The Streak is still alive and well for BR-3 Linfield football.
What is The Streak exactly? The Wildcats have finished above .500 every year since 1956, the year Elvis Presley released his first hit and Alabama bus segregation laws were declared illegal. That’s 59 consecutive seasons. This record spans across all divisions, which is impressive when you think about the fact that Linfield, a D3 program, deals with significantly fewer resources than any upper-division school. No athletic scholarships. No spring training.
Here are the top five such streaks from D1, all time (from collegefootball.about.com):
Penn State: 49 seasons (1939-1987)
Nebraska: 42 (1962-2003)
Notre Dame: 42 (1889-1932)
Michigan: 40 (1968-2007)
Texas: 40 (1893-1932)
The longest active streak in the FBS belongs to Florida State. They haven’t had a losing season since 1976, 39 years ago. Linfield’s Streak was almost old enough to by beer when the Seminoles’ started their run.
How is this streak even possible? According to the Linfield website, The Streak is due to, “the stability of the coaching staff, a daunting work ethic, and a long-standing commitment to make everyone associated with the program a better person. The winning seems to take care of itself.”
While the pressure to continue The Streak undoubtedly grows, this year’s squad seems poised to reach the 60 season mark. Head coach Joseph Smith (one of the Top Coaches in D3 Football) is a big reason why.
“Every team that is consistently in the top five or six in the country has a unique set of circumstances or a culture that allows them to consistently perform at a high level,” he said. “We are very proud of the Linfield way of doing things and we truly look forward to trying to earn the right to see how we measure up against the best.”
