In college, Chipley played three seasons for Clemson University before transferring to Washington and Lee to play his final season of college football. Despite only playing one season for W&L, Chipley etched his name in the record books when he was named an All-State and All-Southern end. He then continued his football career in the All-American League, playing three seasons between the Boston Yanks and the New York Bulldogs. Based on his impressive resume, there was a lot of excitement within the football program to begin the season under Chipley. However, the Generals roster suffered from players lost due to the scandal leaving them with a less experienced and skilled team. The Generals finished the season with a record of 1-7 and began the next season under Head Coach Lee McLaughlin.
Aftermath and Response (1954-Present)
The football program posted a combined record of 2-22 from 1956-58 with their two wins being over Randolph Macon College and Sewanee. The W&L team really began to come together again in 1960 when the Generals recorded their first undefeated season in Division III, winning eight games and tying one. The following year the football team continued their success with another undefeated season with 9 wins and 0 losses. Throughout the 9 games in this historic season the Generals outscored their opponents 297-46.
In 1976 the Generals joined the Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference, where they continue to compete today. Since joining the conference the Generals have recorded a combined record of 232-210-2 and have hoisted the ODAC trophy 8 times. The Generals were most recently named champions of the conference during the 2021 regular season in which they won eight of their ten games.
As mentioned earlier, the decision to discontinue subsidized athletics was made because they no longer aligned with W&L’s pursuit of academic excellence. Today, Washington and Lee has evolved into one of the top Liberal Arts Schools in the country and continues to excel in both academics and unsubsidized athletics. When looking back on this decision, members of the W&L community should not dwell on how the football team used to compete at the Division I level but should instead be grateful that the institution moved in the direction it did to find a more appropriate balance between academics and athletics.
“Bill Chipley.” Bill Chipley - the Pro Football Archives. Maher Sports Media, August 24, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150908222034/http://www.profootballarchives.com/chip00200.html.
“W&L Football Clinches 2021 ODAC Championship with a 28-24 Win over Ferrum.” Washington and Lee University, November 6, 2021. https://generalssports.com/news/2021/11/6/w-l-football-clinches-2021-odac-championship-with-a-28-24-win-over-ferrum.aspx.
“W&L Football Coaching Records.” Washington & Lee Athletics. Washington and Lee University, October 14, 2019. https://wlu.prestosports.com/sports/fball/info/coachrec.
Washington and Lee University. “Washington and Lee Football Schedule.” Generals Athletics. Accessed December 7, 2021. https://generalssports.com/sports/football/schedule/1961.