DURHAM, N.C. — The contract of Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe has been extended two years through June 30, 2023, announced on Friday by Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White.
“Coach Cutcliffe has an unprecedented record of success both on and off the field, and I am delighted that he will remain at Duke for at least another four years,” Duke University President Vincent E. Price said. “His commitment to academic excellence and the personal growth of his student-athletes reflects our core values and sets an example for Duke’s peers.”
“To be sure, there is no better fit for Duke University and its prestigious football program than David Cutcliffe,” White said. “David has set the standard of achievement – academically, athletically and socially – and what he has accomplished over the past 11 years is truly exceptional. His passion for excellence and vision for the program, create the right combination to guide us well into his second decade on campus. In my humble opinion, David Cutcliffe is clearly the very best college football coach in the country.”
“First and foremost, we have sincere appreciation for President Price and Dr. White for their trust in us to lead Duke University’s football program,” Cutcliffe said. “For over a decade now, the administrative support has been tremendous and has enabled us to solidify the foundation of principles we believe in. Duke is a special place, and to be quite simple about it, we could not envision being anywhere else.”
A two-time ACC Coach of the Year pick and the 2013 National Coach of the Year selection, Cutcliffe is 67-72 in 11 seasons with the Blue Devils. In the eight years (2000-07) prior to his arrival, Duke won just 10 games against 82 defeats. The Blue Devils captured the ACC’s Coastal Division championship in 2013 and have secured bowl game trips in six of the past seven seasons with only Clemson and Virginia Tech having played in more post season contests among league schools during that time frame.
Cutcliffe has guided Duke to unprecedented bowl game success with a current streak of three consecutive victories in 2015 (Pinstripe Bowl; 44-41 [OT] over Indiana), 2017 (Quick Lane Bowl; 36-14 over Northern Illinois) and 2018 (Walk-On’s Independence Bowl; 56-28 over Temple).
This past season, the Blue Devils finished 8-5 overall highlighted by wins over two teams that finished in the final Associated Press national poll (No. 19 Army West Point & No. 21 Northwestern), Duke’s first road triumph over Miami since 1976 and the program’s third consecutive victory over chief rival North Carolina. Last month, quarterback Daniel Jones was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Academically, Duke continues to pace the ACC in honors. Over the past seven seasons (2012-18), the Blue Devils have produced as many Academic All-America selections (7) as the remainder of the conference schools combined. In addition, during the same time span, Duke earned 107 Academic All-ACC citations with the next closest school totaling 39 honorees, while also leading the league in ACC Honor Roll selections, National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes and Jim Tatum Award recipients. In 2014, David Helton became Duke’s first National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy winner as the nation’s top college football student-athlete.
In the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data released by the NCAA this past November, Duke led the ACC and ranked second among all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs with a GSR of 96 percent. Additionally, Duke is the only FBS institution to have earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award for Academic Performance Rate performance since the honor’s inception 14 years ago.
Cutcliffe remains an avid advocate of community service, and since his arrival in Durham a total of nine Blue Devils have been named to the annual Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Recipients of the honor from Duke in the Cutcliffe Era include Re’quan Boyette (2008), Bryan Morgan (2010), Sean Renfree (2012), Dave Harding (2013), Laken Tomlinson (2014), Kelby Brown (2015), DeVon Edwards (2016), Gabe Brandner (2017) and Johnathan Lloyd (2018). Over the last seven years (2012-18), Duke’s seven selections account for 35 percent (7-of-20) of the ACC’s total number of honorees.
In addition to guiding the Blue Devil gridiron program, Cutcliffe serves on the American Football Coaches Association's Board of Trustees.
Cutcliffe is a native of Birmingham, Ala., and 1976 graduate of the University of Alabama. After coaching at his alma mater, Banks High School, he served 19 seasons (1982-98; 2006-07) on the staff at Tennessee and six years (1999-04) as the head coach at Ole Miss. Cutcliffe was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
