List of Washington & Jefferson Presidents head football coaches

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Greasy Neale coached the Presidents to the 1922 Rose Bowl. Greasy Neale 1922.jpg
Greasy Neale coached the Presidents to the 1922 Rose Bowl.

The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team has represented Washington & Jefferson College in intercollegiate college football competition since 1890. The team has competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III since its formation in 1973. [1] From 1956 to 1972 Washington & Jefferson competed in the NCAA College Division. [1] In 1958, the Presidents, who had previously been independent and not members of any conference, joined the Presidents' Athletic Conference. [1]

Contents

As of the end of the 2009 season, the Presidents have played in 1,057 games during their 119 seasons; during that time they have employed 30 head coaches. In 1894, E. Gard Edwards became the first paid head coach. [2] The hiring of professional coaches for the football team was controversial among large portions of the college community, including those who felt it was a poor use of college funds and faculty members who believed that the focus on athletics detracted from the ideal of a scholar-athlete. [3] Professor Edward Linton represented the college at the 1906 founding of the International Athletic Association of the United States, the forerunner of the NCAA, where the first national standards for edibility and amateurism were developed. [3] At that meeting, Linton expressed a desire for the student athlete to be "relieved of the incubus of the professional coach." [3] Three coaches have led Washington & Jefferson College to the NCAA Division III playoffs: John Luckhardt, John Banaszak, and Mike Sirianni. Those three coaches, plus Chuck Ream, coached teams that won the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship. Greasy Neale's 1921 team played in the 1922 Rose Bowl, the oldest bowl game, where they tied the heavily favored California Golden Bears. [4] [5] Neale is the only coach to lead the Presidents to a bowl game appearance.

John Luckhardt is the all-time leader in seasons coached (17), games coached (176), and wins (137). Current coach Mike Sirianni has the highest winning percentage (.854) of any coach since the 1900s. During his two years as head coach, Charles Nelson has the worst winning percentage (.031). Four coaches, Greasy Neale, John Heisman, Andrew Kerr, and Pete Henry have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. [6] [7] [8] [9] Two of those coaches, Greasy Neale and Pete Henry have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [10] [11] The current coach is Mike Sirianni, whose first season was in 2003.

Key

Coaches

Updated through 2023 college football season
No.NameTermGCOWOLOTO%PWPLPTCCsAwards
1 J. J. Clark 18924401.000
2 Joseph Hamilton 1893862.750
3 E. Gard Edwards 1894–95161132.750
4 Clinton Woods 1896–97201811.925
5 William D. Inglis 18981082.800
6 S. W. Black 189912921.792
7 William B. Seaman 1900–044931144.673
8 Frank Piekarski 1905–0732257.781
9 David C. Morrow 1908–11, 1919–20, 1924–257752205.708
10 Bob Folwell 1912–15443653.852
11 Sol Metzger 1916–1720155.750
12 Ralph Hutchinson 1918422.500
13 Greasy Neale 1921–22211632.8101
14 John Heisman 19239711.833
15 Andrew Kerr 1926–28271665.685
16 Bill Amos 1929–31281783.661
17 Hank Day 1932–364420222.477
18 George Roark 1937–403216142.531
19 Stu Holcomb 19417511.786
20 Pete Henry 1942, 19451349.308
21 Henry Luecht 1946–49331716.515
22 Alured Ransom 1950–5114212.143
23 Joe McMullen 1952–531495.643
24 Charles Nelson 1954–55160151.031
25 Edward Chupa 1956–59315233.210
26 Chuck Ream 1960–728736501.4201
27 Pat Mondock 1973–818029501.369
28 John Luckhardt 1982–98176137372.784131113 AFCA Division III Coach of the Year (1992) [14]
29 John Banaszak 1999–200247389.809344
30 Mike Sirianni 2003–present22918544.8088139

Notes

  1. A running total of the number of head coaches, thus, any coach who have two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  2. Washington & Jefferson College joined the Presidents' Athletic Conference in 1958. [1]
  3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. [12] [13]
  4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.

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References

General
Specific
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Presidents' Athletic Conference Recordbook" (PDF). Presidents' Athletic Conference . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  2. North, E. Lee (1991). Battling the Indians, Panthers, and Nittany Lions: The Story of Washington & Jefferson College's First Century of Football, 1890–1990. Daring Books. pp. 25–36. ISBN   978-1-878302-03-8.
  3. 1 2 3 Scarborough, David Knowles (1979). "Intercollegiate Athletics at Washington and Jefferson College: the Building of a Tradition". Ph.D Dissertation. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh: 36–37.
  4. Campbell, Jim (August 2006). "The 1922 Rose Bowl: David v. Goliath" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. LA84 Foundation . Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  5. "Tournament of Roses History". Tournament of Roses. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  6. "Greasy Neale". College Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  7. "John Heisman". College Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  8. "Wilbur "Fats" Henry". College Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  9. "Andy Kerr". College Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  10. "Earle (Greasy) Neale". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  11. "Wilbur (Pete) Henry". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  12. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today . Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  13. "2009-10 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretation" (PDF). Rule 3, Article 3: Extra Periods. National Collegiate Athletic Association. May 2009. pp. FR-64 to FR-65. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 29, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  14. "AFCA Coach of the Year Award – Past Winners". American Football Coaches Association. January 19, 2010. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2010.