The former William & Mary assistant returns as the Tribe’s head coach.
Mike London is leaving Howard University to accept the head coaching position, William & Mary.
London, who once was an assistant at William & Mary, will be introduced Tuesday.
After guiding Howard to its first winning season in five years last year, London was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is awarded annually to college football’s top head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
London’s first season at HU began with the program’s first FBS win as the Bison beat heavily favored UNLV in what some have called one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
Howard finished second in the MEAC conference last year with a 6-2 mark while posting its first winning season since 2012.
“This is an exciting day for William & Mary, and we are thrilled to welcome Mike and his family back to Williamsburg,” director of athletics Samantha K. Huge said in a statement. “Mike embodies the values and character that we need to lead our football program forward and he has demonstrated an ability to develop players and win championships over his nearly 30 years in coaching.”
London spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Howard. He returns to the Colonial Athletic Association, where he first became a head coach at Richmond, guiding the Spiders to the 2008 FCS national championship.
After his first head coaching stint at Richmond, London was the head coach at the University of Virginia for six years. In 2011, he was named the ACC’s Coach of the Year. He has also has been an assistant at Maryland, Virginia and Boston College and with the NFL’s Houston Texans.
“I am honored and excited to build on the incredible tradition of excellence Jimmye Laycock established,” said London. “He is a part of the foundation of my career and someone I have always respected. I sincerely appreciate President Katherine Rowe and Samantha Huge for making this opportunity possible. I look forward to working with them to pursue championships while developing student-athletes who will pursue excellence in the classroom and on the playing field.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Coach London home to William & Mary,” W&M President Katherine Rowe said. “He leads with integrity in every aspect of a football program. He embraces the distinctive rigor of William & Mary as well as our championship aspirations within those high standards.”
