Early history (1919–1967) The football program was born shortly after the university opened, at the time known as the
Bowling Green Normal School. In the early years of Bowling Green State Normal College, common nicknames of BG athletic teams used by sports writers were “B.G. Normals,” “Teachers,” and the “B.G. Pedagogues". The team began play in 1919 and played on a local
field behind the Ridge Street School in
Bowling Green, Ohio. The first team was composed of nineteen male students, over half of the 36 men that enrolled in the college. The second game of the season marked BG's first road game at
Defiance College, where the team dropped to 0–2 with a 12–0 shutout. The 1920 team later recorded the program's first win, in the eighth and final game of the season, when the team defeated
Kent State Normal College 7–0. The record was repeated two seasons later, in 1927, when the team dropped its final game of the season 12–6 to
Bluffton. The nickname's popularity grew rapidly and was adopted by the school. In 1928, the Falcons recorded their first undefeated season with a record of 5–0–2. The 1931 season marked the team's final year that the Falcons participated in the Northwest Ohio League. The Falcons struggled in their initial seasons as a member of the OAC, when the team recorded a losing record in three straight seasons from 1933 to 1935. The first winning record came in 1936 when the Falcons finished the season with a record of 4–2–3. From 1942 until 1952 The team played independent of a conference affiliation until the university joined the
Mid-American Conference (MAC). The only blemish on the season came at the hands of
John Carroll, when the teams battled to tie score of 13–13. The success of the first MAC season was short-lived with Bowling Green only winning 3 games over the next two seasons; Perry changed the culture of the program, and focused on decreases in mistakes, penalties, fumbles, interceptions, blocked kicks and missed assignments. In that season, the team's only loss came to the Miami RedHawks by the score of 7–0. Shortly after the victory, news spread that the Mustangs' plane
crashed on takeoff when leaving
Toledo. The Falcons lost the game 36–6 but over $170,000 was raised for the victims. During Perry's tenure at Bowling Green, he won five Mid-American Conference championships and one small college national championship. His .855 winning percentage placed Perry among the top five in college football history and he was inducted to the
College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. The Falcons continued their winning ways under Gibson in 1966 and 1967, posting records of 6–3 and 6–4 respectively.
Don Nehlen era (1968–1976) After one season as an assistant coach to Gibson, Don Nehlen took over as head coach for the Falcons in 1968. Nehlen played
quarterback at Bowling Green from 1955 to 1957 and led the team to the 1956 MAC championship. The Falcons welcomed Nehlen in as head coach with a 62–8 win over Ball State and opened the 1968 season on a three-game win streak. The team finished the season 6–3–1 and followed with a 6–4 record in the 1969 season. Bowling Green rebounded back to a 6–4 record in 1971. The Falcons began Nehlen's fifth season as head coach against
Purdue on September 16, 1972. In the 1973 season, BG again picked up a big opening win, at
Syracuse 41–14.
Denny Stolz era (1977–1985) Former
Michigan State head coach
Denny Stolz was hired as the 12th head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons in 1977. He coached the team to a 22–33–1 in his first five seasons, with the first four having exactly seven losses. But in his sixth season, he coached them to a MAC title, their first since 1965, culminating with an appearance in the
California Bowl, their first ever bowl game appearance. His next two seasons were both 8–3 but with no MAC titles, finishing 2nd twice. In Stolz's final season, the Falcons went 11–0 in the regular season, won the MAC title, and appeared in the California Bowl once again. Stolz left his Bowling Green team out in California and never got the Falcons ready to play vs
Fresno State and the Falcons were beaten for the first time all season and ended 11–1, while Stolz went to San Diego to coach
San Diego State, leaving BGSU after two MAC titles and a 56–45–1 record, going 34–12–0 in his last four seasons.
Moe Ankney era (1986–1990) Arizona defensive coordinator and associate head coach
Moe Ankney was hired as the 13th head coach of the Falcons after Stolz's departure. Ironically, despite finishing 5–6 in his first two years, they had finished tied for 2nd in the MAC. But the bottom fell out in his third season, with his team going 2–8–1 and finishing eighth out of nine teams. His next two seasons were only marginally better, finishing 5–6 and 3–5–2. After five losing seasons, Ankney resigned to become defensive coordinator at
Purdue, finishing with a record of 20–31–3.
Gary Blackney era (1991–2000) Ohio State linebackers coach
Gary Blackney was hired as the 14th head coach of the Falcons in 1990. His first season ended with a 10–1 regular season, MAC title, a win in the
California Bowl which was their first ever bowl win. The next season proved to be even better, as the team finished with a 2nd straight MAC title, a 9–2 regular season, and a
Las Vegas Bowl victory. In 1994, his team came within one game of winning a third MAC title, before a loss to
Central Michigan on a fake punt touchdown. Blackney's Falcons finished 9–2 in 1994. In his first four seasons, Blackney had coached the Falcons to a 36–8–2 record. But after the Central Michigan debacle that ended that season, Blackney's record in the next six seasons was a paltry 24–42, with his last season being the worst, as they finished 2–9. Four games in with an 0–4 start, Blackney decided to quit as soon as the season ended, leaving the Falcons after compiling a 60–50–2 record.
Urban Meyer era (2001–2002) In 2001,
Notre Dame wide receivers coach
Urban Meyer took his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. In his first season there, the team finished 8–3, capping off the season with a 56–21 victory over Bowling Green's rival, the University of Toledo Rockets. Meyer also earned Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors that season. The next year, Bowling Green finished with a 9–3 record. He helped turn around a team that had gone 2–9 in 2000 in large part due to QB
Josh Harris, a player tailor-made for Meyer's scheme. In part-time play in 2001, Harris threw for 1,022 yards with 9 touchdowns, and ran for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns. The next year, he threw for 2,425 yards with 19 TD and ran for 737 yards with 20 TD. Meyer later used such quarterbacks as
Alex Smith at Utah and
Tim Tebow at
Florida in a fashion similar to the way Meyer used Harris.
Gregg Brandon era (2003–2008) After Meyer left for Utah, offensive coordinator
Gregg Brandon was promoted to serve as the 16th head coach of the Falcons. In his first season as Bowling Green's head coach, Brandon led his team to an 11–3 record and a division title, appearing in the 2003 MAC title game, losing to
Miami (OH). But the Falcons would play in the
2003 Motor City Bowl and win, finishing the season ranked at No. 23.While the next season was only good enough for 3rd in the MAC West, they finished 9–3 and played in the
2004 GMAC Bowl, the first time the Falcons went to consecutive bowl games since 1992. They moved to the MAC East after the season, and finished the next two years 2nd and 4th respectively, with the latter being his only losing season at 4–8 in 2006. The following year, they shared the MAC East title while finishing 8–5, losing out on playing in the MAC title game due to a tiebreaker. Instead, they played in the
2007 GMAC Bowl. The 2008 season proved to be his final year in which they finished 6–6 after high expectations, being fired after his last game, a win against
Toledo. Brandon finished 44–30, with two division titles but no MAC titles.
Dave Clawson era (2009–2013) Dave Clawson had been offensive coordinator at
Tennessee prior to being hired as the 17th head coach of the Falcons. His first year ended with a 7–6 record and a loss in the
2009 Humanitarian Bowl, though they played in their first bowl game in three seasons. They improved to 5–7 the following year, with a marginal rise in division position. In January 2010, rumors began to circulate that
East Carolina was interested in Clawson for their vacant head coaching position, following former ECU coach
Skip Holtz' move to
South Florida. The rumors intensified following
Middle Tennessee State's head coach
Rick Stockstill turning down the East Carolina job after interviewing. However, Bowling Green stated that neither athletic director Greg Christopher or Clawson himself were contacted by East Carolina officials. Ultimately,
Ruffin McNeill was hired to fill the position. On November 7, 2012, Clawson led the Falcons to an upset victory against division rival
Ohio 26–14. The special teams had two blocked punts and forced two bad snaps which one of them rolled into Ohio's end zone to force a safety. The Falcons took advantage of these turnovers and scored 19 points (2 Touchdowns, 1 Field Goal, and 1 Safety). With the win, BG moved into 2nd place in the MAC East Division and kept their hopes alive of winning the MAC East and better yet the entire conference. They went to the
2012 Military Bowl after an 8–5 record, as expectations rose for next season. 2013 proved to be the culmination of the expectations, as the team not only won the MAC East, they also won the MAC title over Northern Illinois, their first MAC title since 1992. The team finished with a 10–4 record. Four days after winning the MAC title, Clawson left to be the next coach at
Wake Forest, leaving the interim head coaching duties for the
2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl to special teams coordinator Adam Scheier. He left the program with a 32–31 record, a MAC title, but no bowl wins.
Dino Babers era (2014–2015) Eastern Illinois head coach
Dino Babers was hired as the 18th head football coach of the Falcons in December 2013. Babers is the first
African American head coach in Bowling Green football history. Bowling Green went 8–4 in his first year with the program, winning the MAC East once again, though they lost the MAC title game to Northern Illinois, ending the regular season on a three-game losing streak. However, they did appear in the
2014 Camellia Bowl and won. It was their first bowl win since 2004. In 2015 Babers coached the team to a 10–4 record, winning the 2015 MAC Championship against Northern Illinois. Babers left the program in December 2015 to accept the head coaching position at
Syracuse.
Mike Jinks era (2016–2018) Texas Tech running backs coach
Mike Jinks was hired to replace Babers on December 9, 2015. In Jinks' first season, the Falcons finished 4–8. In his second season, the Falcons only accomplished 2 wins to their 10 losses. In what would be his final season, the Jinks-led Falcons were 1–6 after falling to
Western Michigan on October 13 after holding a two-touchdown lead with 8:51 left in the third quarter. Jinks was relieved of his duties on October 14, 2018, and finished his stint at Bowling Green with a 7–24 record.
Carl Pelini was named interim head coach.
Scot Loeffler era (2019–2024) On November 28, 2018,
Boston College offensive coordinator
Scot Loeffler was named the 20th head coach at Bowling Green. During this time, the Falcons played their 100th anniversary game against the
Toledo Rockets, winning 20–7. The Falcons were 27.5 point underdogs, and pulled off their first victory against Toledo since 2009. BG finished the year 3–9. In his second season, the Falcons didn't win a single game, going 0–5, in a shortened season due to the pandemic. Loeffler would pick up his biggest win as the head coach in 2021 when the Falcons beat the
Minnesota Gophers 14–10 at
Huntington Bank Stadium. The win would be Bowling Green's first win against an FBS team since 2019. Bowling Green would finish the season with a 4–8 record. The Falcons finished with a 6–7 record in 2022. They began the season on the road with a 17–45 loss to
UCLA. Bowling Green then lost to FCS opponent
Eastern Kentucky in their longest game played with seven overtimes 57–59. The Falcons then defeated
Marshall 34–31 in overtime the following week. Marshall had previously defeated #7
Notre Dame the week prior. Later in the season, the Falcons defeated Toledo 42–35 for their sixth win of the season. The victory earned the Falcons their first bowl game appearance since 2015. They faced
New Mexico State in the
2022 Quick Lane Bowl. In 2023, Loeffler's Falcons posted a 7–6 record. This was the Falcons first winning season since
2015. The
2023 season highlighted a non-conference 38–27 upset win against
Georgia Tech and another
Quick Lane Bowl invitation. Loeffler left to take the
Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach positions following the completion of the 2024 season.
Eddie George era (2025–present) On March 9, 2025,
Eddie George, a
College Football Hall of Fame running back at
Ohio State and former NFL player, was hired as the Falcons' head coach. He had served the previous four season as head coach at
Tennessee State. During George's first season, the Falcons gained a social media star in the form of Pudge, a shorthair
Persian cat owned by starting long snapper George Carlson. Carlson had brought Pudge to the Falcons' locker room after a 2025 preseason practice, and the team quickly took to the cat, making him an unofficial mascot and a regular locker-room visitor. Two team members posted videos of Pudge to social media sites, and the videos went viral. Since then, Pudge has been featured on the program's social media accounts, travels with the team and has a security detail, has a merchandise line, and has been gifted with packages of treats from major pet care brands. ==Conference affiliations==