List of Virginia Cavaliers head football coaches
The Virginia Cavaliers college football team represents the University of Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Cavaliers compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 42 head coaches since it began play during the 1887 season. Since December 2021, Tony Elliott has served as head coach at Virginia.[1]
Four coaches have led Virginia in postseason bowl games: George Welsh, Al Groh, Mike London, and Bronco Mendenhall. Three of those coaches also won conference championships: Joseph M. Wood and Harry Varner each captured one as a member of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association; and Welsh captured two as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Welsh is the leader in overall wins and seasons coached with 134 wins during his 19 years as head coach. Merritt Cooke Jr. has the highest winning percentage at 0.938. Dick Voris has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.033. Of the 42 different head coaches who have led the Cavaliers, George Sanford, Greasy Neale, Earl Abell, Frank Murray, and Welsh has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key[edit]
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches[edit]
| No. | Name[A 6] | Season(s)[A 7] | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William C. Spicer | 1892 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.583 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Johnny Poe | 1893–1894 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0.762 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Harry Arista Mackey | 1895 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0.818 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Martin V. Bergen | 1896–1897 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0.725 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Joseph Massie | 1898 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Archie Hoxton | 1899–1900 | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0.658 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Westley Abbott | 1901 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.800 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | John de Saulles | 1902 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0.850 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Gresham Poe | 1903 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | George Sanford† | 1904 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.667 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | William C. "King" Cole | 1905–1906 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0.650 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Hammond Johnson | 1907 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0.611 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | Merritt Cooke Jr. | 1908 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0.938 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | John Neff | 1909 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.875 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Charles B. Crawford | 1910 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Kemper Yancey | 1911 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.800 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.667 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 17 | John S. Elliott | 1912 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.667 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 18 23 |
W. Rice Warren | 1913 1920–1921 |
26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 0.692 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0.750 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 19 | Joseph M. Wood | 1914 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.889 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| 20 | Harry Varner | 1915 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.889 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| 21 | Peyton Evans | 1916 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.750 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 22 | Harris Coleman | 1919 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0.333 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 24 | Thomas J. Campbell | 1922 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0.500 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 25 | Greasy Neale† | 1923–1928 | 55 | 28 | 22 | 5 | 0.555 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 0.473 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 26 | Earl Abell† | 1929–1930 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0.474 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0.308 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 27 | Fred Dawson | 1931–1933 | 29 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 0.345 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0.250 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 28 | Gus Tebell | 1934–1936 | 28 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 0.286 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0.200 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 29 | Frank Murray† | 1937–1945 | 80 | 41 | 34 | 5 | 0.544 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Art Guepe | 1946–1952 | 66 | 47 | 17 | 2 | 0.727 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Ned McDonald | 1953–1955 | 28 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 0.179 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 32 | Ben Martin | 1956–1957 | 20 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0.325 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0.273 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 33 | Dick Voris | 1958–1960 | 30 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 0.033 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0.059 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 34 | Bill Elias | 1961–1964 | 40 | 16 | 23 | 1 | 0.413 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 0.196 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 35 | George Blackburn | 1965–1970 | 61 | 28 | 33 | 0 | 0.459 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 0.343 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 36 | Don Lawrence | 1971–1973 | 33 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 0.333 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0.353 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 37 | Sonny Randle | 1974–1975 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 0.227 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.100 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 38 | Dick Bestwick | 1976–1981 | 66 | 16 | 49 | 1 | 0.250 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 0.152 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| 39 | George Welsh† | 1982–2000 | 223 | 134 | 86 | 3 | 0.608 | 85 | 51 | 3 | 0.622 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 | — | — |
| 40 | Al Groh | 2001–2009 | 113 | 59 | 54 | — | 0.522 | 36 | 36 | — | 0.500 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 41 | Mike London | 2010–2015 | 73 | 27 | 46 | — | 0.370 | 14 | 34 | — | 0.292 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 42 | Bronco Mendenhall | 2016–2021 | 74 | 36 | 38 | — | 0.486 | 22 | 27 | — | 0.449 | 1 | 2 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 43 | Tony Elliott | 2022–present | 22 | 6 | 16 | — | 0.273 | 3 | 12 | — | 0.200 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
Notes[edit]
- ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[2]
- ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
- ^ Virginia did not have a head coach from the 1887–1891 seasons.
- ^ Virginia did not field a team from the 1917–1918 seasons.
References[edit]
- ^ "Virginia Cavaliers hire Clemson Tigers OC Tony Elliott as head football coach". ESPN.com. December 10, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.