Wagner College Seahawks  at  Duquesne Dukes Click HERE to Watch On NEC Front Row
Gameday Info	October 31, 2015 | Pittsburgh, PA | 12:00 PM EST.| Rooney Field (2,200)
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Pittsburgh, PA - After taking on FBS member BYU last week, the Wagner football team returns to Northeast Conference (NEC) play when the Seahawks meet Duquesne today at Noon in their fourth consecutive road game.
 
Saturday's tilt marks the second trip to western Pennsylvania in the last three weeks for Wagner which played at Saint Francis U back on October 17. While the Green & White, are in search of their first win of the season at 0-7 (0-2 NEC), the Dukes enter this contest with a 5-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in NEC play. Duquesne, which is tied for first place in the NEC with Bryant and Central Connecticut, is coming off of a 16-7 victory at local rival Saint Francis U last Saturday night.
 
The Series
This is the 11th all-time meeting between the schools and the series is tied at 5-5 with the home team winning each of the last four games. Wagner holds a 3-2 all-time home mark vs. the Dukes and are 2-3 on the road.
 
The Last Time
On Nov. 15, 2014 at Hameline Field in Staten Island, NY, RB Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY/Jireh Prep) rushed for a then career-high 90 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown and fifth-year senior CB Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard) came up with his third interception return for a touchdown of the season, and seventh pick overall, in leading Wagner to a 23-13 victory over Duquesne on Senior Day.
 
The Coaches
Jason Houghtaling (say it Ho-tal-ling) is in his first season as the head coach of the Seahawks, taking over for 34-year head coach Walt Hameline, who announced last November that he would be stepping down while remaining as Seahawk athletic director. Houghtaling, a 2004 Binghamton graduate who began his collegiate career at Lafayette, was the Seahawks' associate head coach and offensive coordinator last season and has spent seven years as a Wagner assistant. In his last three years as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks amassed a 16-6 NEC record with league titles in two of the last three seasons. In 2014, the Seahawks' offense ranked No. 4 nationally in time of possession and did not commit a turnover in the last three games of the season.
 
Jerry Schmitt, who played an important role in the development of the Duquesne football program as an assistant from 1985-87 and again from 1992-99, is in his 11th season as head coach of the Dukes and owns a 65-50 (.565) record. The Pittsburgh native, who returned to the DU campus after spending five years as head coach at his alma mater, Westminster College, in New Wilmington, Pa., has overseen the program's move to the Northeast Conference and ensuing adoption of athletics-based aid in February of 2008. It is a transition that has been an overwhelming success, as over the past five seasons (2010-2014), the Dukes won more overall games (34) and as many conference games (21) as any NEC school. In addition, DU - which has shared two of the past four NEC titles - is one of only two league schools with three winning seasons in the past five years.

Tough Start, Proud History
The Seahawks, who have won at least of share of two of the last three NEC championships, off to an uncharacteristic 0-7 start in 2015, have a long and proud gridiron history. Since the football program was established in 1927, Wagner has had three undefeated seasons, in 1960 (9-0), 1964 (10-0) and 1967 (9-0). A Division III program until moving up to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level in 1993 (then 1-AA), undoubtedly the signature moment in Seahawk history came in 1987 when the Green & White won the NCAA Division III National Title, capping a 13-1 season with a 19-3 victory over Dayton in the championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. That year, head coach Walt Hameline, who stepped down as head coach after 34 seasons at the end of the 2014 campaign, was named the 1987 Chevrolet National Division III Coach of the Year.
 
Wagner and the Northeast Conference
Wagner College is a charter member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), which was first established as the ECAC-Metro Conference in 1981. At that time, the league's founders had one goal in mind: to create a competitive NCAA Division I men's basketball conference for unaffiliated schools on the Eastern seaboard.  A single-sport entity at its inception, the NEC has grown far beyond expectations over the past three plus decades, having transformed itself into a 10-member, 22-sport conference. In 1985, the league began sponsoring additional sports and, three years later, a change of name was in order and the Northeast Conference as we know it today was born.  With membership and sport sponsorship continuing to grow over the years, the NEC now enjoys qualification or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships (baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball).
 
Wagner and Northeast Conference Football
The NEC began sponsoring FCS football in 1996. As a result of the NCAA Board of Directors' approval of a new budget that allowed for the expansion of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision post-season bracket, the NEC gained automatic access into the Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010. In 2012, Wagner captured its first-ever NEC title and accompanying NCAA Playoff appearance. On November 24, 2012, the Seahawks defeated Patriot League champion Colgate, 31-20, becoming the first, and to date only, NEC team to ever win an NCAA Playoff game. The following week, the Seahawks took a third-quarter lead at No. 4 Eastern Washington before the Eagles came back to post a 29-19 win. Following the 2012 season, Wagner became the first, and to date only, NEC team to finish in the Final Top 25 of both major FCS Polls (No. 21 FCS Sports Network Poll, No. 22 FCS Coaches Poll). Following the 2012 campaign, Walt Hameline earned two FCS National Coach of the Year honors (College Football News & College Sports Journal), in addition to being named NEC Coach of the Year.
 
Notable Wagner Football Alumni
Rich Kotite (1963-1965) is perhaps the most recognizable name by Wagner College football fans. Formerly the head coach of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets, Kotite broke onto the football scene as a three-year performer at tight end for the Wagner football program. Kotite graduated with then school-record totals of 119 receptions and 2,065 yards in just three seasons, both of which stood for almost 20 years. Following Wagner, he played six seasons of NFL football with the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kotite also worked for 13 seasons as an assistant coach under coaches as Hank Stram, Sam Rutigliano and Buddy Ryan ,before rising to the rank of head coach for Philadelphia (1991-1994) and New York (1995-1996). A staunch supporter of Wagner athletics, Kotite can often be found in the stands attending a Seahawk event.  Of more recent vintage, Wagner has three current former players playing professional football. Linebacker Julian Stanford is in his fourth season in the NFL and is currently on the practice squad of the Detroit Lions. Running back Dominique Williams, the second-leading rusher in Seahawk history is in his second season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad while C.O. Prime is in his third season in the CFL as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
 
Wagner Football Has Played in 17 Different States
In facing BYU on October 24, Wagner played its first-ever game in the Beehive State as Utah became  the 17th different state in which the Seahawks have played at least one football game, in addition to the District of Columbia.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @Wagner_Football for all the latest news pertaining to Wagner Football and first-year head coach Jason Houghtaling @HossWagner #CHAOSonthehill. Seahawk athletics can also be followed on Instagram (@wagnerathletics)