Israel George "Izzy" Levene (May 1, 1885 â November 12, 1930) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee from 1907 to 1909 and at Wake Forest University in 1922, compiling a career record of 18âÂÂ15âÂÂ5.
Levene played college football at the University of Pennsylvania, and was named an All-American in 1905 and 1906. In 1905, Penn went 12âÂÂ0âÂÂ1. Levene was known for being a football player who worked hard to help out his team, as well as one of the first good pass catching ends. The forward pass was legalized for the 1906 season.
Levene coached under head coach John Heisman at the University of Pennsylvania.
During his three-year tenure at Tennessee, Levene compiled a 15âÂÂ10âÂÂ3 record. His best season came in 1907, when his team went 7âÂÂ2âÂÂ1. His worst season came in 1909, when his team went 1âÂÂ6âÂÂ2, with the one win coming against Transylvania University. In 1922, Levene served as the head coach at Wake Forest. He compiled a 3âÂÂ5âÂÂ2 record there.
After coaching, Levene was a football official and wrote a book, Twenty Modern Football Plays.