University of Virginia director of athletics Craig Littlepage announced today the resignation of head football coach Mike London, effective immediately.
Littlepage met with London this morning to discuss the future of the Virginia football program. At that time, Littlepage and London decided a change in leadership was in the best interests of the program. Littlepage has not specified a time frame for concluding the search, citing the fact that many of the possible candidates will be involved in postseason play. Littlepage will not make further comments until the search has concluded.
“Mike London has been an outstanding representative of the University of Virginia,” Littlepage said. “During his tenure, Mike created a positive culture for our student-athletes to develop as young men, who improved each year in the classroom and represented us very well in the community. Mike was a tremendous mentor for his players and many of our coaches. His ability to inspire others helped our program establish great relationships among the high school football coaches in the state and he has been a tremendous ambassador for the University. We are thankful for Mike’s numerous contributions representing the University and Virginia athletics.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to have been the head football coach at the University of Virginia and for the relationships that have been formed during my time in Charlottesville that will last for years to come,” London said. “I took this job to make a profound difference in the lives of young men and to re-establish Virginia football as one of the best programs in the ACC. While we were successful in the development of our players in many areas, I would have liked to have won more games for the student-athletes, coaches, fans and everyone that’s a part of the University of Virginia.”
London was named Virginia’s 39th head football coach on Dec. 7, 2009. His Cavalier teams compiled an overall record of 27-46. London was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 after guiding UVA to the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
“In our search, we will look for a coach who’s demonstrated the ability to implement his system and achieved a consistent level of success,” Littlepage said. “The coach will have experience recruiting and developing student-athletes who fit his profile for success on the field and in the classroom. We expect our football program to compete for the Coastal Division title on an annual basis, which puts us in a position to win the ACC championship and be competitive nationally. This is consistent with the expectations for each of our sport programs.”
London’s contract was set to expire after the 2016 season. London and the University have come to a financial agreement to pay him approximately $2.7 million through 2016. Compensation owed to London and any assistant coaches not retained by the next head coach will be funded from athletics department funds. The athletics department does not receive state funding.
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