Hello there!

This is being written to ask a question and to prevent an edit war.

Can the simpler format for the team links please be used on the 2008 Davidson football page? Yes, the other format is correct, but not only is the simpler format correct, but it also removes excess bytes. If that sounds backwards, that's understandable, but let's also add that it makes things less complicated in case someone wants to adapt this page for a different page. The simpler format can be useful for those who don't know how to use the other format.

Thanks! NotJamestack (talk) 15:15, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@NotJamestack, I understand the need to remove 'excess bytes' but they're quite simply not excess bytes, they serve a purpose to automatically link to those notable season articles when they are created without needless 'behind the scenes' edits that often will go undone. Most modern season articles use the template, hell, look at almost all standings templates, they use the very same formats because it allows users to create a season article without having to worry about updating any number of pages to now link to what they have just created, since a bot will then do it.

It is comparing apples to oranges when they serve different purposes.

TL:DR, template will auto link to season articles, simple version will not, hence the need for the template. Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk) 15:43, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It is especially helpful on D1 articles, where those templates will automatically update when the other notable D1 seasons are eventually created. Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk) 15:47, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there. I've reverted you at the above article. I don't know what practices WP:CFB has, but I do know that WP:REDLINK is a guideline, and I am not seeing an exception written in for college football articles there. Best, Ed ^{[talk] [OMT]} 01:57, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The ed17, if you look just about any of the several thousand college coach bio articles that have head coaching record tables (e.g. Frosty Ferzacca, Gil Krueger, Rollie Dotsch), virtually none of them have red links to individual seasons. Jweiss11 (talk) 03:52, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Jweiss11: Thanks for jumping in. Was there a consensus in favor of this topic area not being subject to WP:REDLINKS? Otherwise, any local (and unwritten) consensus doesn't trump a superseding guideline. Moreover, four red links in a table full of blue doesn't create a MOS:REDLINKS concern. And finally, on a related but separate note, there's a reason why WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS is an argument to avoid in deletion discussions.

That said, guidelines do allow for occasional exceptions. Assuming one doesn't already exist, I'd invite you or Thetreesarespeakingtome to open up a discussion or RfC at WT:REDLINK. Alternatively, I'm happy to ask the question myself to solve the immediate problem at this particular article. Ed ^{[talk] [OMT]} 04:15, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There's an overwhelming consensus in practice regarding these tables. This is not a discussion about deletion. Do you value consistency between analogous items across the encyclopedia? Jweiss11 (talk) 04:20, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Jweiss11: I value broad consistency, which happens through adhering to the policies and guidelines we are bound to by broad editorial consensus. WP:CFB can make all the decisions it wants in areas not covered by broader guidelines, but redlinks is something that falls firmly outside their remit. This is basic WP:CONLEVEL stuff. That said, exceptions can and will exist if CFB can achieve a community consensus. Ed ^{[talk] [OMT]} 05:36, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ed, well, I agree with you about broad consistency with respect to policies and guidelines. But I also place a great value on granular, technical consistency, particularly when it comes to templated content and standardized data tables. The relevant standard here extends far beyond just college football, to other American college sports (e.g. Phog Allen#Head coaching record, Augie Garrido#Head coaching record) that use similar templates for head coaching record tables. In the case of major pro sports in the US (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) there is generally an article for every team season, rendering this issue moot there. For minor pro sports leagues like Arena Football League and AF2, results are mixed; e.g. Dean Cokinos#af2, IFL, PIFL, and AFL (2024) vs. Ron Selesky#AFL head coaching record. Although those subject areas have been subject to far less scrutiny and consensus-building than have the major pro sports and college sports. What would you like to see happen here. Do you just want to add redlinks to the table at the Bernie Anderson article? Of do you want to introduce a broad, sweeping practice of red-linking in these tables across thousands of articles? Jweiss11 (talk) 22:35, 12 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Jweiss11: Apologies for the delayed reply. If that all is indeed the case, it's a pretty transparent acknowledgement that the topic area is contravening the manual of style... which isn't great for all the obvious reasons. Perhaps the route is a RfC to see if the current practice somehow aligns with the redlink PAGs, rather than one asking for an exception that I suspect would fail (although it really is possible; see WP:SHE4SHIPS). I no longer have an appetite for either at the moment, having spent too much time writing on noticeboards in the last two weeks, but it's a looming issue that the college football editors are going to confront at some point. Ed ^{[talk] [OMT]} 03:13, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, do you remember why you added Vincent Jackson to this template? Was there a Vincent Jackson on their practice roster that year or something? ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 22:03, 3 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think you meant to put Vincent Marshall. I went ahead and changed it. Thanks. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 22:06, 3 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@WikiOriginal-9, judging by my edit of Vincent Marshall at the time it appears I just made a mental goof, good catch! Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk) 23:15, 3 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hey @Thetreesarespeakingtome

These are D3 Football coaches that I think would be good for Wikipedia pages.

1. Mike Heffernan Elmhurst Head Football Coach

2. Luke Butts Westminster (MO) Head Football Coach

3. KiJuan Ware Augsburg Head Football Coach

4. David Biever Wilkes Head Football Coach

5. Dan McCarty St. Norbert Head Football Coach

6. Chris Hedden Bluffton Head Football Coach

I would really appreciate it if you could do these and if the person would work could you just tell me. Thanks man! ParkerLyme (talk) 18:52, 24 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just a quick search gave me these primary and secondary sources:

1. Mike Heffernan: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
2. Luke Butts: [11][12][13][14]
3. KiJuan Ware: [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
4. David Biever: [26][27][28][29][30]
5. Dan McCarty: [31][32][33][34][35]
6. Chris Hedden: [36][37][38][39][40][41][42] (mostly primary, but was an OC at the DI FBS level, so more than likely more sources exist).

There is definitely more than enough sources for each...just a matter of willpower.

Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk) 21:37, 24 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there! I'm interested in why you created a page for Lee St.Hilaire. It's such a sad story, how did you learn of it? PurpleDog1511 (talk) 00:21, 26 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@PurpleDog1511, while working on the Husson Eagles football, 2003–2009 seasons I thought it was really weird that a redshirt freshmen captain wasn't on the roster in 2004, so I did a quick search and found that that he had died by suicide. Upon digging deeper I found a reasonably large amount of sources. So, as a result, and an interest in expanding material pertaining to Husson Eagles football, I created his page. Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk) 00:24, 26 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Jehlani Galloway is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jehlani Galloway until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article until the discussion has finished.

~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 02:31, 14 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]