List of Virginia Cavaliers football seasons

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Scott Stadium, the home of Virginia football since 1931.

This is a list of Virginia Cavaliers football seasons. The Cavaliers are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since their inception in 1888, the Cavaliers have played in over 1,200 games through over a century of play along with 18 bowl games, with only an interruption from 1917 to 1918 due to World War I.[1]

In the early years, the team played as an independent Southern team, with the result being that they were declared champions of the South on an independent level numerous times from 1889 to 1908. They played in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1911 to 1921.

From 1921 to 1937, they played in the Southern Conference as a charter member, alongside universities such as Virginia Tech and North Carolina State. From 1937 to 1953, they played as an independent before joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1954.

The Cavaliers did not have much success in their early years in the ACC, as they took 12 years just to finish above 4th in the conference. Success eluded them until the hiring of George Welsh in 1982. In his third season, the team finished 2nd in the conference while winning seven games, losing twice and tying twice before being invited to the Peach Bowl, which they won 27–24 over Purdue. In 1989, they won the conference, their first conference title in over half a century, while winning 10 games for the first time in school history. The Cavaliers went to 12 bowl games during Welsh's 18 years as coach, with their highest finish in the polls being 15th in 1994. The Cavaliers won the ACC title in 1995 along with Florida State, which remains their last conference title. After Welsh retired in 2000, Al Groh was hired to become coach. In nine seasons, he led them to five bowl appearances, although he did not lead them to an ACC title prior to being fired in 2009. Mike London led the team for six seasons from 2010 to 2015, with more losing seasons (five) than bowl appearances (one). Bronco Mendenhall was hired as coach in 2016. He led them to an appearance in the Military Bowl in 2017, their first bowl appearance since 2011.[2]

Seasons[edit]

Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Unknown (Independent) (1887–1891)
1887 Unknown 0–0–1  
1888 Unknown 2–1  
1889 Unknown 4–2  
1890 Unknown 5–2  
1891 Unknown 2–1–2  
William C. Spicer (Independent) (1892)
1892 William C. Spicer 3–2–1  
John Poe (Independent) (1893–1894)
1893 John Poe 8–3  
1894 John Poe 8–2  
Harry Mackey (Independent) (1895)
1895 Harry Mackey 9–2  
Martin Bergen (Independent) (1896–1897)
1896 Martin Bergen 7–2–2  
1897 Martin Bergen 6–2–1  
Joseph Massie (Independent) (1898)
1898 Joseph Massie 6–5  
Archie Hoxton (Independent) (1899–1900)
1899 Archie Hoxton 4–3–2  
1900 Archie Hoxton 7–2–1  
Wesley Abbott (Independent) (1901)
1901 Wesley Abbott 8–2  
John de Saulles (Independent) (1902)
1902 John DeSaulles 8–1–1  
Gresham Poe (Independent) (1903)
1903 Gresham Poe 7–2–1  
Foster Sanford (Independent) (1904)
1904 Foster Sanford 6–3  
William Cole (Independent) (1905–1906)
1905 William Cole 5–4  
1906 William Cole 7–2–2  
Hammond Johnson (Independent) (1907)
1907 Hammond Johnson 6–3–1  
M.T. Cooke (Independent) (1908)
1908 M.T. Cooke 7–0–1  
John Neff (Independent) (1909)
1909 John Neff 7–1  
Charles Crawford (Independent) (1910)
1910 Charles Crawford 6–2  
Kemper Yancey (Independent) (1911)
1911 Kemper Yancey 8–2  
Speed Elliott (SAIAA) (1912)
1912 Speed Elliott 6–3 1–1 3rd  
Rice Warren (SAIAA) (1913)
1913 Rice Warren 7–1 1–1 T–3rd  
Joseph Wood (SAIAA) (1914)
1914 Joseph Wood 8–1 3–0 T–1st  
Harry Varner (SAIAA) (1915)
1915 Harry Varner 8–1 2–0 T–1st  
Peyton Evans (SAIAA) (1916)
1916 Peyton Evans 4–5 2–1 T–4th  
1917 No team  
1918 No team  
Harris Coleman (SAIAA) (1919)
1919 Harris Coleman 2–5–2 1–1–1 T–7th  
Rice Warren (SAIAA) (1920–1921)
1920 Rice Warren 5–2–2 3–1 T–4th  
1921 Rice Warren 5–4 5–1 3rd  
Thomas J. Campbell (SoCon) (1922)
1922 Thomas J. Campbell 4–4–1 1–1–1 9th  
Earle Neale (SoCon) (1923–1928)
1923 Earle Neale 3–5–1 0–3–1 17th  
1924 Earle Neale 5–4 3–2 T–6th  
1925 Earle Neale 7–1–1 4–1–1 T–5th  
1926 Earle Neale 6–2–2 4–2–1 6th  
1927 Earle Neale 5–4 4–4 T–8th  
1928 Earle Neale 2–6–1 1–6 T–19th  
Earl Abell (SoCon) (1929–1930)
1929 Earl Abell 4–3–2 1–3–2 16th  
1930 Earl Abell 4–6 2–5 17th  
Fred Dawson (SoCon) (1931–1933)
1931 Fred Dawson 1–7–2 0–5–1 22nd  
1932 Fred Dawson 5–4 2–3 T–13th  
1933 Fred Dawson 2–6–2 1–3–1 8th  
Gus Tebell (SoCon) (1934–1935)
1934 Gus Tebell 3–6 1–4 9th  
1935 Gus Tebell 1–5–4 0–3–2 T–8th  
Gus Tebell (Independent) (1936)
1936 Gus Tebell 2–7  
Frank Murray (Independent) (1937–1945)
1937 Frank Murray 2–7  
1938 Frank Murray 4–4–1  
1939 Frank Murray 5–4  
1940 Frank Murray 4–5  
1941 Frank Murray 8–1  
1942 Frank Murray 2–6–1  
1943 Frank Murray 3–4–1  
1944 Frank Murray 6–1–2  
1945 Frank Murray 7–2  
Art Guepe (Independent) (1946–1952)
1946 Art Guepe 4–4–1  
1947 Art Guepe 7–3  
1948 Art Guepe 5–3–1  
1949 Art Guepe 7–2  
1950 Art Guepe 8–2  
1951 Art Guepe 8–1   13
1952 Art Guepe 8–2  
Ned McDonald (Independent) (1953)
1953 Ned McDonald 1–8  
Ned McDonald (ACC) (1954–1955)
1954 Ned McDonald 3–6 0–2 7th
1955 Ned McDonald 1–9 0–4 8th
Ben Martin (ACC) (1956–1957)
1956 Ben Martin 4–6 1–4 8th
1957 Ben Martin 3–6–1 2–4 6th
Richard Voris (ACC) (1958–1960)
1958 Richard Voris 1–9 1–5 8th
1959 Richard Voris 0–10 0–5 8th
1960 Richard Voris 0–10 0–6 6th
Bill Elias (ACC) (1961–1964)
1961 Bill Elias 4–6 2–4 8th
1962 Bill Elias 5–5 1–4 7th
1963 Bill Elias 2–7–1 0–5–1 8th
1964 Bill Elias 5–5 1–5 8th
George Blackburn (ACC) (1965–1970)
1965 George Blackburn 5–5 2–4 7th
1966 George Blackburn 4–6 3–3 T–3rd
1967 George Blackburn 5–5 3–3 4th
1968 George Blackburn 7–3 3–2 3rd
1969 George Blackburn 3–7 1–5 8th
1970 George Blackburn 5–6 0–6 8th
Don Lawrence (ACC) (1971–1973)
1971 Don Lawrence 3–8 2–3 T–3rd
1972 Don Lawrence 4–7 1–5 T–6th
1973 Don Lawrence 4–7 3–3 4th
Sonny Randle (ACC) (1974–1975)
1974 Sonny Randle 4–7 1–5 6th
1975 Sonny Randle 1–10 0–5 7th
Dick Bestwick (ACC) (1976–1981)
1976 Dick Bestwick 2–9 1–4 6th
1977 Dick Bestwick 1–9–1 1–5 6th
1978 Dick Bestwick 2–9 0–6 7th
1979 Dick Bestwick 6–5 2–4 6th
1980 Dick Bestwick 4–7 2–4 T–4th
1981 Dick Bestwick 1–10 0–6 7th
George Welsh (ACC) (1982–2000)
1982 George Welsh 2–9 1–5 6th
1983 George Welsh 6–5 3–3 T–4th
1984 George Welsh 8–2–2 3–1–2 2nd W Peach 17 20
1985 George Welsh 6–5 4–3 T–3rd
1986 George Welsh 3–8 2–5 T–6th
1987 George Welsh 8–4 5–2 2nd W All-American
1988 George Welsh 7–4 5–2 2nd
1989 George Welsh 10–3 6–1 T–1st L Florida Citrus 15 18
1990 George Welsh 8–4 5–2 T–2nd L Sugar 15 23
1991 George Welsh 8–3–1 4–2–1 4th L Gator
1992 George Welsh 7–4 4–4 T–4th
1993 George Welsh 7–5 5–3 T–3rd L Carquest
1994 George Welsh 9–3 5–3 T–3rd W Independence 13 15
1995 George Welsh 9–4 7–1 T–1st W Peach 17 16
1996 George Welsh 7–5 5–3 4th L Carquest
1997 George Welsh 7–4 5–3 T–3rd
1998 George Welsh 9–3 6–2 3rd L Peach 18 18
1999 George Welsh 7–5 5–3 T–2nd L MicronPC.com
2000 George Welsh 6–6 5–3 3rd L Oahu
Al Groh (ACC) (2001–2009)
2001 Al Groh 5–7 3–5 T–7th
2002 Al Groh 9–5 6–2 T–2nd W Continental Tire 25 22
2003 Al Groh 8–5 4–4 T–4th W Continental Tire
2004 Al Groh 8–4 5–3 T–3rd L MPC Computers 23 23
2005 Al Groh 7–5 3–5 5th (Coastal) W Music City
2006 Al Groh 5–7 4–4 3rd (Coastal)
2007 Al Groh 9–4 6–2 2nd (Coastal) L Gator
2008 Al Groh 5–7 3–5 5th (Coastal)
2009 Al Groh 3–9 2–6 6th (Coastal)
Mike London (ACC) (2010–2015)
2010 Mike London 4–8 1–7 T–5th (Coastal)
2011 Mike London 8–5 5–3 T–2nd (Coastal) L Chick-fil-A
2012 Mike London 4–8 2–6 6th (Coastal)
2013 Mike London 2–10 0–8 7th (Coastal)
2014 Mike London 5–7 3–5 T–5th (Coastal)
2015 Mike London 4–8 3–5 6th (Coastal)
Bronco Mendenhall (ACC) (2016–2021)
2016 Bronco Mendenhall 2–10 1–7 T–6th (Coastal)
2017 Bronco Mendenhall 6–7 3–5 T–4th (Coastal) L Military
2018 Bronco Mendenhall 8–5 4–4 T–3rd (Coastal) W Belk
2019 Bronco Mendenhall 9–5 6–2 1st (Coastal) L Orange† 25
2020 Bronco Mendenhall 5–5 4–5 9th
2021 Bronco Mendenhall 6–6 4–4 T–3rd (Coastal) Fenway
Tony Elliott (ACC) (2022–2023)
2022 Tony Elliott 3–7 1–6 T–6th (Coastal)
2023 Tony Elliott 3–9 2–6 T–11th
Total: 685–640–49 (.516)
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/virginia/index.html
  2. ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/va/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/2017FootballFactBook82-134.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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