Briar Cliff names Rethman football coach
Oshkosh aide takes Charger helm
By Jerry GieseJournal sports writer | Posted: Friday, January 25, 2008
Two factors attracted Tom Rethman to the head football coaching position at Briar Cliff University.
He liked the competitiveness of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. In the past, he was part of a rebuilding program at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and he's looking forward to doing the same with the Chargers.
"One thing that attracted me to the position is the fact that it's in its infancy as a program," said the 37-year-old Rethman, who was named the BCU program's second head coach Thursday.
The El Dorado, Kan., native takes over for Dick Strittmatter, who started the football program in 2001 and had a 12-41 record in five seasons, topped by a 5-6 mark in 2006.
The Chargers went 0-11 last season, with three of the losses by seven points or less. Strittmatter resigned in November and Beau Livingston, last year's defensive coordinator, was named interim head coach.
"I appreciate the mission of the school, trying to prepare students to think on their own and contribute to the community," said Rethman, an offensive coordinator the last seven seasons at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"I went to a liberal arts school for four years, so that's why Briar Cliff is a good fit for me. I also understand the type of student-athlete who's attracted to a place like Briar Cliff.
"I like rebuilding projects. Wisconsin-Oshkosh has a great athletic background, but football was a weaker sport and it took time to build it up. We took a lot of pride in the program being able to compete in a great conference. I learned things there I will take to Briar Cliff and the biggest thing I learned is to get the players to take ownership in the program."
In the 2007 season, the 1992 Knox College graduate directed an offense that led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in fewest turnovers (9). Quarterback Joe Patek passed for 1,834 yards and 11 touchdowns, but only threw three interceptions.
The Titans' offense, which also featured running back Andy Moriarty (1,690 yards rushing, 16 TDs), only fumbled six times. They were second in the WIAC in both rushing offense (205.9 yards per game) and passing efficiency (131.48) while ranking third in total offense (393.2 ypg).
Wisconsin-Oshkosh was 7-3 and third in the WIAC with a 4-3 mark. League champion Wisconsin-Whitewater won the NCAA Division III title, downing perennial national champ Mount Union, 31-21, while runner-up Wisconsin-Eau Claire fell 21-12 to Bethel in the second round of the playoffs.
Sioux Falls, the Great Plains Athletic Conference champion, fell 17-9 in the NAIA national title game to Carroll. Another GPAC squad, Morningside, lost 27-16 in the quarterfinals to Carroll, which incidentally, was a coaching stop for Rethman, two seasons before taking the position at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"The GPAC was one of the other reasons that attracted me to the job," said Rethman, whose college coaching career also included graduate assistant positions at Southern Illinois and Illinois State. He also assisted at Knox.
"You don't want a job at a conference where you have an opportunity to win every year, then you get knocked out early in the playoffs. In the GPAC, if you're able to compete at a high level, you can compete at a high level nationally. The thing I love about the GPAC, you have to be ready for playoff-caliber teams every weekend."
Rethman, one of 80 applicants for the position, has been in contact with Livingston, in terms of the recruiting process and plans to start making calls. Livingston, a Bishop Heelan and Morningside College graduate, will remain on the Briar Cliff coaching staff.
The new coach, who hopes to arrive to BCU in early February, prefers a power-running game with a West Coast passing offense.
"One thing I've learned, coaches who are incredibly stubborn lead themselves to failure," said Rethman. "We'll do with what fits the personnel we have, but I'm interested in winning and we'll do what we need to do to win on Saturdays."
"We are extremely excited to announce the latest addition to the Briar Cliff coaching family," said Briar Cliff athletic director Steve Gast. "We believe Tom has both the experience and energy to help our football program take the next step."
He liked the competitiveness of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. In the past, he was part of a rebuilding program at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and he's looking forward to doing the same with the Chargers.
"One thing that attracted me to the position is the fact that it's in its infancy as a program," said the 37-year-old Rethman, who was named the BCU program's second head coach Thursday.
The El Dorado, Kan., native takes over for Dick Strittmatter, who started the football program in 2001 and had a 12-41 record in five seasons, topped by a 5-6 mark in 2006.
The Chargers went 0-11 last season, with three of the losses by seven points or less. Strittmatter resigned in November and Beau Livingston, last year's defensive coordinator, was named interim head coach.
"I appreciate the mission of the school, trying to prepare students to think on their own and contribute to the community," said Rethman, an offensive coordinator the last seven seasons at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"I went to a liberal arts school for four years, so that's why Briar Cliff is a good fit for me. I also understand the type of student-athlete who's attracted to a place like Briar Cliff.
"I like rebuilding projects. Wisconsin-Oshkosh has a great athletic background, but football was a weaker sport and it took time to build it up. We took a lot of pride in the program being able to compete in a great conference. I learned things there I will take to Briar Cliff and the biggest thing I learned is to get the players to take ownership in the program."
In the 2007 season, the 1992 Knox College graduate directed an offense that led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in fewest turnovers (9). Quarterback Joe Patek passed for 1,834 yards and 11 touchdowns, but only threw three interceptions.
The Titans' offense, which also featured running back Andy Moriarty (1,690 yards rushing, 16 TDs), only fumbled six times. They were second in the WIAC in both rushing offense (205.9 yards per game) and passing efficiency (131.48) while ranking third in total offense (393.2 ypg).
Wisconsin-Oshkosh was 7-3 and third in the WIAC with a 4-3 mark. League champion Wisconsin-Whitewater won the NCAA Division III title, downing perennial national champ Mount Union, 31-21, while runner-up Wisconsin-Eau Claire fell 21-12 to Bethel in the second round of the playoffs.
Sioux Falls, the Great Plains Athletic Conference champion, fell 17-9 in the NAIA national title game to Carroll. Another GPAC squad, Morningside, lost 27-16 in the quarterfinals to Carroll, which incidentally, was a coaching stop for Rethman, two seasons before taking the position at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"The GPAC was one of the other reasons that attracted me to the job," said Rethman, whose college coaching career also included graduate assistant positions at Southern Illinois and Illinois State. He also assisted at Knox.
"You don't want a job at a conference where you have an opportunity to win every year, then you get knocked out early in the playoffs. In the GPAC, if you're able to compete at a high level, you can compete at a high level nationally. The thing I love about the GPAC, you have to be ready for playoff-caliber teams every weekend."
Rethman, one of 80 applicants for the position, has been in contact with Livingston, in terms of the recruiting process and plans to start making calls. Livingston, a Bishop Heelan and Morningside College graduate, will remain on the Briar Cliff coaching staff.
The new coach, who hopes to arrive to BCU in early February, prefers a power-running game with a West Coast passing offense.
"One thing I've learned, coaches who are incredibly stubborn lead themselves to failure," said Rethman. "We'll do with what fits the personnel we have, but I'm interested in winning and we'll do what we need to do to win on Saturdays."
"We are extremely excited to announce the latest addition to the Briar Cliff coaching family," said Briar Cliff athletic director Steve Gast. "We believe Tom has both the experience and energy to help our football program take the next step."
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