Scott Abell
American football coach (born 1969)
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Scott P. Abell (born December 5, 1969) is an American football coach and former minor league baseball player who is currently the head football coach at Rice University. Abell previously served as the head football coach at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, from 2012 to 2017 and Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina from 2018 to 2024. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1992, he played for one year in the Royals farm system until focusing on a career in coaching.[1]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Rice |
| Conference | American |
| Record | 5–8 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 5, 1969 |
| Playing career | |
| Baseball | |
| 1989–1992 | Longwood |
| 1992 | Appleton Foxes |
| 1992 | Eugene Emeralds |
| Positions | Catcher, third baseman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1993 | Albemarle HS (VA) (assistant) |
| 1994–1995 | Western Albemarle HS (VA) (QB/DE) |
| 1996 | Altavista HS (VA) (OC/QB/LB) |
| 1997–2001 | Liberty HS (VA) |
| 2002–2007 | Amherst County HS (VA) |
| 2008–2011 | Washington and Lee (OC) |
| 2012–2017 | Washington and Lee |
| 2018–2024 | Davidson |
| 2025–present | Rice |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 91–60 (college) |
| Bowls | 0-1 |
| Tournaments | 0–3 (NCAA D-III playoffs) 0–2 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 ODAC (2012, 2015, 2017) 2 PFL (2020–21, 2021) | |
From 1993 to 1996, Abell was an assistant at several high schools in Virginia before being named the head coach at Liberty High School in Bedford, Virginia, in 1997. He was then head coach at Amherst County High School in Amherst, Virginia, from 2002 to 2007 before joining Washington and Lee as its offensive coordinator. He was promoted to head coach of the Generals in 2012, leading them to three playoff appearances.
In 2018, Abell was named head coach at Davidson, who he led to three consecutive playoff appearances.
On November 26, 2024, Abell was named head coach at Rice.[2] In his first season with Rice, Abell became the program's first head coach to start the season off with a 3–1 record since 2001.[3] In Abell's first season, the program finished its regular season with a 5–7 record, but was selected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Texas State as a result of having the highest Academic Progress Rate among FBS 5-win schools.[4]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Lee Generals (Old Dominion Athletic Conference) (2012–2017) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Washington & Lee | 8–3 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 2013 | Washington & Lee | 5–5 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2014 | Washington & Lee | 2–8 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2015 | Washington & Lee | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 2016 | Washington & Lee | 6–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2017 | Washington & Lee | 8–3 | 5–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| Washington and Lee: | 39–24 | 28–13 | |||||||
| Davidson Wildcats (Pioneer Football League) (2018–2024) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Davidson | 6–5 | 3–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2019 | Davidson | 8–4 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Davidson | 4–3 | 4–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2021 | Davidson | 8–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2022 | Davidson | 8–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2023 | Davidson | 7–4 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2024 | Davidson | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–6th | |||||
| Davidson: | 47–28 | 35–18 | |||||||
| Rice Owls (American Conference) (2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Rice | 5–8 | 2–6 | T–11th | L Armed Forces | ||||
| Rice: | 5–8 | 2–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 91–60 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||