Jimmye Laycock was the architect of what is easily the most extended run of success in W&M’s long football history. In his 39 years at the helm of the program, Laycock never compromised academic standards for athletic success, as he concluded his legendary career with 249 wins – an impressive figure that ranks tied for 24th in the history of college football with Lou Holtz, another W&M Athletics Hall of Famer.
Laycock will be inducted alongside fellow Tribe coaching icons, John Daly and Cliff Gauthier in a ceremony that will be held in the spring of 2025. Details of the event will be forthcoming.
When Laycock, a 1970 grad, returned to coach his Alma mater before the 1980 season, he inherited a program that had won six or more games in a season just four times in the previous 25 years. Few could have predicted that W&M would produce nearly five times that number of seven-win seasons over the next 39 seasons.