Elliott Named ACC Coach of the Year

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Fralin Family Head Football Coach Tony Elliott has been named the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year. The award was selected by an 82-member voting panel featuring 65 media voters and the conference’s 17 head coaches.

In his fourth year at the helm, Elliott has guided Virginia to its second-ever 10-win season. The Cavaliers earned a spot in Saturday’s ACC Championship game for only the second time in program history and are ranked No. 16 in The Associated Press Top-25 poll. A Broyles Award winner as an assistant in 2017 at Clemson, it marks the first ACC Coach of the Year honor for Elliott and the first by a UVA head coach since 2011.

In steering UVA to one of its the best seasons program history, Elliott has been recognized nationally a semifinalist for the Munger Award, Bobby Dodd Trophy and Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Awards.

In the regular-season finale, the Cavaliers ended a four-game skid against commonwealth foe Virginia Tech last Saturday with a decisive 27-7 victory at Scott Stadium. Virginia finished alone atop the ACC standings for the first time ever and tied the program record for ACC wins with seven. With the win over the Hokies, the Cavaliers clinched a berth in the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2019.

The Cavaliers were picked 14th in the ACC preseason media poll after a 5-7 mark in 2024. Virginia’s five-win improvement from 2023-24 is tied for the best in program history (1892-93 & 1986-87) and fourth best in FBS this season. UVA has been featured in CFP rankings for five-straight weeks and currently sits at No. 17. Prior to 2025, UVA had only been included in the CFP rankings three times, once in 2018 and twice in 2019.

Virginia is set to take on Duke in the 2025 ACC Championship game on Saturday (Dec. 6) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on ABC, the Virginia Sports Radio Network and ESPN Radio.

ACC Coach of the Year Voting

Tony Elliott, Virginia – 57
Jake Dickert, Wake Forest – 13
Brent Key, Georgia Tech – 5
Manny Diaz, Duke – 2
Mario Cristobal, Miami – 1
Dave Doeren, NC State – 1
Pat Narduzzi, Pitt – 1
Rhett Lashlee, SMU – 1

UVA ACC Coaches of the Year (All-Time)

1961 Bill Elias
1968 – George Blackburn
1983 – George Welsh
1984 – George Welsh
1989 – George Welsh
1991 – George Welsh
1995 – George Welsh
2002 – Al Groh
2007 – Al Groh
2011 – Mike London
2025 – Tony Elliott