The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers college football team represents Western Kentucky University in Conference USA (C-USA), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 22 head coaches and two interim head coaches since it began play during the 1913 season. Since November 2018, Tyson Helton has served as head coach at Western Kentucky.[1]
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Eleven coaches have led Western Kentucky in postseason playoff or bowl games: Jack Clayton, Nick Denes, Jimmy Feix, Dave Roberts, Jack Harbaugh, David Elson, Lance Guidry, Jeff Brohm, Nick Holt, Mike Sanford Jr., and Helton. Six coaches have won conference championships: Ernest R. Miller won one as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association; Clayton, Denes, and Harbaugh each won one and Feix won six as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference; Harbaugh won one as a member of the Gateway Football Conference; and Brohm won two as a member of C-USA. Harbaugh also won a NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship in 2002.
Feix is the leader in seasons coached, with 16 years as head coach and in games coached (168) and won (106). Miller has the highest winning percentage of those who have coaced more than one game at 0.889. L. T. Smith has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.313.
Key
edit| 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
edit| No. | Name | Season(s)[A 6] | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. A. Leiper | 1913 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 1 | Roy C. Manchester | 1913 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | J. L. Arthur | 1914–1916 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0.400 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | L. T. Smith | 1920–1921 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0.313 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Edgar Diddle | 1922–1928 | 64 | 38 | 24 | 2 | 0.609 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Carl Anderson | 1929 1934–1937 |
36 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 0.708 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 0.679 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | James Elam | 1930–1931 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0.750 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0.867 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Ernest R. Miller | 1932 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.889 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Jesse Thomas | 1933 1946–1947 |
25 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 0.480 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Gander Terry | 1938–1941 | 37 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0.716 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0.761 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Arnold Winkenhofer | 1942 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.438 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Jack Clayton | 1948–1956 | 85 | 50 | 33 | 2 | 0.600 | 21 | 24 | 2 | 0.468 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Nick Denes | 1957–1967 | 103 | 57 | 39 | 7 | 0.587 | 33 | 32 | 5 | 0.507 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | OVC Coach of the Year (1963) |
| 13 | Jimmy Feix | 1968–1983 | 168 | 106 | 56 | 6 | 0.649 | 68 | 28 | 2 | 0.704 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | OVC Coach of the Year (1973, 1978, 1980) |
| 14 | Dave Roberts | 1984–1988 | 57 | 26 | 30 | 1 | 0.465 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 15 | Jack Harbaugh | 1989–2002 | 159 | 91 | 68 | 0 | 0.572 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0.786 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 – 2002 | AFCA NCAA Division I-AA COY (2002) OVC Coach of the Year (2000) |
| 16 | David Elson | 2003–2009 | 82 | 39 | 43 | — | 0.476 | 19 | 17 | — | 0.528 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Willie Taggart | 2010–2012 | 36 | 16 | 20 | — | 0.444 | 13 | 11 | — | 0.542 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Int | Lance Guidry [A 7] |
2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | .000 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Bobby Petrino | 2013 | 12 | 8 | 4 | — | 0.667 | 4 | 3 | — | 0.571 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Jeff Brohm | 2014–2016 | 40 | 30 | 10 | — | 0.750 | 19 | 5 | — | 0.792 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Int | Nick Holt [A 8] |
2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Mike Sanford Jr. | 2017–2018 | 25 | 9 | 16 | — | 0.360 | 6 | 10 | — | 0.375 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 21 | Tyson Helton | 2019–present | 66 | 40 | 26 | — | 0.606 | 28 | 11 | — | 0.718 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
edit- ^ 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]
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
- ^ Western Kentucky did not field a team for their 1917–1919 and 1943–1945 seasons.
- ^ After Willie Taggart resigned to take the head coaching position at South Florida, Guidry served as interim head coach for the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.[5]
- ^ After Jeff Brohm resigned to take the head coaching position at Purdue, Holt served as interim head coach for the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl.[6]
References
edit- ^ Low, Chris (November 26, 2018). "Tennessee's Tyson Helton agrees to coach Western Kentucky". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Central Michigan hangs on to win Little Caesars Pizza Bowl". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 27, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ "Western Kentucky beats Memphis in Boca Bowl, 51–31". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 20, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2024.