The 2006 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2006 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 9th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2006 postseason NAIA playoffs.
The 2006 Cougars finished the regular season undefeated. In the postseason playoffs, the Cougars advanced to the national championship game where they lost to the Cougars of Sioux Falls, 23-19.
Schedule
On September 23, 2006, Saint Francis named its football field after Coach Donley in pregame ceremonies. A third consecutive return to the NAIA championship game saw the third consecutive runner-up finish for the Cougars, this time to Sioux Falls (SD).[1]
Date
Time
Opponent
Rank
Site
Result
September 9
2:00pm
at William Penn*
No. 2
Oskaloosa, IA
W 39–6
September 16
Noon
No. 38 Pikeville*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 63–0
September 23
Noon
Wisconsin – River Falls*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 63–8
September 30
Noon
No. 27 Ohio Dominican
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 21–17
October 7
Noon
No. 18 Urbana
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 35–12
October 14
1:00pm
at Taylor
No. 2
Upland, IN
W 49–0
October 21
Noon
No. 23 Malone
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 34–13
October 28
1:00pm
at Seton Hill*
No. 2
Greensburg, PA
W 55–0
November 4
Noon
No. 3 Walsh
No. 1
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 21–7
November 11
1:30pm
at No. 29 Geneva
No. 1
Beaver Falls, PA
W 21–20
November 18
Noon
No. 16 Walsh*
No. 1
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)
W 42–3
November 25
Noon
No. 8 Bethel*
No. 1
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)
W 42–35
December 2
Noon
No. 9 Saint Xavier*
No. 1
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Semifinal)
W 49–20
December 16
1:00pm (FW time)
vs. No. 2 Sioux Falls*
No. 1
Savannah, TN (NAIA Championship)
L 19–23
*Non-conference game
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game
Senior linebacker Brian Kurtz was named as the 2006 NAIA Football Player of the Year. This was the second time in Cougar football history that one of their players received the award.
Ranking movements
Ranking movements Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking