List of Saginaw Valley State Cardinals head football coaches

The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football program is a college football team that represents Saginaw Valley State University in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a part of NCAA Division II. The team has had six head coaches since its first recorded football game in 1975. The current coach is Ryan Brady who took the position prior to the 2019 season. ^[1]

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list

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

Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 college football season.

No.	Name	Term	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	CCs	Awards	Ref.
1	Frank "Muddy" Waters	1975–1979	53	25	26	2	.491	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Jim Larkin	1980–1982	31	9	22	0	.290	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	George Ihler	1983–1993	114	61	52	1	.539	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Jerry Kill	1994–1998	52	38	14	0	.731	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Randy Awrey	1999–2007	103	73	30	0	.709	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Jim Collins	2008–2018	121	65	56	0	.537	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	[5]
7	Ryan Brady	2019–present	44	26	18	0	.591	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	[1]

Notes

1. 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]
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.
3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. ^[3]
4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. ^[4]

References

1. "Ryan Brady Named Head Coach of Saginaw Valley State University Football Program". Saginaw Valley State. March 21, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. "Head football coach Jim Collins leaving SVSU for a position with Army football". Saginaw Valley State. February 25, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.