FRANKFORT, Ky. — The success of the Kentucky State University football team has been remarkable this year. After finishing the 2024 season with a 5–6 overall record and a 4–4 conference mark, the Thorobreds failed to make the playoffs. Now, in 2025, the team holds an impressive 8–2 overall record and a 7–1 conference mark. In just his third season, Kentucky State head coach Felton Huggins Jr. was named the 2025 SIAC Football Coach of the Year, a recognition that reflects the program’s dramatic improvement and its strong chance to qualify for the Division II national playoffs. The top seven teams in each region advance to the NCAA Division II Football Championship, with official selections scheduled to be announced Sunday, Nov. 16, adding even more anticipation to Kentucky State’s postseason hopes.
Defensive lineman Michael Daniels credited the team’s transformation to renewed discipline and mindset. “Over the summer, the guys really locked in, and we were not trying to be the same team as last year,” he said. “When the new guys came in, we told them the narrative that we were trying to change for the school, and everybody started buying in.”
However, Kentucky State’s playoff push has not come without controversy. The team’s final regular-season game against 7–3 Delta State, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, was canceled and replaced with a matchup against 2–8 Shorter University. According to an article from The Vicksburg Post, Delta State head coach Todd Cooley expressed frustration with the decision. “It’s baffling to me. It’s setting a precedent that should not be set,” Cooley said. “I would think if we beat them, they probably wouldn’t be in the playoffs. So maybe that’s why they’re not playing us. You’d have to ask them. I just know they’re not playing us. It’s been frustrating.”
Despite the controversy, Kentucky State’s resurgence, shaped by leadership, player commitment, and a new team culture, remains one of the most compelling football stories in the SIAC this season as the Thorobreds await their postseason fate.
