Before the establishment of the SAA, Centre played 50 seasons in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).

Despite the school's small size (2008 enrollment of 1,215), the football team has historically had success and possesses a strong tradition.

[1] On April 9, 1880, a Centre College team traveled to Lexington to play against Transylvania University in the first football game south of the Ohio River.

[1] The Colonels lost that game, and a rematch at home later in the month, but it was the start of a long-running rivalry with their in-state opponent.

In that series, the Colonels compiled a 20–13–2 record before the Kentucky athletic council decided to permanently drop Centre from their schedule after the 1929 season.

In 1951, the Colonels finished the season with a 5–1 record and were invited to play Northern Illinois State in the Corn Bowl.

Jack "Teel" Bruner, a safety from 1982 to 1985, became the second Centre Colonel inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

[14] In 2011, the Colonels' final SCAC season, they finished second in the conference, but received an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament.