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Updated August 2007
Record at Villanova: 148-94-1, .614 (22 Years)
Villanova head coach Andy Talley will be walking the sidelines for the 28th season as a collegiate head coach, including his 23rd as the Wildcat leader in 2007. The winningest coach in school history, Talley's record on the Main Line currently stands at 148-94-1.
During the 1999 season, Talley recorded his 100th career win at Villanova with a 31-28 win at conference rival New Hampshire. On Oct. 5, 1996, Talley registered his 100th career coaching win in a 38-27 victory at Connecticut. His 27-year overall coaching mark currently stands at 176-112-2 and his 176 wins rank him seventh on the NCAA I-AA active coaching victory list and he is 19th nationally in winning percentage.
In 2002, Talley led Villanova to unchartered territory as the Wildcats advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first time in school history. The 2002 playoff berth marked the sixth time in his career that Talley has guided Villanova to a playoff appearance. Also, in 2002, Talley and the Wildcats won both the ECAC Team of the Year Award and the Lambert Meadowlands Cup for the second-time in school history.
In 2001, Talley coached Villanova to a share of the Atlantic 10 Championship with an 8-3 overall record and a 7-2 conference mark. This was the fourth conference title for Talley during his Villanova career. Also, in 2001, Wildcat running back Brian Westbrook became the second Villanova player to win National Player of the Year accolades under Talley's tutelage when he garnered the Walter Payton Award as the top player in all of NCAA I-AA football. Wide receiver Brian Finneran won the same award in 1997. Villanova, Colgate and the University of Idaho are now the only three schools to have two Walter Payton Award winners in its history. Westbrook finished off his illustrious career becoming the first Wildcat football player to be drafted since Howie Long in 1981 when he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
In 1997, Talley led his Wildcats to the first-ever undefeated, untied full season in Villanova gridiron history. While leading his troops to the undefeated campaign, Talley also guided the Wildcats to a No. 1 national ranking for the final six weeks of the regular season. This was the first time in school history that a Villanova football team was ranked No. 1 in the polls. On their way to being named the 1997 ECAC Team of the Year, Talley and the Wildcats set 41 school records. After claiming the inaugural Atlantic 10 championship in 1997 with a perfect 8-0 conference mark, Talley and his team were rewarded for their fine season with a bid to the NCAA I-AA playoffs. In the playoffs, Villanova accomplished another first, as the `Cats claimed the school's first-ever I-AA playoff win with a 49-28 victory over Colgate. In the quarterfinals, Villanova's dream season came to a close with a hard-fought 37-34 defeat to eventual National Champion Youngstown State.
When you have a season like Talley and the Wildcats had, individual honors are sure to follow. For his efforts in 1997, Talley won virtually every coaching award possible. At a banquet in New York City in early December, Talley was presented the prestigious Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's top coach in all of I-AA. A few weeks later, he garnered the AFCA/GTE National Coach of the Year Award. As part of winning this distinction, Talley was selected to serve as an assistant coach at the 1998 Hula Bowl. In Hawaii, Talley assisted then Ohio State head coach John Cooper, serving as the secondary coach for the North squad. In addition to these awards, Talley was named the recipient of the first-ever Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Award.
Individually, many of Talley's 1997 players had numerous honors and awards bestowed upon them. Led by All-American wide receiver Brian Finneran (currently a member of the Atlanta Falcons), who earned the Walter Payton Award as the nation's premier player in I-AA football, Villanova had 11 players earn All-Atlantic 10 honors and seven players claim All-ECAC distinction. In addition, sophomore quarterback Chris Boden was named to a number of All-America teams.
On Sept. 30, 1995, Villanova defeated the University of Buffalo, 28-3, giving Talley his 67th win as Villanova's head coach, surpassing Harry Stuhldreher, who was one of the Four Horsemen, for the most victories in Villanova football history. About to enter his 23rd season on the Main Line, Talley can feel responsible for every facet of the Villanova program, having started it from scratch in 1985. In his 23 years at Villanova, Talley's successes have been numerous. When he arrived on May 29, 1984 as the school's 29th head coach, there was no team. The program had been dropped following the 1980 campaign and had now been restored, with Talley being given the job of building a program. He set out to build not only a winning team, but one that alumni all over the country could be proud of.
In his first season, Talley guided the Wildcats to a perfect 5-0 record in a limited schedule and since that season Talley has not let his troops look back. Dating back to that opening campaign, Talley has led Villanova teams to NCAA Division I-AA Playoff appearances in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997 and 2002. His 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2001 teams were conference champions, while the 1992 and 2002 squads were voted the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy champions as the top I-AA team in the East.
Before coming to Villanova, Talley served as the head football coach at St. Lawrence University, where in 1982, he led St. Lawrence to the Division III Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the top team in the East. That year, Talley was named the American Football Coaches Association/ Kodak Division III Region I Coach of the Year, as well as the Metropolitan New York Sportswriters/ECAC Coach of the Year. These were the same awards he would go on to win in 1991 at the I-AA level at Villanova.
Not only has he won as a head coach everywhere he has been, Talley has been associated with nothing but winning programs since his coaching career began in 1967. The record of all his teams as both an assistant and a head coach is a gaudy 254-132-4.
In addition to the great teams he has built, Talley has also been able to lead great players as evidenced by the 10 first team All-Americans he has coached at Villanova. The first was offensive guard Paul Berardelli who earned American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)/Kodak All-America honors in 1988. Center Bryan Russo also earned AFCA/Kodak honors as well as Sports Network mention while a member of the 1989 NCAA I-AA playoff team. Linebacker Curtis Eller was twice an AFCA/Kodak first team selection for the 1991 and 1992 playoff teams and garnered Associated Press honors in 1992. Eller, who was a two-time Yankee Conference Defensive Player of the Year selection in 1991 and 1992, was also named to the Yankee Conference 50th Anniversary Team.
In 1994, junior linebacker Tyrone Frazier was named AFCA/Schooner's and Sports Network first team All-American, while in 1997 wide receiver Brian Finneran earned All-America honors from every organization, in addition to being named the Walter Payton Award as the nation's top I-AA player. Finneran was also named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and ECAC Player of the Year. A year earlier in 1996, Finneran earned All-American honors from the AFCA. Also, in 1997, quarterback Chris Boden earned numerous All-American accolades including selection to the Walter Camp All-America Team. In 1998, sophomore running back Brian Westbrook earned first team All-American honors from both the Associated Press and The Sports Network. In addition, Westbrook became the only player in the history of NCAA football at any level to rush for 1,000 yards and receive for 1,000 yards in the same season. In 2001, Westbrook earned the Walter Payton Award as the I-AA National Player of the Year, in addition to being a first team All-American, the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year. Westbrook also was selected to play in two prestigious postseason All-Star games including the Senior Bowl and the Hula Bowl. In 2002, quarterback Brett Gordon was named a Walter Camp All-American as well as the Atlantic 10 and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year. Last season, senior linebacker Brian Hulea was named an All-American by the Sports Network, AFCA and Walter Camp Foundation.
For Talley, however, these accomplishments are not enough. Perhaps of greater importance to Talley than wins, losses and athletic accolades are the types of students and people that his program turns out. In his Villanova career, Villanova has had 11 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Away from the football field, Talley is appreciative of the opportunities provided to him through athletics, and is continually looking to give something back to others. The area off the field to which he dedicates most of his time is the National Bone Marrow Foundation. With this group, he works to have potential bone marrow donors entered in a national bone marrow registry, increasing the odds of a needy patient being able to find a "match" for their bone marrow. Since November 1, 1993, he has been responsible for over 3,500 people being tested with the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. This past year, Wildcat kicker Joe Marcoux was a perfect match and he donated his blood cells to a cancer patient.
Talley also often serves as a featured speaker at many business and community functions. He acts as President of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Philadelphia Chapter. In December of 2000, Talley was one of two chapter presidents to be honored by the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and received an award for his leadership of the Philadelphia Chapter at the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Talley was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award in January of 2000 by the All-American Football Foundation.
Talley's coaching career began at Simsbury (Conn.) High School in 1967 where he was an assistant coach for two years. In 1969, he became the defensive secondary coach at Springfield (Mass.) College for one year and then was the offensive backfield coach at Middlebury (Vt.) College from 1970-73.
Talley had his first experience of rebuilding a program when he became the offensive backfield coach at Brown University in 1973. Having experienced several losing seasons prior to 1973, Talley was on the staff while they compiled a 36-15-2 overall record in six seasons, including the Ivy League title in 1976.
From there, he was named the head coach at St. Lawrence (N.Y.) University, a position he held until his appointment at Villanova in May, 1984. Talley rebuilt the St. Lawrence program, and led the Saints to a 28-18-1 record in five seasons, including an undefeated regular season in 1982 when he advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals.
A graduate of Haverford (Pa.) High School just five minutes from the Villanova campus, Talley is a native of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. During the winter of 1996, Talley was inducted into the Haverford Hall of Fame. He played four seasons at defensive back for Southern Connecticut State University, graduating with honors in 1967. In the spring of 1998, Talley was inducted into the Southern Connecticut Hall of Fame. In the past three years, Talley was inducted into three more Halls of Fame. In November, 2005 he was recognized by the Delaware County Hall of Fame, while in June of 2006 he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Delaware County Chapter. Just this past year, he earned a spot in the Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame. Talley earned his Masters degree in Education from Southern Connecticut in 1969. Talley and his wife, Arlene, reside in Berwyn, Pa. They are the parents of two children: Josh, a graduate of both Brown University, and Villanova Law School who is currently a practicing lawyer in Philadelphia and Gina, who is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and is currently enrolled in graduate school at New York University.
Andy Talley Inside the Numbers...
Career Victories: 176
Ranking Among Current NCAA I-AA Active Coaches...
Career Victories: 7th
Year By Year With Head Coach Andy Talley
Year Team Record Conference Honors 1979 St. Lawrence 3-6-0 1980 St. Lawrence 5-4-0 1981 St. Lawrence 5-4-0 1982 St. Lawrence 10-1-0 NCAA Division III semifinals; ICAC Conference Champions; ECAC Team of the Year; Lambert Trophy; AFCA Region I Coach of the Year; New York Sportswriters/ECAC Coach of the Year 1983 St. Lawrence 5-3-1 ICAC Conference Champion Total Five Seasons 28-18-1 (.606) |
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