Villinger coached Cedarville football for 32 seasons from 1970-2001. He amassed a 247-74-3 record with the Indians, producing six undefeated regular seasons. He ranks in the top-10 for wins amongst all Miami Valley area coaches.
Cedarville made the playoffs nine times in a 15-year span back when the postseason was limited to either four and eight qualifying teams from each region and won four games. At the time Villinger left the sideline, Cedarville was tied for the most small school playoff appearances in the Southwest District.
He is an Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame member. Villinger also served as the athletic director at Cedarville, and coached baseball and basketball, in addition to his teaching duties.
“The man impacted lives for years,” current Cedarville football coach Brian Bogenschutz said. “He blazed the trail that I’m fortunate enough to walk on and it seems like every step I take on this trail I run into somebody that he has positively impacted. You know his legacy is going to live on in Cedarville for a long time.”
Villinger’s teams were full of known qualities to opponents. Never swaying from the same offensive and defensive approaches, full house backfields and five-man defensive fronts, that challenged opponents to try and stop what they knew was coming at all times. They rarely could.
Its simplicity allowed his athletes to focus on their discipline and instilled team-focused behaviors to make it all work.
Villinger grew up in Fairmont, West Virginia. Other historic collegiate and professional coaches were from the same area, including current West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, former Alabama and Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban, and former Michigan coach Fielding Yost. He graduated and obtained degrees from nearby Fairmont State and West Virginia universities.
Several former Cedarville athletes reminisced about “Coach V” with social media posts. One of the standout memories everyone mentioned is the mile-and-a-half run. His team each Monday would run six laps on the track and had to complete the task in under 10 minutes.
“We could play both ways for 48 minutes because we ran that mile and a half in under 10 minutes after watching film on Mondays,” 2001 Cedarville grad and former Dayton Daily News reporter Marcus Hartman wrote. “That was his system. He believed in it, so we did, too.”
Cedarville currently hands out the Villinger Award each season. The first year of the award, Villinger himself presented it and gave his approval on the parameters for honorees.
“It’s our top honor before every home game,” Bogenschutz said. “They get to touch the Villinger victory wall. They’re just trying to absorb some of that greatness that he had for years. Cedarville is incredibly grateful for the legacy he has left.”
Bogenschutz said the first person he spoke with before accepting the Cedarville coaching job was Villinger. He plans to carry the experiences Villinger shared with him and pass them down to the next set of Indians.
“He hasn’t coached for over 20 years and I mean, the kids, with their parents and grandparents and everything, they just know Coach V and they hear the stories that get passed down and the good times under Coach V. It’s what they’re trying to live up to,” Bogenschutz said.
A celebration of life will take place at 11 a.m. Monday at the Xenia Church of Christian.
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