CHADRON - The first decade of the new millennium proved to be the best decade in the history of Chadron State College football.

The Eagles won 77.7 percent of their games the past 10 years to beat out the “Roaring ‘20s” as the winningest in school history by less than two percentage points.

Sparked by records of 7-0-1 in 1923, 8-1 in both ’24 and ’29 and 8-0 in ’25, the Eagles were a Nebraska juggernaut in the 1920s while compiling a 60-29-1 record.

But during the current decade, the Eagles flew even higher. They went 87-25, led by a 10-1 mark in 2001, 8-2 in ’02 and ’03, those sparkling 12-1 records in ’06 and ’07 and the 11-2 season in ’08.

The Eagles reached the NCAA Division II playoffs five times during the past decade, when they also won five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships.

The Eagles’ record this decade is by far the best among RMAC teams. Nebraska-Kearney is second at 73-34 after splitting a pair of playoff games this season. Colorado Mines at 67-46 and Mesa State at 63-51 are the only other RMAC teams to have winning records during the decade, not counting Colorado State-Pueblo, which is 11-10 after reviving its football program two years ago.

CSC’s record during the 2000s against strictly RMAC competition is 69-13. Kearney ranks second at 61-21, followed by Mesa State at 51-31 and Colorado Mines at 50-32.

Chadron State was also well-represented on the RMAC All-Century Football Team released in the summer. Brad Smith, who is the school’s athletic director, posted a record of 133-56-1 in 18 seasons at Chadron State and was selected as the RMAC All-Time Coach. Joining him on the all-century team were former standouts Danny Woodhead and Kevin Homer. Woodhead was the All-Time Offensive Player and Homer was the All-Time Defensive Player.

Just six Division II teams have better records than the Eagles this decade. They are Grand Valley State of Michigan, Valdosta State of Georgia, Northwest Missouri, Tuskegee in Alabama, Pittsburg State of Kansas and Bloomsburg in Pennsylvania.

The 1990s also was great for CSC football fortunes. The Eagles never had a losing season during that decade and went 78-30-1 for a 72.2 winning percentage. During the past 20 years, CSC is 165-55 on the gridiron for a 75.0 figure.