Education: Ouachita (1986)
Seasons Coached at Ouachita: 25 (1999-Present)
Record at Ouachita: 162-103
Overall Seasons as a Head Coach: 31
Overall Record: 190-135-2
* Records not counting 2020, when there was no season.
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Todd Knight enters his 26th season as the head coach of his alma mater. Knight was enshrined into the ASHOF April 11, 2025.
A 27-20 victory over Henderson State in the 97th Battle of the Ravine at the end of the 2024 regular season moved Knight into a tie with the late Buddy Benson as the two winningest coaches in program history. Knight played for Benson at Ouachita in the 1980s.
Knight has led the Tigers to 16 consecutive winning seasons, which is the longest active streak in the state of Arkansas, and seven straight seasons with at least nine wins. Overall, he has led Ouachita to 17 winning seasons, seven Great American Conference championships, six NCAA Division II playoff appearances, and four undefeated regular seasons.
Under Knight’s leadership, the Tigers have been a mainstay in the national rankings, reaching as high as No. 3 during the 2022 and 2024 seasons, and finding a spot in the AFCA Top 25 in 77 of the last 78 polls as of the 2025 preseason poll, including a streak 63 consecutive weeks nationally-ranked that included all of the 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and the first 12 polls of the 2023 season.
The first of seven GAC championships came in the inaugural season of the league in 2011. It was Ouachita’s first conference title in over 25 years. The Tigers claimed the conference crown again in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and again this past year in 2024. Knight was named GAC Coach of the Year in all seven championship seasons. He has also been named the AFCA Super Region Coach of the Year in 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022, and again in 2024.
Knight leads in all aspects of life; his players have been recognized for outstanding achievements on the field, in the classroom and in the community. He has recruited and coached eight professional football players, 288 All-Conference selections, 47 All-Americans, five Academic All-Americans, four semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, and 135 Academic All-Conference honorees. Knight’s seniors have had a 90% graduation rate and the team has been involved in service to the community for many years.
During the 2014 season, the Tigers finished the regular season 10-0 for the first time in program history. After winning its second GAC championship, Ouachita earned the top seed in the region for the Tigers’ first ever appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. He also led the Tigers to undefeated regular seasons in 2018, 2019, and 2022.
Knight’s development as a coach has come under solid leadership, playing under coach Buddy Benson at Ouachita, and later coaching under Red Parker and Don Skelton at Delta State from 1986-1989 and David Lee at the University of Texas at El Paso from 1990-1992. When he returned to Delta State as head coach from 1993-1998, he led the team to its first ever Gulf South Conference Championship in 1998, also earning GSC Coach of the Year honors.
Knight has been an active member of the AFCA throughout his career, featuring a stint as president of the organization in 2023. He was named an AFCA Distinguished Member at the 2025 convention. He has also served on the AFCA Board of Trustees and has been active on the national scene as a former member of the NCAA Rules Committee.
In addition to coaching, Knight has also been instrumental in the continued improvements to the football facilities, which have seen major renovations since 2014. Tiger student-athletes enjoy some of the nicest facilities at the D2 level, including modern amenities and luxuries at Cliff Harris Stadium as well as in the locker room, meeting rooms, weight room, and indoor and outdoor practice areas.
Knight and his wife Julie have three children: Casey, a 2013 graduate of Ouachita, and her husband Ean; Spencer and his wife Megan, both 2015 graduates of Ouachita; and Jake, a 2017 graduate of Ouachita, and his wife Kelsey, a 2016 graduate of Ouachita. They are blessed with five young grandchildren, Levi, Jett, Emma, Knox and Jax.
THE TODD KNIGHT FILE
1986-1987: Graduate Assistant Coach, Delta State
1988-1989: Assistant Coach, Delta State
1990-1992: Assistant Coach, University of Texas at El Paso
1993-1998: Head Coach, Delta State
1998 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year
1998 Gulf South Conference Champions (first in school history)
1999-present: Head Coach, Ouachita
2011 Great American Conference Champions (first in school history)
2011 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2014 Undefeated GAC Champions
2014 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2014 AFCA Region Three Coach of the Year
2014 NCAA Division II Playoffs (first in school history)
2017 Great American Conference Champions
2017 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2017 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2018 Great American Conference Undefeated Champions
2018 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2018 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year
2018 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2018 NCAA Division II Semifinals
2019 Great American Conference Undefeated Champions
2019 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2019 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the year
2019 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2022 Great American Conference Undefeated Champions
2022 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2022 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2022 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year
2023 AFCA President
2024 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year
2024 Great American Coach of the Year
2024 Great American Conference Champions
2024 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2025 Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee
Bio last updated: September 1, 2025
