| Ted Kessinger | |
| Birth Date: | 15 January 1941 |
| Birth Place: | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | c. 1962 |
| Player Team2: | Augustana (SD) |
| Player Positions: | Center, linebacker |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1964–1968 |
| Coach Team2: | Augustana (IL) (line) |
| Coach Years3: | 1969–1976 |
| Coach Team3: | Augustana (SD) (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1976–2003 |
| Coach Team4: | Bethany (KS) |
| Coach Sport5: | Wrestling |
| Coach Years6: | 1964–1969 |
| Coach Team6: | Augustana (IL) |
| Overall Record: | 219–57–1 (football) 39–5–3 (wrestling) |
| Tournament Record: | Football 3–9 (NAIA D-II playoffs) 0–1 (NAIA playoffs) |
| Championships: | Football 16 KCAC (1977–1981, 1986–1988, 1990–1991, 1993–1996, 1999, 2001) Wrestling 5 CCIW (1965–1969) |
| Awards: | 11× KCAC Coach of the Year NAIA Hall of Fame (2003) Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (2005) |
| Cfbhof Year: | 2010 |
| Cfbhof Id: | 2257 |
Ted Kessinger (born January 15, 1941) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, compiling a record of 219–57–1 for a winning percentage of . He is among the college football coaches with the most wins and the highest winning percentage.
Kessinger was the head coach of the first American football team to play in Sweden,[1] and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.[2] His son is Kent Kessinger, the head coach at Ottawa University.
Before becoming a head coach, Kessinger worked as an assistant coach at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the South Dakota Coyotes in Vermillion.[3]
Kessinger was the head football coach at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas from 1976 to 2003, where he posted a record of 219–57–1. He guided Bethany to the NAIA playoffs ten times and achieved a top 25 ranking 20 times. His teams never posted a losing season during his entire coaching tenure.[4]
In 2000, his team won the American Family Charity Bowl, defeating the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes by a score of 20–3.[5]
Kessinger was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.