| Harris G. Cope | |
| Birth Date: | 16 March 1880 |
| Birth Place: | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | 1899–1901 |
| Player Team2: | Sewanee |
| Player Positions: | Quarterback (football) Third baseman (baseball) |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1904 |
| Coach Team2: | Sewanee (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1909–1916 |
| Coach Team3: | Sewanee |
| Coach Years4: | 1922–1923 |
| Coach Team4: | Howard (AL) |
| Admin Years1: | 1909–1913 |
| Admin Team1: | Sewanee |
| Admin Years2: | 1922–1924 |
| Admin Team2: | Howard (AL) |
| Overall Record: | 48–28–12 |
| Championships: | 1 SIAA (1909) |
Harris Goodwin Cope (March 16, 1880 – September 24, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He served as the head football coach at in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1909 to 1916 and Howard College—now known as Samford University—in Marion, Alabama from 1922 to 1923, compiling a career college football coaching record of 48–28–12. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914–15.
Cope first played at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut.[1]
In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a substitute quarterback on the undefeated "Iron Men" of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team. He was the captain and the starting quarter for Sewanee's 1901 team.[2]
Cope played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team.
Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.[3]
Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind Shirley Majors' 93 and John Windham's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.[4]
In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909, beating previous season's champion LSU and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.
Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard.Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.
Cope died of pneumonia in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.[5]
Cope's disciples include: