The Teal Dynasty
How Coastal Carolina Became College Football Royalty
Conway, SC. - The statue will stand outside Brooks Stadium soon, a monument in Teal honoring the man who changed everything. Athletic Director Chance Miller opened the fundraising window for a Kade Vaughn statue just days after Anthony Prude hoisted the 2035 National Championship trophy, and the response was immediate. Three days.
That's all it took to fully fund the project, with donations still pouring in from a fanbase eager to immortalize the architect of college football's most improbable dynasty.
It's a fitting tribute to close out Coastal Carolina's ACC chapter—one final celebration before the Chanticleers embark on their next challenge in the SEC. But more than that, it's a testament to how far this program has come in just eleven years.
When Tim Beck was fired at the end of the 2024 season, Coastal Carolina was a Sun Belt program with modest aspirations and one All-American to its name. Today, as they prepare to join the nation's premier conference, the Chanticleers boast 71 All-Americans, six Heisman Trophy winners, and four national championships. They've transformed from regional curiosity to national powerhouse, from afterthought to dynasty.
This is the story of how it happened.
The Vaughn Era: Building Something Special (2025-2033)
Kade Vaughn arrived in Conway with a swagger that matched his poker face. The former Alaskan recruit turned football coach didn't just promise to win—he guaranteed it. And while his brashness rubbed some the wrong way, he delivered results that nobody could dispute.
The 2025 season was the first sign that something special was brewing. Coastal won the Sun Belt championship, and while few outside the Carolinas paid attention, the foundation was being laid. Vaughn recruited differently, coached differently, and talked differently than any Coastal coach before him. He promised recruits they'd compete for championships, not just conference titles. At the time, it seemed like typical coaching hyperbole.
Then came 2027, and everything changed—though not in the way anyone expected.
The gambling scandal that rocked Coastal Carolina that season threatened to derail everything Vaughn had built. Allegations surfaced that the head coach was improperly funneling his poker winnings into the program's NIL fund, which had exploded in value since his arrival and culminated with the recruiting of former #1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood from Michigan. The NCAA investigation consumed the program for months, casting a shadow over what should have been a celebration of Coastal's second Sun Belt championship.
When investigators cleared Vaughn of wrongdoing but ordered him to stop using gambling proceeds for NIL purposes, the damage was done. The Sun Belt, uncomfortable with the controversy and Vaughn's unapologetic persona, made it clear Coastal wasn't welcome. Rather than accept a diminished role, the Chanticleers went independent.
"We don't need a conference to prove who we are," Vaughn famously declared. "We'll prove it on the field."
And prove it they did.
The 2028 season was Vaughn's vindication tour. Led by quarterback Bryce Underwood—who became Coastal's first Heisman Trophy winner in 2027—the independent Chanticleers ran the table and captured the program's first national championship. It was a middle finger to the establishment, a declaration that Coastal Carolina had arrived whether the old guard liked it or not.
Underwood won his second Heisman during the 2028 championship run, cementing his legacy as the catalyst for everything that followed. His success opened recruiting doors that had been firmly closed to Coastal. Suddenly, five-star prospects were taking calls from Conway. Walt Reyna, a middle linebacker who would become a Coastal legend, was the program's highest-ranked recruit when he committed. Within a few years, Coastal was consistently landing five to seven five-star athletes per recruiting cycle.
After another independent season in 2029, the ACC came calling. Coastal joined the conference in 2030, and the dominance that followed was staggering.
ACC Supremacy: An Unprecedented Run (2030-2035)
The Chanticleers didn't just join the ACC—they conquered it. From 2030 to 2035, Coastal compiled a 48-2 record in conference play, winning five straight ACC Championships.
They turned Brooks Stadium into a fortress, building a 40-game home winning streak on The Teal that continues to this day. Operating at 97% capacity for eight straight years, Brooks Stadium is now ranked as the 27th hardest place to play in college football.
"We wanted to create something special here," Reyna said recently, now the program's defensive coordinator. "Not just win games, but build a culture. Brooks Stadium isn't just loud—it's ours. Conway owns this place."
Vaughn added two more national championships in 2032 and 2033, cementing his status as one of college football's greatest coaches. Running backs Devin Hajrullahu (2031) and Cornell Jennings (2033) became Coastal's third and fourth Heisman winners, showcasing an offensive versatility that made the Chanticleers impossible to gameplan against.
But beneath the success, tensions were building. Athletic Director Mike Buddie, hired in 2032 after Chance Miller was moved to an honorary role, clashed with Vaughn over the coach's provocative comments that the ACC deemed "detrimental to the conference." When the Pittsburgh Steelers came calling after Mike Tomlin's retirement, Vaughn saw an opportunity to exit on his own terms.
His final record at Coastal: 120-13, with three national championships and a legacy that transformed the program forever.
The Freeman Interlude and Hartline's Masterpiece (2034-2035)
Marcus Freeman's hiring was supposed to signal stability. The former Coastal defensive coordinator returned to lead the program, and his 13-2 season in 2034—including an ACC Championship—seemed to validate the choice. Running back Fredrick McCallum won the Heisman Trophy, becoming Coastal's fifth winner.
But when Freeman left for Georgia after just one season and a playoff loss to Alabama, it threatened to destabilize everything. Athletic Director Mike Buddie, already under pressure from Coastal leadership for pushing out the beloved Vaughn, saw his standing erode further. The university encouraged Buddie to explore opportunities elsewhere, and he departed for a position in baseball. Chance Miller, the AD who had stood by Vaughn through the gambling scandal, was reinstated.
Miller's first move was hiring Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, and the decision proved inspired.
Hartline's 2035 season will forever be remembered as one of the greatest in college football history. The Chanticleers went 16-0, winning every game by an average of nearly 40 points. Quarterback Anthony Prude shattered the NCAA single-season records for passing touchdowns (80) and passing yards (6,719), while also setting the record for total touchdowns (99). The offense scored 865 points, breaking LSU's 2019 record, and posted a +609 point differential—the largest in modern college football history.
"This is the greatest team in the history of college football, period," Prude declared after the national championship victory. "Top to bottom. Number one defense, number one offense, number one statistical season by a quarterback. I don't see how it gets better than this."
Prude became Coastal's sixth Heisman winner, joining an absurd list that includes Underwood (2027, 2028), Hajrullahu (2031), Jennings (2033), and McCallum (2034). The program's trophy case also features three Davey O'Brien Awards, four Edge Rusher of the Year honors, ten Bednarik Awards, ten Nagurski Awards, four Doak Walker Awards, three Lombardi Awards, seven Jim Thorpe Awards, two Jet Awards, and nine Dick Butkus Awards.
In just eleven years, Coastal Carolina has collected more individual hardware than most blue-blood programs amass in half a century.
Full Circle: From Player to Coach
Perhaps no story better encapsulates Coastal's journey than that of Walt Reyna. Once the program's highest-ranked recruit—a linebacker who helped the Chanticleers capture ACC championships and compete for national titles—Reyna now serves as defensive coordinator, guiding the next generation of Teal warriors.
"I remember when committing to Coastal felt like a risk," Reyna said. "Now? Kids dream of playing here. That's what Coach Vaughn built. That's what we're protecting."
Reyna's defense was instrumental in the 2035 championship run, surrendering more than 20 points just once all season. His unit generated constant pressure, created turnovers, and suffocated opposing offenses with the same relentless aggression that defined his playing career.
"Walt embodies everything we want this program to be," Hartline said. "He bled Teal as a player, and now he's teaching the next generation what it means to be a Chanticleer. That continuity, that connection to our foundation, is what keeps us grounded even as we chase greatness."
The SEC Challenge and What Comes Next
As Coastal Carolina prepares to join the SEC in 2036, the questions are inevitable. Can they maintain this dominance against the nation's most powerful conference? Will the transition expose weaknesses that the ACC couldn't exploit?
If history is any guide, don't bet against the Chanticleers.
This is a program that went independent rather than bow to conference pressure. That won a national championship to prove doubters wrong. That turned a Sun Belt afterthought into a dynasty that captured four national titles in eight years. That built a recruiting machine capable of landing elite talent in a market once dominated by Clemson, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
"People said we couldn't compete in the Sun Belt," Miller reflected. "Then they said we couldn't survive as an independent. Then they said we'd struggle in the ACC. Now they're saying the SEC will humble us. At some point, people need to realize: Coastal Carolina isn't going anywhere."
The numbers support his confidence. Since 2025, Coastal has produced 71 All-Americans. They've won six Heisman Trophies in nine years—more than Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia combined during that span. They've captured four national championships, including three of the last four. They've built a fortress in Conway where opponents come to lose, and they've created a culture that attracts the nation's best players.
Anthony Prude may depart for the NFL draft, his record-breaking season complete. But Coastal has proven it's bigger than any one player, any one coach, any one season. The pipeline is loaded with talent, the coaching staff is elite, and the fanbase is rabid.
Soon, a Teal statue of Kade Vaughn will stand outside Brooks Stadium, a permanent reminder of the man who dared to dream bigger than anyone thought possible. But the statue won't just honor Vaughn—it will symbolize an entire program's journey from irrelevance to immortality.
The SEC awaits. The rest of college football has been warned.
The Teal Dynasty is just getting started.
