The ACC announced Thursday that Coach Tony Elliott won the ACC Coach of the Year Award, following a regular season in which the team won 10 games for the second time in program history.
The award was voted on by a cohort of 65 media voters and all 17 ACC head coaches. Ultimately, Elliott received 57 first place votes — 44 more than the runner-up, Jake Dickert of Wake Forest. No other coach received more than five votes.
“[The Cavaliers] believe in something bigger than themselves,” Elliott said after beating Virginia Tech. “They find value in the people around them, and they invest in that. Then you can accomplish great things.”
Elliott becomes the sixth Cavalier head coach to win ACC Coach of the Year — the first since Mike London back in 2011 — adding onto the program’s total of 11 Coach of the Year Awards.
Elliott is also currently a semifinalist for the Munger Award, Bobby Dodd Trophy and Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award.
Virginia was projected to finish 14th out of the 17-team ACC — but finished the regular season in first place at 7-1, tied for the best regular season ACC record the Cavaliers have ever had.
Now, Elliott has Virginia set to play in the ACC Championship for the second time in program history. The Cavaliers take on Duke Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., a rematch after throttling the Blue Devils 34-17 on the road Nov. 15.
Earlier this year, Elliott debuted the mantra “TLC to CLT,” which translates to toughness, leadership and commitment as the core values needed to get his team to Charlotte for an ACC title.
“The TLC to CLT has been a mantra for this team in particular, because back in January, knowing that we were bringing in 54 new guys that first team meeting, I said, ‘hey, this team is going to need some TLC, and it's not [just] tender love and care,'” Elliott said at ACC Championship media availability..
With a victory this weekend, Elliott would become the first coach in program history to win the ACC Championship outright. Virginia, with a win, would qualify for the College Football Playoff because they would be one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. Elliott is one win away from being the first coach to lead the Cavaliers to the CFP.
“But really what [a Playoff berth will] come down to is, can everybody that's in this room become a team, and then will our leaders step up and lead, and then will everybody be fully committed to the goals that we set as an organization?” Elliott said. “And that's where the TLC [mantra] came [from].”
Fueled by Elliott’s leadership and initiatives such as TLC to CLT, Virginia fought for seven ACC wins — the most in the conference. This year, Elliott and his squad took down then-No. 8 Florida State, squeezed past then-undefeated Louisville on the road in overtime, beat Virginia Tech for the third time this century and managed to fight for a possible CFP berth.
Virginia has been ranked in the CFP rankings for five weeks this year — previously, the Cavaliers were only ranked in the CFP poll three times in program history. Similarly, the 2024 ACC Coach of the Year, Rhett Lashlee, led SMU to the CFP after he won the award last year.
Virginia’s 10 wins this year are double what the team tallied last season. The improvement in the win column this year ranks fourth among all 136 FBS teams.
“You got to be a champion in your mind and your heart before you ever champion on the field,” Elliott said at ACC Championship media availability. “So that's been the objective from day one.”
Read More
‘For all Virginia’: 2025 football bliss is euphoric and historic
By Xander Tilock | 7 hours ago“Kids growing up in Virginia want to root for winners, and the Hoos will prove that they are the face of the state.”
Chandler Morris prophesied a championship. Now he’s playing for one
By Ryan Weiner | 15 hours ago“I didn’t come all the way to Virginia as a Texas boy to win five, six games. I want to win the conference championship.”
Gabby White is right at home at Virginia, and it shows
By Sofie Keppler | 21 hours ago“Gabby has been impressive,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said.
