Chris Cunningham is in his second season at UVa-Wise and his first as the program's defensive coordinator. A year ago, the coach served as the team's linebackers coach.
Under Cunningham's guidance, Donavan Montague earned All-MEC Second-Team acclaim as a linebacker in 2018. Combined, Cavalier linebackers tallied over 200 tackles, including more than 40 behind the line of scrimmage. As a defensive unit, UVa-Wise ranked top 30 nationally in seven different categories, including third in tackles for loss.
Cunningham came to UVa-Wise from Lawrence University where he was the Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Line coach from 2015-2017. At Lawrence he mentored a pair of All-Conference Special Teams players in Alic Riedel and Jake Gostisha and a pair of defensive lineman in Jake Gostisha and John Koeneman.
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Before Lawrence, Cunningham worked at the University of Pikeville for the 2014 season. At Pikeville, he served as the linebackers coach and assistant special teams coach while also serving as the academic coordinator. He mentored an all-conference selection in John-Dudley Hilton and defensive conference player of the week in Donald Styles.
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Prior to Pikeville, he served two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky University and guided the defensive backs. Cunningham who earned his master’s degree in sports administration, coached a pair of all-conference safeties in Brooklyn Fox and Brandon Stanley. The season prior to his graduate assistant role he worked as a student assistant for the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference champions.
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A native of Miami, Cunningham is a graduate of Dade Christian School where he was a two-time all-county and all-state football selection. He attended Eastern Kentucky and earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management. A football player at Eastern Kentucky, Cunningham played defensive end and linebacker for the Colonels and helped them win an Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2008. A 2012 graduate of Eastern Kentucky, Cunningham was named a Colonel Scholar-Athlete for three consecutive years and was selected multiple times for the Dean’s List.
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Cunningham and his wife, Nicole, were married in 2016 and have two children, Larkyn and Kendall.
