List of Washington & Jefferson Presidents head football coaches

Last updated

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 2024 season, the Presidents have played in 1,224 games during their 135 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.

Mike Sirianni is the all-time leader in seasons coached (22), games coached (240), and wins (194). John Banaszak has the highest winning percentage (.809) 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 2024 college football season
No.NameTermGCOWOLOTO%PWPLPTCCsAwards
1 J. J. Clark 18924401.000—
2 Joseph Hamilton 1893862.750—
3 E. Gard Edwards 1894–1895161132.750—
4 Clinton Wood 1896–1897201811.925
5 William D. Inglis 18981082.800—
6 S. W. Black 189912921.792—
7 William B. Seaman 1900–19044931144.673—
8 Frank Piekarski 1905–190732257.781—
9 David C. Morrow 1908–1911, 1919–1920, 1924–19257752205.708—
10 Bob Folwell 1912–1915443653.852—
11 Sol Metzger 1916–191720155.750—
12 Ralph Hutchinson 1918422.500—
13 Greasy Neale †1921–1922211632.8101—
14 John Heisman †19239711.833—
15 Andrew Kerr †1926–1928271665.685—
16 Bill Amos 1929–1931281783.661—
17 Hank Day 1932–19364420222.477—
18 George Roark 1937–19403216142.531—
19 Stu Holcomb 19417511.786—
20 Pete Henry †1942, 19451349.308—
21 Henry Luecht 1946–1949331716.515—
22 Alured Ransom 1950–195114212.143—
23 Joe McMullen 1952–19531495.643—
24 Charles Nelson 1954–1955160151.031—
25 Edward Chupa 1956–1959315233.210—
26 Chuck Ream 1960–19728736501.4201—
27 Pat Mondock 1973–19818029501.369—
28 John Luckhardt †1982–1998176137372.784131113 AFCA Division III Coach of the Year (1992) [14]
29 John Banaszak 1999–200247389.809344—
30 Mike Sirianni 2003–present24019446.80881410—

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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans football</span> American college football team at University of Southern California

The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greasy Neale</span> American football and baseball player and coach (1891–1973)

Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale was an American football and baseball player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Banaszak</span> American college sports player and coach (born 1950)

John Arthur Banaszak is an American football coach and former player. He was formerly the head football coach at Robert Morris University. Banaszak played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1975 to 1981. He is a three-time Super Bowl champion. Banaszak was a starter at right defensive end for the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV. He later played in the United States Football League (USFL), winning a championship as a starting defensive end for the Michigan Panthers in 1983. Banaszak played for Michigan in 1983 and 1984 and for the Memphis Showboats in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922 Rose Bowl</span> College football game

The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between the Washington & Jefferson Presidents (W&J) and the California Golden Bears. It holds several distinctions including being the only scoreless Rose Bowl Game, the first tie in a Rose Bowl, the first African-American quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl, the first freshman to play in a Rose Bowl, and Hal Erickson (W&J) became the only man ever to play in two Rose Bowls, with two teams, without losing. It was also the last to be played at Tournament Park and to be officially known as the Tournament East-West Football Game, and with only 450 students at the time, Washington & Jefferson College was the smallest school to ever play in a Rose Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington & Jefferson Presidents</span> Athletic teams representing Washington & Jefferson College

The Washington & Jefferson Presidents are the intercollegiate athletic teams for Washington & Jefferson College. The name "Presidents" refers to the two presidential namesakes of the college: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. W&J is a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and play in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in both men's and women's varsity sports. During the 2005–2006 season, 34 percent of the student body played varsity-level athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington & Jefferson Presidents football</span> Collegiate level football team

The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Since its founding in 1890, the team has played their home games at College Field, which was remodeled and renamed Cameron Stadium in 2001.

Mike Sirianni is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach for Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, a position he has held since the 2003 season after succeeding Pittsburgh Steelers great John Banaszak. Sirianni has compiled a record of 101–24 in 11 seasons as head coach. Sirianni's winning percentage of .846 is second best among active head coaches with at least five years of experience in NCAA football, trailing only that of Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, for whom he played for. In his first 11 years of coaching at Washington & Jefferson, he won PAC Coach of the Year five times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1921 college football season</span> American college football season

The 1921 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing California Golden Bears, Cornell Big Red, Iowa Hawkeyes, Lafayette Leopards, Washington & Jefferson Presidents, and Vanderbilt Commodores as champions. Only California, Cornell, Iowa, and Lafayette claim national championships for the 1921 season.

Alfred J. "A.J." Pagano is a former college football player for Washington & Jefferson College. During his playing career, he was one of the most prominent NCAA Division III football players, gaining national attention and honors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert M. Murphy</span>

Robert Martin "Mother" Murphy was an administrator at Washington & Jefferson College; his efforts to improve the Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team directly led to its development as a national powerhouse during the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1921 Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team</span> American college football season

The 1921 Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represented the Washington & Jefferson College during the 1921 college football season. Coached by Greasy Neale, went 10–0 in the regular season, defeating Pitt, University of Detroit, and Syracuse. The 7–0 victory over rival Pitt was celebrated with a day of canceled classes and a bonfire with inspirational speeches in front of the Washington County Courthouse. As the best team from the east, W&J was invited to the 1922 Rose Bowl to play the best team from the west: the undefeated and heavily favored California Golden Bears. Some had even begun to call Cal the best team in college football history. The Red and Black sent 20 men on the cross-country trip and Robert M. Murphy mortgaged his home to pay his six family members’ way. W&J would be the last Rose Bowl team to play the same 11 men the entire game. During the train ride to Pasadena, in which Greasy Neale continued to prepare his men, Lee Spillers caught pneumonia and could not finish the journey. Ross "Bucky" Buchannan, a reserve player who had stowed away on the train and was fed smuggled sandwiches during the trip, was available to fill Spillers' roster spot.

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.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.