Bill Roper
Bill Roper went 110–38–19 as a head coach, 1903–1930, at VMI, Princeton, Missouri and Swarthmore. His teams claim four national titles: Princeton in 1906, 1911, 1920 and 1922. Wikipedia’s season articles record two seasons differently (1903, 2–1 and 1904, 3–5); by them his record is 112–38–18. Share
Two seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1915–16 at Swarthmore. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 110–38–19 career
- Seasons
- 22
- Schools
- 4
- National titles
- 4 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1954 inducted
- Best season
- 1922 8–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | VMI | 0–1 (Wikipedia: 2–1) | ||||
| 1904 | VMI | 3–5–1 (Wikipedia: 3–5) | ||||
| 1905: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1906 | Princeton | 9–0–1 | ||||
| 1907 | Princeton | 7–2 | ||||
| 1908 | Princeton | 5–2–3 | ||||
| 1909 | Missouri | 7–0–1 | 1st | |||
| 1910 | Princeton | 7–1 | ||||
| 1911 | Princeton | 8–0–2 | ||||
| 1912–14: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1915 | Swarthmore * | 5–3 | ||||
| 1916 | Swarthmore * | 6–1–1 | ||||
| 1917–18: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1919 | Princeton | 4–2–1 | ||||
| 1920 | Princeton | 6–0–1 | ||||
| 1921 | Princeton | 4–3 | ||||
| 1922 | Princeton | 8–0 | ||||
| 1923 | Princeton | 3–3–1 | ||||
| 1924 | Princeton | 4–2–1 | ||||
| 1925 | Princeton | 5–1–1 | ||||
| 1926 | Princeton | 5–1–1 | ||||
| 1927 | Princeton | 6–1 | ||||
| 1928 | Princeton | 5–1–2 | ||||
| 1929 | Princeton | 2–4–1 | ||||
| 1930 | Princeton | 1–5–1 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Stan KeckConsensus All‑American, 1920 and 1921- Caspar WisterConsensus All‑American, 1906 and 1907
- Herb TreatConsensus All‑American, 1922
- Talbot PendletonConsensus All‑American, 1910
- Frederick TibbottConsensus All‑American, 1908
- Edwin HarlanConsensus All‑American, 1907
- Ed HartConsensus All‑American, 1911
- James CooneyConsensus All‑American, 1906
- Ed McMillanConsensus All‑American, 1925
- Donold LourieConsensus All‑American, 1920
- James B. McCormickConsensus All‑American, 1907
- Sanford WhiteConsensus All‑American, 1911
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against rivals | 31 | 16–11–4 | 58% |
| Conference games | 4 | 3–0–1 | 88% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 67 | 31–18–18 | 60% |
| At home | 118 | 86–21–11 | 78% |
| On the road | 33 | 13–13–7 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 120 | 88–20–12 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 31 | 11–14–6 | 45% |
His own 151 games on file, 1903–1930, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tad Jones 1920–1927 | 4–4 | Yale | 8 | |
| Bob Fisher 1919–1925 | 4–1–2 | Harvard | 7 | |
| Fred Crolius 1906–1911 | 5–0 | Villanova | 5 | |
| Bob Folwell 1910–1924 | 3–1–1 | Lafayette, Navy | 5 | |
| Gilmour Dobie 1927–1930 | 2–2 | Cornell | 4 | |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg 1921–1930 | 1–2–1 | Chicago | 4 | |
| William Ingram 1926–1930 | 0–3–1 | Navy | 4 | |
| Pop Warner 1906–1910 | 3–0 | Cornell, Carlisle | 3 | |
| Mal Stevens 1928–1930 | 1–2 | Yale | 3 |
Bill Roper’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Yaleseries | 17 | 7–9–1 |
| Navyseries | 12 | 3–5–4 |
| Harvardseries | 9 | 6–1–2 |
| Lehighseries | 8 | 5–1–2 |
| Amherstseries | 7 | 7–0 |
| Swarthmoreseries | 7 | 7–0 |
| Cornellseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| Villanovaseries | 5 | 5–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903–04 | VMI | Head coach | |
| 1906–08 | Princeton | Head coach | |
| 1909 | Missouri | Head coach | |
| 1910–11 | Princeton | Head coach | |
| 1915–16 | Swarthmore | Head coach | |
| 1919–30 | Princeton | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Johnny PoeVirginia, Navy
- Guy LowmanAlabama, Kansas State, Wisconsin, Central Missouri
- Jesse HawleyIowa, Dartmouth
Coached under him, later head coaches (3)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Poe | Princeton, 1906, 1908: assistant coach | Virginia, Navy | |
| Guy Lowman | Missouri, 1909: assistant coach | Alabama, Kansas State, Wisconsin, Central Missouri | |
| Jesse Hawley | Princeton, 1920: assistant coach | Iowa, Dartmouth |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.