Longtime Navy Assistant Helmed Carson-Newman Two Years
Virginia Military Institute announced the hiring of Ashley Ingram as its next head football coach on Tuesday of last week. Ingram becomes the 34th head coach in the history of the program.
Ingram, 52, was most recently the head coach at NCAA Division II school Carson- Newman University in Tennessee, where he coached for two years, following 16 years as an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. He replaces Danny Rocco, who stepped down last month after three seasons to become a senior analyst for the Virginia Tech football team. Under Rocco, VMI went 7-28, posting a record of 5-6 in 2023 before going 1-11 in each of the last two seasons.
At Carson Newman, Ingram posted an overall record of 16-6, going 13-4 in South Atlantic Conference play, earned an NCAA bid, and amassed the most wins by a coach in their first two seasons in program history. In 2024, Ingram inherited a team that was 5-6 the previous season. In his first year, he coached the Eagles to a 9-3 record while going 7-1 in SAC play, claiming a SAC Mountain Division title and becoming the first coach in school history to earn an NCAA bid in his first season.
Running the triple option, Carson-Newman finished fourth in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 265.8 yards per game on the ground. This past season, Ingram coached Carson-Newman to a 7-3 record, collecting wins over nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate in the process.
While at Navy, Ingram helped the Midshipmen earn 10 bowl bids, defeat Army 10 times and win six Commanderin- Chief’s trophies. Considered by many to be Navy’s top recruiter during his tenure, Ingram coached nine allconference lineman, two American Conference Players of the Year and 11 Academic All-Americans. Among the players Ingram signed and coached were future NFL draft picks Keenan Reynolds (Ravens), Malcolm Perry (Dolphins) and Rayuan Lane III (Jaguars). During his time in Annapolis, the Navy offense finished in the top five nationally
, page A10 in rushing yards eight times in 11 years, averaging 286.3 yards per game on the ground including 2015 and 2019, in which the Midshipmen finished the season in the top 20 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls.
INGRAM
Prior to Navy, Ingram was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Bucknell from 2006-07, spent six seasons at the University of Rhode Island (20002005), and had stops at West Alabama (1999), North Cobb High School (1998), Temple and North Alabama (graduate assistant, 1997).
An Iron City, Ga. native, Ingram played on the offensive line at North Alabama, helping the team to three NCAA Division II national titles, going 41-1 and claiming the first three-peat in NCAA history (1993, 1994, 1995). Ingram earned both his bachelor’s degree (1996) and master’s degree (1997) in education from North Alabama.
Ingram and his wife, Jenifer, are the proud parents of their daughter Laura and sons James and William.
Pleased to have Ingram coming to guide the program, Lt. Gen. David Furness, VMI’s superintendent, said in a VMI news release last Tuesday, “Coach Ingram’s record of success at the Naval Academy and Carson Newman University are exceptional,” said VMI Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Furness, in a press release. “Ken Niumatalolo, the longtime coach at the Naval Academy, described Coach [Ingram] as ‘by far, the best coach I had in all my years at the Naval Academy.’ He will bring grit, tenacity, physical and mental toughness, and a winning attitude to our football program. He will also mold our football players into leaders in the corps, model cadets in barracks and men of character as graduates of our beloved Institute.”
VMI Director of Athletics Jamaal Walton added that the VMI staff is “thrilled to welcome Ashley Ingram as the next head coach of VMI Football. Coach Ingram is committed to building a program – not just a team – that represents VMI with excellence on the field, in the classroom, on post and throughout the community. From the moment we began the process, it was evident that Coach Ingram embodies discipline, toughness, grit and a relentless competitive drive to be a champion. He is a proven winner, exceptional recruiter, developer of quality football players, and someone who sees this as a transformational opportunity to take VMI to new heights.”
After expressing his gratitude, Ingram said his staff’s unwavering mission will be “to graduate and develop men of character. We will strive daily to make everyone associated with VMI proud. The product we put on the field will be a reflection of the ideals that make VMI so special. We will be a tough, disciplined team that plays with relentless effort. My family and I are so excited to get on post and become a part of this wonderful family.”
