List of Utah Utes head football coaches
Encyclopedia
The Utah Utes football
program is a college football
team that represents the University of Utah
. The team has had 23 head coaches since organized football began in 1892. Harvey Holmes
was the first paid head coach, and the Utes have had 17 paid, professional head coaches. The Utes have played in more than 1,000 games during its 116 seasons. In those seasons, 5 coaches have led the Utes to postseason bowl game
s: Ike Armstrong
, Ray Nagel
, Ron McBride
, Urban Meyer
, and Kyle Whittingham
. 7 coaches have won conference
championships with the Utes: Thomas Fitzpatrick
, Armstrong, Jack "Cactus Jack" Curtice
, Nagel, McBride, Meyer, and Whittingham. Armstrong is the all-time leader in number of games coached with 211, years coached with 25, and total wins with 141. Meyer is the all-time leader in winning percentage
with a percentage of .917 in his two seasons at Utah. Tom Lovat
is, in terms of winning percentage, the worst coach the Utes have had with a percentage of .152 during his three seasons as head coach (with the exception of Walter Shoup who only coached one game in 1895.)
Of the 23 Utes head coaches, Ike Armstrong
has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
. Kyle Whittingham
is the current head coach and has received National Coach of the Year honors from multiple organizations. He was hired in December 2004.
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
program is a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team that represents the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. The team has had 23 head coaches since organized football began in 1892. Harvey Holmes
Harvey Holmes
Harvey R. Holmes was an American college football coach at the University of Utah , the University of Southern California , and the Academy of Idaho ....
was the first paid head coach, and the Utes have had 17 paid, professional head coaches. The Utes have played in more than 1,000 games during its 116 seasons. In those seasons, 5 coaches have led the Utes to postseason bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
s: Ike Armstrong
Ike Armstrong
Ike J. Armstrong was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1925 to 1949, compiling a record of 141–55–15...
, Ray Nagel
Ray Nagel
Raymond Robert "Ray" Nagel is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and at the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football record of...
, Ron McBride
Ron McBride
Ron McBride is the current head coach of Weber State University's football team. Coach "Mac" has over 40 years of coaching experience, including 13 years as head coach at the University of Utah....
, Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
, and Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham is the head football coach of the University of Utah Utes. Prior to becoming the head coach at Utah, Whittingham served as Utah's defensive coordinator for ten seasons. He was named head coach of Utah after Urban Meyer left for the Florida Gators in 2004...
. 7 coaches have won conference
Athletic conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...
championships with the Utes: Thomas Fitzpatrick
Thomas Fitzpatrick (coach)
Thomas M. Fitzpatrick was a basketball and football coach for the University of Utah Utes. From 1917 to 1925, he was the coach of the Utah men's basketball team where his teams had a cumulative record of 42–30 . For the Utah football team, he was coach from 1919 to 1924 and had a cumulative record...
, Armstrong, Jack "Cactus Jack" Curtice
Jack Curtice
Jack C. "Cactus Jack" Curtice was an American football coach. From 1940 to 1941, he served as the head football coach at West Texas A&M, where he compiled a 15–5 record. From 1946 to 1949, he served as the head football coach at UTEP, where he compiled a 24–13–3 record. From 1950 to 1957, he...
, Nagel, McBride, Meyer, and Whittingham. Armstrong is the all-time leader in number of games coached with 211, years coached with 25, and total wins with 141. Meyer is the all-time leader in winning percentage
Winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
with a percentage of .917 in his two seasons at Utah. Tom Lovat
Tom Lovat
Thomas Lovat is a former American football coach in the NCAA, National Football League, and the Canadian Football League.Lovat started coaching at Utah, there he became the defensive line coach in 1967. Next he went to Idaho State University coaching the defensive secondary and offensive line...
is, in terms of winning percentage, the worst coach the Utes have had with a percentage of .152 during his three seasons as head coach (with the exception of Walter Shoup who only coached one game in 1895.)
Of the 23 Utes head coaches, Ike Armstrong
Ike Armstrong
Ike J. Armstrong was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1925 to 1949, compiling a record of 141–55–15...
has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham is the head football coach of the University of Utah Utes. Prior to becoming the head coach at Utah, Whittingham served as Utah's defensive coordinator for ten seasons. He was named head coach of Utah after Urban Meyer left for the Florida Gators in 2004...
is the current head coach and has received National Coach of the Year honors from multiple organizations. He was hired in December 2004.
Key
| # | Number of coaches |
| CCs | Conference championships |
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move... |
| GC | Games coached |
| OW | Wins |
| OL | Losses |
| OT | Ties |
| O% | Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win... |
| CW | Wins |
| CL | Losses |
| CT | Ties |
| C% | Winning percentage |
| PW | Wins |
| PL | Losses |
| PT | Ties |
| P% | Winning percentage |
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season2010 NCAA Division I FBS football seasonThe 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.-Rule changes for...
# Name Term GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C% PW PL PT P% CCs National awards 1 Robert Harkness 1894 3 1 2 0 .333 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 2 Walter Shoup 1895 1 0 1 0 .000 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 3 C.B. Ferris 1896 5 3 2 0 .600 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 4 Mr. Cummings 1897 6 1 5 0 .166 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 5 Benjamin Wilson 1898 3 2 1 0 .667 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 6 Charles Gatehouse 1899 3 2 1 0 .667 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 7 1900–1903 23 13 9 1 .587 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 8 1904–1909 38 28 9 1 .750 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 9 1910–1913 27 16 8 3 .648 10 6 1 .618 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 10 1914–1917 24 13 11 0 .542 10 10 0 .500 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 11 1919–1924 43 23 17 3 .570 17 10 3 .617 999— 999— 999— 999— 1 999— 12 † 1925–1949 211 141 55 15 .704 108 24 8 .800 1 1
0 .500 13 999— 13 1950–1957 81 45 32 4 .580 32 9 2 .767 999— 999— 999— 999— 4 999— 14 1958–1965 82 42 39 1 .518 21 17 1 .551 1 0 0 1.000 1 999— 15 1966–1967 21 9 12 0 .429 5 5 0 .500 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 16 1968–1973 64 33 31 0 .516 23 14 0 .622 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 17 1974–1976 33 5 28 0 .152 5 12 0 .294 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 18 1977–1981 56 30 24 2 .554 17 13 2 .563 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 19 1982–1984 34 16 17 1 .485 10 11 1 .477 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 20 1985–1989 58 25 33 0 .431 14 26 0 .350 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 999— 21 1990 1990 Utah Utes football teamThe 1990 season was the first season for Ron McBride as head coach of the Utes. The team went 4–7 this year, a slight improvement over last season's 4–8 record. The McBride era started with a shutout of Utah State...
–20022002 Utah Utes football teamThis season was Ron McBride's last at Utah. The team won their first two games, before dropping six straight. At 2–6 with only three games remaining, the team was guaranteed a losing record and would be ineligible for bowl play...151 88 63 0 .583 58 42 0 .580 3 3 0 .500 2 999— 22 2003 2003 Utah Utes football teamThe Utah Utes 2003 football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2003-2004. This was Urban Meyer's first year coaching at the school, after being hired from Bowling Green...
–20042004 Utah Utes football teamThe 2004 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2004–2005. This team was the original 'BCS Buster', meaning, this was the first time that a team from a non-BCS conference was invited to play in one of the BCS bowl games. The team, coached by 2nd...24 22 2 0 .917 13 1 0 .929 2 0 0 1.000 2 The Sporting News The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
National Coach of the Year (2003)
Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearEddie Robinson Coach of the YearThe Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award is given annually to a college football coach by the Football Writers Association of America. The award honors Eddie Robinson, former coach at Grambling State who holds the second best record for most Division I wins with 408 behind only Joe...
(2004)23 2005 2005 Utah Utes football teamThe 2005 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2005–2006. This was Kyle Whittingham's first year as head coach after having been promoted from defensive coordinator following the departure of Urban Meyer for Florida. Their 4–4 conference record...
–present78 58 20 0 .744 35 13 0 .729 6
1 0 .857 1 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2008)
AFCA National Coach of the Year AwardAFCA Coach of the YearThe AFCA Coach of the Year award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association . The award has had several different sponors over the years, including Eastman Kodak Corporation, and thus also been named the Kodak Coach of the Year Award.-Football Bowl...
(2008)