January 5, 2010

Mike London officially named Chip West to his coaching staff on Tuesday. West spent the last two seasons as the associate head coach at Old Dominion and is the fifth assistant coach to be named to the staff.

West brings 12 years of coaching experience to Charlottesville. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1997 and took over as wide receivers coach at Colgate in 1999. 2003 saw West move to Fordham, before heading to James Madison as defensive backs coach from 2004-2007. Old Dominion was West's latest stop. In addition to his associate head coaching duties, he also served as recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Monarchs.

West also brings strong ties to the Tidewater region of eastern Virginia. London has made no secret of the fact that he will recruit heavily in that hot-bed of football talent, and West's ability to recruit there makes him even more valuable to the Virginia football program.

Five coaches have now officially been named to Mike London's staff, although official position assignments for each coach will be decided at a later date. Multiple sources also indicate that London is very close to officially adding a sixth member to the staff, as Jim Reid is set to become defensive coordinator for the Cavaliers.