Mike London did just about everything you could ask a Head Coach could do. His players stayed out of trouble, they graduated at a high rate and he built a recruiting base that allowed players in the Richmond and Tidewater area to stay in state and play in Charlottesville. But in the bottom line business that is College Athletics, London didn't win enough and in the process turned many fans away.
Sunday morning, The University of Virginia announced the resignation of London, effective immediately.
The school's athletic director, Craig Littlepage, made the announcement Sunday morning after meeting with London to discuss the future of the program. He said the two decided that a change in leadership was in the football team's best interest.
"Mike London has been an outstanding representative of the University of Virginia," Littlepage said. "We are thankful for Mike's numerous contributions representing the University and Virginia athletics."
Mike London
This change comes after the Cavaliers lost for the 12th consecutive time to the rival Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday afternoon. Since being hired as the team's 39th head coach in 2009, London compiled an overall record of 27-46 and just 14-34 in the ACC while only leading the team to one winning season in his six years there. His teams never finished higher than 5th in the conference since 2012. But the two biggest numbers that went against London, UVA went 0-6 against Virginia Tech while he was the Head Coach and attendance at Scott Stadium declined since 2012.
"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 said.
Littlepage said the search for the team's next head coach has already begun and would not specify a time frame for the search, adding that he would not make further comments on it until the search is concluded.
"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.
Stay with CBS 6 for more updates.
