Tim Murphy Field naming honors retired Clayton Valley Charter football coach
CONCORD, CA (Sept. 25, 2024) – Tim Murphy retired in 2023 after leading Clayton Valley Charter’s football teams to unprecedented heights after his hiring as the Concord school became a charter in 2012 and this month was honored before the season-opening game with the field at Gonsalves Stadium named Tim Murphy Field.
His name is now memorialized on the entry gate to the field in Gonsalves Stadium, home of CVCHS football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field teams and used for school PE classes and community sports organizations.
One of the state’s most successful high school football coaches renowned for his team’s offensive prowess during a 28-year career (26 as a head coach after starting as an assistant at Mt. Diablo), led the Ugly Eagles to their first-ever Section and CIF State football titles during his time in charge at CVCHS.
Murphy culminated his career at Clayton Valley Charter, where he spent 11 years coinciding with the school’s transition to a charter. He was hired before the 2012 football season by former Executive Director Dave Linzey and athletic director Pat Middendorf after temporarily returning to Ygnacio Valley that spring.
Under his leadership, the Ugly Eagles won 10 of 11 league championships, four NCS championships, three NorCal championships and the 2019 State championship, when Murphy was named NCS Coach of the Year. His CVCHS record was 108-30.
He retired with 221 wins overall, that 2019 California State championship, seven section and 20 league championships. His coaching accolades include 2003 USA Top 25, 2003 State Coach of the Year and
the 2006 ESPY Coach of the Year award. Murphy was named coach of the year 15 times by multiple organizations.
At each of his three high school assignments Murphy’s teams were the first to claim Section football titles. Murphy-coached teams won 19 league championships, seven CIF Section titles and has finished ranked in the State of California seven times and in the USA three times.
A College Park High graduate, Murphy began his coaching career in 1996 at Ygnacio Valley, winning three league championships and the 1999 North Coast Section 3A – East championship.
In 2014, his Ugly Eagles set a state record while having the No. 1 rushing team in the nation with a record-setting 7,055 yards.
The CVCHS football team was so successful that the NCS had a rocky period trying to find a balance between competitive placement and geography. After winning every Diablo Athletic League game for three fall seasons from 2016-18—most by lopsided scores— the school’s football team was moved to the East Bay Athletic League.
In their maiden 2019 EBAL season Ugly Eagles football was 0-5 but then turned around its season and swept the NCS Division II playoffs and won Northern California and State 2-AA playoff games. The irony of that state title win was Clayton Valley defeated Aquinas of San Bernardino in a defensive struggle 10-7. The coach hailed as an offensive guru won the ultimate team prize in a low scoring, defensive affair.
He coached five all-star teams, including the first-ever Under Armor National All-Star game on ESPN featuring AJ Green and Julio Jones.
His teams made the playoffs 24 straight times, and he coached the first Division 1 California team to beat a Division 1 Texas team.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.