UW-Oshkosh defensive coordinator Pat Cerroni was named as the school's interim head football coach for the 2007 season.

Cerroni's appointment comes two days after Phil Meyer resigned after seven years to become the offensive line coach at Minnesota. A national search to fill UW-Oshkosh's permanent head coaching position will be launched this fall and concluded by the end of the 2007 season.

"We're pleased to have Pat leading us for the upcoming 2007 season," said UW-Oshkosh athletic director Allen Ackerman. "He will provide stability and consistency for our players and for our football program. This is an outstanding opportunity for Pat and we're all looking forward to a successful and exciting 2007 experience."

Cerroni, 41, has been UW-Oshkosh's defensive coordinator since the 2000 season. His position also included the supervision and guidance of all recruiting and summer camp activities related to the school's football program.

During the past seven seasons, especially the last five, Cerroni directed a UW-Oshkosh defense that ranked among the finest in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Last fall, the Titans led the WIAC in red zone defense while ranking second in scoring defense and total defense. UW-Oshkosh also ranked second in the WIAC in total defense in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and third in 2002.

"I"m excited about this chance to lead the UW-Oshkosh football program," said Cerroni. "We all have worked hard to lay the foundation for this program the past seven years. My goal, and the goal of this staff, is to build on this foundation and keep it consistent. Our staff is committed to our players and we want all of them to be proud to be a Titan."

Cerroni came to UW-Oshkosh following three seasons as the head coach at Menomonee Falls High School. In 1997, Cerroni guided the Indians to a 7-4 record and an upset of defending state champion Hartland Arrowhead High School in the first round of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 playoffs.

Prior to his head coaching stint at Menomonee Falls High School, Cerroni was as an assistant football coach at Hartland Arrowhead and Waukesha Catholic Memorial high schools. During his four seasons at Waukesha Catholic Memorial High School, Cerroni helped the Crusaders to Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association Division 1 state titles in 1993 and 1996.

Cerroni is a 1992 graduate of Carroll, where he was a member of the school's 1988 football team that shared the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title with Augustana. He earned his master's degree from UW-Oshkosh in 2004.

After 11 years at the helm of Kingsmen football, Scott Squires has decided to turn in his collegiate whistle. Squires has accepted a position with the Canadian Football League as the special teams coordinator of the Edmonton Eskimos, announced John Sladek, president of California Lutheran.

"Though I have just gotten to know Scott in the past few months, I know that he has built a great football program," said Sladek. "He has created a lasting legacy and raised the bar for our expectations for all athletic programs at CLU. I am sorry to see him leave, but I wish him every success."

Squires signed on as CLU's coach in February 1996 and led the team to a 55-44 overall record. Over the past three seasons, the Kingsmen have chalked up a 20-7 record and enjoyed an 11-game winning streak from 2005 to 2006.

The third head coach in the history of the program, he had the opportunity to work under both of the previous head coaches. When he joined the CLU staff in 1989 he was responsible for coaching the defensive line and long snappers under the tutelage of 28-year Kingsmen head coach Bob Shoup.

In only his second season as head coach at CLU, Squires guided the 1997 Kingsmen to the program's first conference championship when the team shared the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. Squires was named the conference's Coach of the Year.

However, Squires' best season record came in 2005 when he led his team to an 8-1 finish (5-1 SCIAC). Over the years, Squires has coached one SCIAC Player of the Year, 59 First Team All-SCIAC players and 50 Second Team All-SCIAC players.

For Squires, the move to the Canadian pros will be a challenge, but it will also allow him more time with his family in the offseason. "Despite being away from my family during the football season, I will have an opportunity to be a stay-at-home dad when the season is over," said Squires. Squires and his wife, Sherith, have three children ages 9, 7 and 4.

"The decision to leave CLU was a tough one," said Squires, who is known for the phrase, "Kingsmen born and Kingsmen bred, Kingsmen till the day I'm dead." "The people and the relationships I have formed here with the players and the community are what I cherish the most," he added.

Squires praised his Kingsmen athletes, calling them, "a great group of men with a fantastic sense of 'team.'"

Squires admits that there will be a learning curve as he begins his Canadian football coaching career. Along with a new environment, he will have to adjust to working with a 12-man team on a longer and wider field.

"Scott has been a tremendous asset to the University and the Kingsmen football program for the past 11 years," said athletic director Dan Kuntz. "We are very happy for Scott and his family and for his opportunity to be involved in a leadership role in a professional football organization. I know that with his talents, he will be a success."

A search for Squires' successor will begin immediately, according to school officials.

Cal Lutheran's Scott Squires will be plying his trade north of the border as the 11-year Kingsmen coach has accepted a job as special teams coordinator of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.

Squires, who led Cal Lutheran to a 55-44 overall record, including 20-7 in the past three seasons and 14-4 the past two years, was just the third coach in the history of the program. The program first took the field in 1962.

"Though I have just gotten to know Scott in the past few months, I know that he has built a great football program," said school president John Sladek. "He has created a lasting legacy and raised the bar for our expectations for all athletic programs at CLU. I am sorry to see him leave, but I wish him every success."

"The decision to leave CLU was a tough one," said Squires, who is known for the phrase "Kingsmen born and Kingsmen bred, Kingsmen till the day I'm dead." "The people and the relationships I have formed here with the players and the community are what I cherish the most," he added. Full story