The Rhode Island Rams college football team represents the University of Rhode Island in the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (CAAFC), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The program has had 20 head coaches since it began play during the 1895 season. Since December 2013, Jim Fleming has served as head coach at Rhode Island.
Two coaches have led Rhode Island in postseason playoff or bowl games: Hal Kopp and Bob Griffin. Six coaches have won conference championships: Frank Keaney won three and Bill Beck and Paul Cieurzo each won one as a member of the New England Conference; Kopp wone three, Herb Maack wone one, and Griffin won three as a member of the Yankee Conference.
Keaney is the leader in seasons coached, with 21 years as head coach. Griffin is the leader in games coached (187) and won (79). Kopp has the highest winning percentage of those who have coaced more than one game at 0.707. Fred Murray has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.063.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshall Tyler | 1898–1901 1903–1908 |
57 | 25 | 22 | 10 | 0.526 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| 2 | George Cobb | 1909–1911 1913–1914 |
38 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 0.513 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| 3 | Robert Bingham | 1912 | 9 | 6 | 3 | – | 0.667 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| 4 | James A. Baldwin | 1915–1917 | 24 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 0.396 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| 5 | Fred Murray | 1919 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0.063 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| 6 | Frank Keaney | 1920–1940 | 168 | 70 | 86 | 12 | 0.452 | 16 | 26 | 4 | 0.391 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | – |
| 7 | Bill Beck | 1941 1946–1949 |
36 | 12 | 22 | 2 | 0.361 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0.294 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | – |
| 8 | Paul Cieurzo | 1942 1945 |
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0.556 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | – |
| 9 | Hal Kopp | 1950 1952–1955 |
41 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 0.707 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0.714 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – |
| 10 | Ed Doherty | 1951 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| 11 | Herb Maack | 1956–1960 | 41 | 17 | 22 | 2 | 0.439 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 0.429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – |
| 12 | John Chironna | 1961–1962 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0.306 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| 13 | Jack Zilly | 1963–1969 | 64 | 21 | 41 | 2 | 0.344 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 0.314 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| 14 | Jack Gregory | 1970–1975 | 57 | 22 | 33 | 2 | 0.404 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 0.422 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| 15 | Bob Griffin | 1976–1992 | 187 | 79 | 107 | 1 | 0.425 | 37 | 67 | 0 | 0.356 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – |
| 16 | Floyd Keith | 1993–1999 | 76 | 23 | 53 | 0 | 0.303 | 17 | 39 | 0 | 0.304 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 17 | Tim Stowers | 2000–2007 | 90 | 33 | 57 | – | 0.367 | 20 | 51 | – | 0.282 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 18 | Darren Rizzi | 2008 | 12 | 3 | 9 | – | 0.250 | 1 | 7 | – | 0.125 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 19 | Joe Trainer | 2009–2013 | 56 | 12 | 44 | – | 0.214 | 8 | 32 | – | 0.200 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 20 | Jim Fleming | 2014–present | 104 | 37 | 67 | – | 0.356 | 23 | 51 | – | 0.311 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
References
- McNamara, Kevin (December 20, 2013). "URI to hire Jim Fleming as next football coach". The Providence Journal. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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