During his tenure, he compiled a 139–59–2 record and helped transform Mississippi Southern into one of the nation's elite programs.

He was also the head baseball coach at Mississippi Southern from 1948 to 1949, tallying a mark of 21–21.

Van died on September 7, 1982, at Veterans Administration Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, following long illness.

[1] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1940s is a stub.