THE COACHES HEAD COACH DICK BIDDLE Dick Biddle Is on the Threshold Second in the Patriot League Stand- of Becoming the Winningest Football Ings
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THE COACHES HEAD COACH DICK BIDDLE Dick Biddle is on the threshold second in the Patriot League stand- of becoming the winningest football ings. coach in school history. Entering his The Raiders (7-3) finished second 13th season with the Raiders, Biddle again in the Patriot League in 2001. needs one victory to pass the leg- In 2002, Colgate (9-3) captured its endary Andy Kerr for the top spot in third Patriot League title under Biddle, career wins with 96. and won seven or more games for the He was named Colgate’s 29th head sixth straight season. Biddle became football coach in November of 1995 the first Colgate coach to be named a after serving as an assistant coach for three-time winner of the Howard Hart- a total of 10 years with the Raiders. man Award. He was given the job of rebuilding The 2003 campaign was arguably Colgate’s program which hadn’t seen the greatest in school history when the a winning season since 1990. And it’s Raiders captured the imagination of been a continuous ride to the top for the collegiate football world becoming Colgate under Biddle’s tutelage. the first non-scholarship program to In 12 seasons, Biddle has reached advance to the title game of the NCAA the 95-win plateau; the fastest of any Division I-AA playoffs. coach in Colgate’s gridiron history. En route, Colgate won a school He has achieved the best win- record 15 contests establishing a ning percentage (.673) of any Colgate Division I-AA record for victories in a coach with seven or more years at the pionship game of the NCAA Division season. helm of the Raiders. Biddle is also the I-AA playoffs. After finishing 2004 with a 7-4 first Colgate coach to ever record nine In his first season, Biddle not only mark, the Raiders captured their fifth straight seasons with seven or more produced a winning campaign, but Patriot League title the following fall, victories. became only the third head coach in and a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA He has been named Patriot League Division I or I-AA history to record playoffs. It was the fifth time in 10 Coach of the Year three times while a winning record the season after a seasons that Colgate had won eight or guiding the Raiders to five Patriot team suffered through a 0-11 cam- more games in a season finishing 8-4. League titles and five appearances in paign. Last season, the Raiders bounced the FCS (formally I-AA) playoffs. For his effort, Biddle was selected back from their first losing season in In 2003, Biddle was named the by his coaching peers as the Patriot 2006 with a 7-4 record and second American Football Coaches Associa- League Coach of the Year, and was place finish in the Patriot League. tion Division I-AA National Coach of named the co-recipient of Colgate’s Under Biddle, the Raiders have the Year after leading the Raiders to a Howard Hartman Coach of the Year produced an explosive offense finish- 15-1 record, and to the national cham- Award. ing in the Top 10 nationally in rushing In his second season he brought three times and twice in total offense. home the first Patriot League cham- On the defensive side, Colgate has pionship along with Colgate’s first been ranked four times in the Top 10 appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA in rushing defense, once in pass de- playoffs since 1983. His back-to-back fense and total defense. winning seasons were the first since Biddle, 60, came back to Colgate 1982 and 1983. in 1992 as defensive coordinator and Biddle’s effort was recognized linebacker coach under Mike Foley. again by his peers with his second He had previously coached at Colgate straight selection as Colgate’s Coach of under Fred Dunlap from 1977 through the Year. 1982. In 1998, Biddle produced eight “Of all the places I’ve coached, I victories en route to a second straight always considered Colgate as my best appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA experience. It’s a great school and has playoffs. His victory total was the high- est since the 1983 campaign. He continued Colgate’s success Biddle vs. Conferences story in 1999 with the school’s second Patriot League championship and third Conference W L consecutive berth in the Division I-AA Patriot League 57 16 playoffs. En route to the playoffs, the Ivy League 28 8 Raiders tied the school record for vic- Atlantic-10/CAA 4 12 tories in a season with 10. I-AA Independents 3 1 For his effort, Biddle was named a Gateway 1 1 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of Mid-American 1 0 the Year Award, presented annually to Northeast 1 2 the top coach in Division I-AA. Conference USA 0 1 In 2000, the Raiders posted their Southern 0 1 fifth straight winning season under I-A Independents 0 4 Biddle with a 7-4 record. They finished Total 95 46 48 2008 Colgate Football a national reputation in regards to its academic and athletic programs. It is The Biddle File an honor and privilege to be the head Personal coach of Colgate football,” said Biddle. Name: Richard Lee Biddle “I feel that I’m representing all the Birthdate: November 26, 1947 great players and coaches who have Age: 60 worked at Colgate.” Head Coaching Record: 95-46 (13th season) Biddle came back to Colgate in Wife: The former Sheila Godfrey of Hamilton, N.Y. 1992 after two seasons at the United Children: Jason (35), Brendon (27) States Naval Academy, where he Education College: Duke University, B.A. in History, 1971 High School: Parkersburg HS, Parkersburg, W.Va. Athletic Parkersburg HS: football, wrestling, tennis Fork Union Military Academy: football, wrestling Duke University: football (3-year letterwinner, co-captain 1970) Coaching 1973 Allegheny College Defensive Line/Wide Receivers 1974 Allegheny College Off. & Def. Lines/Linebackers 1975 Allegheny College Off. & Def. Lines/Linebackers 1976 Allegheny College Off. & Def. Lines/Linebackers 1977 Colgate University Defensive Line 1978 Colgate University Defensive Line 1979 Colgate University Defensive Line 1980 Colgate University Defensive Line 1981 Colgate University Defensive Coordinator/Line 1982 Colgate University Defensive Coordinator/Line (NCAA I-AA Playoffs) 1983 Virginia Tech Linebackers 1984 Virginia Tech Linebackers (Independence Bowl) 1985 Univ. of Minnesota Linebackers (Independence Bowl) 1986 Univ. of Minnesota Linebackers (Liberty Bowl) served as linebacker coach in his first 1987 Univ. of Minnesota Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers season and defensive coordinator and 1988 Univ. of Minnesota Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers linebacker coach in the second season. 1989 Univ. of Minnesota Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Biddle previously coached at Col- 1990 U.S. Naval Academy Linebackers gate from 1977 through the 1982 sea- 1991 U.S. Naval Academy Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers son. He was defensive line coach for 1992 Colgate University Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers six seasons, and served as defensive 1993 Colgate University Wide Receivers coordinator his final two campaigns 1994 Colgate University Running Backs with the Raiders. 1995 Colgate University Running Backs During that tenure, Colgate posted 1996 Colgate University Head Coach (6-5) five winning seasons, including the 1997 Colgate University Head Coach (7-5, PL Title, NCAA I-AA Playoffs) first 10-win season in the school’s his- 1998 Colgate University Head Coach (8-4, NCAA I-AA Playoffs) tory in 1977, and it’s first post-season 1999 Colgate University Head Coach (10-2, PL Title, NCAA I-AA Playoffs) NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance 2000 Colgate University Head Coach (7-4) in 1982. 2001 Colgate University Head Coach (7-3) Prior to Navy, Biddle was an assis- 2002 Colgate University Head Coach (9-3, PL Title) tant coach at the University of Min- 2003 Colgate University Head Coach (15-1, PL Title, NCAA I-AA Finalist) nesota for five years. He first joined 2004 Colgate University Head Coach (7-4) the Golden Gophers under Lou Holtz. 2005 Colgate University Head Coach (8-4, PL Title, NCAA I-AA Playoffs) Following Holtz’s departure for Notre 2006 Colgate University Head Coach (4-7) Dame, Biddle served as linebacker 2007 Colgate University Head Coach (7-4) coach under John Gutekunst for four seasons - the last three as defensive coordinator. After leaving Colgate in 1982, he joined the staff at Virginia Coach Biddle has the highest winning percentage of any current coach in Patriot Tech where he worked with the line- League play, and the second best of all coaches in the 22-year history of the backers for two campaigns. league. He came to Colgate the first time He has won .780 percent of his Patriot League games winning 57 of 73 contests. from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania where he began his coaching career in 1973. During his first year at Allegh- eny, he coached the defensive line and wide receivers. For the last three www.goColgateRaiders.com 49 seasons, he was in charge of both the defensive and offensive lines and linebackers. In his second stint with the Raid- ers, Biddle was wide receiver coach for one season, and running back coach for two campaigns under coach Ed Sweeney. Biddle has also coached in three Bowl games: the 1984 and 1985 Independence Bowls while at Virginia Tech and Minnesota, respectively, and the 1986 Liberty Bowl with Minnesota. He also coached in the 1989 Blue-Gray All-Star Game. Biddle, a 1971 graduate of Duke University, was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker for two sea- sons.