Chris Petersen - Football Coach - University of Washington Athletics

Ohio State

Sep 27 (Sat)

TBA

Chris Petersen

Title:
Head Coach

Chris Petersen retired from from coaching following the 2019 college football season, having spent 33 years as a coach, including eight (2006-13) as head coach at Boise State and six more (2014-19) as head coach at the University of Washington.

• Compiled a career record of 147-38, good for a .795 winning percentage, the second-highest among active NCAA-FBS coaches with five or more years experience, as of the end of the 2019 season.
• Earned his 100th career coaching victory in just his 117th career game, making him the fifth-fastest coach in college football history to reach 100 victories. Also won more games (61) in his first five seasons as a head coach than any coach in history.
• Two-time winner of the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award (2006 and 2009), while also winning the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (2010) and the Gene Stallings Award (2017) for humanitarian work.
• Posted a won-lost record of 92-12 during eight seasons as head coach at Boise State, leading the Broncos to five conference championships and two undefeated seasons (13-0 in 2006 and 14-0 in 2009).
• Went 55-26 as head coach at Washington, leading the Huskies to Pac-12 Conference titles in both 2016 and 2018.
• Led the Huskies to the four-team College Football Playoffs in 2016, the UW's only CFP appearance to date, and to New Years Six bowl games in three straight seasons: 2016 (Peach Bowl), 2017 (Fiesta Bowl) and 2018 (Rose Bowl).
• In six seasons at UW, never lost to Washington State in the annual Apple Cup rivalry game, winning all six meetings.
• Attained a long record of leading teams to the highest levels of academic success at both Boise State and Washington.
• For the seasons 2015-18 (data released in 2020), led the UW program to the highest four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score in the the history of major-college football. The NCAA uses the APR to measure teams' academic success, progress and retention.
• UW became the first program other than Stanford to lead the Pac-12 Conference in APR, and has done so for the last three years.
• Prior to Petersen's arrival, the UW football team had never before achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or better. In 11 of the last 12 academic quarters with Petersen in charge, the team combined for a GPA over 3.00, twice reaching a high of 3.16.
• In all, 31 individuals who played at UW under Petersen were selected in the NFL Draft, and as of May, 2020, 41 former Huskies were listed on NFL rosters, all but two of whom played for Petersen.
• During his six seasons at Washington, a total of 31 players were named first-team All-Pac-12, while 17 earned some level of All-America recognition, including 12 first-team selections.
• During his six seasons at Washington, a total of 36 football players earned first-team Academic All-Pac-12, while 17 earned Academic All-District and two were named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football.
• In his first season as head coach at Boise State (2006), led the Broncos to a 13-0 record and a win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, widely considered one of the greatest bowl games in history.
• Along with five league titles at Boise State, led his teams to a 57-6 record in conference play, over eight seasons.
• Led Boise State to national recognition awards for NCAA Academic Progress Rate three years in a row. In 2011, Boise State was the only program to finish in the top 10 in the final college football polls, and among the top 10 percent in APR.
• Prior to becoming Boise State's head coach, served as the Broncos offensive coordinator for five seasons. His offenses led the nation in scoring in 2002 and 2003.
• During his career, also spent time as an assistant coach at UC Davis, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Oregon and Portland State University.
• Played quarterback at Sacramento City College, and then UC Davis, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in educational psychology. Set numerous records at Davis, and his marks for season and career completion percentage both still stand.
• Named his conference's Player of the Year and UC Davis' Male Athlete of the Year following his senior season, when he was team captain and winner of his team's MVP and most inspirational award. Inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
• Grew up in Yuba City, Calif., and now resides in Bellevue, Wash., along with his wife, Barbara. He and Barbara are the parents of two adult sons, Jack and Sam.