The Nicholls Colonels football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Nicholls State University located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Southland Conference. Nicholls' first football team was fielded in 1972. The team plays its home games at the 10,500 seat Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The Colonels are coached by Tommy Rybacki.
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<nowiki>*</nowiki>1996 I-AA National Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Award Recipient<br/><nowiki>**</nowiki>Interim head coach for final nine games of 2014 season
The Colonels have qualified for the Division I-AA/FCS playoffs seven times, with a combined record of 3âÂÂ7.
Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose stadium in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It is home to the Nicholls Colonels football team of the Southland Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The stadium is named in honor of former state representative John L. Guidry. The playing surface is named Manning Field after the Manning family (Peyton, Eli, Cooper and Archie) because the family holds the annual Manning Passing Academy football camp at the facility. The current playing surface is GeoGreen Replicated Grass.
On June 12, 2019, Nicholls announced a new $6.5 million, 20,000-square-foot football operations center will be built in the south end zone along with an expansion and renovation of the Frank L. Barker Athletic Building. The football team moved from the Barker Athletic Building to the Boucvault Athletic Complex for the start of the 2020 Nicholls Football season.
The Boucvault Athletic Complex is located at the south end zone of Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. The facility includes football offices, team locker rooms, training rooms, and a team meeting hall with a seating area for fans overlooking the field.
The Gaubert Oil Practice Facility at Shaw Sports Turf/Manning Field is a covered 100-yard turf field and also includes office and storage space for the team. It is located directly behind the Boucvault Athletic Complex and Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. In a partnership between Nicholls Colonels football, the Manning Passing Academy and Shaw Sports Turf, an artificial turf field was installed at the facility.
The Nicholls Colonels Strength and Conditioning facility is located in the Leonard C. Chabert Strength and Conditioning Facility or Leonard C. Chabert Hall. The facility has multi-purpose power stations, weight machines, dumbbell stations, elliptical machines and stationary bikes. It is the strength and conditioning facility and nutrition center for Nicholls athletics.
The Frank L. Barker Athletic Building or Barker Hall is located adjacent to Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. From 1972 to 2019, it housed the Nicholls Colonels football coachesâ offices, locker rooms, meeting rooms, athletic training rooms and athletic staff. The Nicholls Athletics Hall of Fame is also located in the building.
The original Nicholls Colonels football practice fields were the teams practice fields from 1972 to 2023. It included three natural grass football practice fields and was located across Acadia Drive from Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, the Frank L. Barker Athletic Building and the Leonard C. Chabert Strength and Conditioning Facility. Two of the fields faced in a northâÂÂsouth configuration similar to Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium with a third that faced in an eastâÂÂwest configuration.
Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana are located 94 miles apart and no two football-playing schools in the Southland Conference are as close as the two schools. The winner of the annual football game is awarded the River Bell Trophy. The trophy features a river bell, the teams athletic logos and details the yearly victors. The game played between the rivals began in 1972 and was played annually until 1985 when Southeastern Louisiana dropped its football program. It resumed 20 years later in 2005 when football was reinstated by the university.
The football rivalry game with Northwestern State is played annually with the winner being awarded the NSU Trophy. Both universities are located in Louisiana and are members of the Southland Conference. The first game in the series was played in 1973.
In fall 1998, the Colonels were scheduled to take on the Texas State Bobcats. Prior to the game, heavy rains flooded San Marcos, Texas and the playing field at Texas State. Athletic directors and coaches from both schools decided to postpone the game and coined the annual contest the "Battle for the Paddle," joking that fans and athletes needed to use a boat and paddle to get to the game. The game was eventually played on November 28, 1998, with Texas State prevailing 28âÂÂ27 to win the first "Battle for the Paddle". A wooden oar or paddle named the "Paddle Trophy" was awarded to the winner of the contest.
Announced non-conference opponents as of February 6, 2026.
The Colonels are broadcast on ESPN+.