New Orleans Privateers Football
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UNO was founded as LSUNO in 1958 and didn't field any athletic teams until the mid-1960s. The students of that time desperately wanted their own collegiate identity. In 1964-65 the LSUNO students voted for a mascot and school colors: Privateers wearing Silver and Blue. Not long after, the university added athletic programs, playing under the Privateer mascot and colors.
Ironically, football was the first team sport UNO played. And by all accounts, the non-scholarship club program that played from 1965 through 1970 was a great success. The team had a modest beginning, losing 21-0 to Loyola in their only game in 1965. The Privateers played two games in 1966, finishing 1-1, beating Spring Hill for their first victory ever but losing 20-6 to Loyola once again. The Privateers recorded their first winning season in 1967, finishing 2-1, but lost to Loyola for the third year in a row.
In 1968 head coach Tom Gruber directed the Privateers to a 3-1 record, defeating cross-town rival Loyola to win the South District championship of the National Club Football Association. That same year the Privateers finished the season ranked 8th in the NCFA national poll. George Baud, a Privateer defensive lineman was named a club football All-American as well.
In 1969 the Privateers, under new coach Dale Hoffpauir, again beat Loyola and finished 3-2-1, repeating as the South District champs and attaining a No. 4 preseason national ranking in the NCFA poll. 1969 was the first season in which the Privateers played under the UNO banner rather than LSUNO, even though it would be five more years before the university officially became the University of New Orleans. Also in 1969 the Privateers moved their home field to East Jefferson Stadium from Tad Gormley where they had played their first four seasons.
The 1970 Privateers played an ambitious seven game schedule, finishing 3-4 but winning the South District for the third consecutive season because of their 2-0 district record which included a victory over Loyola. 1970 again saw a change in venue for the Privateers as they alternated home games between East Jefferson Stadium and West Jefferson Stadium, completely alienating their fan base. In six seasons of football, UNO's overall record is 12-10-1 with three district championships. The series record with arch-rival Loyola stands at 3-3. UNO owns a 2-0 advantage over Nicholls State after beating the Colonels in 1969 and 1970. The Privateers did play the Tulane JV squad in 1970 at Tulane, with the Green Wave beating UNO 56-13. UNO's Founding Chancellor Homer Hitt recalled the six years of Privateer football as a "kind of glory period for LSUNO. We competed with schools from all over, including Loyola and Nicholls."
