The VMI Keydets football team competes in the Southern Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Football Championship Subdivision, representing the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Since its inception in 1891, the program has had 32 head coaches.
Although the origins of VMI football date back to 1873, the first organized football team did not appear until 1891. The first head coach was Walter Taylor, the son of Walter H. Taylor, a prominent banker, lawyer, and aide-de-camp to Robert E. Lee.[1] Notable coaches include Blandy Clarkson, who spent seven seasons with the Keydets and led the team to their first undefeated season in 1920; John McKenna, the school's all-time most victorious coach who compiled a record of 62–60–8 in thirteen seasons with VMI while winning four Southern Conference championships; and Bob Thalman, the second most victorious coach who led the team to the 1974 and 1977 conference titles. The most recent Keydet head coach was Sparky Woods, who coached seven seasons for the Keydets before being let go by the school in 2014. In over 120 years of football, VMI has an all-time record of 485–718–42 (.406).
Key
editGeneral | 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# | Name | Season(s)[a] | GC | W | L | T | W% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CCs | NCs | National awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter Taylor | 1891 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .875 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2 | George Bryant | 1895–1896 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3 | R. N. Groner | 1897 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
4 | Samuel Boyle, Jr. | 1899 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
5 | Sam Walker | 1900–1902 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | .595 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6 | William Roper[6]† | 1903–1904 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | Ira Johnson | 1905–1906 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
8 | Charles Roller | 1907–1908 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
9 | William C. Gloth | 1909–1910 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | .536 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
10 | Alpha Brummage | 1911–1912 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
11 | Henry Poague | 1913 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | .800 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
12 | Frank Gorton | 1914–1916 | 26 | 14 | 16 | 1 | .558 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
13 | Earl Abell | 1917 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
14 | Earl Abell Mose Goodman |
1918 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
15 | Red Fleming | 1919 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
16 | Blandy Clarkson | 1920–1926 | 67 | 45 | 20 | 2 | .687 | 5 | 12 | 1 | .306 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
17 | W. C. Raftery | 1927–1936 | 98 | 38 | 55 | 5 | .413 | 18 | 33 | 3 | .361 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
18 | Allison Hubert | 1937–1946 | 96 | 43 | 45 | 8 | .490 | 29 | 24 | 7 | .650 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
19 | Arthur Morton | 1947–1948 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .339 | 7 | 4 | 1 | .625 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
20 | Tom Nugent | 1949–1952 | 39 | 19 | 18 | 2 | .513 | 15 | 6 | 1 | .705 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
21 | John McKenna | 1953–1965 | 130 | 62 | 60 | 8 | .508 | 44 | 27 | 5 | .612 | — | — | — | 4 | — | — |
22 | Vito Ragazzo | 1966–1970 | 51 | 10 | 41 | 0 | .196 | 5 | 18 | 0 | .217 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
23 | Bob Thalman | 1971–1984 | 151 | 54 | 94 | 3 | .368 | 25 | 43 | 2 | .371 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — |
24 | Eddie Williamson | 1985–1988 | 44 | 10 | 33 | 1 | .239 | 5 | 18 | 1 | .229 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
25 | Jim Shuck | 1989–1993 | 55 | 14 | 40 | 1 | .264 | 6 | 37 | 1 | .191 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
26 | Bill Stewart | 1994–1996 | 33 | 8 | 25 | 0 | .242 | 7 | 17 | 0 | .292 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
27 | Ted Cain[b] | 1997–1998 | 21 | 1 | 20 | .048 | 0 | 16 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
28 | Cal McCombs | 1999–2005 | 79 | 19 | 60 | .241 | 9 | 35 | .205 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
29 | Jim Reid | 2006–2007 | 22 | 3 | 19 | .136 | 0 | 8 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
30 | Sparky Woods | 2008–2014 | 79 | 17 | 62 | .215 | 9 | 32 | .220 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
31 | Scott Wachenheim | 2015–2022 | 86 | 24 | 62 | .279 | 16 | 46 | .258 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | ||
32 | Danny Rocco | 2023–present | 23 | 6 | 17 | — | 0.261 | 5 | 11 | — | 0.313 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes
edit- ^ From 1892 to 1894, the team had no coach.
- ^ Cain was fired with one game remaining in the 1998 season, leaving Donny White to coach the final game on an interim basis. VMI lost the game to The Citadel, 36–10.
- ^ 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]
References
editGeneral
Specific
- ^ Miller, John A. "Lee's Famous Staff Officer Walter Taylor Jr." Emmitsburg Area Historical Society. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. 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 September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- ^ Bill Roper – Hall of Fame Biography