The Chowan University football team had a memorable and noteworthy 2022 season that included a 7-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in their final year in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The 2022 campaign ended with Chowan’s first national ranking, first CIAA Northern Division title and first appearance in the CIAA Championship. The Hawks lost the championship game to Fayetteville State, 31-28. Fayetteville State used a last-second field goal to secure the title.

The Hawks now will try to bring any momentum into a new conference for the 2023 season, as they’ll now play in the Gulf South Conference. They’ll also have a new head coach—Paul Johnson—who was introduced in January as the ninth head coach in school history.

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Johnson replaces Mark Hall, who resigned after the 2022 season to accept the same position at UNC Pembroke. 

Hall was with the Hawks for 11 seasons, first as the offensive coordinator (2008-2019), then as the head coach from 2020 on. 

In 2023, the Gulf South Conference will include nine teams (up from eight) and return three that finished with winning records in 2022. Among the returning teams are the University of West Florida and Delta State, which posted 6-1 records in conference play to share the Gulf South title. 

West Florida finished 2022 with a 12-2 overall record, and Delta State was 11-2. West Florida made the NCAA Division II semifinals, losing to eventual national champion Ferris State.

Gulf South football action will be streamed live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including all of Chowan’s Gulf South games.

Here’s What To Know About Chowan University Football:

What Year Did Chowan University Start Playing Football?

Football has existed at Chowan University for many decades, but the team didn’t begin playing at the NCAA level until 1993. Prior to that, the Hawks enjoyed a long history at the National Junior College Athletic Association level.

In 1949, members of the Chowan football team selected the Braves as the nickname for all athletic teams. That changed in 2006, when the NCAA banned nicknames that were offensive to Native American culture. The school then settled on the Hawks. 

In 1960, the Hawks began playing football at what now is called Garrison Stadium.

In What Division Of College Football Does Chowan Play? 

Chowan University plays football in the NCAA’s Division II.

The Hawks made the leap from Division III to Division II for the 2008 season. They played in Division III from 1993 to 2007.

How Many Times Has Chowan Football Made It To The Division II Playoffs?

Chowan has not made an appearance in the Division II Playoffs.

When Did Chowan Football Join The Gulf South Conference?

Chowan will be a new member of the Gulf South Conference in 2023. Chowan will be the third football-only member in the conference’s history.

Though nearly all of Chowan’s sports teams compete in the Conference Carolinas, the football and women’s bowling teams had been competing as associate members of the CIAA.

Chowan entered the CIAA—the oldest Black athletic conference in the United States—as a football-only member in 2008. Later that year, the conference voted to welcome Chowan as a full member, the first non-HBCU to be included. The Hawks played football in the CIAA until 2022.

The Chowan football team previously was part of the USA South conference, leaving in 2004. The Hawks played as a Division III independent prior to joining the CIAA.

Chowan now will compete in Gulf South Conference for 2023 and 2024 but will move to the Conference Carolinas in 2025. 

Chowan will be a full member of the Conference Carolinas, marking the first time in the school’s Division II history that all of Chowan’s sponsored sports will be playing in the same conference.

Conference Carolinas will debut six programs for football in 2025: Barton, Chowan, Erskine, UNC Pembroke, North Greenville and Shorter. 

North Greenville and Shorter currently play in the Gulf South Conference, while Erskine’s football team will join the GSC for the 2024 season, before moving on again. Shorter will play as an independent in 2024 prior to the move.

Has Chowan Football Ever Won The Gulf South Title?

No. The 2023 season will be Chowan’s first year in the Gulf South Conference.

In 2022, the Hawks won their first CIAA Northern Division title and appeared in the CIAA championship game, where they lost to Fayetteville State 31-28 on a last-second field goal.

Who Is The Chowan Football Head Coach?

Paul Johnson is the new head football coach at Chowan University. He was introduced in January 2023 as the replacement for Mark Hall, who resigned after the 2022 season to accept the same position at UNC Pembroke. 

Hall was with the Hawks for 11 seasons, first as the offensive coordinator (2008-2019), then as the head coach from 2020 on. 

Johnson previously was at Bloomsburg University, where he served as the offensive coordinator and coached tight ends and wide receivers. 

His two seasons at Bloomsburg were preceded by a decade at Charleston (2011-2021). At Charleston, he first was the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach. In 2017, he was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Other stops in Johnson’s coaching career include Marshall and West Virginia. 

Johnson spent his playing days at Ohio University, where he was a three-year starter at left guard. 

Who Is Chowan Football’s Biggest Rival? 

Prior to joining the Gulf South Conference, Chowan enjoyed a rivalry with Elizabeth City State, and the Hawks got the best of their foe with a noteworthy 54-8 win to end the 2022 regular season. The victory gave Chowan its first CIAA Northern Division title and a spot in the conference championship game.

The CIAA final was a rematch with Fayetteville State. Fayetteville State defeated Chowan in the regular season (13-10) and in the championship game (31-28).

After joining the CIAA for the 2008 season, Chowan faced Elizabeth City State 14 times, winning on five occasions—with all of them coming in their last seven meetings.

Where Do The Chowan Hawks Play Football?

The Chowan University football team practices and plays at Garrison Stadium, which has been the team’s home since the 1960s.

The venue has seating on both sides of the field and has room for up to 5,000 fans. A 2007 renovation included an updated playing surface, field lights and perimeter fencing.

The stadium is named in honor of longtime athletic director and football coach Jim Garrison, who helped guide the team through its junior college era. 

Garrison spent 37 years as the head football coach and a half-century in the Chowan athletic department. He won 182 games as the Chowan head coach. 

Garrison died in 2015.

Where Is Chowan University?

Chowan University is located in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

The school opened in 1848 as the 11-student, all-female Chowan Female Institute. It soon became Chowan Female Collegiate Institute and then Chowan Baptist Female Institute. 

After surviving the Civil War, the school transformed to a traditional college from 1897-1914. It was renamed Chowan College in 1910 and turned into a coed institution in 1931. It then went from a four-year school to a two-year structure in 1937, before closing for six years during the World War II era. 

It reopened in 1949, again a two-year coed school. It regained its four-year status in 1992 and became known as Chowan University in 2006.

Notable Chowan University Alums

The list of noteworthy Chowan alums includes professional football players George Koonce, Jerry Holmes, Mark Royals, Robert Brown, Fred Banks, David Green, Jody Schultz and Curtis Whitley. 

Others are Idaho politician Donald Whitehead, Howard Jacque Hunter III (North Carolina General Assembly).

Chowan University Football Schedule 2023

• Aug. 31: at Barton, 6 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Sept. 9: Delta State, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Sept. 16: at Shorter, noon ET, FloSports
• Sept. 23: Benedict, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Sept. 30: Valdosta State, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 7: North Greenville, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 14: at West Georgia, 6 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 21: at Mississippi College, 7 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Oct. 28: West Alabama, 1 p.m. ET, FloSports
• Nov. 11: at West Florida, 2 p.m. ET, FloSports