Legendary Ledyard Coach Bill Mignault Dies At 90

LEDYARD, CT — Legendary Ledyard football coach William F. Mignault has died, school officials announced Wednesday. Mignault, who was 90, started the football program at Ledyard High School and was its only coach for 42 years, according to the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance, which honored him with the prestigious Gold Key Award in 2005.

“Ledyard High School is sad to announce the passing of an icon: William F Mignault,” Ledyard High School athletic director and assistant principal Jim Buonocore wrote in a post on Twitter Wednesday. “He was a hall of fame educator, coach and administrator. He will be deeply missed by generations of Colonels. Once a Colonel, Always a Colonel.”

Mignault, who won four state championships and a state-record 321 games at Ledyard, retired in 2007 at the age of 78 and was succeeded by Buonocore, according to the CSWA.

He was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1991, and was a charter inductee into the Ledyard Football Hall of Fame in 2011.