1983 Delaware State Hornets football team

1983 Delaware State Hornets football
1983 Delaware State Hornets football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	7–3–1 (3–1 MEAC)
Head coach	Joe Purzycki (3rd season);
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium
	Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 South Carolina State $	4	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Delaware State	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
Bethune–Cookman	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	1
North Carolina A&T	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	1
Howard	1	–	3	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Florida A&M	0	–	0	–	0	7	–	4	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Florida A&M games did not count as conference games Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1983 Delaware State Hornets football team represented Delaware State College (now known as Delaware State University) as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Joe Purzycki, the Hornets compiled an overall record of 7–3–1, with a mark of 3–1 in conference play, and finished second in the MEAC.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at South Carolina State		State College Stadium Orangeburg, SC	L 17–24	9,250	^[1]
September 17	at Florida A&M		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 36–34	6,703	^[2]
September 24	District of Columbia*		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 56–6		^[3]
October 1	Bethune–Cookman		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 23–16		^[4]
October 8	James Madison*		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 38–28		^[5]
October 15	North Carolina A&T		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 26–7	7,000	^[6]
October 22	at Liberty Baptist*	No. 15	City Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 48–24	850	^[7]
October 29	Towson State*	No. T–12	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	L 15–23		^[8]
November 5	at Central State (OH)*	No. 17	McPherson Stadium Wilberforce, OH	L 26–49	4,500	^[9]
November 12	at Northeastern*		Parsons Field Brookline, MA	T 21–21	3,030	^[10]
November 19	Howard		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 62–20	6,001	^[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll Poll released prior to the game

^ "State outlasts Delaware State". The Greenville News. September 11, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware State nips FAMU 36–34". St. Petersburg Times. September 18, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware State savors 56–6 romp over UDC". Sunday News Journal. September 25, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "B–CC's Hawk sets passing record in defeat". The Orlando Sentinel. October 2, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Del State rallies to beat JMU". Sunday Morning News. October 9, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware State halts Aggies 26–7". News and Record. October 16, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "DelState's sixth victory assures winning season". The News Journal. October 23, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Defense pushes Towson over Del. State". The Baltimore Sun. October 30, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "DelState falls to undefeated Central State". Sunday News Journal. November 6, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware St. catches NU". The Boston Globe. November 13, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "DelState ravages Howard". The Daily Times. November 20, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

Delaware State Hornets football
Venues	Soldier's Field (1924–1956) Dover Baseball Park (alternative) Alumni Stadium (1957–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Delaware: Route 1 Rivalry
Culture & lore	Hornet The Approaching Storm 1980 Portland State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold