Pioneer Football League

BUTLER DAVIDSON DAYTON
"Bulldogs" "Wildcats" "Flyers"
Indianapolis, IN Davidson, NC Dayton, OH
DRAKE MARIST MOREHEAD STATE
"Bulldogs" "Red Foxes" "Eagles"
Des Moines, IA Poughkeepsie, NY Morehead, KY
PRESBYTERIAN ST. THOMAS SAN DIEGO
"Blue Hose" "Tommies" "Toreros"
Clinton, SC St. Paul, MN San Diego, CA
STETSON VALPARAISO
"Hatters" "Beacons"
DeLand, FL Valparaiso, IN

Historical Helmets

BUTLER UNIVERSITY

1959 - 1962 1963 - 1964 1965
1966 1967 1968
c.early 1970s - 1989 1990 - 2005 2006 - October 6, 2007
2007 (last five games) 2008 2009 - 2012
'B' (and 'B1')
2013 -
October 25, 2014		 November 1, 2014 -
end of 2014		 2015 - 2019; 2021 -
*see note 1 below
'C' 'D' 'A'
2015 2016 2015
'E' 'F' 'G'
2016 2017; 2020 - 2021 2024 -
*see note 2 below

During recent years Butler has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

*1 Helmet design 'B' has the bulldog face logo on both sides; 'B1' has it on the left side only, while the right side has uniform numbers (as depicted below).

*2 The logo on this helmet design is worn on the left side only; uniform numbers are worn on the right side (as on design 'B1'; see note 1 above).

DAVIDSON COLLEGE

? - 1960 1961 - 1963 1964
1965 1966 - 1967 1968
1969 1970 1971 - 1973
1974 1975 - 1981 1982 -
1985 1986 - 1987 1988
1989 1990 - 1992 1993 - 1994
1995 1996 - 2005 2006 - 2009
2010 - 2012 2013 2014
*see note 1 below
2015 - 2017 2018 - 2020* April 24, 2021
*see note 2 below
2021 - 2024 - 2025 -

*1 This design has numerals on its left side only; on the right side is a "D" logo (as shown below).

*2 This design has the "D" logo on its left side only; on the right side are white uniform numerals (as shown below).

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

c.1960s - 1970s 1975 - 1985 1986 - 1994
'A'
1995 - 2008 2009 - 2013 2014 - 2022
'B' 'C' 'D'
2021 - 2023 - 2023 -
*see note 1 below *see note 2 below

During recent years Dayton has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

From 1986 through 1994 Dayton used a design that was very similar to the "1975 - 1985" helmet shown above, but with the addition of a royal blue outline around the white letters.

For apparently a single year in the late 1960s Dayton used the design shown below - the letters "U" and "D" were apparently different colors (probably one blue and one red - a photograph has been received apparently confirming that the 'D' was red). I would greatly appreciate a clear color photograph of this design.

*1 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is present on the right side (as shown below).

*2 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is present on the right side (as shown below).

DRAKE UNIVERSITY

1960 - 1966 1967 1968 - 1971
1972 - 1973 1974 - 1976? 1977
1978 1979 1980 - 1983
1984 - 1985 1986 - 1987 ? - 1992?
*see note 1 below
1993 - 1999 2000 - 2002 2003 - 2004
*see note 1 below
2005 - 2008 2009 - 2013 2014 - 2018
2019 - 2022 -
*see note 2 below

*1 It was reported to me that a helmet design essentially identical to this one was used from 1988 until this one was adopted; the only difference being that the bulldog mascot "Spike" was somewhat less detailed on the earlier helmet. For at least portion of this period only a few players had the decal on both sides of the helmet; the right side appears to have been the default side for those who did not get two decals. Throughout these years (1988 - 1992), the helmets were of a matted silver finish rather than the metallic silver that was used from the mid-1990s onward.

*2 Uniform numbers are present on the left side only of this design; two different logos have been used on the right side (as depicted below).

2022 (first 3 games) 2022 (last 8 games)

MARIST COLLEGE

1978 - ? ? - 1981 - ? ? - 1984
1985 - ? ? - 1993 1994 -
? - 2007 2008 - 2024 -

Marist's team first played at the NCAA Division III level in 1978; prior to then, a club-level team called the "Vikings" competed from 1965 through 1977.

There are at least four other historical helmet designs for this team for which I have only partial or fragmentary information; below are photographs of these:

The 1981 and 1993 designs both have a big white "M" on red helmets with an unknown sequence of middle stripes; the 1994 helmet appears to have a black "M", and the 1985 design has the school name in script lettering. I would greatly appreciate any better photographs of these helmets and clarification of the proper range of dates for each. Additional historical designs may exist.

MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY

1979 1980 1981
1982 - 1984 1985 1987
1988 1986; 1989 1990 - 1993
1994 - ? 1997 - 2004 2005 - 2010
2011 - 2012 2013 2014
*see note 1 below *see note 2 below
2015 November 19, 2016;
November 18, 2017;
November 17, 2018		 2016 - 2022
*see note 3 below
2023 - 2024 -

*1 In 2013 the "M" logo was used only on the left side of each helmet; the right side featured unusually large blue uniform numerals (as shown below).

*2 In 2014 uniform numerals were worn only on the left side of each helmet; on the right side was worn an "M" logo similar to that of the 2013 left side (as shown below).

*3 At least during the game of November 19, 2016 the 'M'/USA flag logo was worn on the left side only of this design; the usual blue "M" was present on the right side.

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE

? - 1995 1996? - 2003 2004 - 2006
2007 - 2012 2013 2014 -

UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

1978 - 1993 1994 -

St. Thomas was a member of NCAA Division III and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference prior to 2021. The shield-shaped logo has apparently been used since 1978; prior to that year the team had used white helmets with a "T" logo which was presumably purple in color.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO

? - 1971 1972; 1974 1975 - 1979
1980 1981 - 1982 1983 - 1995
1996 - 1999 2000 - 2004 2005 - 2011
2014 - 2022 2012 - 2013; 2023 - November 11, 2023
2024 -

STETSON UNIVERSITY

2013 2014 -2016 2017
'A' 'B'
2018 - 2023 - 2023 -
*see note 1 below *see note 1 below
'C' 'D' 'E'
2023 - 2023 - 2023 -
*see note 1 below *see note 1 below
'F' 'G' 'H'
2024 - 2024 - 2024 -
*see note 1 below *see note 1 below
'I'
2025 -

During recent Stetson has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2013 was the first year for the Stetson football team.

*1 The right side of each of these designs differs from the left side as depicted below.

'A' 'B' 'C' and 'G'
'D' 'H'

VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY

1960 - 1963 1964 1965 - 1968
1969 1970 1971 - 1972
*see note 1 below
1973 1974 1975
1976 - 1981 1982 1983
1984 - 1988 1989 - 1990 1991 - ?
*see note 2 below
? - 1996 1997 - 2005 2006 - 2008
*see note 2 below
2009 2010 - 2013 2014 - 2020*
2021 -

*1 In 1969 a version of the "100" college football centennial logo was worn on the right sides of Valparaiso's helmets; the Valpo version had a blue football-shape with white numerals which were outlined in red. However, a different football-shaped logo was worn on the left sides (as shown above) - a brown football-shape with a white outline and white letters "VU-50", recognizing the 50th season of football at Valpo.

*2 Brown facemasks were used in 1991 but a gradual transition to black facemasks began in 1992. Both colors were in use for a few years but "nobody knows exactly when" the transition was complete, according to a report that I received. Some brown facemasks were apparently still in use at least as late as 1994.