Fulmer helping restart program at ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is returning to college football to help restart the program at East Tennessee State.

Fulmer, 62, will serve as a consultant and special assistant to athletic director Richard Sander as East Tennessee State relaunches a football program it had shut down for financial reasons in 2003. The recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee doesn’t expect to coach the new team, which could begin playing at the Football Championship Subdivision level as soon as 2015.

“I never say never on anything, [but] it’s not likely,” Fulmer said Tuesday after a news conference announcing East Tennessee State’s plans to bring back football. “Nobody expects that, that I’ve talked to within the administration. I was really clear and frank, and they were grateful for that. That wasn’t the place in life that I wanted to be. It’s a great opportunity for somebody to come in and make their own legacy.”

We can be a viable program in four or five years and make it exciting for the students, make it exciting for the community and make a difference in this university.
– Phillip Fulmer

Fulmer said the idea that he might coach East Tennessee State came up when university officials first told him the school might bring back football. Sander has indicated he would like to have a coach in place by mid-May.

“When they approached me about being the coach, it was very flattering, but I’m just at a different stage in life where I’m enjoying my children and my grandchildren and I’m enjoying the business that I’m in with some partners I’m dedicated to as well,” Fulmer said. “However I can help in this process, I will. I’m thrilled they’re talking about doing it the right way.”

Fulmer coached Tennessee to a 1998 national title, posted a career record of 152-52 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last year. He coached three games for Tennessee on an interim basis in 1992, took over the program in 1993 and remained in place until getting fired in 2008.

He faces a different type of challenge at East Tennessee State.

“Phil will kind of fill the role of ‘football expert,’ ” Sander said. “He’ll help in everything from hiring a coach to helping us identify architectural firms that we need to build facilities. He’s run a total football program, so we’re going to listen to him in every phase.”

East Tennessee State had an 80-year football tradition before shutting its program. A bid to revive the program during the 2006-07 school year failed when students voted down a $200 fee increase.

The decision to restart football came after a $125-per-semester student fee increase was approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents last week and by East Tennessee State’s student government association in January.

“I always thought [the return of football] would happen,” said Brock Pittman, an offensive lineman on East Tennessee State’s 2003 team who attended Tuesday’s news conference. “There’s never been a doubt in my mind. I just didn’t know when. I’m just happy it’s here. You couldn’t ask for a better person and a better football mind than Coach Fulmer. He knows how a program should be run. He’s proved that. They did a really good job getting him on board.”

East Tennessee State president Brian Noland worked on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission when the school dropped football and supported the decision at the time.

“But this is a different time, and we have the opportunity to build on the work that’s been done in the past and to move forward and do this the right way.” Noland said.

Noland said approval of the student fee increase makes a major difference. The fee is expected to generate about $2.5 million annually.

School officials still must choose a coach, decide on a site location for a future stadium and work toward finding a conference. East Tennessee State’s athletic teams currently belong to the Atlantic Sun, which doesn’t compete in football, though Atlantic Sun member Jacksonville plays football in the Pioneer League. Stetson and Mercer, two more Atlantic Sun members starting football programs this year, will also compete in the Pioneer League.

The Atlantic Sun issued a statement Tuesday saying “we look forward to working with East Tennessee State and the A Sun membership as a whole in fully developing the opportunities for maximum competitive opportunity.”

Noland said the university also would have to add about three new women’s sports to go along with football in order to meet Title IX requirements. As they announced plans to bring back football, school officials also started a kickoff fund asking alumni, fans and former players to donate $250 to receive priority toward future season tickets.

“They’re not necessarily going to be Virginia Tech or Tennessee in three years,” Fulmer said. “Nobody should expect that. But we can be a viable program in four or five years and make it exciting for the students, make it exciting for the community and make a difference in this university.”

Fulmer helping restart program at ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is returning to college football to help restart the program at East Tennessee State.

Fulmer, 62, will serve as a consultant and special assistant to athletic director Richard Sander as East Tennessee State relaunches a football program it had shut down for financial reasons in 2003. The recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee doesn’t expect to coach the new team, which could begin playing at the Football Championship Subdivision level as soon as 2015.

“I never say never on anything, [but] it’s not likely,” Fulmer said Tuesday after a news conference announcing East Tennessee State’s plans to bring back football. “Nobody expects that, that I’ve talked to within the administration. I was really clear and frank, and they were grateful for that. That wasn’t the place in life that I wanted to be. It’s a great opportunity for somebody to come in and make their own legacy.”

We can be a viable program in four or five years and make it exciting for the students, make it exciting for the community and make a difference in this university.
– Phillip Fulmer

Fulmer said the idea that he might coach East Tennessee State came up when university officials first told him the school might bring back football. Sander has indicated he would like to have a coach in place by mid-May.

“When they approached me about being the coach, it was very flattering, but I’m just at a different stage in life where I’m enjoying my children and my grandchildren and I’m enjoying the business that I’m in with some partners I’m dedicated to as well,” Fulmer said. “However I can help in this process, I will. I’m thrilled they’re talking about doing it the right way.”

Fulmer coached Tennessee to a 1998 national title, posted a career record of 152-52 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last year. He coached three games for Tennessee on an interim basis in 1992, took over the program in 1993 and remained in place until getting fired in 2008.

He faces a different type of challenge at East Tennessee State.

“Phil will kind of fill the role of ‘football expert,’ ” Sander said. “He’ll help in everything from hiring a coach to helping us identify architectural firms that we need to build facilities. He’s run a total football program, so we’re going to listen to him in every phase.”

East Tennessee State had an 80-year football tradition before shutting its program. A bid to revive the program during the 2006-07 school year failed when students voted down a $200 fee increase.

The decision to restart football came after a $125-per-semester student fee increase was approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents last week and by East Tennessee State’s student government association in January.

“I always thought [the return of football] would happen,” said Brock Pittman, an offensive lineman on East Tennessee State’s 2003 team who attended Tuesday’s news conference. “There’s never been a doubt in my mind. I just didn’t know when. I’m just happy it’s here. You couldn’t ask for a better person and a better football mind than Coach Fulmer. He knows how a program should be run. He’s proved that. They did a really good job getting him on board.”

East Tennessee State president Brian Noland worked on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission when the school dropped football and supported the decision at the time.

“But this is a different time, and we have the opportunity to build on the work that’s been done in the past and to move forward and do this the right way.” Noland said.

Noland said approval of the student fee increase makes a major difference. The fee is expected to generate about $2.5 million annually.

School officials still must choose a coach, decide on a site location for a future stadium and work toward finding a conference. East Tennessee State’s athletic teams currently belong to the Atlantic Sun, which doesn’t compete in football, though Atlantic Sun member Jacksonville plays football in the Pioneer League. Stetson and Mercer, two more Atlantic Sun members starting football programs this year, will also compete in the Pioneer League.

The Atlantic Sun issued a statement Tuesday saying “we look forward to working with East Tennessee State and the A Sun membership as a whole in fully developing the opportunities for maximum competitive opportunity.”

Noland said the university also would have to add about three new women’s sports to go along with football in order to meet Title IX requirements. As they announced plans to bring back football, school officials also started a kickoff fund asking alumni, fans and former players to donate $250 to receive priority toward future season tickets.

“They’re not necessarily going to be Virginia Tech or Tennessee in three years,” Fulmer said. “Nobody should expect that. But we can be a viable program in four or five years and make it exciting for the students, make it exciting for the community and make a difference in this university.”

Kennesaw State names Bohannon as new program’s inaugural head coach

Bohannon

KENNESAW, Ga.-– Brian Bohannon, who has spent the past five seasons as quarterbacks/B-backs coach at Georgia Tech and engineered one of the country’s most prolific spread option offenses, has been named the first head football coach at Kennesaw State, Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams announced on Sunday.

“This is an extremely exciting moment in Kennesaw State University history,” Williams said. “Coach Bohannon embodies every value, characteristic and skill set that we look for when choosing head coaches to lead our student-athletes. Brian has distinguished himself as a servant leader who will build a program the right way. I can’t wait to kick off that football in 2015.”

Bohannon will be introduced at a press conference inside the Owls’ locker room at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Tuesday (March 26) beginning at 11 a.m. (ET). The event will be streamed live at www.ksuowls.com.

“Let me start by saying how excited I am to be the first-ever Kennesaw State head football coach,” Bohannon said. “Kennesaw State is a special place with a great student body, administration and faculty, and I am just excited about the opportunity.

“I also want to give special thanks to University President Dr. Dan Papp, Vaughn Williams, the search committee and the people I met with during my interview,” Bohannon added. “I thoroughly enjoyed the process, everything was run in a first-class manner, and I can’t wait to get started. My goal is to work toward developing the total student-athlete in the classroom, on the field of play and in the campus and local communities.”

A native of Griffin, Ga., Bohannon has 17 years of coaching experience at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) levels, all of which have come while working with Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson.

Under Bohannon’s direction, former Georgia Tech quarterbacks Washington and Joshua Nesbitt emerged as two of the most prolific signal callers in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history. Nesbitt and Washington combined to rush for more than 5,000 yards and rank first and third, respectively, in ACC history for career rushing yards by a quarterback.

Under Bohannon, four players have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season — B-back Jonathan Dwyer in 2008, Dwyer and Nesbitt in 2009, and B-back Anthony Allen in 2010.
Dwyer was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2008 and 2009. Nesbitt was the first team All-ACC quarterback in 2009, and Allen was first-team all-conference in 2010. Dwyer and Allen are both enjoying successful NFL?careers.

Bohannon helped Washington emerge from a back-up quarterback in 2010 to one of the ACC’s most productive signal-callers in 2011 and 2012. Washington’s 986 rushing yards in 2011 were the second-most ever by a Georgia Tech quarterback and his passing efficiency (155.4) was the third-highest in Yellow Jacket history.

Bohannon helped Nesbitt develop from a running specialist out of the shotgun into one of the nation’s premier dual threat quarterbacks. Nesbitt completed his career as the most prolific rushing quarterback in ACC?history. He likely would have become just the eighth player in NCAA?history to rush and pass for 3,000 career yards if not for an injury that cost him the final four games of the 2010 season.

Before arriving at Georgia Tech, Bohannon spent six years as wide receivers coach at Navy. He was part of a staff that returned the Midshipmen to the national spotlight. Navy won 35 games during four years, earning a school-record four consecutive bowl berths and a school-best four consecutive Commander-In-Chief’s Trophies.

A four-year letter winner and standout as a wide receiver at Georgia, Bohannon started his coaching career at West Georgia before earning his first full-time position at Gardner-Webb (N.C.) as wide receivers coach in 1996.

Bohannon earned his bachelor’s degree in general business from Georgia in 1993 and a master’s in business education from West Georgia in 1996. He is married to the former Melanie Cobb and they have three children, sons Blake Patrick and Braden Thomas, and daughter Brooke Anna.

Kennesaw State names Bohannon as new program’s inaugural head coach

Bohannon

KENNESAW, Ga.-– Brian Bohannon, who has spent the past five seasons as quarterbacks/B-backs coach at Georgia Tech and engineered one of the country’s most prolific spread option offenses, has been named the first head football coach at Kennesaw State, Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams announced on Sunday.

“This is an extremely exciting moment in Kennesaw State University history,” Williams said. “Coach Bohannon embodies every value, characteristic and skill set that we look for when choosing head coaches to lead our student-athletes. Brian has distinguished himself as a servant leader who will build a program the right way. I can’t wait to kick off that football in 2015.”

Bohannon will be introduced at a press conference inside the Owls’ locker room at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Tuesday (March 26) beginning at 11 a.m. (ET). The event will be streamed live at www.ksuowls.com.

“Let me start by saying how excited I am to be the first-ever Kennesaw State head football coach,” Bohannon said. “Kennesaw State is a special place with a great student body, administration and faculty, and I am just excited about the opportunity.

“I also want to give special thanks to University President Dr. Dan Papp, Vaughn Williams, the search committee and the people I met with during my interview,” Bohannon added. “I thoroughly enjoyed the process, everything was run in a first-class manner, and I can’t wait to get started. My goal is to work toward developing the total student-athlete in the classroom, on the field of play and in the campus and local communities.”

A native of Griffin, Ga., Bohannon has 17 years of coaching experience at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) levels, all of which have come while working with Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson.

Under Bohannon’s direction, former Georgia Tech quarterbacks Washington and Joshua Nesbitt emerged as two of the most prolific signal callers in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history. Nesbitt and Washington combined to rush for more than 5,000 yards and rank first and third, respectively, in ACC history for career rushing yards by a quarterback.

Under Bohannon, four players have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season — B-back Jonathan Dwyer in 2008, Dwyer and Nesbitt in 2009, and B-back Anthony Allen in 2010.
Dwyer was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2008 and 2009. Nesbitt was the first team All-ACC quarterback in 2009, and Allen was first-team all-conference in 2010. Dwyer and Allen are both enjoying successful NFL?careers.

Bohannon helped Washington emerge from a back-up quarterback in 2010 to one of the ACC’s most productive signal-callers in 2011 and 2012. Washington’s 986 rushing yards in 2011 were the second-most ever by a Georgia Tech quarterback and his passing efficiency (155.4) was the third-highest in Yellow Jacket history.

Bohannon helped Nesbitt develop from a running specialist out of the shotgun into one of the nation’s premier dual threat quarterbacks. Nesbitt completed his career as the most prolific rushing quarterback in ACC?history. He likely would have become just the eighth player in NCAA?history to rush and pass for 3,000 career yards if not for an injury that cost him the final four games of the 2010 season.

Before arriving at Georgia Tech, Bohannon spent six years as wide receivers coach at Navy. He was part of a staff that returned the Midshipmen to the national spotlight. Navy won 35 games during four years, earning a school-record four consecutive bowl berths and a school-best four consecutive Commander-In-Chief’s Trophies.

A four-year letter winner and standout as a wide receiver at Georgia, Bohannon started his coaching career at West Georgia before earning his first full-time position at Gardner-Webb (N.C.) as wide receivers coach in 1996.

Bohannon earned his bachelor’s degree in general business from Georgia in 1993 and a master’s in business education from West Georgia in 1996. He is married to the former Melanie Cobb and they have three children, sons Blake Patrick and Braden Thomas, and daughter Brooke Anna.

Kennesaw State launches football program; will begin play in 2015

KENNESAW, Ga. – “It’s Our Time.”

Those words represent the tagline for Kennesaw State football after University officials announced that the Owls will open their first season of play in 2015 and play home games at newly rena…

Kennesaw State launches football program; will begin play in 2015

KENNESAW, Ga. – “It’s Our Time.”

Those words represent the tagline for Kennesaw State football after University officials announced that the Owls will open their first season of play in 2015 and play home games at newly rena…

Rules committee recommends ejection for targeting defenseless players

The NCAA Football Rules Committee took steps to further protect student-athletes by proposing a rule to eject players who target and contact defenseless players above the shoulders.

The committee, which met Monday through Wednesday, unanimously vot…

Rules committee recommends ejection for targeting defenseless players

The NCAA Football Rules Committee took steps to further protect student-athletes by proposing a rule to eject players who target and contact defenseless players above the shoulders.

The committee, which met Monday through Wednesday, unanimously vot…

Northern Arizona mourns loss of wide receivers coach Lewis

Lewis

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona assistant coach Jeff Lewis, a former Lumberjacks quarterback who played for Denver and Carolina in the NFL, died Saturday. He was 39.

Northern Arizona confirmed Lewis’ death. The school didn’t provide a cause of death, saying only that Lewis died Saturday in Phoenix.

Lewis was Northern Arizona’s wide receivers coach. As a player at the school from 1992-95, Lewis completed 785 of 1,315 passes for 9,639 yards and 67 touchdowns. He was inducted into the NAU Hall of Fame in 2003.

”Today is a very sad day for the Lumberjack football family,” Northern Arizona coach Jerome Souers said. ”Jeff was one of the best Lumberjacks of all time and a valuable member of our program.”

Lewis appeared in five games for the Broncos in 1996-98 and seven with the Panthers in 1999-2000. He completed 28 of 54 attempts for 210 yards and threw two interceptions.

”We are deeply saddened by the death of former Broncos quarterback Jeff Lewis,” the Broncos said in a statement. ”Our most heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to Jeff’s family and friends.”

Lewis also coached three seasons at Louisville, serving as an offensive administration assistant in 2007 and 2008 and wide receivers coach in 2009.

Northern Arizona mourns loss of wide receivers coach Lewis

Lewis

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona assistant coach Jeff Lewis, a former Lumberjacks quarterback who played for Denver and Carolina in the NFL, died Saturday. He was 39.

Northern Arizona confirmed Lewis’ death. The school didn’t provide a cause of death, saying only that Lewis died Saturday in Phoenix.

Lewis was Northern Arizona’s wide receivers coach. As a player at the school from 1992-95, Lewis completed 785 of 1,315 passes for 9,639 yards and 67 touchdowns. He was inducted into the NAU Hall of Fame in 2003.

”Today is a very sad day for the Lumberjack football family,” Northern Arizona coach Jerome Souers said. ”Jeff was one of the best Lumberjacks of all time and a valuable member of our program.”

Lewis appeared in five games for the Broncos in 1996-98 and seven with the Panthers in 1999-2000. He completed 28 of 54 attempts for 210 yards and threw two interceptions.

”We are deeply saddened by the death of former Broncos quarterback Jeff Lewis,” the Broncos said in a statement. ”Our most heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to Jeff’s family and friends.”

Lewis also coached three seasons at Louisville, serving as an offensive administration assistant in 2007 and 2008 and wide receivers coach in 2009.

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