Ted Kessinger

Ted Kessinger
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born January 15, 1941
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
19762003 Bethany (KS)
Head coaching record
Overall 219571 (.792)
Accomplishments and honors

Awards

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2005)
NAIA Hall of Fame (2003)
College Football Hall of Fame (2010)
KCAC Coach of the Year (11 times)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2010 (profile)

Ted Kessinger (born January 15, 1941) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, compiling a record of 219571 for a winning percentage of .792. He is among the college football coaches with the most wins and the highest winning percentage.

Kessenger was the head coach of the first American football team to play in Sweden,[1] and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.[2] His son is Kent Kessinger, the head coach at Ottawa University.

Coaching career

Assistant coaching

Before becoming a head coach, Kessinger worked as an assistant coach at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the South Dakota Coyotes in Vermillion.[3]

Bethany

Kessinger was head coach at Bethany College Swedes in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 until 2003, where he posted a record of 219 wins, 57 losses, and one tie. While at Bethany, he took his team to the NAIA playoffs ten times and achieved a top 25 ranking 20 times. His teams never posted a losing season during his entire coaching tenure.[4]

In 2000, his team won the American Family Charity Bowl, defeating the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes by a score of 20-3.[5]

Kessinger was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[6]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs NAIA Coach's Poll#
Bethany College Terrible Swedes (NAIA) (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1976–1995)
1976 Bethany 640 records incomplete
1977 Bethany 910 records incomplete
1978 Bethany 1010 records incomplete L NAIA Division II Quareterfinals
1979 Bethany 1110 records incomplete L NAIA Division II Semifinals
1980 Bethany 910 records incomplete
1981 Bethany 910 records incomplete
1982 Bethany 550 records incomplete
1983 Bethany 820 records incomplete
1984 Bethany 640 records incomplete
1985 Bethany 720 records incomplete
1986 Bethany 810 records incomplete
1987 Bethany 820 61 L NAIA Division II First Round
1988 Bethany 1100 80 L NAIA Division II Quareterfinals
1989 Bethany 810 71
1990 Bethany 820 81 L NAIA Division II First Round
1991 Bethany 820 81 L NAIA Division II First Round
1992 Bethany 711 records incomplete
1993 Bethany 920 80 L NAIA Division II First Round
1994 Bethany 730 71
1995 Bethany 1010 80 L NAIA Division II Quareterfinals
1996 Bethany 820 80 L NAIA Division II First Round
1997 Bethany 720 62
1998 Bethany 630 53
1999 Bethany 820 71 L NAIA Division I First Round
2000 Bethany 730 73 W American Family Charity Bowl
2001 Bethany 810 81
2002 Bethany 630 63
2003 Bethany 540 54
Bethany: 219571
Total: 219571
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title
#Rankings from final Coaches Poll.

Table statistics[7]

See also

References

  1. The Victoria Advocate "Sweden's First Shot at Football a Success Despite 72-7 Defeat" by Stephaan Nastrom, Jun 20, 1985
  2. ESPN.com "College Football". ESPN. May 11, 2010.
  3. Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Kent Kessinger
  4. Topeka Capital-Journal "Ted Kessinger retires with 219-57-1 record" February 12, 2004
  5. College Football Data Warehouse Kansas Wesleyan Bowl History
  6. Football Foundation "2010 Divisional College Football Hall of Fame Class Announced"
  7. Shafer, Ian. "Bethany College (Kansas) results". College Football Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2011.

External links