Tom W. Alley is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach. Alley was hired as the head coach at the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

 for the 1973 season, succeeding Lee Corso

Lee Corso

Leland "Lee" Corso is a sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN. He has been featured on ESPN's College GameDay program since its inception and he appeared annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football through NCAA Football 11...

.

Alley's 1973 Cardinals team was 5–6 in his first year (3–2 in the Missouri Valley Conference

Missouri Valley Conference

The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...

. The team ended the year with a two game winning streak, posting victories against Furman University

Furman University

Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...

 (35–14) and West Texas State University (21–9).

Alley's 1974 Louisville team finished 4–7 (3–2 in the MVC). The team opened the season with three losses, to Memphis State (16–10), Auburn

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

 (16–3) and Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

 (7–6). The Cardinals won their first two conference games, against Wichita State (14–7) and North Texas State (24–10), before losing to Drake

Drake University

Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....

 (38–35), Mississippi State

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

 (56–7) and Tulsa (37–7). After a win against Dayton (20–15), Louisville lost to Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

 (44–0) before closing with a victory against West Texas State (10–8).

Alley was replaced as Louisville's head coach by Vince Gibson

Vince Gibson

Vince Gibson is a former American football player and coach. He served as head football coach at Kansas State University , the University of Louisville , and Tulane University , compiling a career college football record of 75–98–2...

for the 1975 season, in which Louisville went 2–9, a downward departure from Alley's results.