The architects behind the University’s winning traditions have been some remarkable coaches. In fact, just to mention such Blue Hen stalwarts as Tubby Raymond, Bob Hannah, and Barbara Viera is to conjure up nearly a century of combined coaching success.
The 1998 season marked the 33rd year of "the Raymond Era" of University of Delaware football, a period that has been marked by consistently competitive and winning teams. Under the direction of Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond, Delaware ’65M, the Blue Hens have compiled a 277-107-3 record—including national titles in 1971, 1972, and 1979—making Raymond one of only 10 coaches in college football history to reach the 275-win plateau. His winning percentage of .720 ranks him second among all active Division I-AA coaches in the nation. He ranks fifth in wins among all active head coaches in any division. Notably, Raymond’s accomplishments also include painting—he has painted a portrait of a senior member of the football squad each week during the season for most of his career at Delaware.
With a career record of 1,016-444-6, Bob Hannah is one of college baseball’s legendary coaches. His .696 winning percentage is 14th among active coaches and in the top 25 of all time. Remarkably, this American Baseball Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame member is one of only 22 coaches in Division I history to surpass the 1,000-win milestone. The 1961 Delaware graduate has guided the Blue Hens to 18 regular season conference titles and into NCAA regional play on 10 occasions, most recently in 1999, and led the Hens to the 1970 College World Series. The Hens have had just two losing seasons in Hannah’s 35-year reign, reeling off eight straight 30-win seasons from 1976 to 1983 and breaking the 40-win barrier for five consecutive seasons from 1994 to 1998.
Delaware’s head volleyball coach, Barbara Viera, is without question one of the most successful volleyball coaches in the country. Viera ranks fourth in most career wins by active Division I coaches with a record of 670-408-4 in 26 years at Delaware. She guided her teams to conference championships in 1992 and 1994, receiving Coach of the Year honors each time, an accolade she also received in 1986 and 1995. Nine of Viera’s squads have appeared in Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women playoff tournaments, placing third in 1976 and taking the crown in 1979 to earn a berth in the Division II national tournament.