| William & Mary Tribe football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1893; 132 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Brian Mann | ||
| Head coach | Mike London 6th season, 36–26 (.581) | ||
| Stadium | Zable Stadium (capacity: 12,672) | ||
| Field | Cary Field | ||
| Field surface | FieldTurf Pro | ||
| Location | Williamsburg, Virginia | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | CAA Football (Patriot League in 2026) | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1893–1915) SAIAA (1916–1921) Independent (1922–1931) Virginia Conference (1932–1935) SoCon (1936–1976) Division I Independent (1977) Division I-A Independent (1978–1981) Division I-AA Independent (1982–1992) Yankee (1993–1996) A-10 (1997–2006) | ||
| Bowl record | 1–2 (.333) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 11 | ||
| Playoff record | 8–11 | ||
| Conference titles | 18 | ||
| Rivalries | Richmond (rivalry) VMI (rivalry) Delaware (dormant) James Madison (dormant) Old Dominion (dormant) | ||
| Colors | Green, gold, and silver[1] | ||
| Fight song | "Tribe Fight Song" | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | TribeAthletics.com | ||
TheWilliam & Mary Tribe are acollege football team representing theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg,Virginia. William & Mary competes inCAA Football, a single-sportNCAADivision I Football Championship Subdivision conference operated by the Tribe's primary athletic home of theCoastal Athletic Association. They are currently coached byMike London. He succeedsJimmye Laycock, who was the head coach of the Tribe for 39 years.
William & Mary's traditional rival in football is theUniversity of Richmond. William & Mary and Richmond have met 134 times since 1898, making the rivalry (sometimes referred to as "the South's oldest rivalry") the fourth most-played in Division I college football. OnlyLafayette–Lehigh,Princeton–Yale, andHarvard–Yale have played more games. The winner of this annual W&M–Richmond match-up claims theCapital Cup (previously known as the I-64 Trophy), named for the last two Virginia state capitals, Richmond and Williamsburg. In 2008, William & Mary opened theJimmye Laycock Football Center, housing the Tribe locker room, football players' classroom study sessions and tape review rooms.
The College of William & Mary has transitioned through several official nicknames since its athletic program began in 1893. From 1893 to 1916, William & Mary football players were known as theOrange and White because those were the old official school colors. From 1916 to 1977, all William & Mary athletes were known as theIndians. Since 1978, they have been known as theTribe.
TheWilliam & Mary Tribe football team had sustained success during Jimmye Laycock's tenure. Since his taking over as head coach, W&M enjoyed over 25 winning seasons and 10 playoff appearances, the 23rd most appearances of any FCS program. The long-time head-coach led the Tribe to multiple playoff appearances, including the national semifinal game on two occasions. Most recently, the Tribe lost in a quarterfinal matchup againstMontana State University in 2022. In 2009 the Tribe also reached the semifinal against eventual championsVillanova in2009, losing by a single point. The team has also appeared in three bowl games: the1948 Dixie Bowl,1949 Delta Bowl and1970 Tangerine Bowl. The Tribe are 1–2 in those games, with the lone win being a 20–0 victory overOklahoma A&M in 1949.
Aside from William & Mary's lengthyCapital Cup rivalry with theUniversity of Richmond, the Tribe also hold historic rivalries with in-state opponents likeJames Madison University and theVirginia Military Institute, as well as out-of-state opponents like theUniversity of Delaware. As of 2022, theRichmond Spiders andDelaware Blue Hens are still football members of theColonial Athletic Association with William & Mary. William & Mary also maintains older, less intense rivalries with theVMI Keydets from its days in theSouthern Conference, and theVirginia Cavaliers as part of the unofficialJefferson Cup, named afterThomas Jefferson, who attended the College of William & Mary before founding theUniversity of Virginia.[2] The Tribe holds non-conference rivalries against theOld Dominion Monarchs and theJames Madison Dukes of theSun Belt Conference, both competing in CAA Football before joining theFBS in 2014 and 2022, respectively.
| Opponent (Rivalry) | Match Ups | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond (Capital Cup) | 128 | 64–64–5 |
| VMI (Rivalry) | 88 | 53–33–2 |
| Delaware (Rivalry) | 43 | 19–25 |
| James Madison (Rivalry) | 41 | 17–27 |
| Virginia (Rivalry) | 36 | 6–32–1 |
Current as of the 2023 football season.
The Tribe have won 18 conference championships, with eight won outright.
| Year | Coach | Conference | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907† | James E. Barry | EVIAA | 6–3 | 2–0–1 |
| 1909† | George E. O'Hearn | EVIAA | 6–4 | 2–1 |
| 1927 | J. Wilder Tasker | Virginia | 4–5–1 | 2–0–1 |
| 1929 | Branch Bocock | Virginia | 8–2 | 5–0 |
| 1930 | Branch Bocock | Virginia | 7–2–1 | 5–0 |
| 1933† | John Kellison | Virginia | 6–5 | 2–1 |
| 1934† | John Kellison | Virginia | 2–6 | 2–1 |
| 1935 | Thomas Dowler | Virginia | 3–4–3 | 1–1–1 |
| 1942 | Carl M. Voyles | SoCon | 9–1–1 | 4–0 |
| 1947 | Rube McCray | SoCon | 9–2 | 7–1 |
| 1966† | Marv Levy | SoCon | 5–4–1 | 4–1–1 |
| 1970 | Lou Holtz | SoCon | 5–7 | 3–1 |
| 1996 | Jimmye Laycock | Yankee | 10–3 | 7–1 |
| 2001† | Jimmye Laycock | Atlantic 10 | 8–4 | 7–2 |
| 2004† | Jimmye Laycock | Atlantic 10 | 11–3 | 7–1 |
| 2010† | Jimmye Laycock | CAA | 8–4 | 6–2 |
| 2015† | Jimmye Laycock | CAA | 9–4 | 6–2 |
| 2022† | Mike London | CAA | 10–1 | 7–1 |
† Co-championship
The Tribe have one division title, won during their time in theYankee Conference.
| Year | Coach | Conference | Division | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Jimmye Laycock | Yankee Conference | Mid-Atlantic Division | 7–1 |
William & Mary have participated in three bowl games. The Tribe have a record of 1–2.
| Date | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 1948 | Dixie Bowl | Arkansas | L 19–21 |
| January 1, 1949 | Delta Bowl | Oklahoma A&M | W 20–0 |
| December 28, 1970 | Tangerine Bowl | Toledo | L 12–40 |
The Tribe have participated in the playoffs 11 times, with 18 total playoff games played for a record of 8–11.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | First Round | Delaware | L 17–51 |
| 1989 | First Round | Furman | L 10–24 |
| 1990 | First Round Quarterfinals | Massachusetts Central Florida | W 38–0 L 38–52 |
| 1993 | First Round | McNeese State | L 28–34 |
| 1996 | First Round Quarterfinals | Jackson State Northern Iowa | W 45–6 L 35–38 |
| 2001 | First Round | Appalachian State | L 27–40 |
| 2004 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Hampton Delaware James Madison | W 42–35 W 44–38 L 34–48 |
| 2009 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Weber State Southern Illinois Villanova | W 38–0 W 24–3 L 13–14 |
| 2010 | Second Round | Georgia Southern | L 15–31 |
| 2015 | First Round Second Round | Duquesne Richmond | W 52–49 L 13–48 |
| 2022 | Second Round Quarterfinals | Gardner–Webb Montana State | W 54–14 L 7–55 |
Announced schedules as of April 16, 2025.[3]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| atFurman | atDuke | atVMI | atWisconsin | atOld Dominion | VMI | atVMI |
| atVirginia | Colgate | atStanford | ||||
| Charleston Southern | atVirginia | |||||
| Richmond |
Notes
Sources
