Samford Bulldogs

Samford Bulldogs are the athletic teams for Samford University. The school fields teams in 13 varsity sports (6 men's and 7 women's) and has been a member of the Southern Conference since 2008. The schools colors are bright red and dark blue.

The Samford Athletics staff is headed by athletic director Martin Newton and deputy director Michelle Durban. Chris Hatcher is head football coach.

Samford's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Bulldogs, represented by a sitting bulldog sometimes called Sam. This logo was introduced in 2016. Prior to that the bulldog was known as Spike, a growling cartoon mascot with a spiked collar. English bulldogs Libby and Rex have attended events as live mascots.

Football

Traditions

Fight song.: "Fight, Fight, Fight / For Samford Bulldogs, / Go onward to victory. / Oh, we’ll wear the red and blue, / Samford, we’re all for you / And we love you, too! / Fight, Fight, Fight, / For Samford Bulldogs, / Go onward to victory. / Oh, we’ll give a cheer or two, / Samford, we’re all for you! / Fight! Fight Fight!"

Alma mater.: "Oh, Samford Alma Mater true / Her halls shall ever ring, / With sounding glories of the past / With plans and future dreams. / On knowledge that we seek, O Lord, / We pray thy blessings true. / With pride we pledge our hearts and minds, / To the Samford Red and Blue!"

Facilities

• Pete Hanna Stadium was built for the Howard Bulldogs football team in 1958. It was expanded in 1961 and renamed "Seibert Stadium" for donor F. Page Seibert. The grass was replaced with synthetic turf in 2005. The field itself was named in honor of Bobby Bowden in 2014, and the stadium renamed in honor of donor and former Bulldogs football player Pete Hanna in 2023. The stadium has 6,700 seats, but has accommodated a record crowd of 11,189 for a game against Alcorn State in 1994.
• Pete Hanna Center - opened in 2007 with the 5,000-seat Thomas E. and Marla H. Corts Arena for basketball (expandable to 6,000 with floor seating for concerts and programs). The building also includes offices for the Bulldogs' athletics department and a 12,000 square-foot student fitness center. It replaced Seibert Hall (constructed in 1959) as the Bulldog's venua for basketball.
• Joe Lee Griffin Stadium - opened in Spring 2000 for the Bulldogs baseball team, the 1,000-seat facility includes baseball offices and locker rooms.

ities

• Darwin C. Hardison Tennis Center
• Shauna Yelton Field at Samford Track/Soccer Complex, across Lakeshore Drive from the main campus
• Samford Softball Field

Directors of athletics

• Eugene Caton, 1915
• Robert Marshall, 1920–1922
• Harris Cope, 1922–
• Chester Dillon, 1927–1928
• William White, –1942
• Snitz Snider, 1942–
• C. E. McCarver, 1948
• Earl Gartman, 1954
• James Sharman, 1961–1969
• Evan Zeiger Sr, 1969–1984
  • Laverne Farmer (interim), 1984–1985
• Paul Dietzel, 1985–1987
• Stephen Allgood, 1988–1999
• Bob Roller, 1999–2011
• Martin Newton, 2011–

Gallery

• 

  Seibert Stadium in 2006

• 

  2008 Samford Bulldogs logo

References

• Samford Bulldogs. (2008, August 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:50, August 28, 2008 [1]
• Poole, Phillip. (November 12, 2016). "New Bulldog Launched as Part of Samford’s Brand Identity" Samford University.