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| Washington & Jefferson athletics photo |
Hampden-Sydney athletic director Chad Eisele has announced the appointment of Vince Luvara as the school's new football head coach. The defensive coordinator at Washington & Jefferson since 2016, Luvara becomes the 29th head coach in the 129-year history of the storied Hampden-Sydney program. The Pittsburgh native is no stranger to NCAA Division III, having played four years at Allegheny and coached one year at Allegheny and two years at Misericordia.
Luvara served as the defensive coordinator, as well as the recruiting coordinator, at Washington & Jefferson for the past eight seasons, helping the Presidents to an overall record of 66-16, including 51-12 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. During this eight-year period, W&J has won two PAC Championships, made two NCAA Playoff appearances and won four of five ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Bowl championships, the most recent a 46-21 win vs. Merchant Marine in the 2023 ECAC James Lynah Bowl to complete a 9-2 season.
Luvara served under 21-year veteran head coach Mike Sirianni at W&J, one of the most successful head coaches in NCAA football, and the winningest football coach in that school's history (185-44). The Presidents have had 64 All-PAC Defensive selections since 2016, including 23 First Team honorees, along with three D3football.com All-Americans (O'Shea Anderson, 2017; Mike Williams, 2019; Dawson Dietz, 2022) and one Academic All-American (Conor Manning, 2019). W&J ranked 23rd nationally this season in fewest passing yards allowed (158.8), 26th in turnovers gained (24), 31st in interceptions (15), 46th in total defense (297.7) and 50th in scoring defense (18.8). The Presidents yielded just one touchdown or less in four games during 2023, including one shutout.
Luvara's W&J defense yielded just 12.7 points per game in 2022 to rank 15th in Division III, allowing 255.6 yards — just 99.7 on the ground. In 2021, the scoring defense was 16.2 with 17 interceptions and 287.4 yards, while during the spring of 2021, the unit allowed only 11.8 points and 198.3 yards in four games. W&J's scoring defense was 16.1 in 2019, allowing 297.6 yards — tops in the PAC, and in 2018 — 11 defensive players earned All-PAC recognition during a championship season that witnessed 19 interceptions. The scoring defense (18.9) ranked second in the conference in 2017, along with a league-leading 23 interceptions, and in 2016, the Presidents led the PAC in tackles for loss (112) and sacks (40).
Luvara served as an intern assistant coach at W&J during the 2015-16 academic year, working with the linebackers and acting as the special teams and video coordinator. The Presidents finished 8-2 overall, 6-2 in the PAC. He had a similar role (linebackers, special teams, recruiting, video) at his alma mater, Allegheny, during 2014-15, and coached linebackers (taking over special teams during the 2012 season) at Misericordia in 2012 and 2013 as a graduate assistant while earning his MBA.
Luvara was a four-year team member (2007-10) and three-year letterman at Allegheny (2008-10), playing in 28 career games, and starting all 10 games at inside linebacker as a senior. He totaled 75 career tackles, including 26 solo and 49 assisted, seven tackles for loss, one interception and four pass breakups. Luvara helped the Gators to an overall record of 20-10 during his letterman years, including 13-7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Luvara graduated from Allegheny in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in managerial economics and a minor in communications arts. He was a student assistant in the football office from 2007-11.