Ted Kessinger (born January 15, 1941) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, compiling a record of 219–57–1 for a winning percentage of .792. He is among the college football coaches with the most wins and the highest winning percentage.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 15, 1941 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1962 | Augustana (SD) |
| Position(s) | Center, linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1964–1968 | Augustana (IL) (line) |
| 1969–1976 | Augustana (SD) (assistant) |
| 1976–2003 | Bethany (KS) |
| Wrestling | |
| 1964–1969 | Augustana (IL) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 219–57–1 (football) 39–5–3 (wrestling) |
| Tournaments | Football 3–9 (NAIA D-II playoffs) 0–1 (NAIA playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 16 KCAC (1977–1981, 1986–1988, 1990–1991, 1993–1996, 1999, 2001) Wrestling 5 CCIW (1965–1969) | |
| Awards | |
| 11× KCAC Coach of the Year NAIA Hall of Fame (2003) Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2005) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2010 (profile) | |
Kessinger was the head coach of the first American football team to play in Sweden,[1] and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.[2] His son is Kent Kessinger, the head coach at Ottawa University.
Coaching career
editAssistant coaching
editBefore becoming a head coach, Kessinger worked as an assistant coach at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the South Dakota Coyotes in Vermillion.[3]
Bethany
editKessinger was the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, where he posted a record of 219–57–1. He guided Bethany to the NAIA playoffs ten times and achieved a top 25 ranking 20 times. His teams never posted a losing season during his entire coaching tenure.[4]
In 2000, his team won the American Family Charity Bowl, defeating the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes by a score of 20–3.[5]
Kessinger was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[6]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | NAIA# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany Terrible Swedes (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1976–2003) | |||||||||
| 1976 | Bethany | 6–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1977 | Bethany | 9–1 | 8–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1978 | Bethany | 10–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1979 | Bethany | 11–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II Semifinal | ||||
| 1980 | Bethany | 9–1 | 7–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1981 | Bethany | 9–1 | 8–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1982 | Bethany | 5–5 | 5–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1983 | Bethany | 8–2 | 7–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1984 | Bethany | 6–4 | 5–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1985 | Bethany | 7–2 | 7–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1986 | Bethany | 8–1 | 8–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1987 | Bethany | 8–2 | 8–1 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1988 | Bethany | 10–1 | 9–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1989 | Bethany | 8–1 | 8–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1990 | Bethany | 8–2 | 8–1 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1991 | Bethany | 8–2 | 8–1 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1992 | Bethany | 7–1–1 | 7–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1993 | Bethany | 9–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1994 | Bethany | 7–3 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1995 | Bethany | 10–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1996 | Bethany | 8–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1997 | Bethany | 7–2 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1998 | Bethany | 6–3 | 5–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1999 | Bethany | 8–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NAIA First Round | 13 | |||
| 2000 | Bethany | 7–3 | 6–3 | T–3rd | W American Family Charity Bowl | ||||
| 2001 | Bethany | 8–1 | 8–1 | T–1st | 19 | ||||
| 2002 | Bethany | 6–3 | 6–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 2003 | Bethany | 5–4 | 5–4 | T–3rd | |||||
| Bethany: | 219–57–1 | 198–40 | |||||||
| Total: | 219–57–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The Victoria Advocate "Sweden's First Shot at Football a Success Despite 72-7 Defeat" by Stephaan Nastrom, Jun 20, 1985
- ^ "College Football". ESPN. May 11, 2010.
- ^ Kansas Sports Hall of Fame[permanent dead link] Kent Kessinger
- ^ Topeka Capital-Journal "Ted Kessinger retires with 219-57-1 record" February 12, 2004
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse Archived October 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Kansas Wesleyan Bowl History
- ^ Ted Kessinger at the College Football Hall of Fame