Mike London, the head football coach at Richmond for the last two years, was named Monday to the same post at Virginia. He becomes the 39th coach in the program’s history.

London, a 2004 participant of the NCAA Coaches Academy, is the first graduate of any of the NCAA Coaches Academies and Forums to take over a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision program that competes in a Bowl Championship Series conference.

In two seasons at Richmond, London led the Spiders to a 24-5 record and the 2008 Division I Football Championship Series national title.

Named as the 2008 FCS National Coach of the Year by American Football Coaches Association and Schutt Sports/American Football Monthly, London previously served as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Virginia between 2001 and 2005 before moving on to serve as defensive line coach for the NFL’s Houston Texas. He returned to Virginia in 2006 as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. London also has coached at William and Mary and Boston College.

A 1983 graduate of Richmond, London was standout defensive back for the Spiders and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology.

The NCAA Coaches Academies and Forums are a series of professional-development programs aimed at assisting ethnic minority football coaches with career advancement through skills enhancement and networking opportunities.

The NCAA offers the Future Coaches Academy, which is designed for individuals who have recently completed their collegiate eligibility and have a desire to enter the college football coaching profession, while the NCAA Advanced Coaches Academy, Expert Coaches Forum and the NCAA Champions Forum target current coaches with varying degrees of experience. Willie Taggart and Larry Porter, who were recently selected as head coaches at Western Kentucky and Memphis, respectively, also are graduates of the academies and forums.