Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott signed an extension on April 8th, 2026 to lead the Virginia Cavaliers football team through 2030. This extension comes off the heels of a record-setting 2025 season when Elliott led the ‘Hoos to 11 wins and the first bowl and Commonwealth Clash victory of his tenure at Virginia.
Elliott entered the 2025 season with significant pressure to succeed on the field after three straight losing seasons. However the hot seat turned ice cold as Elliott’s team continued
to win and climb the rankings, ultimately finishing #16 in both the AP and Coaches’ poll. 2025 saw Virginia finish at the top of the ACC regular season standings and fell only one play short of the College Football Playoff in overtime against Duke in the ACC Championship Game.
Elliott’s head coaching record year-by-year
2022: 3-7
2023: 3-9
2024: 5-7
2025: 11-3 (Gator Bowl Victory 13-7, vs. Missouri)
The 2025 season only tells part of the story of this extension, with Elliott’s leadership of the program in his first three seasons making the successes of 2025 possible to begin with. In his first season as a head coach in 2022, Elliott was tasked with not only rebuilding a football program, but helping his players and the University of Virginia recover after the tragic deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry. It became clear in the aftermath of such a traumatic and horrible event, that Elliott’s commitment to his players went far beyond the field.
In Elliott’s time in Charlottesville, the college football world has undergone significant changes with the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness rights altering how successful college football programs are built. Not only has Virginia football adapted to these changes under Elliott, but the ‘Hoos have proven to be one of the best in the nation at finding talented players in the portal, as well as developing and retaining players recruited out of high school.
Virginia also saw a significant facilities overhaul to compete in this new world of college football, with the cutting edge Hardie Football Operations Center opening under Elliott. Virginia’s improvement in terms of facilities and funding has been a part of a critical effort undertaken by Elliott and Carla Williams in the years leading up to and through the 2025 season.
Director of Athletics Carla Williams commented on the extension, saying “[Tony Elliott’s] commitment to the values of the University of Virginia and his commitment to developing the whole person through football have been a blessing. His vision of building the model program has never wavered, despite extraordinary adversity. The future is bright for UVA Football and we’re excited to continue this work together.”
Should Elliott finish through the contract, he would be the longest tenured head coach at Virginia since Al Groh, who coached from 2001 to 2009. Virginia football will kick off the first game of Elliott’s extension on August 29th, 2026 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
