard touchdown pass from Zach Zebrowski to Arkell Smith and forced the Bisons’ only punt of the game. The Mules took over at the Harding 31-yard line and scored on a 6-yard Zebrowski pass to Smith with 22 seconds remaining. Central Missouri elected to kick the extra point. Mule kicker Luke Dobson had made all 67 of his attempts this season. After a pair of one-point victories in its first two NCAA Division II Playoff games, No. Lenoir-Rhyne answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive that took only 80 seconds off the clock and cut Harding’s lead to 28-7 with 14 seconds remaining. Harding scored on each of its first six possessions, five touchdowns and a field goal.
- Individual Brilliance: Yardage hauled in by Gerald Payne with 13 receptions and two touchdowns at NCAA Division I opponent Tennessee Tech in 2000.
The Coaches
Roddy Mote is the current head coach of the Bisons football team, a former Harding quarterback, running back, longtime assistant, and defensive coordinator.
Counting Allison and Prock restarting the Harding football program, the Bisons had only 6 head coaches between 1959 and 2025. Larry Richmond, Tribble and Huckeba, all had winning records, as did coach Paul Simmons, who became the winningest percentage coach in Harding's history.
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