Villanova Univeristy Athletics

It is a milestone year for Mark Ferrante in 2026 as he heads into his 10^th season as the Thomas and Diane Treacy Endowed Football Head Coach and his 40^th year overall with the Villanova football program. His four decades with the Wildcats include his time as head coach and 30 years as an assistant from 1987-2016, the last 18 of which were as assistant head coach on Andy Talley’s staff. Ferrante has been a part of 286 victories and all 17 of the program’s FCS playoff appearances during his Villanova tenure. He enters the 2026 season with a career head coaching record of 69-36 (.657) which includes five playoff appearances and two conference titles.
 
Villanova itself embarks on a transformational season in 2026 in its first year as an associate member of the Patriot League in football. A preseason poll of league head coaches predicted the Wildcats to finish atop the competitive conference standings as the Patriot League grows to 10 football members for the first time in its history.
 
The match between Villanova and the Patriot League is an excellent one both on and off the field and comes as Ferrante has consistently positioned the Wildcats as one of the top FCS programs in the country. Villanova begins the 2026 season as one just two FCS programs to have won 10+ games in at least four of the last five seasons. During that span (2021-25) the Wildcats have made four playoff appearances, including last year’s incredible run to the semifinal round for only the fourth time ever. Villanova’s overall record over the past five seasons is 48-18 (.727), including a 29-4 mark defending its home turf in Villanova Stadium.
 
Ferrante ranks second in school history in head coaching wins, while his .657 career winning percentage trails only Harry Stuhldreher (1925-35) and Clipper Smith (1936-42) among Wildcats head coaches who have held the position for three or more seasons. He passed Stuhldreher for second on the career wins list when Villanova defeated Sacred Heart in last year’s regular season finale.
 
One of many highlights of the 2025 season was an 11-game winning streak which tied the second longest in program history. The streak began on September 27 with a victory over William & Mary and continued through the quarterfinal round of the playoffs when Villanova tallied a win at Tarleton State to advance to the FCS semifinals. During their playoff run the Wildcats knocked off three straight top 15 teams, including consecutive road victories over No. 4 Lehigh and No. 5 Tarleton State. It marked the first time since the 2010 playoffs that Villanova defeated top five foes in consecutive weeks away from home.
 
Villanova finished the 2025 season ranked No. 4 in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and is at No. 8 in the 2026 preseason poll. The Wildcats have been ranked for 38 consecutive weeks since the middle of the 2023 season and have the fourth-longest active streak in the poll.  
 
There was plenty of national and conference recognition to go around for the Wildcats last year. The team’s accolades included offensive lineman Temi Ajirotutu and kick returner Ja’briel Mace each being named first team All-Americans. Villanova had a total of five Stats Perform All-America selections, including the pair of first team honors to go along with a third team pick in linebacker Shane Hartzell and a pair of freshman All-America honorees in punt returner Braden Reed and safety Anthony Hawkins. Mace was named the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Year and the Wildcats had 13 total all-conference selections for the first time since 2010.
 
Villanova has consistently earned national recognition for its success during Ferrante’s head coaching tenure. Following the 2024 season, linebacker Brendan Bell and cornerback Isas Waxter were selected as All-American by both Stats Perform and the Associated Press. Freshman running back David Avit was the CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year and a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award presented to the top FCS freshman.
 
Villanova was picked to finish seventh in CAA Football entering the 2023 season but instead won a share of the league title and the CAA automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. The successful season culminated with a 10-3 record, including three wins over nationally ranked opponents and an appearance in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Villanova ended the year ranked No. 6 in the final Stats Perform poll of the season.
 
Villanova had a dozen all-conference honorees in 2023, led by offensive lineman Michael Corbi and wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle on the first team, followed by five players on the second team, three third team choices and two honorable mention selections. Corbi went on to be named an All-American by Stats Perform and Phil Steele, while Pringle (Phil Steele) and cornerback Isas Waxter (FCS Football Central) also earned All-America recognition.
 
In his first nine seasons as head coach, Ferrante has seen the Wildcats win seven CAA Football major awards and earn a total of 74 all-conference accolades. Ferrante is himself one of the CAA Football major award winners after earning his first Coach of the Year honor in 2021.
 
Villanova had a breakthrough 2021 season which included a conference title and a top eight seed in the FCS playoffs. In addition to being named the CAA Football Coach of the Year, Ferrante was the 2021 winner of the AFCA FCS Region 1 Coach of the Year award. That honor made him a finalist for National Coach of the Year consideration and earned him recognition at the AFCA national convention following the season. Ferrante guided the Wildcats to a 10-3 record in 2021 and Villanova won a share of the CAA Football title while reaching the playoffs for the second time in his head coaching tenure (2019, 2021).
 
Ferrante’s 2021 squad was the first Wildcats team in seven years to finish the season ranked in the top 10 of both FCS national polls. Villanova came in at No. 8 in the final Stats Perform and AFCS FCS Top 25 rankings while tallying their seventh season in program history with 10 or more victories. The team hosted two playoff games and achieved success by playing – and beating – some of the top FCS teams in the nation. Villanova’s 10-3 record was punctuated by four victories over Top 25 opponents, including No. 3 James Madison, No. 18 Rhode Island, No. 21 Richmond and No. 24 Holy Cross. Ferrante led the Wildcats to a 7-1 record against a challenging CAA Football schedule to mark the fifth season since 1988 in which the team had no more than one loss in conference play.  
 
Villanova’s recent teams have featured several players who had an opportunity to continue their football careers beyond the collegiate ranks. Most recent on the list is Isas Waxter who signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2025. Following the 2023 season, running back Jalen Jackson and offensive lineman Nick Torres signed free agent contracts with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. Three other players – running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Chicago Bears/Kansas City Chiefs), linebacker Danny Abraham (Seattle Seahawks) and wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (Kansas City Chiefs) – were invited to attend NFL rookie mini camps.
 
Ferrante coached 11 players on the 2021 team who had professional opportunities, led by Christian Benford who was a sixth round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills and has since gone on to have a successful NFL career in Buffalo. In addition, 2021 CAA Football Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-American Forrest Rhyne signed a free agent contract and played in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts. Cornerback Denzel Williams signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
 
One of the themes of Ferrante’s head coaching tenure has been his ability to keep his teams largely intact throughout the COVID pandemic and the changing landscape of college sports. Villanova began the 2021 season with 75 out of 85 players returning from the previous Spring, while the members of the 2025 team had combined to play in more than 1,900 college football games by the end of the season. Experience wins, and Nova Nation has taken notice. Villanova’s average attendance for five regular season home games in 2021 was its highest mark since 2013 and represented a 23 percent increase from 2019 prior to the pandemic. The increased attendance included the Wildcats first home sellout crowd since 2015 during the 2021 Family Weekend game against Richmond.
 
Ferrante has continually stressed the importance of his student-athletes coming to Villanova for a complete collegiate experience which includes excellence in their academic pursuits. In his first nine years as head coach, the Wildcats have been the winner of the CAA Football Team Academic Excellence Award five times. The award is presented to the team with the highest GPA in the conference each academic year and Villanova has been a repeat winner of the honor in each of the last four years spanning the 2022-23 through 2025-26 academic years.
 
The football program set and tied its highest overall NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a mark of 96 percent in both 2022 and 2023, while the team has had a mark of at least 95 percent in five consecutive years.
 
During the 2025-26 academic year, the Wildcats had 70 student-athletes selected to the CAA Football Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll during the Fall semester and another 65 honorees for the Spring 2026 grading period. There were 15 student-athletes who had a perfect 4.0 GPA in one of the two semesters, while Villanova had a total of 31 selections to the CAA High Honors (3.7+ GPA) and High Honors with Distinction (4.0 GPA) lists for the Spring semeseter.
 
Villanova’s success under Ferrante’s guidance includes a 2019 season in which the Wildcats were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation. Ferrante led the Wildcats to a 9-4 record and the program’s seventh FCS playoff berth in a span of 12 years despite the team being picked to finish ninth in CAA Football prior to the season. Instead, Villanova raced out of the gates with a 6-0 record and won its first three league contests by the midpoint of the regular season. Ten players were recognized with all-conference honors, including a trio of first team selections in Rhyne, offensive lineman Paul Grattan and Fondacaro.
 
In addition to Benford being an NFL Draft pick and the aforementioned NFL free agent contracts signed by Jackson, Torres, Rhyne and Williams, six players signed free agent contracts earlier in Ferrante’s head coaching tenure. The list includes offensive tackle Brandon Hitner (LA Rams); safety Rob Rolle (Miami Dolphins); offensive lineman Ethan Greenidge (New Orleans Saints); defensive back Trey Johnson (Pittsburgh Steelers); defensive back Malik Reaves (Kansas City Chiefs); and linebacker Ed Shockley (Dallas Cowboys).
 
Ferrante leads one of the nation’s elite FCS programs after playing an instrumental role in the Wildcats rise to national prominence. He has been a part of the coaching staff for all 17 of Villanova’s appearances in the FCS playoffs, including the 2009 national championship season and a 2010 semifinal appearance while serving as the Assistant Head Coach on Andy Talley’s staff. Ferrante has been a part of Villanova teams that have won eight CAA titles, three Lambert Meadowlands Cups and three ECAC Team of the Year awards.
 
Ferrante’s success during his years as an assistant coach was recognized by others outside the Villanova program. At the end of the 2015 season, he was named the FCS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This award was first presented in 1997 and was created to honor assistant coaches who excel in community service, commitment to student-athletes and on-field coaching success. 

The characteristics that earned Ferrante the Assistant Coach of the Year award exemplify his dedication to all facets of a complete student-athlete experience. Since he arrived on the Main Line prior to the 1987 season, Villanova Football student-athletes have been named Academic All-Americans on 12 occasions. That honor is one of the top accolades a collegiate student-athlete can earn, and the Wildcats additionally had four student-athletes be named the CAA Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year in a span of nine years. Each year the NCAA recognizes programs that have a multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score that ranks within the top 10 percent of their sport nationwide. Villanova earned this award nine times in the first 14 years of the APR program. 

Ferrante was involved in all aspects of the Villanova program during his time as an assistant on Andy Talley’s staff. On the field he coached the offensive line for 27 seasons and developed a unit that was perennially one of the best in CAA Football. Over the years he coached three All-Americans, 11 All-East performers and 15 first team all-conference selections. The offensive line had 17 All-CAA selections in a nine-year span, including three-time first team honoree Ben Ijalana along with first team selections Brant Clouser (2010), Dan Shirey (2011) and Vince Kowalski (2014).

Two of Ferrante’s players went on to be selected in the NFL Draft. Ijalana was a second round selection by the Indianapolis Colts in 2011 and Brad Seaton was picked in the seventh round by the Tennessee Titans in 2017. Ijalana was a two-time All-American (2009, 2010) and a three-time first team All-CAA selection during his collegiate career. Villanova reached the FCS playoffs in each of his last three seasons on the team, winning the 2009 national title and advancing to the semifinal round a year later. Seaton was a second team CAA Football All-Conference selection in 2016 when the offensive line enabled the Wildcats to average 206.3 rushing yards and 378.7 yards of total offense per game. Villanova ranked third in the CAA and 24^th nationally in rushing offense in addition to ranking fourth in the league in total offense and fifth with a scoring average of 24.4 points per game.
 
The other All-Americans Ferrante mentored are Eamonn Allen (2001) and Bryan Russo (1989). Allen earned first team Associated Press All-America recognition in 2001 and was also a first team All-East and first team All-Atlantic 10 selection. Russo was chosen as an All-American by the Sports Network and the American Football Coaches Association as a senior in 1989 when he was also a first team all-conference and an All-ECAC selection. He was inducted to Villanova’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2007.
 
Ferrante was a standout collegiate performer in his own right prior to joining the football coaching ranks. He was the quarterback for Andy Talley at St. Lawrence where he was named the 1982 Division III Player of the Year to go along with first team All-East honors. Ferrante directed the offense for a St. Lawrence team that went 10-1 during the 1982 season and reached the national semifinals in the playoffs.
 
Following the end of his playing career Ferrante joined Talley’s staff at St. Lawrence and spent one season as the running backs coach in 1983. His other coaching stops before Villanova include coaching the running backs at Wagner (1984) and working on the coaching staff at Lafayette (1985-86).
 
Ferrante and his wife, Georgea, reside in Phoenixville, Pa. The couple has a son, Jimmy, who earned his undergraduate degree from Villanova in 2018.