William Phillip Connell (August 24, 1874 – February 13, 1932) was a college football player and later a prominent business man of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[2] Considered one of the sport's early greats,[3][4] he was picked for an all-time Vanderbilt team in 1912.

[6] Connel featured in Vanderbilt's first ever defeat of Ole Miss in 1894, giving the school its only loss of the season by the score of 40 to 0.

[3] He and captain Howard Boogher dove to recover the ball after the victory in the school's rivalry game with Sewanee in 1897.

[8] Vanderbilt allowed no points on the season and split a claim to the championship of the south when it held Virginia to a scoreless tie.