Charles Arthur "Yank" Bernier (July 21, 1890 – June 20, 1963) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college administrator. He served as the head football coach at Hampden–Sydney College from 1912 to 1916 and again from 1923 to 1938 and at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI)—now known as Virginia Tech— from 1917 to 1919, compiling a career college football record of 87–106–18. Bernier was also the head basketball coach at Hampden–Sydney (1912–1917, 1923–1940), Virginia Tech (1917–1920), and the University of Alabama (1920–1923), amassing a career college basketball record of 242–219. In addition, he was the head baseball coach at the University of New Hampshire (1912), Virginia Tech (1918–1920), and Alabama (1921–1923), tallying a career college baseball record of 67–65–4. Bernier also served as the athletic director at Alabama from 1920 to 1923.
 Bernier pictured in Kaleidoscope 1936, Hampden–Sydney yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 21, 1890 |
| Died | June 20, 1963 (aged 72) Cottondale, Alabama, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1912–1916 | Hampden–Sydney |
| 1917–1919 | Virginia Tech |
| 1923–1938 | Hampden–Sydney |
| Basketball | |
| 1912–1917 | Hampden–Sydney |
| 1917–1920 | Virginia Tech |
| 1920–1923 | Alabama |
| 1923–1940 | Hampden–Sydney |
| Baseball | |
| 1912 | New Hampshire |
| 1918–1920 | VPI |
| 1921–1923 | Alabama |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1920–1923 | Alabama |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 87–106–18 (football) 242–219 (basketball) 67–65–4 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 2 EVIAA (1915–1916) 1 SAIAA (1918) | |
Bernier played football, basketball, and baseball at Hampden–Sydney. He was the first student-athlete to be named captain of all three sports. He also attended VPI and compete in sports there.[1] Bernier is a member of the Hampden–Sydney Sports Hall of Fame. The school's baseball is named after him.[2] He died on June 20, 1963, at his home in Cottondale, Alabama.[3]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1912–1916) | |||||||||
| 1912 | Hampden–Sydney | 2–6 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1913 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–6 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1914 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–7–1 | 3–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1915 | Hampden–Sydney | 6–3 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1916 | Hampden–Sydney | 6–3–2 | 4–1–2 | T–1st | |||||
| VPI Gobblers (South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1917–1919) | |||||||||
| 1917 | VPI | 6–2–1 | 2–1–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1918 | VPI | 7–0 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1919 | VPI | 5–4 | 2–4 | 9th | |||||
| VPI: | 18–6–1 | 8–5–1 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Independent) (1923) | |||||||||
| 1923 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–6 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Virginia–North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1924) | |||||||||
| 1924 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–4–2 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Independent) (1925–1926) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| 1926 | Hampden–Sydney | 5–2–3 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Virginia Conference) (1927–1932) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Hampden–Sydney | 4–5 | 1–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1928 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–6 | 2–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1929 | Hampden–Sydney | 4–5 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1930 | Hampden–Sydney | 2–6–1 | 2–3–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1931 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–6 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1932 | Hampden–Sydney | 4–3–2 | 1–1–2 | 4th | |||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Chesapeake Conference) (1933–1936) | |||||||||
| 1933 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–4–2 | |||||||
| 1934 | Hampden–Sydney | 4–4–2 | |||||||
| 1935 | Hampden–Sydney | 5–5 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1936 | Hampden–Sydney | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney Tigers (Independent) (1937–1938) | |||||||||
| 1937 | Hampden–Sydney | 2–8 | |||||||
| 1938 | Hampden–Sydney | 2–6 | |||||||
| Hampden–Sydney: | 73–105–17 | ||||||||
| Total: | 91–111–18 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||