They continued to play as an independent team for 87 seasons, [2][3] participating in several Bowl Games and sending numerous players into professional football, including Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, a second round selection in the 1981 NFL draft.

On April 14, 1981, the program was officially disbanded due to weak attendance and monetary reasons cited by the university board of trustees.

[2] Under heavy pressure from alumni and students, the program was reinstated by the board of trustees in April 1984 and sponsored a sold out Blue-White intrasquad game for Homecoming that November.

[5] The reborn program had instant success, beginning with an undefeated five-game schedule against Division III competition, and beating the Navy junior varsity.

Led by quarterback Kirk Schulz and wide receiver Robert Brady, the Wildcats reached the I-AA playoffs in 1989, bowing to eventual champion Georgia Southern in a spirited, high scoring game.

All-American wide receiver Brian Finneran led the Wildcats to the I-AA playoffs in 1996 before bowing to East Tennessee State.

In 2002, led by All-American QB Brett Gordon, Villanova advanced to the NCAA I-AA semifinals, defeating Fordham and Furman before falling to McNeese State.

In 2008, a sophomore-laden squad led by all-purpose back Matt Szczur and QB Chris Whitney had Villanova verged on becoming a national powerhouse.

Harvey ended up signing with the Atlanta Falcons, and Ventrone was on the New England Patriots in 2012, appearing in the Super Bowl, the 4th Wildcat to do so (Siani, Long and Westbrook are the others).

In 2009, Villanova won the NCAA Division I FCS national championship, defeating Montana 23–21 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and finished with a 14–1 overall record.

Villanova hosted three playoff games, defeating Holy Cross, avenging their regular season loss to New Hampshire with a lopsided victory played in a driving snowstorm, and edging CAA rival William & Mary 14–13 under the ESPN TV lights on a frigid night.

The 2012 season was in the midst of a rebuilding campaign by Coach Talley that earned a surprising CAA Conference Championship and another NCAA playoff appearance by the Wildcats who finished 8–4 with a very young squad full of talented underclassmen, particularly freshman QB John Robertson and Soph running back Kevin Monangai.

Villanova returned to prominence in 2014, dropping a thrilling opener at FBS Syracuse 27–26 in double overtime, serving notice that the Cats were back.

The much improved Cat defense was led by a standout linebacking corps of juniors Don Cherry and Dillon Lucas, and Senior Joey Harmon.

Throughout his Main Line career, Talley guided the Wildcats to twelve NCAA playoff appearances, six conference championships, three Lambert Meadowlands Cup, three ECAC Team of the Year awards.

"Clipper" Smith, piled up a sterling 7–2 record, and had earned victories over the likes of Penn State, Boston University, Detroit and South Carolina.

[13] Nevada, the nation's leading passing team led by All-American QB Stan Heath (American football), could do no better than match Villanova's aerial yardage.

On the first play after Nevada punted a horde of blockers got out in front of a scampering John Geppi, 180-pounder from Baltimore, who was escorted down the sidelines, all the 80 yards to a touchdown.

His top punter and key receiver, Ron Meyers was declared ineligible for the game because he had already entered into a professional agreement with the Cleveland Browns.

Wichita State was a 6-point favorite with Coach Hank Foldberg’s flashy passing offense featuring Alex Zyskowski and Bill Stangerone.

[15] While not as heralded as the Oregon State squad, Coach Alex Bell's Villanova had also enjoyed an outstanding season, compiling a 7–2 record.

The Wildcats seemingly got a big break midway through the first quarter when William Sherlock's 52-yard punt was downed by Larry Glueck on the one-foot line.

One play later, disaster struck as Oregon State's Terry Baker got loose around end, and raced to a 99-yard touchdown with 9:24 left in the opening period.

Taking the ensuing kickoff down to the Beavers’ 12-yard line, they seemingly deadlocked the contest when Billy Joe made his way around the left end and romped 12-yards into the endzone.

As CAA conference rivals in FCS, the teams have met each season since 1988 and Villanova head coach Andy Talley is 13–12 in his career versus Delaware.

Prior to the "Mayors Cup", the two teams last met in 2003 when Villanova tallied a 23–20 upset win in double overtime over the FBS program.

Villanova also plays intra-city rival[citation needed] University of Pennsylvania in a match-up with "college football's most historic program."

Included in this project was a state of the art press box, in addition to housing an 80-person meeting room for all Villanova Athletic Department personnel to use.

The stadium has 29 luxury suites, an 11,000 square foot full-service club restaurant, state of the art LED signage, and innovative experiential zones.

85 former Wildcat players in all have played professional football dating back to 1920 including Howard "Fungy" Lebengood who was a halfback on the uncrowned World Champion 1925 Pottsville Maroons.